Tsuyoshi Watanabe
Japanese footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tsuyoshi Watanabe (渡辺 剛, Watanabe Tsuyoshi; born 5 February 1997) is a Japanese football player who plays as a defender for Eredivisie club Feyenoord[1] and the Japan national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tsuyoshi Watanabe | ||
| Date of birth | 5 February 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Saitama, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Feyenoord | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2008 | Obukuro FC | ||
| 2009–2011 | FC Tokyo | ||
| 2012–2014 | Yamanashi Gakuin Univ. High School | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | Chuo University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | FC Tokyo U-23 | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | FC Tokyo | 75 | (5) |
| 2022–2023 | Kortrijk | 41 | (1) |
| 2023–2025 | Gent | 70 | (4) |
| 2025– | Feyenoord | 26 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019–2021 | Japan U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 2019– | Japan | 10 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:01, 5 April 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:25, 31 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Watanabe joined J1 League club FC Tokyo in 2018.[citation needed] On 4 January 2021, he started for FC Tokyo in the final of the J.League Cup against Kashiwa Reysol. FC Tokyo won 2–1 to claim the third J.League Cup in club history.[2][3]
On 28 December 2021, Watanabe signed a three and a half year contract with Kortrijk in Belgium.[4] On 1 July 2023, Watanabe moved to fellow Pro League club KAA Gent on a permanent deal for a fee of €3,500,000.[5]
On 23 July 2025, Watanabe joined Dutch side Feyenoord on a four year contract.[6] On 12 August, he scored his first two goals for the club in a 5–2 defeat to Fenerbahçe in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[7]
International career
On 1 January 2024, Watanabe was selected by manager Hajime Moriyasu as a member of the Japan squad at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[8]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 5 April 2026[9]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC Tokyo | 2019 | J1 League | 20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — | 31 | 2 | |
| 2020 | J1 League | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | 38 | 2 | |
| 2021 | J1 League | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 34 | 2 | ||
| Total | 75 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 103 | 7 | ||
| Kortrijk | 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | |||
| Total | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 1 | ||||
| Gent | 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 14[d] | 1 | 52 | 3 | |
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 13[d] | 1 | 48 | 3 | ||
| Total | 70 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 27 | 2 | 100 | 6 | |||
| Feyenoord | 2025–26 | Eredivisie | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[e] | 3 | 35 | 4 | |
| Career total | 212 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 42 | 5 | 281 | 17 | ||
- Includes Emperor's Cup, Belgian Cup, KNVB Cup
- Includes J.League Cup
- Appearances in AFC Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Two appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[10]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | |
Honours
FC Tokyo
