Kyogo Furuhashi: From early rejection to Andres Iniesta partnership & Celtic stardom

When his perseverance was rewarded with a leap into the professional ranks in early 2017 at the age of 22, it was to the second-tier J2 League with FC Gifu.

The circuitous route to the top proved beneficial for a striker regarded as a late developer, giving him significantly more game time than he would have been afforded as a J-League rookie straight out of university.

He made 44 appearances in his debut campaign, scoring six times, before a shift from the flank to centre-forward the following season fast-tracked his progress. A burst of eight goals in eight games signified Kyogo as one of Japan’s brightest prospects.

Vissel Kobe promptly took him to the J-League in summer 2018 and dropped him into a soap opera scenario. Having bought the club in 2014, billionaire business magnate Hiroshi Mikitani wasn’t shy in spending, with ageing European stars Iniesta, David Villa, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Vermaelen all brought in.

A first major trophy was delivered with Emperor’s Cup success in 2019, but the hefty outlay geared towards league glory didn’t pay off.

“Mikitani was trying to buy a couple of stars and make an instant champion – it didn’t work at all,” says Dan Orlowitz, football writer with the Japan Times.

“You have to understand Vissel are the biggest punchline for J-League watchers. Mikitani has no patience – they went through something like 10 managers in four seasons from mid-2017.”

Despite that managerial churn, Kyogo flourished as the attacking fulcrum in tandem with Barcelona and Spain icon Iniesta.

Kyogo’s intelligent movement was the perfect foil for Iniesta, still a master passer in his 30s. Those years sharpened Kyogo’s game and left a big impression.

“Even if Vissel were a joke as a club sometimes, for Furuhashi to play with Iniesta and Villa and Podolski, and to train with them every day, that’s a masterclass,” adds Orlowitz.

“Iniesta was a mentor. He really helped Kyogo develop. They had such a rhythm that when Kyogo left there was a disconnect between Iniesta and the rest of the formation.”

Kyogo remembers it as a “blessed time” and made sure to listen and act upon every morsel of advice as he learned from a legend.

“It was precious, I’ll never forget it,” Kyogo told Fifa. “Every day it was just so much fun to go to training. It was so full of surprises and I could feel how much I was growing. I absorbed a lot.

“Before our season kicked off, Iniesta said to me, ‘just be yourself and all will be well – play with confidence’, and it really inspired me to let my confident side show on the pitch.”