Kotaro Uchino

Kotaro Uchino (内野 航太郎) is a Japanese footballer currently playing as a forward for the University of Tsukuba's football team.

Uchino began his career in the academy of Yokohama F. Marinos, where he established himself as a clinical goal-scorer, scoring twenty-one goals in the 2022 season, breaking the all-time record at that level for the number of goals scored in one league season.

In July of the same year, as his performances impressed Marinos' board, he was registered for the first team as a "Type 2 player" (term used in Japan to say the player is currently eligible to play both for the U-18s and for the first-team).

Having spoken with Kosei Suwama and Ryotaro Tsunoda, who had both attended the University of Tsukuba, Uchino decided to commit to the university, rather than continue his career with Yokohama.

He left Yokohama's youth academy having scored over thirty goals in his last two seasons, including appearances at the Prince Takamado U-18 Premier League, the top division for youth teams in the country.

Uchino committed to study at the University of Tsukuba ahead of the 2023 season, and he immediately had an impact on the school's football team, scoring seven goals in his first six games.

For his goal-scoring exploits, he was compared to both Shuhei Akasaki, who held the record for most goals as a university freshman with thirteen, as well as former University of Tsukuba alumni Kaoru Mitoma, who had also made a name for himself in Japan for his performances at university level.

He scored in the University of Tsukuba's 3–2 away loss to Briobecca Urayasu in the Emperor's Cup.

Having been routinely called up for youth team training camps, Uchino was called up to the Japanese under-19 side for the 2023 Maurice Revello Tournament.

Buoyed by his performances for the University of Tsukuba football team, he stated that he wanted to score in every single game he played in.

However, Japan failed to impress at the tournament, finishing tenth out of twelve teams, with Uchino scoring once in four games.

During his time in the Yokohama F. Marinos academy, Uchino grew frustrated with his teammates inability to pick him out with their passes.

He began watching Shinzo Koroki as a reference for his movement, and developed a better understanding of attacking movement and how to escape his marker, allowing for his teammates to find him with their passes.

He notably studied the games of the University of Tsukuba football team before joining, to fully grasp the team's style of play.

On his arrival at the university, he actively communicated with his new teammates, regardless of age, to inform them how he played, and how he would like the ball to be played into him.

He would also watch videos of Norway and Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, but would flip the videos in order to be able to copy his movement and style of play, as Haaland is left-footed, while Uchino favours his right foot.

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