(born 3 January 1990) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward or an attacking midfielder.
Club career
Cerezo Osaka Born in Osaka, Kakitani joined Cerezo Osaka's youth team at the age of 4. In 2006, he signed his first professional contract with Cerezo at 16 – the club record for the youngest player signed to a professional contract. He played his first J-League game on 26 November 2006. He also trained with the Arsenal F.C. and Inter Milan youth teams.
Kakitani entered the e-Schooluniversity correspondence education of Human Sciences, Waseda University in 2008. Kakitani was loaned to Tokushima Vortis on 18 June 2009 and returned to Cerezo Osaka in 2012.
Basel On 7 July 2014 FC Basel announced that they had signed Kakitani on a four-year contract. Kakitani joined Basel to the start of the 2014–15 Swiss Super League season. He joined the team on 17 July for their 2014–15 season under head coach Paulo Sousa. Kakitani played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the Stockhorn Arena on 2 August, coming on as a substitute for Mohamed Elneny as Basel won 3–2 against Thun. He scored his first goal for his new club one week later, on 9 August, in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park as Basel won 4–1 against Zürich. The season 2014–15 was a successful one for Basel. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage. They reached the knockout phase on 9 December 2014, as they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool. But they were knocked out of the competition by Porto in the round of 16. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Basel won the championship for the sixth time in a row. In the 2014–15 Swiss Cup Basel reached the final. However for the third time in a row they finished as runners-up. However, Kakitani failed to make a lasting impression in this season under trainer Paulo Sousa. Of the 50 competition matches (36 Swiss League fixtures – 6 Swiss Cup and 8 Champions League) that Basel played that season, Kakitani appeared in just 28.
In their following season new head coach was Urs Fischer and under him Kakitani played only in seven games. Being unhappy, he decided to return to Japan. During his 18 months with the club, Kakitani played a total of 41 games for Basel scoring a total of 14 goals. 18 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, six in the Swiss Cup, three in the 2014–15 Champions League and 14 were friendly games. He scored four goals in the domestic league, four in the cup and the other six were scored during the test games.
Return to Cerezo Osaka Unable to establish himself at Basel in the first half of the 2015–2016 season, Kakitani left the club in early January 2016 returning to his home club Cerezo Osaka which had been relegated to the J2 League during his absence. The team has been playing in the J1 League since the 2017 season.
Return to Tokushima Vortis On 6 January 2023, Kakitani announcement officially return to former club, Tokushima Vortis for upcoming 2023 season, he played for the club on loan in the middle of the 2009 season.
International career He was named Most Valuable Player in the AFC U-17 Championship 2006 after helping Japan win the tournament, scoring 4 goals.
Kakitani scored two goals at 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea. Against France he scored a spectacular goal from the halfway line.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egqjhIbHqRc – YouTube
Kakitani debuted for the Japan senior team at the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup. He played his first international match against China, scoring his first international goal in the 59th minute. He then scored twice against South Korea in a 2–1 win. His three goals from three matches made him top goalscorer as Japan won the tournament.EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 Final Competition Score Sheet
https://www.eaff.com/img/competition/eafc2013/pdf/m2.pdf
https://www.eaff.com/img/competition/eafc2013/pdf/m6.pdf
Career statistics
Club .Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, (p. 24 out of 289)Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)", 8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 273 out of 289)
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueEmperor's CupJ. League CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsCerezo Osaka2006J1 League10000000102007J2 League21210–00222200824000–00240200962––0062Total524100000534Tokushima Vortis2009J2 League27410–00284201034420–00364201136610–00376Total971440–0010114Cerezo Osaka2012J1 League301131750040172013342100830042242014141000084225Total7833311588410446FC Basel2014–15Swiss Super League14334–302072015–164120–0061Total18454–30268Cerezo Osaka2016J2 League2260000002262017J1 League346511100408201821400203126520192331140002842020241004100282Total12420621123114425Nagoya Grampus2021J1 League36540527252920222102061–291Total57560113728110Tokushima Vortis2023J2 League37700–00377Total0000000000Career total440862034316217530112
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsJapan U17200510200654200732Total96Japan U20200742200820200921Total83Japan201394201491Total185
Under-17 Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kakitani goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Yoichiro KakitaniNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 5 September 2006 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore 1–0 1–1 2006 AFC U-17 Championship2 11 September 2006 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore 1–0 1–1 2006 AFC U-17 Championship3 14 September 2006 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore 2–0 2–0 2006 AFC U-17 Championship4 17 September 2006 Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, Singapore 1–2 4–2 2006 AFC U-17 Championship5 19 August 2007 Gwangyang Football Stadium, Gwangyang, South Korea 3–1 3–1 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup6 25 August 2007 Gwangyang Football Stadium, Gwangyang, South Korea 1–0 1–2 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Under-20 Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kakitani goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Yoichiro KakitaniNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 12 November 2007 Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 8–0 8–0 2008 AFC Youth Championship qualification2 14 November 2007 Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 2–0 5–0 2008 AFC Youth Championship qualification3 7 December 2009 Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, Hong Kong 4–0 5–0 2009 East Asian Games
Senior team Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kakitani goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Yoichiro KakitaniNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 21 July 2013 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 2–1 3–3 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup2 28 July 2013 Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 1–0 2–1 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup3 2–14 16 November 2013 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–13–2 Friendly5 4 June 2014 Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States 3–13–1 Friendly
Honours Basel Swiss Super League: 2014–15, 2015–16
Cerezo Osaka J.League Cup: 2017 Emperor's Cup: 2017
Nagoya Grampus J.League Cup: 2021
Japan EAFF East Asian Cup: 2013
Japan U-17 AFC U-17 Championship: 2006
Individual AFC U-17 Championship Most Valuable Player: 2006 EAFF East Asian Cup Top Scorer: 2013 J. League Division 1 Player of the Month: May 2013
References
External links
Japan National Football Team Database
Profile at Cerezo Osaka Personal Site