1. Overview
Akito Takagi (髙木 彰人Takagi AkitoJapanese) is a Japanese professional football player who currently plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for SC Sagamihara in the J3 League. Throughout his career, he has progressed through various Japanese clubs, including a significant tenure with Gamba Osaka and loan spells, before joining his current team.
2. Personal Information
Akito Takagi's personal background includes his birth details and physical characteristics that are relevant to his football career.
2.1. Birth and Background
Takagi was born on August 4, 1997, in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He developed his early football skills within the Gamba Osaka academy system, starting from his junior high school years at Sakai City Harumidai Junior High School and continuing through Otemon Gakuin High School.
2.2. Physical Attributes
Takagi stands at 69 in (175 cm) tall and weighs 143 lb (65 kg). He is right-footed, which is his preferred foot for playing.
3. Career
Akito Takagi's professional football journey began in the youth ranks of Gamba Osaka and has seen him play for several clubs across Japan's professional leagues.
3.1. Youth Career
Takagi's football development began with SS Create before he joined the Gamba Osaka junior youth team in 2010, where he played until 2012. During this period, he was selected for the U-15 Japan national team in 2011 and participated in the AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers. As a striker for Gamba Osaka Junior Youth, he was recognized as one of the top players in Japan for his age group, possessing a combination of speed and power. In 2012, he played a pivotal role in the team achieving an unprecedented U-15 national triple crown, winning the Kansai Soccer League (U-15) Sunrise League, the JFA Premier Cup, the Japan Club Youth Football Championship (U-15), and the Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Championship.
In 2013, Takagi was promoted to the Gamba Osaka youth team. In April 2014, during his second year of high school, he was registered as a Type 2 player for the senior team.
3.2. Gamba Osaka
Akito Takagi made his senior team debut for Gamba Osaka on April 16, 2014, starting in a J.League Cup match against Sagan Tosu. At 16 years, 8 months, and 12 days old, he became the youngest player in the club's history to make an official appearance, surpassing the record previously held by Takashi Usami. Although he played only the first half, his offensive contributions, including a key run that led to the opening goal, helped secure a victory for his team.
In 2015, during his third year of high school, Takagi participated in the top team's training camp and was primarily utilized as a side half, a position he also played for youth national teams. After not playing in 2015 or 2016, Takagi saw increased involvement with the first team during the latter part of the 2017 season. He made 7 J1 League appearances and played in 2 AFC Champions League matches that year. In 2018, with a change in head coaches from Kenta Hasegawa to Levir Culpi and then Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Takagi's playing time with the top squad was significantly reduced, limiting him to just one substitute appearance in the J.League Cup against Urawa Red Diamonds. During 2018, he wore jersey number 18 for Gamba Osaka.
Takagi also frequently featured for Gamba Osaka U-23, the club's reserve side that joined the J3 League in 2016. In their inaugural campaign, he made 23 appearances and scored 1 goal. In 2017, due to his involvement with the first team, he played only once for the U-23 side. However, in 2018, he had a stronger showing, participating in all 32 games and scoring 5 goals. In May 2019, his performance for Gamba Osaka U-23, which included scoring 4 goals in three consecutive matches, earned him the J3 League Monthly MVP award. On July 3, 2019, he scored his first two goals for the top team in the Emperor's Cup second round against Kamatamare Sanuki. Later that month, on July 21, he achieved his first professional hat-trick in a J3 match against Cerezo Osaka U-23, bringing his J3 goal tally to 11 and making him the top scorer in the league at that time.
3.3. Loan Spells
On July 25, 2019, Takagi moved to Montedio Yamagata in the J2 League on a development loan. He made his debut and scored his first goal for the club on July 27, 2019, in a match against Tokushima Vortis. He played 10 matches and scored 1 goal during this loan spell.
On January 8, 2020, Takagi was loaned to Matsumoto Yamaga FC, also in the J2 League. He made 12 appearances for the club during his time there.
