The Bedroom Soccer Scout

  Date of birth: 23rd March 2001 Country: Japan Position: Centre Forward Height: 173cm Preferred foot: Right Club: Shonan Bellmare Shonan have been the surprise package so far in the 2025 J league season, winning all 3 games and sitting top of the league. The football has been direct and one of the main reasons their attacking style of play has worked is due to the phenomenal play of Sho Fukuda. A complete forward build, Fukuda posseses all the traits that tick the boxes of the modern managers of Europe. Quickness, finishing, pressing and the ability to come short to pick the ball up are all on show each time he is on the park. However his biggest strength for me at least is his off the ball movement. Often finding himself wide open in the box is not a coincidence, it is a result of his constant movement, making him a complete nightmare for opposing defenders who are not sure whether to man mark him or guard their box. This makes him both a danger for goals but also assists, due to...

  Scotland's national football team has been on a depressing struggle in recent times. Despite qualifying for 2 consecutive Euro's, the feeling around Steve Clarke has been diminishing in recent months. No competive win in 400 days, one win in 15 games (against Gibraltar) and the general negative style of play has led to many fans to question if Clarke should lead the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.  But who should be the man to replace him, should the SFA pull the plug on the Clarke-ball tenure. A few names seem to regularly come up, with Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes and David Moyles being the names thrown up by fans, pundits and bookies alike. And whilst there are certainly arguments for and against these potenial new national team managers, there is one man who has yet to appear in the conversation to take over. That man is Japanese coach Toru Oniki. A foreign coach for Scotland? Well that hasn't happened since Berti Vogts, 22 years ago. This of course was a disaster appoin...

  Date of birth: 4 September 2004 Country: Japan Position: Central Defender Height: 192cm Preferred foot: Right Club: Kawasaki Frontale It has been a great season for Kota Takai, really starting to make himself one of the first names on the Kwasaki Frontale team sheet. Starting 13 games out of his 14 appearances last season, he has already surpassed that, with 21 appearances currently. Kawasaki haven't been able to achieve their dominance this season like previous years, but with Kota Takai becoming another one of their growing academy graduates, the season hasn't been a total bust. The modern centre back needs to be a ball playing defender who can be comfortable on the ball as well as putting in the tackles. With 42 passes per game at a great 88% accuracy rate, including 2.1 long balls per game Kota can handle the ball at his feet. Even when under pressure he rarely panics and makes the best decision, even if it is to simply hook it clear.  One thing that stands out when watc...

  Date of birth: 29 Jan 2002 Country: Japan Position: Am/ RW Height: 170cm Preferred foot: Right Club: FC Tokyo (On loan from Kashima Antlers) Ryotaro Araki has been on my radar for many years now, having broken through at Kashima Antlers at 2020, having a breakthrough year in 2021, winning the J League rookie of the year. Just like many Japanese legends such as Shunsuke Nakamura, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, Araki is a technically brilliant attacking midfielder. In the 2021 season, Araki made 6 assists and notched up 10 goals as he won the award. However a few injuries including a herniated disc has set him back. However this season, Araki has reminded us all just how brilliant he is. In 10 J league appearances this season Araki has already got 6 goals at a very impressive goal conversion rate of 33%. Despite averaging less than a shot on target per game with 0.8, Araki's attacking skill set puts him in fantastic positions to convert his chances. His anticipation got him 2 goa...

  Date of birth: 22 November 2000 Country: Japan Position: Goalkeeper Height: 190cm Preferred foot: Right Club: Machida Zelvia Japanese football has always been entertaining to watch, from players like Shunsuke Nakamura to Hidetoshi Nakata and from Shinji Kagawa to Keisuke Honda making a vast impression to football fans all over the world, the technical side has always been clear, however there has been a glaring problem in Japanese football for decades now, and that is the lack of a solid Goalkeeper. However, with Kosei Tani shining, that problem could be solved. Contracted to Gamba Osaka and currently on loan to 2024's surprise package Machida Zelvia, Kosei has been a star performer for the J League's league leaders. Starting all 16 league games so far this season, Tani has notched up 6 clean sheets whilst posting a very respectful 2.1 saves at an accuracy rate of 72%. For comparison to Celtic's Joe Hart , Tani has a better save percentage (72% vs 68%) which is impressive...

  Date of birth:  29 May 1998 Country: Japan Position: Central Midfielder/ Defensive Midfield Height: 168cm Preferred foot: Right Club: Kawasaki Frontale Midfielders in the modern day compared to the previous era's look vastly different. There is a lot more work, a lot more pressing to go with the traditional skills. Although many midfielders have adapted to the change, many have not, however in the J league the box to box midfielder is the norm and I don't think there are many more that standout than Kawasaki Frontale's Kento Tachibanada. Captain Kento has been with Kawasaki since 2020 having followed in the path of many Japanese players by coming into professional football directly from university. Having being made captain in 2023 he has cemented himself as first choice on the team sheet for the successful J league club. In his first season with the club he made 32 appearances helping the club win it's first J league title and his performances on the pitch have only ...

  Yeison Guzman- Attacking Masterclass lighting up Colombia Date of birth: 22 March 1998 Country: Colombia Position: Attacking Midfield Height: 169cm Preferred foot: Right There is something magical about a South American attacking minded player taking over a game, the technical ability on show is simply wonderful for any football fan. And Yeison Guzman is certainly a player that makes football fun to watch.  A product of the famous Envigado Academy in his native Colombia,  he already has experience playing for some of the biggest clubs in Colombia, playing for both Envigado and Athletico Nacional and a move outside of Colombia seems to be on the cards sooner rather than later. Starting 14 out of the 15 games he has played in this season, he already has notched up 10 goals. Many of these goals follow the same pattern, following in a team mates shot and hitting it first time to outfox the goalkeeper. If he isn't doing that he is working a neat little give and go before fol...