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Episode 166: Throwback Monday: Maya Yoshida!
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Southampton – As we wind down from the international break and take a day off to celebrate our Mum's, we throwback to a wonderful piece of research on Maya Yoshida and the Japanese international team from Zak. We will be back tomorrow with our normal scheduled episodes!
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Transcript
00:00:02
Speaker
Every club. Every day. The Global Sports Podcast Network.
Introduction to Host and Podcast
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Daily Southampton, part of the Global Sports Podcast Network. My name is Zach Ingo Finch and i am your host today.
00:00:18
Speaker
Gregory is away today. We have some scheduling conflicts, but I still wanted to record this. I don't think he's going to be devastated to not listen to me do another Another in-depth episode.
Focus on Maya Yoshida
00:00:30
Speaker
Today is, as I alluded to yesterday, an episode about Maya Yoshida, a former saint, had a big international career. And when I was doing all of the research into our current internationals and a couple of special special mentions that maybe I'll talk about next week, I think most people can guess, you know, two of them won the Euros.
00:00:49
Speaker
I looked into the career of Maya Yoshida as well. and realised that it's massive. So really, he had a very, very long international career. It's only recently ended in 2022.
Yoshida's International Career
00:01:02
Speaker
And he yeah he he played a big part in, I think, getting Japan into a place on the international stage for football where it is now, um which is two World Cups, two round 16,
00:01:16
Speaker
last round of last round of sixty last round of sixteen So yeah, i just wanted to talk him. um I miss him at the club. I'm aware that I think he had a divisive opinion, if I remember rightly. Like there were people that didn't like him and occasionally he would be really, really good. But then also he would make mistakes and that was...
00:01:35
Speaker
That was pretty bad, um but he's still ripping it up in the MLS. He's playing for LA Galaxy, former home of David Beckham. Most recently played alongside former Saint Billy Sharp, who had a little bit of a stint out there.
Yoshida in Southampton
00:01:48
Speaker
But he's still you know putting the putting in the work out there. So just wanted to sort of go back and have a look at one of my favourite players and maybe explain a little bit why, I guess. But He was one of the few footballers I'd always kind of see around town, like in Southampton when I was younger. You're looking sort of in my university days about 10 years back.
00:02:05
Speaker
And a friend of mine, Lewis, who used to work at John Lewis, ironically, would always see him like knocking around, shopping there, ah usually with Tandarely as well. but He played 154 games for us. So he was, ah you know, he an important player during his time at the club.
00:02:19
Speaker
But he played 126 games for Japan, which obviously international caps are harder to come by and harder to get. But he, you know, yeah he's had a solid international career. He joined the international setup.
00:02:31
Speaker
He joined the club in 2012, debuted in a 6-1 defeat to Arsenal, which is funny considering we've just lost to them again, um replacing Heuwald.
Following Yoshida's Career
00:02:41
Speaker
um And I was sort of not following him at that point, but i kind of got into following the Samurai Blues or the Japanese national squad in 2013.
00:02:56
Speaker
thirteen And that was because of me catching on television a Confederations Cup clash, which between between Japan and Italy.
00:03:08
Speaker
Italy beat Japan 4-3. But I just remember being at a crazy game and sort of watching and thinking, oh, some of these players are really good. And in that side, we had Kazuki Honda, who played for AC Milan famously, who also I found out was Nagoya Krampus alumni, if you paid attention to ah the last two podcasts alongside Yoshida.
00:03:27
Speaker
ah Kagawa, who was ah United at the time. So, you know, he he was involved in and English football. And Okazaki, who wasn't at Leicester yet. He was at Mainz at the time, but was about to make the move within a year or so. and obviously famously part of that 2016 Leicester winning the league.
00:03:43
Speaker
so So, yeah, they had like that that. I remember watching the game and it was just a really fun, intense game of football. And after that, it kind of sort of started paying attention. And with Yoshida being sort of our player, I think that was one of the reasons I switched on to the at the time.
