J-League: Next Wave of Potential Exports (Part 3)
Part 3 of this look at some J-League based players who could move on to clubs outside of Asia is a little self-indulgent of me as I wanted to really test myself by spending more time looking at data and at a position I don’t class as my strong point when looking for players. Hopefully I’ve not missed the mark with these two young goalkeepers.
I’ve been pushing myself to get better at understanding what makes a good goalkeeper and more importantly the signs of what a younger goalkeeper with a high ceiling of potential looks like and in the J-League I found 2.
The first of them is probably my preferred option if I was pushed to choose between the 2 players below.
Name: Kosei Tani
Age: 24
Nationality: Japanese
Club: Machida Zelvia (3rd) – on loan from Gamba Osaka
Position: Goalkeeper
Preferred Foot: Right
2024 Season Details:
J-League Heatmap:
37 Games (37 starts)
17 Clean Sheets / 0.9 goals conceded per game / 91 saves / 65 High Claims
Review:
Kosei Tani moved to newly promoted Machida Zelvia on loan at the start of the season having lost his way a bit last season, which was his 4th season playing as 1st choice in the J-League with a short and uneventful loan to FCV Dender in 23/24 included within that.
This season as the Machida number 1 for the vast majority of games he’s been Mr. Reliable. The stats to an extent speak for themselves with him being a vital part of a the tightest defence in the J-League.
What I like about Tani is that in every game I’ve watched his highlights he saves the things I’d expect him to save. He’s not overly flash, I haven’t seen many “TV saves” albeit he’s made some great ones throughout the season but most importantly what I seen was what looked to be a constant communication with his backline which at times was a 4 and later in the season it tended to be a back 3 when in control and would become a 4 when the opposition had controlled possession.
His footwork was also good and his distribution over distance was a big part in how Machida looked to play, generally aiming for the strikers or looking to get the ball into wide areas quickly. So, unlike many goalkeepers Tani wasn’t continually being asked to play a 5 or 10 yard pass, more often than not his job was to find a route into midfield or attack and play passes over 30 to 40 yards+ and he does so pretty well with an extremely high accuracy for long distance kicks at 67.4% over the season.
He’s also happy to leave his box with Wyscout showing him as having left his line 86 times on the stats sheet (highest in J-League 2024) and again his reading of those situations aligned with his ability to play with the ball at his feet show he’s capable of playing behind a defence who might play higher than Machida do.
The most impressive thing for me was his willingness and ability to come out and look to take a cross or at the very least punch a cross clear, coming through traffic to get it done. The days where goalies can come and clear out everyone and not be punished are pretty much gone so a goalkeeper has to make quick decisions and commit and this is something that in my opinion, he does better than any other goalkeeper I’ve seen in Asia this season. At 6ft 3 there are bigger goalkeepers but he’s got a got physical build and makes use of his body in 1vs1s, staying big and then if a follow up save is required he’s quick to get back to his feet for any follow up. His save rate for this season was 74% which could improve a touch but for where he is right now it’s good.
Strengths:
Shot Stopping
Bravery
High Claims
Kicking over all distances
Communication
Weaknesses:
None
Honours:
None
Overall:
Kosei Tani at 24 has plenty of years in his game and with over 100 J-League games under his belt he has had a good education and plenty of exposure to top flight football. He’s also been a member of the various Japanese under age teams and is currently in the Japanese national team squad as a backup to Zion Suzuki of Parma.
As above I don’t see any glaring issues with Tani at all and think the potential for him to improve with more experience and playing with better players means he represents a good option for so many teams who might be looking for a goalkeeper in January or next summer. Language barrier would be the only potential issue as I’m not aware at this time if he speaks any other languages beyond Japanese.
How far he could go in the game? The sky is the limit and I think he will be looking as Zion Suzuki who is 2 years younger than him (22) and wanting to compete at a level that will put him in real contention for the number 1 jersey as players look towards the World Cup in 2026. Sensible moves just based on where Japanese players have tended to settle would include Germany and Belgium but, in all honesty, I think it’s really just about ensuring that if he does leave Japan that he goes to a team who are going to trust him to be the main man from day one.
Name: Taishi Brandon Nozawa
Age: 22
Nationality: Japanese
Club: FC Tokyo (7th)
Position: Goalkeeper
Preferred Foot: Right
2024 Season Details:
J-League Heatmap:
27 Games (26 starts)
9 Clean Sheets / 1.2 goals conceded per game / 97 saves / 24 High Claims
Review:
Taishi Nowaza in many ways could see me copy and paste many of the good elements of Tani (above). The main differences in my opinion are for my money Nowaza is slightly better at shot stopping, albeit with the way FC Tokyo defend at times he has more saves to make and maybe a touch more likely to save one that would fall into the unsavable category, but again that in part is exposure to more attacks that Tani would face in a team like Machida who are much better defensively.
Again, the key for me with Nowaza is in the footage I’ve watched he saves the vast majority of things I would expect him to save. Only 1 occasion where I found myself looking at a goal and wondering if he could have done better, but I’ve yet to see any horrors. Like Tani he is good with his feet. Tokyo tended to try and build out a bit more so plenty of short passes to the central defenders or fullbacks but when he does go long his accuracy is good with Wyscout having his accuracy at 54.3% over the season.
He doesn’t come off his line or out of the box as much as Tani, 47 instances on the stat sheet for coming off of his line and he doesn’t generally register as many high claims, more likely to punch clear or stay on his line. Which is fine, it’s really about how teams want to defend corners and most goalkeepers now tend to stay on the line unless they have a clean route to a catch or punch.
