Takashi Inui

Takashi Inui (乾 貴士, Inui Takashi, born 2 June 1988) is a Japanese footballer who plays for Spanish club SD Eibar and the Japan national football team as a winger or attacking midfielder.

Takashi Inui
Inui with Japan at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-06-02) 2 June 1988
Place of birth Ōmihachiman, Japan
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Winger / Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Eibar
Number 22
Youth career
1995–2004 Saison Football Club
2004–2006 Yasu High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Yokohama F. Marinos 7 (0)
2008 → Cerezo Osaka (loan) 20 (6)
2009–2011 Cerezo Osaka 94 (29)
2011–2012 VfL Bochum 30 (7)
2012–2015 Eintracht Frankfurt 75 (7)
2015–2018 Eibar 89 (11)
2018–2019 Betis 8 (0)
2019 → Alavés (loan) 12 (2)
2019– Eibar 13 (1)
National team‡
2006 Japan U21 2 (0)
2009– Japan 36 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2019

Club career

Inui was the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament Letterwinner in 2006 when his high school, Shiga Yasu HS, won the tournament.[2]

In 2007, Inui joined Yokohama F. Marinos of the J. League Division 1 and made his debut as a professional against Yokohama F.C. in a league match on 10 March. However, he failed to find a regular spot at Marinos and was loaned to then J. League Division 2 Cerezo Osaka in June 2008, earning himself a permanent move at the end of the season.[3]

In July 2011, Inui made the jump to Europe, joining Germany's VfL Bochum.[4] He made his debut in the 2. Bundesliga, when he started in a 1–2 home defeat versus FC St. Pauli on 13 August 2011.

Inui signing autographs with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2013

In July 2012, Inui signed a three-year contract with newly promoted Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt after impressive performance in the German second tier.[5]

Eibar

On 26 August 2015, Inui was transferred to La Liga side SD Eibar for a then club record fees of € 300,000, after agreeing to a three-year contract.[6][7] He became the first Asian player to play for the club. On moving to Eibar, Inui said, “It was always my dream to play in the Spanish league one day. It’s been my dream since I was a child and now it’s come true”.[8]

Takashi made his debut for Eibar on 23 September 2015, starting and providing one assist in a 2–2 draw against Levante. He scored his first league goal for Eibar on 10 January 2016 in a 2–1 win against RCD Espanyol, scoring the first goal in the 15th minute of game and also providing assist for second goal.

In April 2017, as the club was chasing a UEFA Europa League place, he was controversially called back to his homeland by Japan's prime minister to serve as a delegate for the visit of King Felipe VI of Spain to Japan.[9] On 21 May 2017, Inui became the first Japanese footballer to score against FC Barcelona, sniping the ball via cross-bar behind Ter Stegen, twice.[10]

Real Betis

On 1 June 2018, upon expiration of his Eibar contract, Inui joined Real Betis on a free transfer for a three-year deal.[11] He made his debut for Betis on August 17 2018, coming on as a substitute for William Carvalho for the last 25 minutes in 3–0 loss against Levante.

Alavés (loan)

The following 24 January, after being sparingly used, he moved to fellow league Deportivo Alavés on loan until the end of the season.[12] He made his debut for Alavés on 11 January 2019 in a 2–0 win Levante. He scored his first goal for Alavés on March 2 2019 in a 2–1 victory against Villarreal.

Return to Eibar

On 24 July 2019, Inui returned to Eibar on a three-year deal,[13] for a fee of € 2 million.[14]

International career

Inui made his full international debut for Japan on 20 January 2009 in a 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification against Yemen.[15] In May 2018 he was named in Japan's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[16] On 24 June, Inui scored his first World Cup goal in a 2–2 draw over Senegal during their second group stage match of the tournament. Inui went on to score another goal and registered an assist in the tournament.[17]

Career statistics

Club
As of 20 December 2019[18][19][20]
Club Season League League Cup1 League Cup2 Continental3 Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Yokohama F. Marinos 2007 J1 League 700030—100
2008 00—30—30
Total 700060—130
Cerezo Osaka 2008 J2 League 20620——226
2009 472011——4821
2010 J1 League 3342160—415
2011 145——74219
Total 1143552607413241
VfL Bochum 2011–12 2. Bundesliga 30720——327
Total 30720——327
Eintracht Frankfurt 2012–13 Bundesliga 33610——346
2013–14 14021—61222
2014–15 27120—00291
2015–16 1010—0020
Total 75761—61879
Eibar 2015–16 La Liga 27320——293
2016–17 28320——303
2017–18 34510——355
2019–20 13100——131
Total 1021250——10712
Real Betis 2018–19 La Liga 8020—40140
Total 8020—40140
Alavés (loan) 2018–19 La Liga 12200—00122
Total 12200—00122
Career total 3486320312017539771

1Includes Emperor's Cup and DFB-Pokal and Copa del Rey.

2Includes J. League Cup.

3Includes AFC Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

International
As of 26 March 2019[21]
Japan
YearAppsGoals
200910
201020
201100
201230
201360
201422
201550
201600
201760
201864
201950
Total366

International goals
Score and Result columns list Japan's goals first.
International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 November 2014Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan Honduras4–06–0Friendly
2.5–0
3.12 June 2018Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck, Austria Paraguay1–14–2
4.2–1
5.24 June 2018Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg, Russia Senegal1–12–22018 FIFA World Cup
6.2 July 2018Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don, Russia Belgium2–02–3

References
  1. "National Team Squad". jfa.or.jp. Japan Football Association. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  2. 前回覇者の鹿児島実を破り、野洲が滋賀県勢初の優勝. Sportsnavi (in Japanese). 9 January 2006. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  3. 乾貴士がＣ大阪に完全移籍. Supportista (in Japanese). 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  4. "Bochum holt einen Japaner" [Bochum sign a Japanese player] (in German). DFL. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  5. "Inui signs for Frankfurt". Sky Sports. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  6. "Eibar break club transfer record to sign Takashi Inui". AS. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  7. "El japonés Takashi Inui, nuevo jugador de la SD Eibar para las tres próximas temporadas" [Japanese Takashi Inui, new player of SD Eibar for the following three seasons] (in Spanish). Eibar's official website. 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  8. "Eibar break club transfer record to sign Takashi Inui". AS. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  9. "Inui missing Eibar matches to attend Spanish royal trip to Japan". Marca. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  10. "Japan International Inui Makes history". FourFourTwo. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  11. "Real Betis announce Takashi Inui signing from Eibar". AS English. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  12. "Real Betis and Deportivo Alavés reach an agreement for the loan of Takashi Inui". Real Betis. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  13. "Takashi Inui regresa a casa y será armero las tres próximas temporadas" [Takashi Inui returns home and will be armero for the three following seasons] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  14. "Takashi Inui leaves Real Betis, returns to Eibar". Football-Espana. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  15. "AFC ASIAN CUP – QATAR 2011 MATCH SUMMARY". Asian Football Confederation. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  16. "World Cup 2018: All the confirmed squads for this summer's finals in Russia".
  17. "Japan rallies for draw against Senegal to remain on track for knockout stage at World Cup. He then later scored Japan's second goal against Belgium in the round of 16 from 35 yards out. Japan then later lost the match 3-2". The Japan Times. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  18. "Japan – Takashi Inui – Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway.com.
  19. "Takashi Inui > Club matches". Worldfootball.net.
  20. 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, ISBN 978-4905411420 (p. 284 out of 289)
  21. "Takashi Inui". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
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