{"id":4670,"date":"2024-12-13T00:39:10","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T14:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=4670"},"modified":"2026-08-17T10:47:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T01:17:22","slug":"kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 id=\"earlier-this-year-in-just-his-seventh-league-appearance-hosei-kijima-shared-the-pitch-with-lionel-messi-as-his-st-louis-city-outfit-played-out-a-thrilling-3-3-draw-with-messi-s-inter-miami\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Earlier this year, in just his seventh league appearance, Hosei Kijima shared the pitch with Lionel Messi as his St Louis City outfit played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Messi\u2019s Inter Miami.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Messi, the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner, was on the scoresheet that day, as were his former Barcelona teammates, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kijima, aged just 21, started on the bench but was called upon early when Rasmus Alm went off in the 27th minute with a knee injury that would keep him sidelined for three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Within 15 minutes, and before the break, he had an assist to his name as he laid the ball into the path of Indiana Vassilev to fire St Louis City into a 2-1 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the end, according to renowned website, Fotmob, he had a rating of 8.0, the second highest of any player for St Louis City that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the Yokohama-born midfielder, it was a scenario he could barely have dreamed about growing up given, by his own frank admission, he \u2018wasn\u2019t good enough\u2019 to even get on the radar of a J. League academy side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yet here he was sharing the pitch with arguably the greatest player of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-3.png?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-3.png?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-3.png?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-3.png?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-3.png?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-3.png?resize=2048%2C1366&amp;ssl=1 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI&#8217;ll put it simply, I wasn&#8217;t good enough to play in the J. League,\u201d he said, reflecting on his decision to move to America to pursue his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn terms of in an academy when I was little, I just wasn&#8217;t good enough. I just played for a local club near my house.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While appreciative of how far he still has to go in the game, the end of the MLS season &#8211; which for Kijima saw him move to DC United in a deal with expansion side San Diego FC &#8211; gives him time to pause and reflect on the season that was and the journey to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am proud of the league I&#8217;m in,\u201d he told <em>The Asian Game Podcast<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think I came at a very good time where it&#8217;s going to skyrocket soon. I mean, the MLS is very high level, it was a higher level than I expected, for sure, coming from college. It was a big gap, (a) big jump, I would say, from college into into the MLS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI learned a lot from everybody. They welcomed me with open arms, and they helped me to develop as a pro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think me as a player, I need to be much more consistent than what I was this year. I had a lot of disappointing performances, I would say, that went through throughout the season. But I think that comes through experience and time playing in the MLS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI&#8217;m not worried, but overall, I think consistency has to improve for me as well. But I think I have longer, much longer ways to go, and I am nowhere being close to satisfied with my career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That he even has a career at all is not lost on him, given his own harsh self-assessment of his junior career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the regular development pathways in Japan seemingly closed off, on something of a whim, aged just 12, he and his parents decided to send him almost 12,000 kilometres away on the other side of the world, to the famed IMG Academy in Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&amp;apos;I wasn&amp;apos;t good enough!&amp;apos;: Hosei Kijima on his journey to MLS stardom\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/72bGRrLXw3M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGoing to IMG when I was 12, was a semi-conscious decision,\u201d he explained. \u201cI was a crazy little kid that just wanted to go out and play. So I&#8217;m very thankful for my parents to let me do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From there he went to College at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, a period he credits for so much of his development, as both a player and a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was very appreciative of [head coach] Bobby (Muuss) giving me opportunity. Probably my biggest development stage was at Wake Forest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI developed my tactical IQ, obviously, I have a long way to go, but my tactical IQ was there, positional intelligence, positional awareness. That&#8217;s where I matured as a footballer. Technique improved, vision improved, IQ improved, defending, attacking, all those little things that you require to be a professional player.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So much had it improved that St Louis City took him with their first selection, Pick 17, in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To get to that point, however, required days and years of hard work and sacrifice. That was evident in him moving to the other side of the world at age 12, but also in the things that fans don\u2019t see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was there in the 3am alarm &#8211; yes, 3am &#8211; to get in extra training. That training wasn\u2019t just physical, but also tactical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To peruse Kijima\u2019s social media feeds is akin to taking a crash course in football tactics, such is his interest in that side of the game. It\u2019s what he loves, telling <em>The Asian Game Podcast<\/em> that a transition into coaching is the aim after his playing career, but it hasn\u2019t always been that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-7.png?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-7.png?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-7.png?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-7.png?