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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Kyoto Sanga FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist templ ...

Club career

Kashima Antlers

In 2013, Toyokawa started playing for

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 ...

in the

J. League Division 1 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 Football Confederation, Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promot ...

. He made his debut for the club in a 4–0 away win against

Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League and play their home games in JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu. The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French roo ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win against Sagan Tosu. He also had a loan spell at

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 ...

where he scored 20 goals in 80 games in all competitions over a two-year loan spell.

Eupen

On 5 January 2018,

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

side

Eupen Eupen (, ; ; formerly ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border (Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the "High Fens" na ...

managed by

Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently a youth coach and technical mentor at Chelsea, having formerly been the head co ...

announced they had signed Toyokawa from English side Leeds United on loan. However, after Leeds denied they had signed Toyokawa, on 21 January 2018, Eupen (who are owned by

Aspire Academy Aspire Academy ( ar, أكاديمية أسباير, Akādīmiyat 'Asbāyr) is a sports academy based in the Aspire Zone in Qatar, founded in 2004 with the goal to scout and help develop Qatari athletes, whilst also providing them with secondary ...

who also have an official partnership with Leeds United), confirmed they had in fact signed Toyokawa directly from

on an 18-month deal but had held 'consultation' with Leeds United prior to signing the player. He made his debut for

as a substitute on 17 February against

Zulte Waregem Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (), is a Belgian professional football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. Zulte Waregem plays in the Belgian First Division A. Their highest finish a ...

in a 3–2 defeat. On 11 March 2018, Toyokawa became a cult hero at Eupen, on the final day of the Belgium

Jupiler Pro League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

season, Eupen drawing 0–0 against

Royal Excel Mouscron Royal Excel Mouscron (, ), commonly known as Mouscron or familiarly as REM, was a Belgian professional football club based in Mouscron. The team was formed as ''Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz'' in the spring of 2010 as a result of the merging between ...

with 20 minutes to go, were in the relegation position with relegation rivals KV Mechelen 2–0 up and thus KV Mechelen were at that point staying up on 'goal difference', Eupen needing four goals brought on Toyokawa in the 57th minute. He scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

and also gained an assist for Eupen in the final 17 minutes of the game against Mouscron to earn

a 4–0 victory and to stay up by a one goal better goal difference. With the league splitting into qualification for European places in the

2017–18 Belgian First Division A The 2017–18 Belgian First Division A was the 115th season of top-tier football in Belgium. The season began on 28 July 2017 and concluded on 20 May 2018. The fixtures were announced in early June 2017. Anderlecht were the defending champions b ...

, Toyokawa scored a further 4 goals in 8 games, taking his tally for the 2017–18 season to 8 goals in 12 games for

International career

Toyokawa has represented Japan U23's and was part of the Japan U23's that won the

AFC U-23 Championship The AFC U-23 Asian Cup, previously the AFC U-22 Championship (in 2013) and AFC U-23 Championship (between 2016 and 2020), is a biennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 ...

on 31 January 2016, he played in the final for Japan U23's as a substitute in a 3–2 victory against South Korea U23.

Honours

International

Japan U-23 *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Career statistics

Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社
"2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)"
8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 176 out of 289)

¹Includes J2 Playoffs and Belgian First Division A Playoff

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toyokawa, Yuta 1994 births Living people Association football forwards Association football people from Kumamoto Prefecture Japanese footballers Japanese expatriate footballers J1 League players J2 League players J3 League players Belgian Pro League players Kashima Antlers players Fagiano Okayama players J.League U-22 Selection players K.A.S. Eupen players Cerezo Osaka players category:Kyoto Sanga FC players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium