When Maya Yoshida joined Southampton back in 2012 it was a signing a little less decorated than the capture of Gaston Ramirez and Nathaniel Clyne. 4 years later and Yoshida finds himself still amongst the thick of the action on the south coast loving life.
The foundation of Yoshida’s career began over 5,900 miles away in the sleepy town of Nagoya where he was scouted and drafted into Nagoya Campus’ youth set up. It was here that he decided to play himself in a holding midfield position but was later reverted back to his usual centre back role for the beneficiaries of the team. After spending 8 whole years at Nagoya it was announced in December 2009 that Yoshida was to come in to contact with his first taste of european football, an opportunity the youngster could not turn down.
It was VVV Venlo who bought in to Yoshida’s style of play and were the club to give him the breakthrough that he needed. In 2011 he scored a bicycle kick against PSV Eindhoven which was to be later rewarded as Eredivisie goal of the season in the 2011/12 season, an astonishing achievement for the centre half. He went on to net a further 5 times that season in an incredible year for Venlo and himself. It is with no doubt that Southampton scouts were on Yoshida like a rash after this, and for £3m it seemed to have been a bargain capture for Nigel Adkins’ men. However, Yoshida found his first season in England understandably quite challenging, especially when rumours floating around him suggested Cortese had bought him to bring a lot of Japanese based fans to the club in an attempt to bring global attraction to St Mary’s.
A few naive mistakes by the Japanese International meant he didn’t exactly win over the fans very quickly, but this was to be the end of a negative spell for him and after a steady couple of seasons on and off the bench, he finally netted his first Premier League goal against West Ham away in 2014 which eventually ended up in a disappointing 3-1 defeat. In the December of that season the 27-year-old bagged himself another Premier League goal proving his confidence in what was a remarkable season for the matured defender. His header against Everton in a 3-0 victory over the Toffees provided a boost in fans opinion about him, it is no secret that Yoshida had a very good season last year and was one of the most improved players amongst the team.
More recently he netted in the last round of the Capital One Cup in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa with a superb 20-yard-strike, but just what is the secret behind his recent run of goals for club and country? Yoshida has spoken profoundly about how he has learnt a more English than when he first arrived which has helped him to adapt to surroundings a bit more but also the support of former centre half – Ronald Koeman.
As this article is being wrote Yoshida is under going another challenging time in his career after the buying of Virgil Van Dijk in the summer. This has left Yoshida’s position stranded slightly and now see’s himself down the pecking order for a spot at CB which has forced him into a wider role at right back. The consistent performances of Portuguese international Cedric have also seen chances for Yoshida limited here too, but a suprise start against Sunderland shows Ronald Koeman does not see the Japanese Olympic captain as a weak link in the team what so ever.
But the real question today is where does Yoshida’s future lay? After signing a contract extension in January, until 2018, the Japanese will be hopeful of more first team chances. The contract he signed made him the first Japanese player to sign a second deal at a Premier League team which makes his current stance that he wants to exceed what he has already achieved. He is aiming for better and bigger whilst willing to fight and has bags of confidence on the south coast right now.
Many Saints fans have held a lot of patience with Yoshida which can often mean he is blamed if Southampton have a bad game, however when we look back at his career we have to admire the achievements he has made and appreciate the effort that he puts into his football.
