is a Japanese

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yas ...

side,

Fagiano Okayama is a Japanese football club based in Okayama, the capital of Okayama Prefecture. They play in the J2 League, the second tier of the country's football league system. Their home stadium is City Light Stadium, in Okayama City, though some home ma ...

Early career

He was educated at the

Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name ''Antlers'' is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has fi ...

Junior Youth team and played for Yachiyo High School and Senshu University before moving to Singapore in 2017.

Club career

Albirex Niigata Singapore

Yanagi signed his first professional contract with Albirex Niigata Singapore, a satellite team of

J.League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successfu ...

side Albirex Niigata, playing in the top tier of football in Singapore, the S.League. Yanagi's stellar performances for the White Swans earned him a spot in the Singapore Selection side that took on

Selangor FA Selangor Football Club (Malay: ''Kelab Bola Sepak Selangor''), commonly referred to as Selangor F.C. is a Malaysian professional football club based in the city of Shah Alam, Selangor, that currently competes in the Malaysia Super League, the ...

in the annual Sultan of Selangor's Cup. During the September international break, he was selected to participate in a week-long training stint with his parent club. He traveled to Niigata prefecture with club captain

Shuto Inaba is a Japanese football player. He is a midfielder currently playing for Blaublitz Akita. Personal life He graduated with first-class honours in Sports Science from Fukuoka University. Career Singapore He signed for Albirex Niigata FC (Singap ...

and the duo trained with the first team, playing in a training match against

Iwaki FC is a football (soccer) club based in Iwaki, a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The club will play in J2 League from 2023 season, which is the 2nd level in the Japanese football pyramid. History Founder Club Iwaki FC was founded in 20 ...

, a non-J League team. He played a total of 22 league games for the White Swans and scored 2 goals as they claimed the quadruple for the second consecutive year. His importance for the team is highlighted in the fact that he White Swans’ only two losses came when he was not on the field.

Albirex Niigata

Following his stellar performances for the White Swans' satellite club, Yanagi was given a chance to prove himself and has joined the White Swans' parent club for the upcoming

2018 J2 League The 2018 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (2018 明治安田生命J2リーグ) season was the 47th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 20th season since the establishment of J2 League. Clubs The participating clubs are listed in the f ...

season.

Tochigi SC

In 2020, it was originally registered with Albirex Niigata. However, on 11 February 2020, he joined

Tochigi SC , commonly referred to as Tochigi SC are a football club based in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. They currently play in the J2 League. History Teachers in Tochigi Prefecture founded the club in 1953. They were initially called self-exp ...

with a one-year loan transfer.On 16 December of the same year, he scored his sixth goal of the season against

JEF United Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as ...

in Matchweek 41. This was the first J-League goal scored at

Kanseki Stadium Tochigi is a multi-purpose stadium at the Tochigi Prefectural General Sports Park in Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific ...

, where the J.League official game was held for the first time on the same day.On 29 December 2020, Yanagi permanently transfer to

after loan from Albirex Niigata has been expired.

Fagiano Okayama

On 6 January 2022, Yanagi joined to J2 club,

from

as a permanent transfer after playing the full 90 minutes of 42 matches in the J2 League with Tochigi SC.

Career statistics

Club

.Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社
"J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)"
7 February 2018, Japan, (p. 161 out of 289)

Honours

Club

Albirex Niigata Singapore * S.League:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

* Singapore Cup:

* Singapore League Cup:

* Singapore Community Shield:

References

External links

* *
Profile at Albirex NiigataProfile at Fagiano Okayama
1994 births Living people Japanese men's footballers Singapore Premier League players Albirex Niigata Singapore FC players J2 League players Albirex Niigata players category:Tochigi SC players category:Fagiano Okayama players Men's association football midfielders Association football people from Chiba (city) {{Japan-footy-defender-1990s-stub