nobody noticed I guess but he scored against Juventus a nice header! Wasn't very good that aside, but still a great achievement.
Yes. I was watching the match live. Yoshida was guilty of the third goal Sampdoria conceded as he was walking slowly near the edge of the penalty area instead of pressing Juventus players, which resulted in one of them having enough space inside the penalty area to score the winner. In a recent interview with Yoshida, after he scored against Inter Milan, he said the club president praised him and told him they are interested in extending his contract and bringing another Japanese to the club. However, Yoshida was realistic about the chances of having another Japanese in the club due to Serie A's non-EU players restrictions.
Not totally true. I mean: this pain in the ass rule aka "only 1 non-EU player for transfer window" was one of the (not the only) reason behind the italian idiotic mindset "NO japanese players (especially if CBs/GKs) thanks, we prefer random brazilians/argentinians". Yoshida and Tomiyasu changed the mindset. I'm not joking or exaggerating.Yoshida had a good impact on the fans too: they praised him to speak fluent italian (something italian fans praise a lot everytime a foreigner player did it) and obviously for his performances and goals too. I bet there will be other(s) young japanese CBs in Serie A in a near future, an added value for the JNT and the whole JFA movement.
I wish, but I doubt it. The problem is that Serie A clubs have become lesswilling to take japanese players straight from the Jleague. So that would leave only players like Ueda, who are already in Europe, to have a chance.
Almost done that Yoshida joins Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. Great move! Yesterday after I wake up, I was thinking about that and today its close to happen. Tomorrow Yoshida arrives in Schalke and has only to pass the medical and sign the contract.