is a Japanese professional
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 ...
who plays as a
forward or
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
Major League Soccer club
FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
.
Club career
At the age of six, Yuya Kubo started playing football for FC Yamaguchi, a local club based in his home city
Yamaguchi. From 2006 to 2008, he played at Konan Junior High School.
Kyoto Sanga
In 2009, at the age of fifteen, Kubo began to play in the
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 ...
U-18 team while he was still a high school student. In August 2010, he was promoted to the first-team at the age of sixteen.
In the 2011–12 season, he mainly played for the first-team scoring 13 goals in 33 matches. He was a key player in the Kyoto Sanga FC team which reached the
2011 Emperor's Cup
The was a regular edition of an annual Japanese national cup tournament. It started on 3 September 2011 and ended on 1 January 2012 with the final at National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, won by FC Tokyo 4–2 against Kyoto Sanga.
The cup winner wer ...
final scoring in extra time of the semi-final against
Yokohama Marinos
is a Japanese People, Japanese professional association football, football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in Japan, football in t ...
, breaking the 2–2 deadlock in a match which Sanga would go on to win 4–2. He also scored in the final against
FC Tokyo, coming off the bench as he did in the semi-final. His goal was in vain this time however, as FC Tokyo won the match 2–4.
In the 2012–13 season, Kyoto Sanga announced an update to Kubo's contract improving it to pay him as a first team member.
Europe
On 18 June 2013, Kyoto Sanga announced Kubo's transfer to Swiss club
BSC Young Boys. He made his
Swiss Super League debut on 13 July playing 19 minutes in a 2–0 win against FC Sion at the season opener. On 28 July 2013, he scored two goals and made one assist coming off the bench against FC Thun in a 3–2 win. It was his first goal in his third game in the Swiss Super League.
On 25 January 2017, Kubo was acquired by Belgian club
K.A.A. Gent for a transfer fee of €3.5 million. He started in all seven remaining games of the regular season, having an immediate impact by scoring five goals.
In August 2018, Kubo joined
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
side
1. FC Nürnberg on loan for the 2018–19 season. While his Gent contract was also extended, Nürnberg secured an option to sign him permanently.
United States
On 9 January 2020, Kubo joined
MLS
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
side
FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
as a
designated player
The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...
. On 1 March 2020, he made his FC Cincinnati debut against the
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
.
National team
Kubo has been involved in the
Japan National Team from U-16 to U-23 level. He received his first call up to the senior team for the Kirin Challenge Cup, a friendly match against
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
in February 2012, however he did not feature during the 90 minutes.
On 11 November 2016, he made his full international debut for
Japan against
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
in the Kirin Challenge Cup 2016.
On 23 March 2017, he scored one goal and gave one assist in 0–2 win over
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
in
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...
. It was his first goal in his third game for
Japan.
On 28 March 2017, he scored one goal and added two assists in a 4–0 victory over
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
in
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...
.
Career statistics
Club
.
International
International goals
:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.''
Honours
Kyoto Sanga FC
*
Emperor's Cup Runner-up :
2011
Japan U-23
*
AFC U-23 Championship Champions:
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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
FC Cincinnati
*
Supporters' Shield:
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
* at
BSC Young Boys Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kubo, Yuya
1993 births
Living people
Association football people from Yamaguchi Prefecture
Men's association football forwards
Japanese men's footballers
Japan men's youth international footballers
Japan men's international footballers
J2 League players
Swiss Super League players
Belgian Pro League players
Kyoto Sanga FC players
BSC Young Boys players
K.A.A. Gent players
1. FC Nürnberg players
FC Cincinnati players
Japanese expatriate men's footballers
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Bundesliga players
Designated Players (MLS)
Major League Soccer players