Yoshida's Club Career Post-Southampton
00:03:57
Speaker
So off and on after that, i kind of paid attention to the Samurai Blues and was aware of that Yoshida was quite involved, but I i wasn't, think I didn't realise how much of an impact he as a player had on his international team.
00:04:12
Speaker
Because as I said, for Saints, he was very hot and cold. He would sometimes be in the sides, he would be sometimes out. He was kind of utilised by all the different managers right up until he left. you know He left when he was and we were still under Hasnutu and sort of went off and I think he went to Italy, played alongside, i want to say Gabbiadini actually, for a little bit before a year in Germany that wasn't that great.
00:04:35
Speaker
And obviously now being at being an LA Galaxy and you know ending his international career in 2022. So yeah, I hope that you're excited to join me on this journey.
00:04:45
Speaker
If you're not, I apologise. I'm a bit of a history buff without the Southampton part of it.
Promotion for Zencastr
00:04:50
Speaker
But you know this allowed me to kind of explore that nerdy stuff while also keeping it pretty football related. ah So let's dive into it after a word from our partners at Zencaster.
00:05:01
Speaker
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00:05:13
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:05:36
Speaker
So yeah, let's jump straight into the illustrious international career of former Saint Maya Yoshida. So he had 126 caps for Japan and captained the side for a number of years or so, including some of those those World Cup years that I've talked about.
00:05:51
Speaker
During that time, he managed to score 12 goals, Whilst he hasn't been selected from 2020 to onwards, he is also now the president of Japan's Professional Soccer Players Association.
00:06:03
Speaker
So and he was also one of the I think he was gave out an inaugural award quite recently for it. So rolling back the clock a little bit. He made his debut in the Japan national team before he was a Saint.
00:06:16
Speaker
um He made his debut in 2010 against Yemen, but he didn't manage to make the year's World Cup squad that year due to a fractured finger. which was sort of, you know, i think he was unhappy about, but I think he was also just really glad to get that cap at the beginning. and And I
Yoshida's Influence and Legacy
00:06:33
Speaker
don't think that it mattered. He went on again to to be a really influential member, but I think he probably would have liked to have been at that World Cup too.
00:06:41
Speaker
He was called up to the AFC Asian Cup in 2011, which he scored his first international goal in the tournament, securing a draw against Jordan. So after that one game, he played the rest of the group's games.
00:06:55
Speaker
but was sent off in the semis in a 3-2 win against Qatar. and Once he'd served his suspension, he was back and in the side for the final against Australia. And Japan went on to win that cup due to a goal from another ex-Saint, Padanari Lee.
00:07:11
Speaker
So, you know they you know, they got to both play during that time and and win a cup, which... if you look at the rest of the Saints, not a huge amount of us have ah like not huge amount of our players have got some trophies under their belt.
00:07:23
Speaker
Whether it's a sort of you consider it to be a tin pot trophy or not, you know still a trophy at the end of the day. um He went on to be a big part of Japan's side that year. And after that tournament, succeeded in keeping six additional clean sheets and even scored the winning goal against North Korea, which is A bit crazy, but, you know, he started off 2012 with three more clean sheets and Japan went on to qualify for the World Cup after drawing one all with Australia.
00:07:55
Speaker
um So he was involved in, obviously, after that, the aforementioned Confederations Cup, which Japan didn't win a single game. They tried, especially that 4-3 against Italy, which was which was a fun game to watch.
00:08:10
Speaker
And here's hoping for, you know, ah that is is, you know, what what kind of got me onto some of those players, specifically big, big, big fan of ho Kazuki Honda as well. I'd always hit him up and I'll sign him for my teams and football manager. And he went on, I think, I think he's still in coaching.
00:08:26
Speaker
At one point he was managing the Cambodian national side, but he he's another, again, all these people from that one small club that me and Greg decided to randomly start following this year on the J-League.
00:08:38
Speaker
Just because Greg's brother lives quite near Nicoya. So it's a bit of a weird coincidence, but nice. He managed to get into the Brazil World Club squad as well. And he started all three of the matches.
00:08:50
Speaker
But unfortunately, they lost all of their matches and went out. um But he still continued to be part of the international team. He went on to score his first goal in three years against Honduras, where they won So...
