By Pearse McLaughlin
Koki Ogawa was born on the August 8th, 1997, and is 25 years old. Standing at 186cm (6 ft 1) with an average body type and has got quite the presence as a target man. With his tall and broad frame, he is deceptively quick for a big man. He is an out and out striker and what traits stand out to me are his exceptional movement off the ball as he never stands still inside the box and isn’t afraid to run in behind the defence. He is ice cold in terms of composure as he doesn’t panic when he’s one-on-one, isn’t afraid to use either foot and rather than lashing at the ball he controls it and has that bit of cultured technique when striking the football.
His movement is comparable to his fellow countryman and Celtic FC striker Kyogo Furuhashi although they are completely different in stature their movement is eerily similar. In terms of body frame, he is comparable to that of South Korean internationalist Cho Gue-Sung who himself was a Celtic target. For me Koki Ogawa is a mixture between Kyogo Furuhashi and Cho Gue-Sung which is the biggest compliment I can give to him.
Koki Ogawa had a difficult spell at his first senior side Jubilo Iwata where he spent six years between 2016-2021. During his underwhelming spell there he amassed just 79 league appearance where he netted just the 11 league goals with only one of those coming in the J-League 1. In total for Jubilo Iwata he amassed 102 appearances in 6 years and netting 21 times in the process. In the J-League 1 Ogawa played 23 times only scoring the once, Emperor’s Cup he played 6 times and was more prolific netting on 5 occasions, J. League Cup wasn’t great as he averaged a goal every 4 matches by scoring just the 4 goals in 16 games. Ogawa on showed a glimpse of his brilliance and the potential superstar he could become at Jubilo Iwata and ultimately it was best for both parties to part ways.
Where Koki Ogawa really started to show his promise in his career was during his loan stint with Mito Hollyhock whom he joined from his parent club Jubilo Iwata in 2019. He had to ultimately drop down a level from J-League 1 to the J-League 2 which was his level at the time, and he buckled down and had a decent enough return scoring 7 times in 17 appearances. This fruitful loan spell ultimately led to Japan scouts calling Koki Ogawa up to the national team for the 2019 Asian Games (EAFF).
Koki Ogawa has made the breakthrough of playing for his national side at senior level where he has 1 appearance to his name so far where bagged an impressive hattrick. He made his debut for the Japan national football team on Saturday the 14th of December 2019 in a EAFF E-1 championship final round match against Hong Kong who were beaten convincingly 5-0 with Koki Ogawa the star of the show scoring 3 of the 5 goals.
At his current employers Yokohama FC is where has really come on leaps and bounds and earned rave reviews all across Japan tipping him for a shock recall to national side. During his breakout year in 2022 for Yokohama FC in the J-League 2 he amassed an exceptional 26 goals in just 41 games and ultimately earning him the golden boot for J-League 2 in the process. Koki Ogawa was also awarded the J-League 2 MVP award and was also named in the Best XI in the J-League 2 for 2022.
Yokohama FC secured promotion to the J-League 1 thanks to the help of Koki Ogawa and his 26 goals. His side finished the J-League 2 season with automatic promotion by finishing in second place just four points shy of eventual champions Albirex Niigata.
Koki Ogawa has taken the step up in his stride so far notching an impressive 3 goals in the opening 4 matches in the J-League 1. What makes it that even more impressive is that he’s doing this in a struggling Yokohama FC side who sit rock bottom on 1 point from a possible 12 available. The fact Koki Ogawa has scored 3 of the 5 goals that Yokohama FC have scored in the J-League 1 is crazy! That is an impressive 60% of Yokohama FC’s goals are scored by none other than Koki Ogawa.
The aim this season for Koki Ogawa is to hit 20+ league goals for Yokohama FC which I think he’s on course to do. In doing so, he will attract plenty of suitors across the J-League 1 with the likes of arch-rivals Yokohama F. Marinos needing a striker after losing 2021 golden boot winner Daizen Maeda to Celtic FC and haven’t really replaced him since. I can see Yokohama FC potentially going down and cashing in on Koki Ogawa with one of the big boys of the J-League 1 all vying for his signature.
The likes of Yokohama F. Marinos, Vissel Kobe, Nagoya Grampus and Urawa Red Diamonds could all do with a talented striker like Koki Ogawa who has proved he can cut it at this level and beyond. Ultimately the aim for Koki is to earn more playing time to compete for a place in the Japan U-23 squad at the Asian games this year and the Olympics next year and add to his solitary cap where he notched a hattrick in.
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