Yoshinori Muto

Lore & Background

Muto started his career with J1 League club FC Tokyo in 2013, playing three seasons. In May 2015, he signed for German club Mainz 05, amassing 72 appearances and 23 goals before moving to Premier League club Newcastle United in August 2018. He was loaned to Spanish club Eibar for the 2020–21 season, then joined Vissel Kobe on 7 August 2021. Internationally, Muto made his debut for Japan on 5 September 2014, scored his first international goal on 9 September 2014, and was named in Japan's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He was also called up for the 2019 Asian Cup replacing the injured Takuma Asano.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at Home's Stadium hummed their low, electric hum. The J-League crowd was already a wall of noise, scarves whipping in the Kobe sea-breeze. Muto stood at the edge of the box, eyes locked on the centre-back's hips, not the ball. The midfielder flicked it up. For half a second the striker was still, reading the angle. Then the run — a single, unbroken line, no feint, no cut. The defender turned, and the space was already gone. The ball arrived at his chest, one touch to control, one touch to drive it low into the corner. The net rippled. Muto didn't celebrate wildly; he just pointed at the crowd, as if to say, *this is what we do, every Saturday, no exceptions.* The stands roared back, and for a moment the whole stadium felt like one lung breathing out.

Reader's Guide

Muto plays as a forward or winger. He has represented Japan at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. His club career includes FC Tokyo, Mainz 05, Newcastle United, Eibar (loan), and Vissel Kobe.

Did You Know?

• Muto scored a hat-trick for Mainz 05 on 31 October 2015, becoming the second Japanese player to do so in the Bundesliga.
• He graduated from Keio University in March 2015.
• Muto was part of the J-League's Best XI in his debut professional season with FC Tokyo.