00:09:05
Speaker
say he was in amongst the goals as well. And, you know, I remember him scoring a sort of a few goals here and there for Saints. But yeah, it turns out, you know, of his 126 caps, sort of like once every 10 games, he would knock a goal in, which as the captain and defender is is kind of nice. It, you know, makes me think of,
00:09:23
Speaker
sort of commanding centre-backs we've had over the years and and their sort of goal-scoring contributions. Think of sort of Virgil van Dijk and more recently, you know, Taylor Harwood-Bellis getting in amongst the goals. So he's done all right. um He did, however...
00:09:37
Speaker
take responsibility for his side missing out on the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. This has resulted in a goal and a penalty shootout that Japan then went on to lose.
00:09:49
Speaker
And he came in the post-match interview and kind of said, yep, I definitely shouldn't have given that away. so yeah, that wasn't really i ideal. He went on to score a brace in the same year to against Bulgaria to help Japan reach the Kirin Cup soccer final.
00:10:05
Speaker
which they unfortunately lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not ideal considering it. Another name for that cup is the Japan Cup. And I think when it started, it originally had things like, like you had club teams in it. So it' was like sort of, if I think, but I think Middlesbrough took part one point.
00:10:21
Speaker
I'll have to double check that again. But yeah, so it's still, I think the most recent time period, that that competition was played was 2022 and Tunisia won it. So don't really know how they pick it up, but it looks to be sort of a promotion from some sort of Japanese software and company that essentially resulted in a football tournament that occasionally a couple of people play in.
00:10:44
Speaker
But yeah, so that that wasn't ideal, but scoring a brace for your country is always nice. And then off the back of that, he went on to captain his side for the first time.
00:10:55
Speaker
in March 2017. So so With that, Japan qualified for the 2018 World Cup, and he was selected to play every minute of the group games.
00:11:06
Speaker
So he played really, really well. He was lauded by the media off the back of his performances, um which probably was nice for him and nice for Saints fans. And I don't remember how sort of Twitter and all that look was at the time, but I wouldn't be surprised that, oh, he's played really so well at the Euros. We need to start him every game kind of thing.
00:11:24
Speaker
But I know that it was a time that you know he had sort of peak form for club and country. He was also selected ah at the end of that year to take part in the 2019 AFC Asian Club.
00:11:36
Speaker
But this caused bit of a headache for Hasnahou all the time because he was a more regular face and then obviously disappears for a month and it's never
Commitment to National Team
00:11:43
Speaker
ideal. You know, I think you see it with clubs now with sort of the African Cup of Nations um and and how players will end up going away because obviously they want to, so like, you know, most people want would want to play for their country, but then it kind of upsets the domestic season quite a lot.
00:11:58
Speaker
So it was one of those sort of situations. And he said that he was fully aware of sort of the impact and it was the risk he wanted to take to play for Japan. He captain the side right through to the final, but lost to to Qatar and gave away a penalty in that match, which wasn't ideal.
00:12:15
Speaker
um He didn't get another call up until later that year. So there was some speculation he might drop out of the side. But then when he did get called up, he immediately captained them again. and help them, you know, go on throughout the forthcoming years to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
00:12:33
Speaker
So during the 2022 World Cup, they managed to make it to the last 16 again. ah so obviously most people will genuinely remember that. It's, you know, it's quite within the sort of cultural zeitgeist of recent times.
00:12:45
Speaker
And it was kind heartbreak for Japan, really, because they managed to draw one all with Croatia. uh and unfortunately lost on penalties but once again last 16 uh so successive world cups is is a great job and unfortunately after after that hasn't played for the samurai blues at all which is a shame but his influence can be seen and after we have another quick word from our sponsors i will talk to you about the influence i think he's had at the club
00:13:17
Speaker
This podcast is part of the Global Sports Podcast Network, the only network bringing you exclusive daily news and views on your Premier League team, the Premier League, women's football and fantasy football. A unique listening experience that puts fans first, bringing you the very latest breaking news from your team.