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-7.png?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-7.png?resize=2048%2C1366&amp;ssl=1 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His coach at Wake Forest, Bobby Muuss, likened him to a raw onion that would have his layers revealed year by year; seeing a raw kid full of potential but one that needed to learn more about the game. So that\u2019s what he did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll show you.\u2019\u201d Kijima said in a previous interview with the&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>St Louis Post-Dispatch<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cStarted maybe 3am, 3 to 7, I would watch three different games in three different perspectives, that\u2019s how I increased my knowledge of the game. I read books, tactical books, autobiographies, read a lot of articles, Twitter feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s all I look at. Instead of scrolling through Instagram, I scroll through tactics, highlights, things like that, all roots from the love of the game. Just a continuous growth of knowledge and adding to your library.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He rattles off a list of coaches that he admires &#8211; Roberto de Zerbi, Ange Postecoglou, Pep Guardiola, Fernando Diniz, Fabian Hurzeler, Marcelo Bielsa &#8211; even referencing Spanish second division side, Racing Santander, and their style under manager Jose Alberto Lopez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/1sfV6bJ6vCQM1qcWhIem3j\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He even wrote a paper on de Zerbi\u2019s tactics and how they could be applied to a Futsal team at Wake Forest University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI just was like, \u2018let me just try to coach this team\u2019. And then at the same time, Roberto de Zerbi, he was doing this new provocative football playing style in the Premier League. And it was, first of all, beautiful, but it was also courageous. Not many other coaches would try doing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I was just like, et&#8217;s see how it works in futsal. One of the reasons why it was so brave to do it in futsal was that we were using the goalkeeper as a plus one, no matter where the ball was. So higher up the pitch, I was using the goalkeeper as a center back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd so it&#8217;s high risk, but high reward. Because if we lose the ball and they just chip it over our goalkeeper, we&#8217;re probably losing the game, and they&#8217;re going to just keep doing that. So (it required) a lot of training, a lot of different creative processes, simply because it hasn&#8217;t been done. But, it worked out, and we won the whole tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-2.png?resize=1024%2C683&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-2.png?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-2.png?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-2.png?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-2.png?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-2.png?resize=2048%2C1366&amp;ssl=1 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s an answer that gives a glimpse into his psyche; one that loves challenging societal norms and orthodoxy. He describes himself as \u2018having an obsession with unorthodoxy\u2019, which explains his fascination with characters like Postecoglou and Bielsa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo it just fascinates me, people who do new things,\u201d he explains.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt&#8217;s just different. People call people crazy (but) it\u2019s those people I love, and I want to be that same person, (one that says) \u2018call me crazy, but we&#8217;re gonna do this\u2019, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo it&#8217;s a little bit of both, in terms of not only football, but ideologies or philosophies, being unorthodox and being non-conformist are two things that I really look for in a coach. So it&#8217;s fun to study those things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s clear from our conversation that study and his football consumption habits haven\u2019t changed. When he spoke to <em>The Asian Game Podcast<\/em>, it was 9am in Yokohama, but that was not early, he claimed, as he was awake at 3am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt&#8217;s tough to switch off and unwind, I&#8217;m not gonna lie to you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His former coach at St Louis City, Bradley Carnell, recently commented that he\u2019d be in the coach\u2019s room every day if they let him. It\u2019s clear a career in coaching awaits once his playing days are done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From a boy not good enough for the J. League, to playing with Messi and studying some of the world\u2019s sharpest tactical minds. It\u2019s been a journey already, but it\u2019s one, you get the sense, that is only just getting started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Listen to Episode 235 of The Asian Game Podcast as we talk Saudi 2034 and speak with Hosei Kijima<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Embed Player\" style=\"border:none\" src=\"https:\/\/play.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/34410740\/height\/128\/theme\/modern\/size\/standard\/thumbnail\/yes\/custom-color\/fbb344\/time-start\/00:00:00\/playlist-height\/200\/direction\/backward\/download\/yes\/font-color\/261b0a\" height=\"128\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"true\" mozallowfullscreen=\"true\" oallowfullscreen=\"true\" msallowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this year, in just his seventh league appearance, Hosei Kijima shared the pitch with Lionel Messi as his St Louis City outfit played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Messi\u2019s Inter Miami. Messi, the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner, was on the scoresheet that day, as were his former Barcelona teammates, Luis Suarez and Jordi [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_gspb_post_css":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[15,87],"class_list":["post-4670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-japan","tag-mls"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football - The Asian Game<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ro_RO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football - The Asian Game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Earlier this year, in just his seventh league appearance, Hosei Kijima shared the pitch with Lionel Messi as his St Louis City outfit played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Messi\u2019s Inter Miami. Messi, the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner, was on the scoresheet that day, as were his former Barcelona teammates, Luis Suarez and Jordi [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Asian Game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-12T14:09:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T01:17:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-1024x683.