Takefusa Kubo facts for kids
Kubo in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 June 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Asao-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.73m | ||
| Playing position | Right winger, attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Real Sociedad | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2009 | FC Persimmon | ||
| 2008–2010 | Tokyo Verdy | ||
| 2010–2011 | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
| 2011–2015 | Barcelona | ||
| 2015–2016 | FC Tokyo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2016–2018 | FC Tokyo U-23 | 34 | (5) |
| 2016–2019 | FC Tokyo | 19 | (4) |
| 2018 | → Yokohama F. Marinos (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Real Madrid | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Mallorca (loan) | 35 | (4) |
| 2020–2021 | → Villarreal (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Getafe (loan) | 18 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | → Mallorca (loan) | 28 | (1) |
| 2022– | Real Sociedad | 85 | (20) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2015–2016 | Japan U16 | 17 | (11) |
| 2016–2017 | Japan U17 | 11 | (4) |
| 2016–2018 | Japan U20 | 15 | (3) |
| 2018 | Japan U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Japan U23 | 16 | (7) |
| 2019– | Japan | 40 | (5) |
† Appearances (Goals). |
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Takefusa Kubo (久保 建英, Kubo Takefusa, born 4 June 2001), often called Take Kubo, is a Japanese professional footballer. He plays as a right winger for La Liga club Real Sociedad and the Japan national team. Fans in Japan sometimes call him "Japanese Messi" because of his amazing skills.
Contents
Takefusa Kubo's Football Journey
Starting Young
Takefusa Kubo started playing football at age seven for FC Persimmon. He then joined a local club in his hometown, Kawasaki. When he was eight, he won an award at an FC Barcelona Soccer Camp.
In April 2010, he joined the FC Barcelona School team. They played in a cup in Belgium, and even though his team finished third, Takefusa won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. After that, he played for the Kawasaki Frontale junior youth team.
Time at Barcelona's Youth Academy
In August 2011, Takefusa Kubo was invited to join FC Barcelona's famous youth academy, La Masia. He started playing for their U11 team. In his first full season (2012–13), he was the top scorer with 74 goals in 30 games!
Later, he moved up to the U14 team. However, the Spanish club had broken some rules about signing young players from other countries. This meant Kubo could no longer play for Barcelona. So, in March 2015, he went back to Japan and joined FC Tokyo's junior youth team.
Playing for FC Tokyo
Takefusa Kubo joined the FC Tokyo U-18 team in 2016. In September 2016, he moved up to the main senior team when he was just fifteen years old. On November 5, he played his first professional game in the J3 League. He was only 15 years, five months, and one day old, setting a new record for the J.League.
On April 15, 2017, Kubo became the youngest player to score a goal in the J.League. He was 15 years and ten months old when he scored in a 1–0 win. Soon after, he made his top-level debut for the first team in the J.League Cup.
Loan to Yokohama F. Marinos
On August 16, 2018, Kubo joined Yokohama F. Marinos on a short loan. He scored a goal right away in his first game for them!
In 2019, Kubo became a regular player for FC Tokyo. He scored goals in both the J.League Cup and the J.League.
Joining Real Madrid
On June 14, 2019, Kubo signed a five-year deal with the famous Spanish club Real Madrid. Even though he was officially part of their U-19 team, he often trained and played with the first team during their preseason games.
Loan to Mallorca
On August 22, 2019, Kubo was loaned to Mallorca for a season. He became the third Japanese player to play for Mallorca. On September 1, he made his La Liga debut, which is Spain's top football league. He was the youngest Japanese player ever to play in one of Europe's top four leagues.
He scored his first goal for Mallorca on November 10 in a 3-1 win. He scored two more goals that season, including a winning goal against Eibar.
Loans to Villarreal and Getafe
On August 10, 2020, Kubo was loaned to Villarreal. He was mostly used as a substitute there. His loan ended early on January 8, 2021.
Right after leaving Villarreal, Kubo moved to another top-tier team, Getafe, also on loan for the rest of the season.
Another Loan to Mallorca
On August 12, 2021, Kubo returned to Mallorca for another season-long loan. On December 4, he scored a winning goal in the final minutes of a game against Atlético Madrid.
Playing for Real Sociedad
On July 19, 2022, Kubo joined Real Sociedad permanently. He was the first Japanese player to sign with this club. Kubo scored the only goal in his first game for Real Sociedad, helping them win 1–0.
In September 2023, he played very well against his old club Real Madrid. In October 2023, he was named "man-of-the-match" for his great performance in a 1–0 win over Mallorca.
International Career
Kubo has played for various Japan national teams, from the U-15 level all the way up to the senior team. When he was fifteen, he was chosen for the Japan U-20 national team for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Just before his eighteenth birthday, Kubo was called up to the senior squad for the 2019 Copa América. He made his debut on June 9, 2019, in a friendly game. In July 2021, he was part of the under-23 team for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
On July 22, 2021, Kubo scored Japan's first goal in the 2020 Olympics against South Africa.
On November 1, 2022, Kubo was chosen for Japan's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He started in important group stage wins against Germany and Spain.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
This table shows how many games Takefusa Kubo has played and how many goals he has scored for different clubs.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC Tokyo U-23 | 2016 | J3 League | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | J3 League | 21 | 2 | — | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||||
| 2018 | J3 League | 10 | 3 | — | — | — | 10 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 5 | — | — | — | 34 | 5 | |||||
| FC Tokyo | 2017 | J1 League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018 | J1 League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| 2019 | J1 League | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 16 | 5 | ||
| Total | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | — | 30 | 6 | |||
| Yokohama F. Marinos (loan) | 2018 | J1 League | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | |
| Real Madrid | 2019–20 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Mallorca (loan) | 2019–20 | La Liga | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 4 | ||
| Villarreal (loan) | 2020–21 | La Liga | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 1 | ||
| Getafe (loan) | 2020–21 | La Liga | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | |
| Mallorca (loan) | 2021–22 | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| Real Sociedad | 2022–23 | La Liga | 35 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | 44 | 9 | |
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 30 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 41 | 7 | ||
| 2024–25 | La Liga | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | 28 | 5 | ||
| Total | 85 | 20 | 7 | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | 223 | 30 | |||
| Career total | 237 | 36 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 26 | 2 | 287 | 41 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
This table shows how many games Takefusa Kubo has played and how many goals he has scored for the Japan national team.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2019 | 7 | 0 |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 11 | 2 | |
| Total | 40 | 5 | |
- Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kubo goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 June 2022 | Noevir Stadium Kobe, Kobe, Japan |  Ghana |
3–1 | 4–1 | 2022 Kirin Cup |
| 2 | 15 June 2023 | Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan |  El Salvador |
3–0 | 6–0 | 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup |
| 3 | 21 November 2023 | Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |  Syria |
1–0 | 5–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 31 January 2024 | Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  Bahrain |
2–0 | 3–1 | 2023 AFC Asian Cup |
| 5 | 5 September 2024 | Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan |  China |
7–0 | 7–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Awards and Achievements
Takefusa Kubo has won several awards for his great football skills:
- La Liga Player of the Month: September 2023
- UEFA La Liga Revelation Team of the Year: 2019–20 (This means he was one of the best new players in the league)
- IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the Year: 2021, 2024
- Japan Pro-Footballers Association Awards Best XI: 2022, 2023
- Real Sociedad Player of the Season: 2022–23
See also
In Spanish: Take Kubo para niños