00:13:32
Speaker
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and make sure that we are your first listen every day. Global Sports Podcast Network, every club, every day. So... Yeah, what are the the influences Maia's had on the club? Well, he was a great player for us, number one.
00:13:47
Speaker
He was a great character on the pitch and at the club as well. He is known very well for his great relationship with Romeo, who continues to also play, you know, quite intense top fight football.
00:14:01
Speaker
You know, famously went to Barcelona quite recently, which is nuts, but we always knew that he would come good. And obviously he was previously a Barcelona player beforehand. But yeah, they have they still have a great friendship. which is great.
00:14:12
Speaker
Obviously one of my favorite players of all time. ah Just, just, he was a, I think he was just a really good character. And I think he really cares about the club. And you have a lot of players that sort of go and come and go and don't really talk about it. Right. Like James will prowess has played significantly more. And I know that there's been interviews where he talks about check-in where, where we're at in the table.
00:14:33
Speaker
And same with sort of like, you know, Danny Ings was considered to be sort of an absolute club hero, comes back, scores a bunch of goals. i'm I'm not using the word legends. They're not and not club legends. Don't get me wrong. But you know i think that you can tell his love for Southampton has always been there and we're still an incredibly important club and he will come back to watch us play when he's in the UK.
00:14:55
Speaker
I think he did watch us play. I remember him came he came back during our relegation season and unfortunately got to watch a pretty dismal performance. But the love's still there.
Fond Memories and Legacy
00:15:04
Speaker
It was also quite notable that when Yuki made his move, he congratulated him on sort of on the socials as well and was glad to see sort of another uh nagoya grampus alumni and fellow japanese international uh get yeah and come come and play for us you know where we've kind of don't think we've quite got sort of the celtic effect of always having a japanese player or multiple japanese players but we are a club that you know we're quite happy to sort of look at the j league and another example of that is the fact that we've got kuri matsuki so he has recently transferred to us um
00:15:39
Speaker
Anyone who's sort of paid any attention to the J-League will know about him. He played really, really well. ah He's also one of those sort of like bargain sign-ins of football manager, especially since they introduced the J-League properly.
00:15:51
Speaker
um But he's obviously currently on loan at Gustepe and will hopefully play a bigger role for us in the future. So, yeah, we've got, you know, potentially he's he's also a Japanese international for the under-23s.
00:16:05
Speaker
Yeah. So for me, Yoshida's just an all-time great Southampton player. And I know that you know we we can talk about the Letiziers and the Bernalis until the cows come home, don't get me wrong.
00:16:18
Speaker
But there are also people that I think that are part of our sort of most recent history where they might have not had sort of the the fame of like a Virgil van Dijk or like the the goals of like a Danny Ings, et cetera.
00:16:32
Speaker
But my Yoshida, I think, was always a saint through and through. and always keeps you know keeps his attention on us um and really cares about the club and you can tell and it's it's really nice to see some of his international teammates make the move to our club as well especially where you know weirdly they both sort of started in the same club as well which was something i discovered during my research into a club that we've you know as i said me and greg have sort of followed alongside in the background um yeah it's been but A bit of an emotional journey going through. And again, I didn't quite realize the impact he had on his international team. Like 126 caps is nothing sort of back your eyes at, you know?
00:17:10
Speaker
So he was a fantastic player, club internationally, fantastic player for us. And I hope, I wish him the best in what's left of his career. Yeah. So obviously that was one of my longer segments about an international saint, which is why I did make it into the other episodes. And I thought maybe he deserves his own episodes.
00:17:31
Speaker
So thank you for joining me today to talk about one of my favorite players and the international journey he went on and why I think, you know, but very sort of flew under the radar at Saints, but, you know, he was incredibly important for his national team and and important for us during times as well.
00:17:47
Speaker
So thank you very much for joining me. We'll be back next week, probably with my co-host as well. It's been a pleasure, everyone. Thank you very much for listening. Have a lovely evening or afternoon or morning or whatever you're up to.
00:18:01
Speaker
Every club. Every day. The Global Sports Podcast Network.