Takayuki Morimoto

Takayuki Morimoto (森本 貴幸) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward. He holds the record for the youngest Japanese player to make his professional debut, and the youngest scorer in J1 League history. Morimoto represented Japan at the 2004 and 2008 versions of the Toulon Tournament, the 2004 AFC Youth Championship, the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Youth career
Born in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Morimoto began his youth career with Tsudayama FC in 1995 before transferring to Verdy Junior in 1998. After three years, Morimoto moved to Verdy Junior Youth in 2001 and remained until 2004, when he was sold to Tokyo Verdy.

Tokyo Verdy
On 13 March 2004, Morimoto made his J1 League debut for Tokyo Verdy against Júbilo Iwata at the age of 15 years, 10 months and 6 days, a league record for youngest player to debut. He scored his first goal against JEF United Ichihara on 5 May of the same year, two days before his 16th birthday, another league record for youngest goal scorer. He captured the J.League Rookie of the Year Award for the 2004 season. During the 2004 season, Morimoto was teammates with former Cerro Porteño player Nozomi Hiroyama. In the 2005 season at Tokyo Verdy, Morimoto was teammates with Riki Kitawaki, who would play in Paraguay before Morimoto would do the same several years later. On 23 July 2006, Tokyo Verdy announced a one-year loan deal sending Morimoto to Catania of Serie A.

Catania
Morimoto made his Serie A debut on 28 January 2007 during an away game against Atalanta. He entered the game in the 83rd minute and scored the equalizing goal, his first, just five minutes later. On 13 March 2007, it was confirmed by Catania that Morimoto had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee and would be out for at least six months, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2006–07 season. Despite the serious injury, Catania recognized his potential and completed a permanent transfer deal in June 2007.

On 14 December 2008, Morimoto signed a three-year contract extension with Catania until 30 June 2011.

Morimoto had a breakthrough season for Catania during the 2008–09 season, as he scored ten goals in 25 league and Coppa Italia games while also being credited with several assists. Brazilian and Milan star Alexandre Pato told Italian sports daily Corriere dello Sport that he believed Morimoto was the best young player in Serie A and compared him to Ronaldo.

Despite all the talent and all the potential, the striker has never really lived up to all the expectations following an improvement in each of his first three seasons in Sicily. During the 2009–10 season, Morimoto scored an additional five goals, adding a further two during the 2010–11 league campaign. His performances have often been over-shadowed by the likes of Giuseppe Mascara, Maxi López, Jorge Martínez and Gionatha Spinesi, while the signing of Argentine international Gonzalo Bergessio also limited his chances to feature.

On 11 July 2011, Catania confirmed to have sold Morimoto to newly promoted Serie A club Novara in a co-ownership bid. Morimoto's season was hampered by injuries which limited the Japanese international to just 18 league appearances, producing four goals. At the end of the season, Novara was relegated to Serie B after placing 19th, and Morimoto officially returned to Catania on 21 June 2012.

On 7 January 2013, Morimoto was loaned to Al-Nasr Dubai, coached by former Catania manager Walter Zenga. The loan deal expired on 30 June 2013, and the player returned to Sicily.

Later years
On 14 August 2013, Morimoto signed for J2 League club JEF United Chiba for an undisclosed fee.

On 24 December 2015, Morimoto signed for Kawasaki Frontale on a two-year deal, with the contract starting on 1 February 2016.

In October 2020, Morimoto signed for the Greek Football League club AEP Kozani for an undisclosed fee. Having not been able to play because of the league being indefinitely suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic he asked for his release, making him a free agent.

In January 2021, Primera División Paraguaya team Sportivo Luqueño confirmed through their president that Morimito was going to arrive to Paraguay to sign for the club. In February 2021, Morimoto signed with the club. He was presented by the club through Twitter. He joined former Paraguay national team players Edgar Benitez, Guillermo Beltran and Luis Cabral. On 17 April 2021, Morimoto debuted for Sportivo Luqueño against Nacional Asunción in a 1–0 away defeat, being substituted onto the field in the 81st for Guillermo Beltran. This was his only appearance for the club, as he was released soon after.

On 23 August 2023, Serie D club Akragas announced the signing of Morimoto. However, the formal acquisition of the player was blocked by a number of bureaucratic issues related to his status as a non-EU citizen, which turned out to be insurmountable and led to the club announcing in January 2024 that the signing could not be completed at last.

International career
Morimoto represented Japan at the Japan U20 national team level at both the 2004 AFC Youth Championship and the 2005 World Youth Championship. In 2008, he was a member of the Japan U23 national team for the 2008 Summer Olympics, where the team was eliminated in the preliminary round, losing all three matches and only managing to score one goal.

On 10 October 2009, Morimoto made his debut for the senior national team against Scotland, coming on as a substitute for Ryoichi Maeda in a 2–0 win. On 14 October 2009, he made his first start and scored his first goal against Togo in a 5–0 win.

Personal life
In March 2021, Morimoto was involved in a traffic collision in Paraguay after crashing his vehicle against a motorcycle.

International

 * Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Morimoto goal.

Honours
Tokyo Verdy
 * Emperor's Cup: 2004
 * Japanese Super Cup: 2005

Kawasaki Frontale
 * J1 League: 2017

Individual
 * J.League Rookie of the Year: 2004
 * Manchester United Premier Cup Most Valuable Player: 2003