Yasuki Kimoto
Japanese footballer
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Yasuki Kimoto (木本恭生, Kimoto, Yasuki; born 6 August 1993 in Fuji, Shizuoka) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre back or a defensive midfielder for J1 League club FC Tokyo.[1]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yasuki Kimoto | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 6 August 1993 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||
| Positions | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | FC Tokyo | |||||||||||||
| Number | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Shizuoka Gakuen Junior High School | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Shizuoka Gakuen High School | |||||||||||||
| College career | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Fukuoka University | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2016–2021 | Cerezo Osaka | 103 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2016 | → Cerezo Osaka U-23 (loan) | 23 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2021 | Nagoya Grampus | 32 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | FC Tokyo | 82 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2025 | → FC Tokyo (loan) | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 January 2026 | ||||||||||||||
Career
Kimoto joined Cerezo Osaka from Fukuoka University in 2016 and was initially assigned to Cerezo Osaka U-23. He scored his first professional league goal on his first team debut for Cerezo Osaka, scoring the winning goal in the 90th+4th minute.[2] On 18 March 2017, Kimoto made his J1 League debut against Sagan Tosu and assisted Kazuya Yamamura's winning goal.[3] On 8 October 2017, in the second leg of the semi-finals of the J.League Cup, Kimoto scored in the 90th+5th minute to send Cerezo Osaka to the first ever final.[4] A few weeks after the match, he was quoted as saying: "I want to win and keep playing in the games".[5] Cerezo would go on to win the J League Cup.[6]
On 24 December 2020, Kimoto was announced at Nagoya Grampus on a permanent transfer.[7] On 15 May 2021, his Nagoya teammate and captain Yuichi Maruyama was injured against Shimizu S-Pulse, and Kimoto was substituted on as his replacement.[8]
On 19 December 2021, Kimoto was announced at FC Tokyo on a permanent transfer.[9] He joined the team that his role model, Masato Morishige, plays for. Kimoto said: "I don't think it's an easy wall to overcome. It will be difficult, but I need to use my footwork, which is my forte, to perform better than Morishige.".[10]
Style of play
Kimoto can play as a center back or defensive midfielder, and is noted for his passing skills.[11]
Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Japan | League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | AFC | Total | |||||||
| Cerezo Osaka | 2016 | J2 League | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | J1 League | 23 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 3 | – | 40 | 6 | ||
| 2018 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 31 | 0 | |||
| Total | 103 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 136 | 7 | ||
| Cerezo Osaka U-23 (loan) | 2016 | J3 League | 23 | 1 | – | – | – | 23 | 1 | |||
| Nagoya Grampus | 2021 | J1 League | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 1 |
| FC Tokyo | 2022 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 24 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 179 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 28 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 231 | 10 | ||
Honours
- Nagoya Grampus