Genki Haraguchi

Lore & Background

Haraguchi made his professional debut for Urawa Red Diamonds on 25 May 2008 in the J. League Cup against Nagoya Grampus. He scored his first professional goal against Nagoya Grampus in a J. League Division 1 game on 12 April 2009. On 25 May 2014, he signed with Hertha BSC, scoring his first competitive goal for the club on 16 August 2014 in a DFB Pokal win over FC Viktoria Köln, and his first Bundesliga goal on 14 March against Schalke 04. In January 2018, he joined Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan until the end of the season, playing a key role in their promotion to the Bundesliga. On 11 June 2018, he agreed to join Hannover 96 for the 2018–19 season. On 30 January 2023, he signed for VfB Stuttgart on an eighteen-month contract, and on 18 May 2024, Stuttgart announced he would leave after his contract expired. Internationally, he was on Japan's preliminary 50-man list for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, played in the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup (helping Japan win the championship for the first time), and was named to Japan's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at the Al Bayt Stadium hummed with a frequency you could feel in your chest. It was the 73rd minute, and the scoreboard still read 1-1 against Germany. Haraguchi stood in the centre of the penalty area, eyes locked on the ball as it was swung in from a corner. He read the trajectory a half-second before the German centre-forward did, timed his jump, and met the ball with the crown of his head. The thud was final. The ball sailed over the keeper's outstretched fingers and into the net. He did not celebrate wildly. He simply turned, jogged back to his mark, and raised a single fist. Around him, the Japanese end of the stadium erupted as though the World Cup had already been won. In that quiet, controlled moment, the entire philosophy of the Samurai Blue's defensive line was on display: no panic, no heroics for their own sake—just the right read, at the right time, in the right place.

Reader's Guide

Genki Haraguchi plays as an attacking midfielder. His club career includes Urawa Red Diamonds, Hertha BSC, Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan), Hannover 96, VfB Stuttgart, and Beerschot. He has represented Japan in the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup and was in the preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup. His honours include the 2. Bundesliga title with Fortuna Düsseldorf (2017–18), the EAFF East Asian Cup (2013), and the J. League Cup New Hero Award (2011).

Did You Know?

• Haraguchi made his professional debut on 25 May 2008, exactly six years before signing with Hertha BSC on 25 May 2014.
• He scored his first Bundesliga goal against Schalke 04 to put Hertha 2–1 in front.
• Haraguchi helped Fortuna Düsseldorf gain promotion to the Bundesliga during his loan spell in the 2017–18 season.
• He was named to Japan's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.