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 for

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 s ...

in the J1 League. He plays as a forward or a winger.

Club career

Gamba Osaka

Usami made club history by making his professional debut for

at the age of 17 years and 14 days and scoring a goal in the same match to become the youngest player to achieve both feats for the club, breaking the records previously set by Junichi Inamoto. Usami made his professional debut and goal on 20 May 2009 against FC Seoul in the Champions League. He finished the 2009 season with a goal in four matches played, which includes three league matches, and a Champions League match. In 2010, he became a more regular face in the Gamba Osaka team and he was named as Best Young Player by the J. League at the annual awards ceremony on 6 December.

Bayern Munich

In June 2011, it was confirmed that Usami would be loaned out to Bayern Munich, with an option to buy next summer. He joined the club in mid-July. Usami told the media in a news conference that a chance like that did not come every day, and that he was looking forward to this big challenge. When he was asked about Bayern's current first-team players, he said: "I want to improve my skills to the point, where I can take their places." Usami scored his first competitive goal for the Bavarians on 26 October 2011, in a DFB Cup match against FC Ingolstadt, after coming off the bench in the 73rd minute.

1899 Hoffenheim

Usami scored two goals in 21 matches played for

1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 189 ...

FC Augsburg

2016–17 season

Usami joined Augsburg in the summer of 2016. He played in 11 matches during the 2016–17 season.

Loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf

Usami was loaned to

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

for the 2017–18 season. He played a key role in helping them gain promotion to the Bundesliga. He finished the 2017–18 season with eight goals in 28 matches played.

2018–19 season

Usami returned to Augsburg for the 2018–19 season.

Second loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf

On 4 August 2018, Usami rejoined Fortuna Düsseldorf on a season-long loan for the 2018–19 season.

International career

In October 2009, Usami was elected Japan U17 national team for 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He played all three matches. In July 2012, he was elected Japan U23 national team for 2012 Summer Olympics. He played four matches and Japan won the fourth place. Usami debuted for Japan in a friendly 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 , ...

on 27 March 2015. He scored his debut goal in a friendly match against

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

on 31 March 2015. In May 2018 he was named in Japan's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Usami goal.''

Honours

Gamba Osaka * J1 League:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* J2 League:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

* Emperor's Cup:

, 2015 *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of Y ...

Japanese Super Cup The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association (JFA). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the r ...

: 2015 Bayern Munich *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

runner-up: 2011–12 *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

runner-up: 2011–12 Individual * J.League Rookie of the Year: 2010 * J.League Cup New Hero Award:

J.League Best Eleven The J.League Best XI is an acknowledgement of the best eleven players in J.League. J1 League (1993–present) Multiple appearances Appearances by club Appearances by country * Only in two occasions there was a full-Japanese Best XI (20 ...

, 2015

References

External links

* * *
Takashi Usami
at

official site
Takashi Usami
at

Yahoo! Japan is a Japanese internet company originally formed as a joint venture between the American internet company Yahoo! (later divested by Verizon into Altaba) and the Japanese company SoftBank. It is headquartered at Kioi Tower in the Tokyo Garden Te ...

sports * {{DEFAULTSORT:Usami, Takashi 1992 births Living people Association football people from Kyoto Prefecture Association football forwards Association football midfielders Japanese footballers Japan youth international footballers Japan international footballers J1 League players J2 League players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Gamba Osaka players FC Bayern Munich footballers FC Bayern Munich II players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players FC Augsburg players Fortuna Düsseldorf players Olympic footballers of Japan Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Japanese expatriate footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany 2018 FIFA World Cup players