Shinya Yajima

Shinya Yajima (矢島 慎也, born 18 January 1994) is a Japanese football player who plays for Gamba Osaka in the J1 League. He has previously played for both Urawa Red Diamonds and Fagiano Okayama. His regular playing position is midfielder.[1][2]

Shinya Yajima
矢島 慎也
Personal information
Full name Shinya Yajima
Date of birth (1994-01-18) 18 January 1994
Place of birth Urawa, Saitama, Japan
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Gamba Osaka
Number 21
Youth career
2006–2011 Urawa Red Diamonds Youth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2017 Urawa Red Diamonds 23 (2)
2014 → J.League U-22 Selection 3 (1)
2015–2016 → Fagiano Okayama 74 (13)
2018– Gamba Osaka 2 (0)
2018– Gamba Osaka U-23 9 (0)
2018 → Vegalta Sendai (loan) 5 (0)
National team
2016 Japan U-23 3 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 December 2018

Club career

Born and raised in the Urawa area of Saitama, Yajima came through the ranks with his local team Urawa Red Diamonds and joined their first team ahead of the 2012 season aged just 18. He made just a solitary appearance in the Emperor's Cup during his debut season as a professional, but the following year he earned more game time; playing 8 times in the league and 6 in the domestic cups where he found the back of the net 3 times. The next 2 seasons with Urawa saw him struggle to get on the pitch and he appeared just 7 and 6 times respectively in all competitions.

Owing to a lack of game time, Yajima was sent on a 2-season loan to J2 League side Fagiano Okayama in 2015. He immediately became a regular in their midfield and played 37 league games in both of his seasons with Okayama scoring 13 times in total as they finished 11th and 6th in the final standings.

After gaining good top-team experience in J2 it was back to Urawa for 2017 and although he featured more than he had done prior to moving to Okayama, he was still rather a peripheral figure at the Saitama Stadium. He made just 11 appearances in the league and 19 in total, including 4 in Urawa's victorious AFC Champions League campaign.

Yajima moved from Urawa to their fierce rivals Gamba Osaka ahead of the 2018 season.[3] However, he was not flavour of the month with new Brazilian coach Levir Culpi and played a mere 2 league and 2 league cup games in his first year in Osaka. Out of favour, he found himself featuring as an overage player for Gamba Under-23 in J3 League under the leadership of Tsuneyasu Miyamoto. He played 9 times in J3 before being loaned to J1 side Vegalta Sendai at the end of June.[4]

Game time was again hard to come by in Sendai and he played just 5 league games and 3 Emperor's Cup games as Vegalta finished runners up to his former club, Urawa. Tsuneyasu Miyamoto replaced Levir Culpi midway through the 2018 season with Gamba facing the real prospect of relegation to J2, he steadied the ship and was appointed as head coach permanently ahead of the 2019 campaign. Having worked with Yajima previously at Gamba Under-23, he recalled him to first team squad ahead of his first full season in charge at the Panasonic Stadium.[5]

National team career

In August 2016, Yajima was selected in the Japan Under-23 national team squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics. At this tournament, he played all 3 matches and scored a goal against Sweden.[6]

Club statistics

Updated to 10 December 2018.[7][8][1]

Club Season League Cup1 League Cup2 AFC Other3 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Urawa Red Diamonds 2011 001000––10
2012 80115200–143
2013 41101010–71
2014 00105100–61
2017 11110204010191
Total 232511335010476
Fagiano Okayama 2015 37810–––388
2016 37530––20425
Total 741340––208013
Gamba Osaka 2018 200020––40
2019000000--00
Total 200020––40
Vegalta Sendai 2018 503100––81
Total 503100––81
Career Total 10415122153503013920

1Includes Emperor's Cup.

2Includes J. League Cup.

3Includes Japanese Super Cup, J2 playoffs and FIFA Club World Cup.

Reserves performance
Club performance League Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals
Japan League Total
2014J.League U-22 SelectionJ33131
2018Gamba Osaka U-239090
Career total 121121

Honours

International

Last Updated: 7 February 2019[9]

Japan U-23

Club
Urawa Red Diamonds

References
  1. "Shinya Yajima Soccerway Player Statistics". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  2. "Shinya Yajima Gamba Osaka Player Profile". Gamba Osaka (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  3. "Gamba Osaka News – Shinya Yajima arrival". Gamba Osaka (in Japanese). 21 December 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  4. "Gamba Osaka News – Shinya Yajima loan departure". Gamba Osaka (in Japanese). 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  5. "Gamba Osaka News – Shinya Yajima Loan Return". Gamba Osaka (in Japanese). 23 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  6. "U-23 Japan National Team squad, schedule – Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016". Japan Football Association. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  7. Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2016J1&J2&J3選手名鑑", 10 February 2016, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411338 (p. 199 out of 289)
  8. 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. 21 out of 289)
  9. name="Shinya Yajima Soccerway Player Statistics"
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