# Yoshiaki Takagi

Yoshiaki Takagi (高木 善朗, Takagi Yoshiaki, born 9 December 1992) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for J1 League club Albirex Niigata.

## Career

He is noted for being a free-kick specialist and emerging as a regular member at Tokyo Verdy in his debut season at the age of 17. Alongside Arsenal winger Ryo Miyaichi and FC Bayern Munich forward Takashi Usami, Takagi is considered part of what has been termed by the Japanese media as the "Platinum Generation."

## National team career

In October 2009, Takagi was elected Japan U-17 national team for 2009 U-17 World Cup. He played all 3 matches and scored a goal against Brazil in first match.

## Family

He comes from a sports family, with his father Yutaka being a former professional baseball player, notably for Yokohama BayStars, and brother Toshiyuki is also a professional footballer.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 27 November 2022.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Tokyo Verdy | 2010 | J2 League | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 34 | 5 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 2011 | J2 League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 1 |
| Tokyo Verdy | Total | Total | 43 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 6 |
| FC Utrecht | 2011–12 | Eredivisie | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | - | - | 15 | 1 |
| FC Utrecht | 2012–13 | Eredivisie | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | - | - | 8 | 0 |
| FC Utrecht | 2013–14 | Eredivisie | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| FC Utrecht | Total | Total | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 243 | 6 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2014 | J1 League | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 3 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2015 | J1 League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 8 | 1 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Total | Total | 13 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 4 |
| Tokyo Verdy (loan) | 2015 | J2 League | 18 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 20 | 2 |
| Tokyo Verdy (loan) | 2016 | J2 League | 37 | 8 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 39 | 10 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 2017 | J2 League | 37 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 38 | 7 |
| Tokyo Verdy | Total | Total | 92 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 97 | 19 |
| Albirex Niigata | 2018 | J2 League | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 36 | 1 |
| Albirex Niigata | 2019 | J2 League | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 33 | 2 |
| Albirex Niigata | 2020 | J2 League | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 35 | 1 |
| Albirex Niigata | 2021 | J2 League | 42 | 10 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 42 | 10 |
| Albirex Niigata | 2022 | J2 League | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 33 | 9 |
| Albirex Niigata | Total | Total | 174 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 179 | 23 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 356 | 45 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 382 | 53 |
* ↑ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearance in J1/J2 play-off

### International

    As of 29 June 2010
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Japan U17 |
| Japan U17 | 2008 | 4 | 0 |
| Japan U17 | 2009 | 4 | 1 |
| Japan U17 | Total | 8 | 1 |
| Japan U19 |
| Japan U19 | 2010 | 3 | 0 |
| Japan U19 | Total | 3 | 0 |
International appearances and goals :
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Goal | Competition |
| 2008 |||||||
| | 5 October | MHSK Stadium, Tashkent | Malaysia U16 | 4–0 | 0 | 2008 AFC U-16 Championship / Japan U16 |
| | 7 October | MHSK Stadium, Tashkent | United Arab Emirates U16 | 6–1 | 0 | 2008 AFC U-16 Championship / Japan U16 |
| | 12 October | MHSK Stadium, Tashkent | Saudi Arabia U16 | 2–0 | 0 | 2008 AFC U-16 Championship / Japan U16 |
| | 15 October | Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent | South Korea U16 | 1–2 | 0 | 2008 AFC U-16 Championship / Japan U16 |
| 2009 |||||||
| | 19 June | Stade Municipal, Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso U17 | 1–0 | 0 | Friendly / Japan U17 |
| | 24 October | Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos | Brazil U17 | 2–3 | 1 | 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup / Japan U17 |
| | 27 October | Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos | Switzerland U17 | 3–4 | 0 | 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup / Japan U17 |
| | 30 October | Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos | Mexico U17 | 0–2 | 0 | 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup / Japan U17 |
| 2010 |||||||
| | 20 June | Ekbatan Stadium Tehran, Tehran | Iran U19 | 2–1 | 0 | Friendly / Japan U19 |
| | 27 June | Weifang Sports Center Stadium, Weifang | China PR U19 | 0–1 | 0 | Friendly / Japan U19 |
| | 29 June | Weifang Sports Center Stadium, Weifang | China PR U19 | 2–1 | 0 | Friendly / Japan U19 |

## Honours
### Albirex Niigata

* J2 League : 2022

### Individual

* J2 League Best XI: 2022