Ao Tanaka
Tanaka in 2022
Personal information
Full name Ao Tanaka[1]
Date of birth (1998-09-10) 10 September 1998
Place of birth Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, Japan
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Number 4
Youth career
2007–2016 Kawasaki Frontale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2022 Kawasaki Frontale 79 (7)
2021–2022 → Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) 29 (1)
2022− Fortuna Düsseldorf 34 (4)
International career‡
2019–2021 Japan U23 18 (2)
2019– Japan 25 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 November 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 January 2024

Ao Tanaka (田中碧, Tanaka Ao, born 10 September 1998) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for 2. Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf and the Japan national team.

Club career

Kawasaki Frontale

Raised for a decade in the Kawasaki Frontale youth ranks of his hometown, Tanaka made his J1 League debut in September 2018 against Consadole Sapporo, scoring his first professional goal just six minutes after he was subbed on.[3] As injuries struck the midfield options of Kawasaki Frontale during the 2019 season, he earned more starts with his club, participating in 24 J1 League matches throughout the season, accumulating 31 matches in total during the year, across 5 different competitions. As his performances continuously caught the eyes of many, and his manager's approval, he was then awarded the 2019 J.League Rookie of the Year Award in his first full professional season. With this feat, he is the only Kawasaki Frontale player ever to win this award.[4]

Fortuna Düsseldorf

On 26 June 2021, after two and a half professional seasons with Kawasaki Frontale, he joined German 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf on a year-long loan with an option to buy.[5]

On 28 April 2022, Fortuna Düsseldorf, satisfied with his club and national team performances, exercised the buy-out option in his club contract to acquire him, paying his release clause to get him officially signed for the club on 28 April 2022. He signed a three-year contract with the expiration date being 30 June 2025, encouraged by a sequence of game time with their first-team in the 2021–22 2. Bundesliga.[6]

International career

Tanaka made his debut for the Japan national football team on 14 December 2019, in a 5–0 win against Hong Kong in the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship.[7] In the summer of 2021, he was named in the 22-man squad for the 2020 Olympic Games alongside 2 Kawasaki Frontale ex-teammates, Kaoru Mitoma, and Reo Hatate. He started every match for Japan during the tournament.

Throughout the 2020 season, Tanaka established for a good reputation among the Kawasaki Frontale players, playing a total of more than 2500 minutes across all competitions, being a starter in most of the matches he played. His performances with the Kawasaki Frontale team also helped him earn caps with the Japan under-23 team, including a two-goal performance that helped the Japan under-23s earn a 3–2 win over the Brazil under-23 team in a friendly match at 14 October 2019.[8]

He played his first match in the AFC qualification tournament for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 12 October 2021, where he scored his first international goal in a 2–1 home win against Australia.[9][10] On 1 November 2022, Tanaka was included in Japan's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[11] On 1 December, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Spain, which qualified his national team to the knockout stage as top of their group.[12]

Personal life

Tanaka is currently dating Airi Suzuki, a former member of the Japanese idol group Cute.[13]

He is also the childhood friend of fellow Japan international and former Kawasaki Frontale teammate, Kaoru Mitoma, who currently plays for English Premier League club, Brighton and Hove Albion. Both of them attended Saginuma elementary school in Kawasaki, Kanagawa and made promise to make Japan proud as a professional footballer.[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 November 2023[15][16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental[lower-alpha 3] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kawasaki Frontale 2017 J1 League 0000000000
2018 J1 League 4100000041
2019 J1 League 241001041292
2020 J1 League 3152150–386
2021 J1 League 201000000201
Total 7982160419110
Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) 2021–22 2. Bundesliga 29110——301
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2022–23 2. Bundesliga 22130——251
2023–24 2. Bundesliga 12320——143
Total 344500000384
Career total 14213101604116015

International

As of match played 1 January 2024.[2]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Japan 201920
202131
2022132
202363
202411
Total257

International goals

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 October 2021Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan Australia1–02–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.2 June 2022Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan Paraguay4–14–12022 Kirin Challenge Cup
3.1 December 2022Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar Spain2–12–12022 FIFA World Cup
4.9 September 2023Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg, Germany Germany4–14–1Friendly
5.13 October 2023Denka Big Swan Stadium, Niigata, Japan Canada1–04–1Friendly
6.4–0
7.1 January 2024Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan Thailand1–05–0Friendly

Honours

Kawasaki Frontale

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Japan (JPN)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 16. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Japan National Team｜JFA｜Japan Football Association".
  3. ↑ J1デビュー弾の田中碧、どん欲な姿勢が実を結んだ瞬間「今までの人生で一番楽しかった時間」 (in Japanese). goal.com. 16 September 2018.
  4. ↑ "2019 J.LEAGUE Awards" (in Japanese). J.LEAGUE. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  5. ↑ "Fortuna verpflichtet Tanaka". kicker (in German). 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Ao Tanaka signs a 3-year long contract with F95" (in German). Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "Ao Tanaka JFA Profile". JFA. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  8. ↑ "U-22 Japan National Team comes from behind to win over Brazil". JFA. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  9. ↑ "FIFA Match Center - Saudi Arabia vs Japan". FIFA. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  10. ↑ "FIFA Match Center - Japan vs Australia". FIFA. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  11. ↑ "Japan World Cup 2022 squad: Team announced for tournament in Qatar". FourFourTwo. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Japan produce thrilling comeback to stun Spain and make World Cup last 16". The National News. 1 December 2022.
  13. ↑ "スペイン戦決勝点・田中碧、鈴木愛理との交際にプロゴルファー父・鈴木亨も強力サポート". News Post Seven. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  14. ↑ "Japan team-mates went to school together and made World Cup promise in year book". www.mirror.co.uk. Mirror UK. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411529 (p. 13 out of 289)
  16. ↑ Ao Tanaka at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "L'ÉQUIPE TYPE DU TOURNOI MAURICE REVELLO 2019".
  18. ↑ "Maurice Revello Tournament 2019 Best XI". Maurice Revello Tournament. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
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