 |
Kota Yoshihara's sudden, though short-lived streak of scoring success in 1999 and 2000 earned him the nickname: "lucky boy". However, it was his high work rate and enthusiasm, rather than luck, which allowed him to earn a breif moment of nationwide fame, and even a call-up to the national team under Philippe Troussier.
Although Yoshihara is a small, lighly-built player, his excellent body control and knack for knowing where the ball will be allow him to poach more goals than many larger and more powerful strikers. Yoshihara gained attention when Philippe Troussier selected him as the only J2 player on the 2000 Olympic team. In Olympic qualifiers, Yoshihara was one of the top scorers, making some acrobatic strikes in the Asian qualifying round, and convinced Troussier to give him a breif look on the full NT.
Following his success in Olympic qualifiers, Yoshihara was acquired by Gamba Osaka on a one-year loan from Consadole Sapporo. Unfortunately, he never managed to claim a full-time position at Gamba, and seemed to slowly lose his enthusiasm and energy. Once the exuberant spark that used to light up his performances faded, he became a rather ordinary player, and by the 2003 season he was starting to disappear from view altogether.
Yoshihara was traded to Omiya Ardija in 2006, and perhaps hoped that the less intense competition for starting time would allow him to make a comeback. Unfortunately, injuries intervened and ensured that he would spend another season in the shadows. At the moment, it seems unlikely that he will ever revisit the success that he enjoyed in that breif period of Olympic glory, but if he can avoid injury, perhaps he can at least win some playing time and improve on the disappointing figures he posted in 2006.
|
