Japanese Football is very education oriented. Many players sacrifice their early teenage years of academy football to study - but it does not mean they stop playing. From a scout’s perspective, this type of football should be viewed through a positive lens. Players have education and solid foundation to uphold success in football and everyday life.
A modern scout is forward thinking, innovative and willing to explore what people call “unique selling points”. This is a niche - essentially something that sets the search apart from the usual French techy dribblers, or physical Italian defenders - you get the gist. We are looking at small details, subtle areas where talent develops, and often overlooked places which we can help develop. Scouts can be developers of talent and community, in a way.
With the current viewing of the ongoing Denso Cup (which Japan was selected to host, this year), there is a quality showing of footballers from all sorts of different universities competing at a high level, representing Japan in organised teams against Korean players.
The teams are organised into the regions of Japan. For example, the Kanto Region’s A team has been dominating the tournament with only one loss and three wins. However not all teams are based on regions - there is also a whole Japan High School Select team, who compete to give their players early experience of top quality football.
Korean University footballers are also present with teams sent to represent their side in Japan, testing themselves against talent from the neighbouring country. Most recently, the Japan University XI won against their Korean counterparts in a narrow but hotly contested 1-0 result.
However, competitions such as the Denso Cup are often overlooked by scouts and football professionals. Outside of the box thinking will lead you to notice one crucial detail…
Japanese footballers often come from university backgrounds - players like Kaoru Mitoma could have been found much earlier if one paid attention to the university level in Japan.
To be able to find out more about such footballers, a scout should look further into familiarizing themselves with the teams, common tactical trends, names which may pop up on the scoresheet or in conversations now and then.
Paying attention and developing your own player database, and take a look at some of the potential stars currently in university football;
Rei Shimano (21 y/o) - Meiji University - CDM
One of the standout midfielders at Meiji University. Shimano expresses a physical presence in the midfield while also having a very good standard of technical prowess and tactical understanding.
Sota Fujimori (21 y/o) - Meiji University - RM
Fujimori Sota stayed behind when teammate Issei Kumatoriya was snapped up by Tokyo Verdy (J-1). My theory is that Fujimori’s talent will be the next to be noticed by high level scouts, but what if we jump first?
Ginjiro Ikegaya (21 y/o) - Tsukuba University - RB
A tactically intelligent player with a forth-going mindset - Ikegaya can often be seen flying down the right wing to create opportunities for his team. However on defence, he seems like a very important piece of the defence.
While reporting on such games, what would be most impressive is the display of niche content. Names which may fall into comparison during a game between certain universities would help paint a good idea in a readers’ head.
In question, the readers for scouting reports are clubs, delegates and other scouts - being punctual in the description of such a niche league would help create a good idea of the potential that could be grown.
Would you like to access full matches of the tournament and the complete player database, allowing you to watch every game of the competition? Contact us for more information! info@thescoutingapp.com
Written by : Adam Błoszko
A modern scout is forward thinking, innovative and willing to explore what people call “unique selling points”. This is a niche - essentially something that sets the search apart from the usual French techy dribblers, or physical Italian defenders - you get the gist. We are looking at small details, subtle areas where talent develops, and often overlooked places which we can help develop. Scouts can be developers of talent and community, in a way.
With the current viewing of the ongoing Denso Cup (which Japan was selected to host, this year), there is a quality showing of footballers from all sorts of different universities competing at a high level, representing Japan in organised teams against Korean players.
The teams are organised into the regions of Japan. For example, the Kanto Region’s A team has been dominating the tournament with only one loss and three wins. However not all teams are based on regions - there is also a whole Japan High School Select team, who compete to give their players early experience of top quality football.
Korean University footballers are also present with teams sent to represent their side in Japan, testing themselves against talent from the neighbouring country. Most recently, the Japan University XI won against their Korean counterparts in a narrow but hotly contested 1-0 result.
However, competitions such as the Denso Cup are often overlooked by scouts and football professionals. Outside of the box thinking will lead you to notice one crucial detail…
Japanese footballers often come from university backgrounds - players like Kaoru Mitoma could have been found much earlier if one paid attention to the university level in Japan.
To be able to find out more about such footballers, a scout should look further into familiarizing themselves with the teams, common tactical trends, names which may pop up on the scoresheet or in conversations now and then.
Paying attention and developing your own player database, and take a look at some of the potential stars currently in university football;
Rei Shimano (21 y/o) - Meiji University - CDM
One of the standout midfielders at Meiji University. Shimano expresses a physical presence in the midfield while also having a very good standard of technical prowess and tactical understanding.
Sota Fujimori (21 y/o) - Meiji University - RM
Fujimori Sota stayed behind when teammate Issei Kumatoriya was snapped up by Tokyo Verdy (J-1). My theory is that Fujimori’s talent will be the next to be noticed by high level scouts, but what if we jump first?
Ginjiro Ikegaya (21 y/o) - Tsukuba University - RB
A tactically intelligent player with a forth-going mindset - Ikegaya can often be seen flying down the right wing to create opportunities for his team. However on defence, he seems like a very important piece of the defence.
While reporting on such games, what would be most impressive is the display of niche content. Names which may fall into comparison during a game between certain universities would help paint a good idea in a readers’ head.
In question, the readers for scouting reports are clubs, delegates and other scouts - being punctual in the description of such a niche league would help create a good idea of the potential that could be grown.
Would you like to access full matches of the tournament and the complete player database, allowing you to watch every game of the competition? Contact us for more information! info@thescoutingapp.com
Written by : Adam Błoszko