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Yoshito Okubo came out of high school as one of the most exciting youngsters in the country. A very offensive-minded forward with good dribbling skills and a cannon shot from the right foot, Okubo led his high school team to the national championship in 2000 before being picked up by Cerezo Osaka. Okubo also earned a top spot in Japan's national teams at first the U-20 level then the U-23, and got his first start in the full national team before turning 22. His skill set, is impressive, though he may not necessarily appear, at first glance, to be a "true" striker. However, even though he is rather small for a forward, he has a powerful body and is quite good in the air for a player his size.
Okubo quickly proved to be too big for his club team, Cerezo, who eventually realised that they would have to part with their marquee player sooner or later, and decided to act while the market was still favourable. Cerezo negotiated a deal that sendt Okubo to RCD Mallorca, in the Primera Liga, and Okubo made a splash by scoring a goal in his first match in Spain.
Unfortunately, Mallorca were a weak team to begin with, and certainly were not in a good position to offer a player like Okubo a chance to "acclimate" to the pressures of playing in Europe. To make matters worse, Okubo suffered an injury in his first match which prevented him from following up on that early success and building a strong image with the fans. Though most Spanish football viewers we have spoken with think that Okubo got a raw deal, he ended up spending a lot of time on the bench, and when Mallorca were relegated at the end of the 2005-06 season, no other Spanish clubs knew him well enough to pick up the contract.
For the time being, Okubo has been forced to return to Japan and start again. However, he is still quite young and if he works hard to get his career back on track, he may very well get a second chance to prove himself overseas. For the time being, fans of Vissel Kobe will welcome the presence of a combative player in the front line -- something they have lacked since Ryuji Bando was traded away in 2004.
National Team Data & History | |||||||||||
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| Date | Vs. | Score | Location | Status | Min. | G | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-31-2003 | Korea | 0-1 | Nat'l Stadium | Sub | 25 | 0 | |||||
| 6-8-2003 | Argentina | 1-4 | Nagai Stadium | Sub | 45 | 0 | |||||
| 6-11-2003 | Paraguay | 0-0 | Saitama Stadium | Start | 90 | 0 | |||||
| 6-18-2003 | New Zealand | 3-0 | St.Denis,France | Start | 90 | 0 | |||||
| 6-20-2003 | France | 1-2 | St.Etienne,France | Start | 90 | 0 | |||||
| 6-22-2003 | Colombia | 0-1 | St.Etienne,France | Start | 67 | 0 | |||||
| 8-20-2003 | Nigeria | 3-0 | Nat'l Stadium | Sub | 22 | 0 | |||||
| 9-10-2003 | Senegal | 0-1 | Niigata Stadium | Start | 64 | 0 | |||||
| 10-8-2003 | Tunisia | 1-0 | Tunis, Tunisia | Sub | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 10-11-2003 | Romania | 1-1 | Bucharest, Romania | Sub | 13 | 0 | |||||
| 11-19-2003 | Cameroon | 0-0 | Oita Stadium | Sub | 21 | 0 | |||||
| 12-4-2003 | China | 2-0 | Nat'l Stadium | Start | 77 | 0 | |||||
| 12-7-2003 | Hong Kong | 1-0 | Saitama Stadium, | Start | 90 | 0 | |||||
| 12-10-2003 | Korea | 0-0 | Yokohama Int'l St. | Sub | 18 | 0 | |||||
| 2-8-2004 | Malaysia | 4-0 | Nat'l Stadium | U.R. | -- | -- | |||||
| 2-12-2004 | Iraq | 2-0 | Shizuoka Stadium | Sub | 11 | 0 | |||||
| 11-17-2004 | Singapore | 1-0 | Saitama Stadium, Japan | Sub | 32 | 0 | |||||
| 12-16-2004 | Germany | 0-3 | Tokyo National Stadium | Sub | 15 | 0 | |||||
| 10-08-2005 | Latvia | 2-2 | Riga, Latvia | Sub | 25 | 0 | |||||
| 10-12-2005 | Ukraine | 0-1 | Ukraine | Sub | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 8-22-2007 | Cameroon | 2-0 | Oita "Big Eye" Std | Start | 50 | 0 | |||||
| 10-17-2007 | Egypt | 4-1 | Nagai Stadium, Osaka | Start | 90 | 2 | |||||
| 1-26-2007 | Chile | 0-0 | Natl Stadium, Tokyo | Sub | 28 | 0 | |||||
| 1-30-2007 | Bosnia | 3-0 | Natl Stadium, Tokyo | Start | 88 | 0 | |||||