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul Williams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@www.twitter.com\/PaulWilliams_85\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul Williams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paul Williams\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35d5fc2ea75ad8209bf01bf0eba938f2\"},\"headline\":\"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-12T14:09:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T01:17:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1542,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Japan\",\"MLS\"],\"articleSection\":[\"INTERVIEW\"],\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football - The Asian Game\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-12T14:09:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T01:17:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Asian Game\",\"description\":\"Your home of Asian football\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Asian Game\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Gradient-Main-White%404x.png?fit=1755%2C762&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Gradient-Main-White%404x.png?fit=1755%2C762&ssl=1\",\"width\":1755,\"height\":762,\"caption\":\"The Asian Game\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35d5fc2ea75ad8209bf01bf0eba938f2\",\"name\":\"Paul Williams\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ro-RO\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/PW.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/PW.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/09\\\/PW.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"caption\":\"Paul Williams\"},\"description\":\"Paul Williams is an Adelaide-based football writer who has reported on the comings and goings of Asian football for the past decade. Having covered the past two Asian Cups, he writes regularly about the J.League for Optus Sport in Australia, while he also regularly contributes to Arab News. Further, he has previously been published by outlets such as FOX Sports Asia, Al Jazeera English, FourFourTwo, and appeared on numerous TV and radio shows to discuss Asian football.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\",\"www.instagram.com\\\/paul_williams_85\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/www.twitter.com\\\/PaulWilliams_85\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.theasiangame.net\\\/ro\\\/author\\\/paul-williams\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football - The Asian Game","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/","og_locale":"ro_RO","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football - The Asian Game","og_description":"Earlier this year, in just his seventh league appearance, Hosei Kijima shared the pitch with Lionel Messi as his St Louis City outfit played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Messi\u2019s Inter Miami. Messi, the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner, was on the scoresheet that day, as were his former Barcelona teammates, Luis Suarez and Jordi [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/","og_site_name":"The Asian Game","article_published_time":"2024-12-12T14:09:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-17T01:17:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA-1024x683.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Paul Williams","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@www.twitter.com\/PaulWilliams_85","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paul Williams","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/"},"author":{"name":"Paul Williams","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#\/schema\/person\/35d5fc2ea75ad8209bf01bf0eba938f2"},"headline":"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football","datePublished":"2024-12-12T14:09:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-17T01:17:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/"},"wordCount":1542,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","keywords":["Japan","MLS"],"articleSection":["INTERVIEW"],"inLanguage":"ro-RO"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/","name":"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football - The Asian Game","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","datePublished":"2024-12-12T14:09:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-17T01:17:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"ro-RO","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ro-RO","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/kijima-charts-unorthodox-path-to-professional-football\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kijima charts unorthodox path to professional football"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/","name":"The Asian Game","description":"Your home of Asian football","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"ro-RO"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#organization","name":"The Asian Game","url":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ro-RO","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Gradient-Main-White%404x.png?fit=1755%2C762&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Gradient-Main-White%404x.png?fit=1755%2C762&ssl=1","width":1755,"height":762,"caption":"The Asian Game"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/#\/schema\/person\/35d5fc2ea75ad8209bf01bf0eba938f2","name":"Paul Williams","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ro-RO","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/PW.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/PW.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/PW.png?fit=96%2C96&ssl=1","caption":"Paul Williams"},"description":"Paul Williams is an Adelaide-based football writer who has reported on the comings and goings of Asian football for the past decade. Having covered the past two Asian Cups, he writes regularly about the J.League for Optus Sport in Australia, while he also regularly contributes to Arab News. Further, he has previously been published by outlets such as FOX Sports Asia, Al Jazeera English, FourFourTwo, and appeared on numerous TV and radio shows to discuss Asian football.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net","www.instagram.com\/paul_williams_85","https:\/\/x.com\/www.twitter.com\/PaulWilliams_85"],"url":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/author\/paul-williams\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/KIJIMA.png?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4670"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7202,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4670\/revisions\/7202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}