Yoichiro Kakitani 柿谷 曜一朗

Yoichiro Kakitani (柿谷 曜一朗, Kakitani Yoichiro) (born 3 January 1990) is a Japanese footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Nagoya Grampus.

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-School 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

Kakitani joined FC Basel to the start of the 2014–15 Swiss Super League season. He made his debut for Basel on 2 August 2014 being substituted in during the 3–2 away win against Thun. The season 2014–15 was a successful one for Basel: the club won the championship (for the sixth time in a row that season), reached the cup final and entered the Champions League in the group stage reaching the knockout phase on 9 December 2014 as they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool. However, Kakitani failed to make a lasting impression in this season under trainer Paulo Sousa. Of the 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures – 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches) Basel played that season, Kakitani appeared in just 28 – 14 League, 3 Cup, 3 Champions League and 8 test games – scoring a total of 11 goals.

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.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Ёитиро Какитани (russian)