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, rugb ...

who will play as a

defensive 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 boundari ...

or 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 ...

for

Belgian 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 tea ...

club

OH Leuven Oud-Heverlee Leuven (), also called OH Leuven or OHL, is a Belgian football club from the city of Leuven. It was created in 2002 from the merger of three clubs, '' F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee'', whose registration number it inherited, '' ...

Club career

Converted to a central midfielder during his time in

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country. Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with ...

's youth ranks, after a short trial he was fully promoted to first team of Verdy in 2015. In January 2016, Misao signed 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 fin ...

. He was chosen as one of the candidates for award 2018 Asian Footballer of the Year. After consistently good seasons at

, he experienced a different role on his last season with the club. Since

Mitsuo Ogasawara is a Japanese former. professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Japan national team. Club career Ogasawara was born in Morioka on April 5, 1979. After graduating from high school, he joined J1 League club Kashima Antlers ...

's retirement on 2018, he started several matches wearing the captain's armband, despite the relatively young age for a player to be named captain. On 2022, due to many problems regarding the back-line underperformances at the start of the season, Misao had to switch his position, playing as a center-back for the most part of the season. After showcasing his versatility and consistency at the Antlers, Misao was considered by Santa Clara as "a polivalent midfielder, who despite having better defensive proficiency, can also play in less defensive roles in the midfield." In December 2022, the then 26-year old Misao was announced for them as a 2022–23 new mid-season signing, coming in an initial transfer period of one season and a half, with an option to extend his contract for another two seasons.

International career

In October 2013, Misao was elected for the Japan U-17 national team, as part of the 2013 U-17 World Cup squad. He featured in 2 matches in the tournament. In May 2018, he was named in Japan's preliminary squad for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. However, Japan's manager Akira Nishino did not select Misao into the final 23-player squad.

Career statistics

Club

International

Personal life

His elder brother Yuto is also a professional footballer.

References

External links

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Profile at Kashima Antlers
1996 births Living people Association football people from Tokyo Metropolis Japanese men's footballers Japanese expatriate men's footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal J1 League players J2 League players Primeira Liga players Belgian Pro League players Tokyo Verdy players Kashima Antlers players C.D. Santa Clara players Oud-Heverlee Leuven players Men's association football midfielders Japan men's international footballers People from Musashino, Tokyo {{Japan-footy-midfielder-1990s-stub