is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He is currently contracted to

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

although he also turns out for their reserve side,

Gamba Osaka U-23 Gamba Osaka Under−23 was a Japanese football team based in Suita, Osaka. It was the reserve team of Gamba Osaka and played in J3 League which they have done since their entry to the league at the beginning of the 2016 season. They played t ...

, in

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan. The third-tier nationwide league is a relatively recent development in Japanese football with a first attempt ...

. He is a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Club career

Born and raised in Osaka, Hayashi came up through the youth ranks at Gamba Osaka and signed his first professional contract with the club ahead of the 2015 season. He didn't make any senior appearances through his first 3 seasons with the top team squad and eventually made his J.League debut on 21 April 2018 as a 16th minute substitute for the injured

Masaaki Higashiguchi is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Gamba Osaka and the Japan national football team. He previously played for Albirex Niigata. Club career A native of Osaka, Higashiguchi spent time in Gamba Osaka's youth syste ...

in the

Osaka derby The Osaka derby is a commonly occurring football fixture in Japan, which takes place between teams from Osaka Prefecture. Currently the derby is contested by Cerezo Osaka (based in Osaka) and Gamba Osaka (based in Suita). History In the 1970 ...

match against

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. ...

. Gamba won the game 1-0 thanks to

Hwang Ui-jo Hwang Ui-jo ( ko, 황의조; born 28 August 1992) is a South Korean professional association football, footballer who plays as forward (association football), forward for K League 1 club FC Seoul, on loan from Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingha ...

's first-half penalty. Owing to Higashiguchi's ongoing injury problems, Hayashi played 7 times in J1 and kept 2 clean sheets. He also played another 6 games in the cup competitions, 5 in the J.League Cup and once in the Emperor's Cup. Gamba launched an under-23 side in J3 League in J3 and Hayashi was part of a goalkeeping rotation which saw him play 13 times. He went on to become first choice 'keeper in 2017 playing 28 out of 32 games in what was a disappointing season that culminated in a 16th-place finish. 2018 was more successful for Gamba Under-23, finishing 6th in the final standings, however, by this time Hayashi was now officially Gamba's J1 team backup goalkeeper and his reserve appearances were limited to just 4 games.

National team career

In October 2013, Hayashi was elected Japan U-17 national team for 2013 U-17 World Cup. He played 1 match against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Club statistics

Last update: ''2 December 2018''

Reserves performance

References

External links

* * 1996 births Living people Association football people from Osaka Prefecture Japanese footballers J1 League players J2 League players J3 League players Gamba Osaka players Gamba Osaka U-23 players Renofa Yamaguchi FC players Sportspeople from Osaka Men's association football goalkeepers {{Japan-footy-goalkeeper-stub