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 plays as a winger or a forward for

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 footb ...

club VfL Bochum and the Japan national team. His younger brother

Yuya Yuya (sometimes Iouiya, or Yuaa, also known as Yaa, Ya, Yiya, Yayi, Yu, Yuyu, Yaya, Yiay, Yia, and Yuy) was a powerful ancient Egyptian courtier during the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (circa 1390 BC). He was married to Thuya, an Egyptian noble ...

is also a professional footballer currently playing for

J1 League 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 club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the ...

side

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the c ...

Club career

Sanfrecce Hiroshima

After attending Yokkaichi Chuo Technical High School, Asano joined

at the age of 18 in January 2013. He went on to win the

in his debut season, making one appearance in the process. Asano went on to win the

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 ...

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 wa ...

, while starting to break into the squad for the J1 League. He helped the side lift the league title for a second time in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, this time adding nine goals in 34 appearances. Due to his performances, Asano was named the J1 League Rookie of the Year.

Arsenal

On 3 July 2016, Asano was announced as

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

's second signing of the season, subject to a medical and international clearance. Manager

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...

described him as "a talented young striker and very much one for the future". However, Asano was refused a work permit to play in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

Loan to VfB Stuttgart

On 26 August 2016, Asano was loaned out to

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

until the end of the season with an option for a further year. He made his debut in a 2–1 home loss to

1. FC Heidenheim 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 is a German association football club from the city of Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg. History The current day club was formed in 2007 through the separation of the football section from parent association ''Heidenheimer ...

two weeks later. On 9 April 2017, Asano scored a brace to give his side a 2–0 win over

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the ...

. He helped the team win the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

and take promotion to the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

. On 22 June 2017, the loan deal with Stuttgart was extended for another season.

Loan to Hannover 96

On 23 May 2018, Asano was sent on season-long loan to Bundesliga side

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...

Partizan

On 1 August 2019, Asano completed his move to Serbian club Partizan. He signed a three-year contract and was given the number 11 shirt, while becoming the first Japanese player in club history. Asano scored on his debut in an eventual 3–1 home win over Turkish club

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya, Turkey. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country. History Founded in 1986 as Malatya Belediyespor. Its prim ...

in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round. He entered the field at the beginning of the second half instead of

Filip Stevanović Filip Stevanović (; born 25 September 2002) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Dutch side RKC Waalwijk on loan from Premier League club Manchester City. Club career Born in Arilje, he made his first footballing ...

and scored his first goal for the club in the 67th minute. Partizan eliminated Yeni Malatyaspor and then the Norwegian

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of t ...

, thus qualifying for the

Group L A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

of the Europa League, with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...

and

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

as their opponents. Asano played in all European matches for Partizan this season and was also the scorer in the draw with AZ in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

(2–2) and in the victory over Astana (4–1) in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

. Partizan finished on second place in the

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

, behind

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

, and Asano scored four goals in 23 league games. He also appeared in four games in the

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup ...

, scoring two goals, both in the quarter-final match against Radnik Surdulica. However, Partizan did not manage to win the trophy in the Cup, as they were defeated by

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

in the final game after a penalty shoot-out. In the 2020/21 season Partizan did not qualify for the group stage of the Europa League. After eliminating the Latvian RFS and the Romanian Sfîntul Gheorghe, the club was defeated by the Belgian

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

in the third round. Asano appeared in all three European matches (only played one match each due to the pandemic), did not score a goal but recorded an assist to Seydouba Soumah for the only goal in the 2–1 away defeat against Charleroi after extra time. Having scored 18 goals in 33 league matches for Partizan in the ongoing championship, Asano announced on 2 May 2021 that he had rescinded his contract with the club.

VfL Bochum

On 23 June 2021, VfL Bochum 1848 announced the club have signed Asano who was on free agent.

International career

Youth

At youth level, Asano won a gold medal at the

2016 AFC U-23 Championship The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2016 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the second edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) fo ...

, scoring a brace against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

to give his side a 3–2 win in the final. He also represented

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

at the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, netting two goals in the tournament, as the team exited in the group stage.

Senior

On 7 May 2015, Asano was invited by

manager

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various na ...

for a two-day training camp. He was subsequently called up to the team for the upcoming

2015 EAFF East Asian Cup The 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup was the 6th edition of the EAFF East Asian Cup, the football championship of East Asia. It was held in China in 2015. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2014. First preliminary round *All matches were p ...

. Asano scored his first goal for ''Samurai Blue'' in a 7–2 win over

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

at the 2016

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...

. In March 2018, manager

left out Asano and

Yosuke Ideguchi is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Celtic and for the Japan national team. He has previously represented Japan at Under-19 and Under-23 youth levels. Club career Gamba Osaka Ideguchi started his youth ...

for friendly matches with

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

in preparations 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 ...

due to lack of playing time at club level, commenting, "It makes me sad that Asano and Ideguchi are not playing. They were the heroes of our qualifying game against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. They haven't been chosen this time, and if things continue the way they are, there is a chance that they won't be chosen for the World Cup". In May, Asano was named in Japan's preliminary squad for the World Cup, but failed to make the final cut. In his first match in the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first ...

, Asano scored a goal in the 83rd minute to give Japan an upset victory over Germany.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Sanfrecce Hiroshima *

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 ...

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 ...

VfB Stuttgart *

: 2016–17 Japan' *

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 n ...

Individual * J.League Rookie of the Year:

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asano, Takuma 2. Bundesliga players Arsenal F.C. players Association football forwards Bundesliga players Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Serbia FK Partizan players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Hannover 96 players J.League U-22 Selection players J1 League players J3 League players Japan international footballers Japan youth international footballers Japanese expatriate footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Japanese footballers Olympic footballers of Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima players Serbian SuperLiga players VfB Stuttgart II players VfB Stuttgart players VfL Bochum players 1994 births Living people People from Komono 2022 FIFA World Cup players