3.4. Thespakusatsugu Gunma
On January 7, 2021, Akito Takagi made a permanent transfer to Thespakusatsugu Gunma in the J2 League. He played for the club until the end of the 2023 season, making 58 appearances and scoring 2 goals. A notable moment during his tenure was scoring the winning goal in the 2022 Emperor's Cup third round match against Urawa Red Diamonds, contributing to an upset victory. His contract with Thespakusatsugu Gunma expired on November 17, 2023.
3.5. SC Sagamihara
In 2024, Takagi joined SC Sagamihara in the J3 League, wearing jersey number 14. As of his most recent statistics, he has made 25 appearances and scored 2 goals for the club.
4. National Team Career
Akito Takagi has represented Japan at various youth international levels, participating in numerous tournaments and training camps.
He was part of the U-15 Japan national team that competed in the AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers in 2012. He also played for the U-16 Japan national team in the Montaigu International Tournament in 2013.
As a member of the U-17 Japan national team, he participated in the 18th International Youth Soccer in Niigata, the Sanix Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament, and the 21st Vaclav Jezek International Youth Tournament, all in 2014.
His involvement continued with the U-18 Japan national team, where he played in the Chang'an Ford Cup and the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers in 2015.
For the U-19 Japan national team, Takagi played in the Suwon JS Cup U-19 International Youth Football Tournament, the Panda Cup, and the NTC Invitational Tournament, all in 2016.
He was selected for the Japan U-20 national team for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in May 2017, where he played in 2 matches. Additionally, he participated in a Germany expedition and the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers with the U-20 team in 2017.
In 2018, Takagi was part of the U-21 Japan national team that competed in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship.
5. Statistics
Akito Takagi's career statistics across various clubs and competitions are detailed below.
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| Japan | League | Emperor's Cup | League Cup | Asia | Super Cup | Total | |||||||||
| 2014 | Gamba Osaka | J1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2018 | J1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 2 | 2 | |||||
| 2019 | Yamagata | J2 | 10 | 1 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 10 | 1 | ||||
| 2020 | Matsumoto | J2 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | Gunma | J2 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 26 | 2 | ||||
| 2022 | J2 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 24 | 3 | |||||
| 2023 | J2 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 14 | 0 | |||||
| 2024 | Sagamihara | J3 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 27 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 112 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 127 | 11 | |||
- In 2014 and 2015, Takagi was registered as a Type 2 player.
Reserve Team Performance
| Club performance | League | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| Japan | League | Total | |||||
| 2016 | Gamba Osaka U-23 | J3 | 23 | 1 | 23 | 1 | |
| 2017 | J3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | J3 | 32 | 5 | 32 | 5 | ||
| 2019 | J3 | 17 | 11 | 17 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 73 | 17 | 73 | 17 | |||
International Club Performance
| Season | Club | Continental | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Gamba Osaka | ACL | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | ACL | 2 | 0 | |
| Career total | 2 | 0 | ||
- First official match: April 16, 2014, J.League Cup Preliminary Round 3 vs. Sagan Tosu (at Best Amenity Stadium)
- First J.League appearance: March 13, 2016, J3 League Matchday 1 vs. YSCC Yokohama (at Suita City Football Stadium)
- First J.League goal: April 10, 2016, J3 League Matchday 4 vs. Cerezo Osaka U-23 (at Suita City Football Stadium)
6. Honors
Akito Takagi has achieved several team and individual honors throughout his career.
Club
- Gamba Osaka Junior Youth
- Kansai Soccer League (U-15) Sunrise League: 2010, 2011, 2012
- JFA Premier Cup: 2012
- Japan Club Youth Football Championship (U-15): 2012
- Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Championship: 2012
- Gamba Osaka Youth
- Prince Takamado Cup JFA U-18 Football Premier League WEST: 2015
- Gamba Osaka
- J.League Cup: 2014
Individual
- J3 League Monthly MVP: May 2019
- Japan Club Youth Football Championship MIP: 2011
- Japan Club Youth Football Championship MVP: 2012