At 6ft 4 again he’s a goalkeeper who has a frame that fills the goal and he’s got great agility so no concerns about him getting down low for anything or recovering quickly once he’s made a save.
His current save rate is a smidge above Tani at 75% and again it could improve but for such a young goalkeeper in his first full season for FC Tokyo I think that’s good.
Strengths:
Shot Stopping
Footwork
Playing Out From The Back
Strong Handling
Agility
Weaknesses:
None
Honours:
None
Overall:
Nowaza like Tani has had a good grounding in the Japanese under age teams and went to the Olympics as part of the u23 team in the summer. He’s still in the infancy of his top tier career with this being his first full season in the J-League having played 10 games in 2023. This season being what it was has brought him some attention from outside of Asia and from the sources I have available to me his contract is due to expire at the end of January. Now I would fully expect FC Tokyo to work hard to keep him as their number 1 and look to improve their defensive setup and overall consistency with him between the sticks.
If you were a team looking for a young up and coming goalkeeper who has demonstrated that he has a skillset that can be built upon then you might want to move early, possibly bring him in and loan him out to a team at a good level where he’d get games. A standard practice in Europe these days, or alternatively he could find himself being looked at as the future by one of the bigger J-League teams. The common theme with all the young Japanese players I’ve mentioned and many young players who play for nations outside of the top tier, the World Cup 2026 will be in tier minds as many of these teams like Japan will have a few spots open for players like Tani and Nowaza to try and fill. The goalkeepers will all be looking at Zion Suzuki and seeing that despite his ability and potential his position as number 1 doesn’t look like it’s cast in stone to me.
Last points:
I got asked why I am so interested in the J-League and Asian players in general as some people feel that the chances of securing a player who will go on to be a major success is slim and that concentrating on other regions like South America or Southern Europe would make more sense.
As a Celtic supporter I’ve taken great joy from watching Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furahashi bring things to the team that as a club we couldn’t have found anywhere else for the prices we paid. Sometimes there has to be more to signing players than what you might be able to sell them for. There is great value in what a player gives a club on and off the pitch. Kyogo, Daizen and Reo have all given me moments of pure joy with things they have done for Celtic. I remember first watching Kyogo about 2 years before he moved to Celtic after reading Andres Iniesta talk about him in an interview. I genuinely couldn’t understand why a team hadn’t taken a chance on him and then much to my surprise Celtic appoint Ange Postecoglou who had managed in Japan and he brought all 3 of these players in. They could all leave for free tomorrow and would have more than paid off the fees paid with what they’ve done for the club. Of course some will point to players who have failed, but the successes have massively outweighed the failures and if you want to dispute that from a Celtic point of view then I have one name for you to end the discussion…. Shunsuke Nakamura. I’m surprised there aren’t kids named after him in Glasgow given some of the moments he gave the supporters. If the view of a club is more about a transfer model and making significant profits through player sales then I guess the question to ask using the 3 lads above is what would they have been and where would they be now if Celtic had signed them a year or two earlier?
One of my favourite players to watch outside of Celtic over the last 8 or 9 years has also been from Asia. Arguably the best player to come from South Korea and in a few seasons arguably one of the best attackers in European football, Heung Min-Son at Spurs. The sad part is he hasn’t left Spurs and joined a team who would have seen him win trophies at club level because his talent and performances over the years would have been more than worthy of major trophies to add to the numerous personal awards he has won. I’m sure he has been on many coaches wanted lists over the years and at 32 with 1 year left on his deal he might seriously want to think about where his next contract will be. I hope it’s somewhere that will see him get to lift a league title or major trophy…so not Spurs.
The move from Asia to Europe or North America won’t always be easy for players, many have come to Europe and went back to Japan or Asia and spent another few years there before trying again. I believe the key to reducing the chances of a player not settling are fairly simple. You have realistic expectations based upon everything you should know before you sign a player and then work with the person you signed (not just the player) and their family, and ensure your club has a proper integration model then it will improve the chances massively.
In this set or posts I’ve only covered 5 players. it could have easily been 10+ that were all 24 or younger. If you wanted to take the age limit off then that number would have jumped significantly.
The J-League is great watch, even if you just want to take in the YouTube highlights when they go up on Saturday/Sunday afternoon. I guarantee you will see great technical ability, great goals and a style of football that more often than not is very easy to enjoy.
My overall experience of the Asian and more specifically the Japanese players within the football setup and culture is that what you will often find well educated and disciplined young players who have a real willingness to learn and a real desire to improve and you are seeing that in the under-age tournaments where many of the Asian teams are some of the most enjoyable to watch with lots of technical and tactical ability on show. Off the field the majority of players live in a fashion that will give them a good chance of playing at a higher level well into their 30s. In some regions in Europe, you just don’t see the encouragement for players to hit a good level of education with a real emphasis on preparation and then throw in the desire to succeed. So, while I love a homegrown talent and wished that my own nation Scotland had so much more of it, if I was asked to go round the world to find young players then Asia would be high on my list of priorities.
In the end I guess my response to the initial question is I don’t really care where a player is from, like any football fan, scout, coach or manager I just like watching good players and good football and I think Asia has both in abundance and there is much more to come as the sport grows. Teams like Uzbekistan and Iran showing up well in the under-age internationals. The Saudi influence where young players who are at the top teams getting to train with some of the best to do it will hopefully also help them.
Hope you enjoyed
RH