Louis Takaji Julien Thébault Yamaguchi (Japanese: 山口 瑠伊, born 28 May 1998) is a footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for J1 League club Kawasaki Frontale, on loan from Machida Zelvia. Born in France, he is a youth international for Japan.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Louis Takaji Julien Thébault Yamaguchi | ||
| Date of birth | 28 May 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | La Garenne-Colombes, France | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kawasaki Frontale (on loan from Machida Zelvia) | ||
| Number | 98 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| FC Waseda | |||
| 2010–2014 | FC Tokyo | ||
| 2014–2017 | Lorient | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2019 | Extremadura B | 33 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Extremadura | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Recreativo | 4 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Mito HollyHock | 63 | (0) |
| 2024– | Machida Zelvia | 0 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Kawasaki Frontale (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2016 | Japan U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2017 | Japan U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Japan U23 | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:50, 10 September 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editBorn in La Garenne-Colombes, Paris to a French father and a Japanese mother, Yamaguchi moved to Tokyo at six months old,[1] and returned to France at the age of 16, joining FC Lorient's youth setup.[2] On 16 June 2017, after finishing his formation, he moved to Spanish Segunda División B side Extremadura UD, being initially assigned to the reserves.[3]
Yamaguchi made his senior debut on 3 September 2017, starting in a 1–0 Tercera División home loss against UD Montijo. He became a regular starter for the B-side during the following seasons, and ahead of the 2019–20 campaign, he was definitely promoted to the first team as a backup to Casto.
Yamaguchi made his professional debut on 3 November 2019, starting in a 3–1 home loss against Girona FC in the Segunda División.[4] He left the club in the following July, as his contract expired, and joined Recreativo de Huelva in the third division on 11 August.[5]
After leaving Recreativo in July 2021, Yamaguchi signed with J2 League club Mito HollyHock in January 2022.[6] He made his club debut in a 2-1 loss to Thespakusatsu Gunma as the team's starting goalkeeper, replacing Shu Mogi.[7]
In January 2024, Yamaguchi joined newly promoted J1 League club FC Machida Zelvia.[8] He appeared in one match, a 1-1 (2-4) penalty shootout loss to the fifth-division University of Tsukuba team in the Emperor's Cup, before being sent on loan to Kawasaki Frontale.[9] Yamaguchi made his club debut for Frontale keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win against Ventforet Kofu in the J.League Cup quarter-finals.[10]
International career
editYamaguchi represented Japan at under-19, under-20 and under-23 levels. He was a member of the Japanese squad at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and the squad that finished runners-up in the 2019 Toulon Tournament.
References
edit- ^ ""Kubo es un fenómeno, por algo le llaman el 'Messi japonés"" ["Kubo is a phenomenon, that is why they call him 'Japanese Messi'"] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "Info FM: de Tokyo à Extremadura en passant par Lorient, à la découverte du gardien franco-japonais Louis Thébault-Yamaguchi" [Info FM: from Tokyo to Extremadura going through Lorient, the discovery of a French-Japanese goalkeeper Louis Thébault-Yamaguchi] (in French). Foot Mercato. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "¡Louis Yamaguchi nuevo jugador del Extremadura B!" [Louis Yamaguchi new player of Extremadura B!]. Extremadura UD (in Spanish). Facebook. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "Yamagouchi 'alegra' el debut de Martí al frente del Girona" [Yamagouchi [sic] 'rejoices' Martí's debut ahead of Girona] (in Spanish). Marca. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "Louis Yamaguchi, nuevo jugador del Recre" [Louis Yamaguchi, new player of Recre] (in Spanish). Recreativo Huelva. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ "山口 瑠伊". 水戸ホーリーホック公式サイト. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "ThespaKusatsu Gunma v Mito Hollyhock Live Commentary, Apr 03, 2022". Goal. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ 山口瑠伊選手 完全移籍加入のお知らせ, zelvia.co.jp, 6 January 2024
- ^ "Machida Zelvia vs. Tsukuba University 1 - 1". Soccerway. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ "Kawasaki Frontale vs. Ventforet Kofu 1 - 0". Soccerway. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
External links
edit- Louis Yamaguchi – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Louis Yamaguchi at BDFutbol
- Louis Yamaguchi at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
- Louis Yamaguchi at Soccerway
