Probably time for Ryo to graduate from the Dan Schmidt discussion for his own thread at this point. Let's kick things off with a clinical counterattacking finish against northern rivals Consadole Sapporo in matchday 5 of the 2020 J1 League for his 2nd goal of the season. He's established himself as a starter in his 3rd full pro season with Vegalta, and from what I've seen he's a nice player. I would describe Ryo as a pacy left-footed attacker who operates as an inverted right winger, which works well for a club which generally operates in the lower half of the J1 table with a low share of possession. He has a high work rate, tracks back well, and shows grit in challenges on both sides of the ball. Germain also can lash a powerful shot with his left foot when cutting infield. Able to hold up the ball as well, and his tenacity helped create 2 goals for Sendai and an unlikely first-half lead against table leaders Kawasaki. To be honest, if you wanted to add a few random guys for January camp, Ryo wouldn't be the worst one out there. Pretty decent player.
Germain missed the 2nd half of the season with a broken foot while Vegalta struggled with a long winless streak, an insolvency crisis, management turnover, and even a starter fired for domestic violence charges. In 2021 Ryo is moving closer to home, joining fellow J1 club Yokohama FC on a full transfer.
He apparently has a brother named Alexander who is playing or recently played in lower-division Japan but has spent some time in the U.S. https://tymshinjoclub.com/teams/players/8699
Yup, I learned about Alex recently as well. I noted here that the brother has a US passport, which is why he was able to stay in the US just playing amateur soccer.
Ryo with a brace for Jubilo Iwata today, here in everyone's favorite sub-forum. New club for a while, so proposed thread name change: Ryo Germain at Jubilo Iwata @bungadiri @dark knight @TheFalseNine
Germain doesn't add to his tally of 15 goals on the season as Jubilo Iwata take a 4-0 pounding in the early hours today.
Germain is reportedly joining fellow Japanese striker Yuki Ohashi at Championship side Blackburn Rovers.
This article says it's nearly confirmed and just waiting on work permit details at the moment: https://www.londonworld.com/sport/f...united-express-interest-in-free-agent-4746684 "Jubilo Iwata striker Ryo Germain is reportedly being snapped up by Rovers having scored 15 times in 21 J1 League matches. Alan Nixon says a deal has been agreed with only a work permit missing for Germain to complete his move at this stage. Confirmation of that is likely to come in the next couple of days."
Ryo played all of a scoreless draw today. Highlight reel shows him missing a curling lefty 25 yarder over the top corner, and seemingly drawing a penalty but not getting the call.
Ryo had a brace yesterday against Cerezo Osaka. Still four points from safety, though. Have to believe he'll be on the move in the offseason, and it's a virtual certainty if they go down.
Germain went 90 in the season finale in a 3-0 loss, and they finish 18th, the top relegation spot. Back to J2 League. His contract is expiring. Should attract some interest after scoring that many goals in this league.
He's been linked with J1 runner-up club Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who reportedly also made an offer for him last offseason and are looking for reinforcements going into the knockout rounds of the AFC Champions League Two (the revamped "Europa League" in Asia) as well as the 25-26 ACL Elite (the rebranded top-level continental competition). https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/4...v=sp&mid=other&date=20241209&ctg=spo&bt=tw_up
Ryo Germain has officially joined J1 League runners-up Sanfrecce Hiroshima for the 2025 season, bolstering German manager Michael Skibbe's side with some attacking pace for the former corporate team of Mazda Motors. About the name "Sanfrecce":
He's 29, and this was the first season he's had where you'd really say he was a US prospect, putting up 19 goals in the J1 league for a poor team. Has never gotten a sniff from Japan, and it seems like he'll be a level below the USMNT ... but we've certainly capped worse. And who knows how interested he would be anyway at this point in his career.