Louis Yamaguchi
Japanese footballer (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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. Born in France, he is a former youth international for Japan.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Louis Takaji Julien Thébault-Yamaguchi | ||
| Date of birth | 28 May 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | La Garenne-Colombes, France | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| FC Waseda | |||
| 2011–2014 | 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) |
| 2025– | Kawasaki Frontale | 26 | (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 as of 12 September 2025 | |||
Club career
Born in La Garenne-Colombes, Paris to a French father and a Japanese mother, Thébault-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]
Thébault-Yamaguchi made his professional debut on 3 September 2017, starting in a 1–0 Tercera División home lost 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.
Thébault-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, Thébault-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, Thébault-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 in the J.League Cup quarter-finals, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win against Ventforet Kofu.[10]
In December, it was announced that Thébault-Yamaguchi would be permanently transferred to Kawasaki Frontale.[11] He began Frontale's 2025 campaign as their starting goalkeeper, in the process making his J1 League and AFC Champions League debuts, which were both clean sheet victories.[12][13] Yamaguchi kept his starting position throughout Frontale's run to the 2025 AFC Champions League Elite final, a 2–0 defeat to Al-Ahli.[14]
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.
Honours
Kawasaki Frontale
- AFC Champions League Elite runner-up: 2024-25[15]
