Louis Yamaguchi

Louis Yamaguchi
山口 瑠伊

Personal information
Full name	Louis Takaji Julien Thébault Yamaguchi
Date of birth	(1998-05-28) 28 May 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	La Garenne-Colombes, France
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Kawasaki Frontale (on loan from Machida Zelvia)
Number	98
Youth career
	FC Waseda
2010–2014	FC Tokyo
2014–2017	Lorient
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2019	Extremadura B	33	(0)
2019–2020	Extremadura	1	(0)
2020–2021	Recreativo	4	(0)
2022–2023	Mito HollyHock	63	(0)
2024–	Machida Zelvia	0	(0)
2024	→ Kawasaki Frontale (loan)	0	(0)
International career
2016	Japan U19	4	(0)
2017	Japan U20	1	(0)
2018–2019	Japan U23	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:50, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

Louis Takaji Julien Thébault Yamaguchi (Japanese: 山口 瑠伊, born 28 May 1998) is a footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for J1 League club Kawasaki Frontale, on loan from Machida Zelvia. Born in France, he is a youth international for Japan.

Club career

Born in La Garenne-Colombes, Paris to a French father and a Japanese mother, Yamaguchi moved to Tokyo at six months old,[1] and returned to France at the age of 16, joining FC Lorient's youth setup.[2] On 16 June 2017, after finishing his formation, he moved to Spanish Segunda División B side Extremadura UD, being initially assigned to the reserves.[3]

Yamaguchi made his senior debut on 3 September 2017, starting in a 1–0 Tercera División home loss against UD Montijo. He became a regular starter for the B-side during the following seasons, and ahead of the 2019–20 campaign, he was definitely promoted to the first team as a backup to Casto.

Yamaguchi made his professional debut on 3 November 2019, starting in a 3–1 home loss against Girona FC in the Segunda División.[4] He left the club in the following July, as his contract expired, and joined Recreativo de Huelva in the third division on 11 August.[5]

After leaving Recreativo in July 2021, Yamaguchi signed with J2 League club Mito HollyHock in January 2022.[6] He made his club debut in a 2-1 loss to Thespakusatsu Gunma as the team's starting goalkeeper, replacing Shu Mogi.[7]

In January 2024, Yamaguchi joined newly promoted J1 League club FC Machida Zelvia.[8] He appeared in one match, a 1-1 (2-4) penalty shootout loss to the fifth-division University of Tsukuba team in the Emperor's Cup, before being sent on loan to Kawasaki Frontale.[9] Yamaguchi made his club debut for Frontale keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win against Ventforet Kofu in the J.League Cup quarter-finals.[10]

International career

Yamaguchi represented Japan at under-19, under-20 and under-23 levels. He was a member of the Japanese squad at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and the squad that finished runners-up in the 2019 Toulon Tournament.

References

1. ""Kubo es un fenómeno, por algo le llaman el 'Messi japonés"" ["Kubo is a phenomenon, that is why they call him 'Japanese Messi'"] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
2. "Info FM: de Tokyo à Extremadura en passant par Lorient, à la découverte du gardien franco-japonais Louis Thébault-Yamaguchi" [Info FM: from Tokyo to Extremadura going through Lorient, the discovery of a French-Japanese goalkeeper Louis Thébault-Yamaguchi] (in French). Foot Mercato. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
3. "¡Louis Yamaguchi nuevo jugador del Extremadura B!" [Louis Yamaguchi new player of Extremadura B!]. Extremadura UD (in Spanish). Facebook. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
4. "Yamagouchi 'alegra' el debut de Martí al frente del Girona" [Yamagouchi [sic] 'rejoices' Martí's debut ahead of Girona] (in Spanish). Marca. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
5. "Louis Yamaguchi, nuevo jugador del Recre" [Louis Yamaguchi, new player of Recre] (in Spanish). Recreativo Huelva. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
6. "山口 瑠伊". 水戸ホーリーホック公式サイト. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
7. "ThespaKusatsu Gunma v Mito Hollyhock Live Commentary, Apr 03, 2022". Goal. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
8. 山口瑠伊選手 完全移籍加入のお知らせ, zelvia.co.jp, 6 January 2024
9. "Machida Zelvia vs. Tsukuba University 1 - 1". Soccerway. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
10. "Kawasaki Frontale vs. Ventforet Kofu 1 - 0". Soccerway. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.

External links

• Louis Yamaguchi – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Louis Yamaguchi at BDFutbol
• Louis Yamaguchi at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
• Louis Yamaguchi at Soccerway