Ryuji Izumi

Ryuji Izumi (和泉 竜司, Izumi Ryuji, born 6 November 1993) is a Japanese footballer who plays for Kashima Antlers as a midfielder.

Club Career

Nagoya Grampus

In September 2015, Izumi was chosen as a designated special player by Nagoya Grampus for the season from Meiji University, although he did not end up making an appearance for the team. After graduation, Izumi received offers from a number of clubs but chose to go to continue with Nagoya Grampus due to its proximity to his hometown. Izumi was handed the number 29 shirt for his first professional season. He made his debut in March 2016, playing 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Omiya Ardija in the J.League Cup. He also scored his first professional goal in his debut season, scoring in a 3-1 league win over Yokohama F. Marinos. Unfortunately it was not a successful season for Nagoya, as they were relegated to the J2 League.

In the 2017 season, Izumi played in almost every match for Nagoya, playing over 3000 minutes across the season. He was used as a utility player, being played in a number of different positions throughout the season including centre back, left back, wing back, left midfield and attacking midfield. Nagoya bounced straight back to the J1 League, after finishing in 3rd position and being promoted via the playoffs after a 0-0 draw with Avispa Fukuoka – Nagoya were promoted due to their higher league position.

For the next two seasons, Izumi continued to be used as a utility player but was still making many appearances, playing 32 league games in 2018 as Nagoya narrowly avoided relegation with 5 teams finishing on the same number of points. He played a further 37 games in the 2019 season, where he contributed 6 goals, including a brace in their 3-0 league win over Kawasaki Frontale.

Kashima Antlers

In January 2020, it was announced that Izumi would be joining Kashima Antlers and would take the number 11 shirt. Kashima had been interested in Izumi since his time at Meiji Uni