Takashi Inui is a Japanese footballer who plays for Spanish club SD Eibar and the Japan national football team as a winger or attacking midfielder. Club career
Inui was the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament Letterwinner in 2006 when his High School, Shiga Yasu HS, won the tournament. In 2007, Inui joined Yokohama F. Marinos of the J. League Division 1 and made his debut as a professional against Yokohama F.C. in a league match on March 10. However, he failed to find a regular spot at Marinos and was loaned to then J. League Division 2 Cerezo Osaka in June 2008, earning himself a permanent move at the end of the season. In July 2011, Inui made the jump to Europe, joining Germany's VfL Bochum. He made his debut in the 2. Bundesliga, when he started in a 1–2 home defeat versus FC St. Pauli on August 13, 2011. In July 2012, Inui signed a three-year contract with newly promoted Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt after impressive performance in the German second tier. On 26 August 2015, Inui was transferred to La Liga side Eibar, after agreeing to a three-year contract. In April 2017, as the club was chasing a UEFA Europa League place, he was controversially called back to his homeland by Japan's prime minister, to serve as a delegate for the visit of King Felipe VI of Spain to Japan. On 21 May 2017 Inui became the first Japanese footballer to score against FC Barcelona, sniping the ball via cross-bar behind Ter Stegen, twice. International career
Inui made his full international debut for Japan on January 20, 2009 in a 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification against Yemen. In June 2018 he was named in Japan’s squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. |
