Ryuji Izumi
Personal information
Full name Ryuji Izumi
Date of birth (1993-11-06) 6 November 1993 (age 30)
Place of birth Yokkaichi, Mie, Japan
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Nagoya Grampus
Number 7
Youth career
Funabashi Municipal High School
2012–2015 Meiji University FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Nagoya Grampus 116 (10)
2020–2022 Kashima Antlers 80 (5)
2023– Nagoya Grampus 31 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:20, 9 November 2022 (UTC)

Ryuji Izumi (和泉 竜司, Izumi Ryūji, born 6 November 1993) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a winger for J1 League club Nagoya Grampus.[1]

Youth career

Funabashi Municipal High School

Representing Funabashi Municipal High School, Izumi captained the side that won the 2011 All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, scoring two goals in the final itself[2] and was voted the MVP of the tournament.[3] After the tournament, it was said that Izumi had "beautiful technique and superb judgement", with expectations high for his future career.[4] Playing as a forward, he scored 13 goals in 15 games for his school.

Meiji University

Izumi then went on to play for Meiji University, where he played a number of different positions in his four years.[5] He was the team's top scorer in both his second and fourth years, ending with an impressive 41 goals in 83 appearances for his university overall.[6] He also was chosen as part of the Best XI in the JUFA Kanto League 1 in his final year.[7] In 2015, he represented Japan at University level at the FISU Summer Universiade in Gwangju[8] – where he played 5 games and scored one goal.[9]

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.[10] 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.[5] 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.[11] He also scored his first professional goal in his debut season, scoring in a 3-1 league win over Yokohama F. Marinos.[12] 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.[13] 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[14] – Nagoya were promoted due to their higher league position.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17][18]

Kashima Antlers

In January 2020, it was announced that Izumi would be joining Kashima Antlers and would take the number 11 shirt.[19] Kashima had been interested in Izumi since his time at Meiji University, with Kashima's chief scout Kuniichi Shiimoto appreciating his versatility by describing him as a 'player who can do anything'. Izumi himself stated his desire to become a central figure in the team.[20] He made his debut for the club in the same month, starting on the left-wing in the AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs, where Kashima fell to a 1-0 defeat to Melbourne Victory.[21] He went on to make 30 appearances across all competitions in his debut season for Kashima, as they achieved a 5th place league finish.

Izumi made 99 appearances over three seasons for Kashima as he helped them to two fourth-placed league finishes in 2021 and 2022. He scored seven goals in his time at the club.

Return to Nagoya Grampus

In December 2022, it was announced that Izumi would be rejoining Nagoya Grampus for the 2023 season.[22]

Career statistics

As of 9 November 2022[23][24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Japan League Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Other Total
Nagoya Grampus 2016 J1 League 14 1 1 0 2 0 - 17 1
2017 J2 League 39 1 2 0 - 2[a] 0 43 1
2018 J1 League 32 2 2 0 3 0 - 37 2
2019 31 6 0 0 6 0 - 37 6
Total 116 10 5 0 11 0 2 0 134 10
Kashima Antlers 2020 J1 League 27 3 0 0 2 0 1[b] 0 30 3
2021 23 1 3 0 3 1 - 29 2
2022 30 1 3 1 7 0 - 40 2
Total 80 5 6 1 12 1 1 0 99 7
Career total 196 15 11 1 23 1 3 0 233 17
Notes
  1. ^ Appearances in the J1 League Promotion Playoffs
  2. ^ Appearances in the AFC Champions League

References

  1. ^ "和泉 竜司：鹿島アントラーズ：Ｊリーグ.jp". Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Funabashi caps stunning comeback to win All Japan High School Soccer Tournament | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ co., Ltd, FromOne (10 January 2012). "高校サッカーファン2600人が選ぶ選手権MVPは市立船橋の和泉竜司". サッカーキング (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  4. ^ "The next Ryo Miyaichi: Five standouts from the All-Japan High School Soccer Tournament | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b co., Ltd, FromOne (21 December 2015). "選手権優勝から4年、明治大不動のエースが名古屋へ。スター街道を歩む和泉竜司「4つのクラブからグランパスを選んだ」". サッカーキング (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Soccer D.B. : Ryuji Izumi All-Time Record". Soccer D.B. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Soccer D.B. : 2015 JUFA Kanto League 1". Soccer D.B. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Japan Universiade national team squad, schedule - 28th Summer Universiade 2015 Gwangju (6/28 - 7/14)". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Unversiade Gwangju 2015 – Individual Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  10. ^ "特別指定選手制度|選手育成｜JFA｜日本サッカー協会". www.jfa.jp. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Omiya Ardija vs. Nagoya Grampus". uk.soccerway.com. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Nagoya Grampus vs. Yokohama F. Marinos". uk.soccerway.com. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Soccer D.B. : Nagoya Grampus Formation". Soccer D.B. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Nagoya Grampus vs. Avispa Fukuoka". uk.soccerway.com. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Grampus come through playoff to seal return to J. League top flight". The Japan Times. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Summary - J1 League - Japan - Results, fixtures, tables and news". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  17. ^ "名古屋11戦ぶりの勝利へ、MF和泉竜司の２発で川崎に２点リードで後半へ！ | サッカーダイジェストWeb". www.soccerdigestweb.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  18. ^ "【公式】ハイライト：名古屋グランパスvs川崎フロンターレ 明治安田生命Ｊ１リーグ 第22節 2019/8/10". YouTube. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  19. ^ "和泉選手の加入について | 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト". 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト | Kashima Antlers (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  20. ^ "鹿島がどうしても欲しかった男。MF和泉竜司「中核を担わないと」（安藤隆人）". Number Web - ナンバー (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Kashima Antlers vs. Melbourne Victory". uk.soccerway.com. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  22. ^ "和泉 竜司選手、移籍加入のお知らせ｜ニュース｜名古屋グランパス公式サイト". 名古屋グランパス公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  23. ^ "R.Izumi". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  24. ^ "Soccer D.B. : 2022 Ryuji Izumi Result by Season". Soccer D.B. Retrieved 9 November 2022.

External links

Nagoya Grampus – current squad
Categories