It is tremendously uncommon for an 18 year old Centre Half to be a consistent starter in Japan's top division, let alone for one to start for the nation's most successful side over the past decade, yet Kawasaki Frontale's Kota Takai did just that over this past season and did not look at all out of place. Wise beyond his years, Takai brought a calm and assured presence to a transitioning Kawasaki side, looking to move on from the aging stars who brought them 4 J League titles in 5 years.
Takai's heatmap for the 2023 season - sofascore.com
Usually deployed as the right sided centre back in a back 4, although he has played as a left centre back and right back on some occasions, Takai is rather conservative positionally, not often looking to venture forward and is generally the deepest player on the pitch excluding the keeper. By playing deep and conservative, Takai is able to better see where danger is coming from and correctly position himself to deal with it off the ball, while on the ball it allows him to play almost as a quarterback, having a full view of the pitch and the position of every player on it.
Physical Traits
Standing at around 6'3" with long legs and a relatively broad build, Takai has a great frame for the centre back position that just needs more time to fill out. Because he doesn't yet carry a lot of muscle, there is a lack of explosion and power in his movements - he is not someone who will overwhelm you with pure athleticism and running power. That being said, Takai is a smooth mover with long strides that aid him in eating up ground over longer distances, allowing him to run with quick attackers trying to get in behind and dispossess them. While having these longer strides and an overall lanky physique often leads players to being uncoordinated and sloppy when changing direction in tighter spaces, Takai does not fall victim to the same fate, being able to flip his hips and change direction in a way you wouldn't expect him to - again, he is a smooth mover.
Strength wise, there are currently some flaws as he has yet to fill out his frame, leading him to not be as imposing as you'd like your centre backs to be, but it is important to remember that he has only recently turned 19 and thus you wouldn't expect him to be fully developed physically. He is someone who wants to get physical and throw his weight around, so when his body catches up with his mind expect him to become a far more dominating presence.
Passing
One thing that stands out greatly when watching Takai is just how cultured and controlled of a passer he already is. He is someone who wants to be on the ball and dictate the tempo of the game and overall takes great care of the ball, boasting an 88% pass accuracy on the season - his passes are rarely overly ambitious or overhit and seldom bobble across the surface, everything is controlled, in rhythm, and easy to receive. There is a tendency to be overly safe with his pass selection, prioritising taking care of the ball at the cost of progression, however this does not mean Takai cannot push the ball down the field. In fact, the inverse is true - Takai is exceptional at breaking the lines when he chooses to.
This assuredness when breaking the lines is likely the reason he was introduced into the Kawasaki first team so quickly - it is a vital component of their footballing identity under Toru Oniki. Obviously more volume of progressive passes would be ideal but from the glimpses shown over the past season it is clear that Takai has a natural and fundamental understanding of space, pass weight, and timing, allowing him to have such proficiency when he does chose to split the lines, even showing the ability to move the oppositions defensive shape with his body language, creating openings for progression.
This example here against Urawa Reds best displays Takai's mature understanding of space and ability to move opposition players to create it. As he receives the ball from the other centre back, Takai immediately takes a touch up field and towards the right hand side of the pitch, dragging the Urawa midfielder on the left side of the double pivot (highlighted in red) towards the 3 options near the touchline (highlighted in yellow), assuming that this is where the ball will go according to Takai's positioning.
At the point of contact with the ball, the Urawa midfielder is sprinting towards the right hand side of the pitch as Takai clearly angles for a direct, line splitting ball, thinking he will be able to close off the passing lane to the Kawasaki midfielder in the halfspace and intercept the ball. What this does is open up a passing lane behind him which would not have been there had he not fully committed to covering the right halfspace.
Takai drills the ball across his body into the space he had just created with his positioning and body language, arriving at his teammates feet in stride and in a dangerous position between the Urawa back 4 and midfield. Simple, effective ball progression.
This ability to move defenders around with his own subtle movements also exists in the long passing game, allowing Takai to manipulate opportunities for balls over the top without being particularly risky. He is not someone who ever wants to put the ball in harms way and thus tends to only look long when someone is very clearly open, making this ability vital for him to create chances from deep.
In this same game against Urawa, Takai clocked on to the fact that the Urawa players were aggressively jumping the passing lanes whenever he shaped up to push the ball down the field, as shown in the previous example. Now understanding this, Takai stutters as if getting his feet set to play a pass at the same time as his striker begins to drop deep, causing an Urawa defender to leave his position to follow the movement.
However, it is all a ploy to create space in behind. Takai does not release the ball instantly, instead waiting for his striker to cut away from the defender into the space he vacated. Excellent vision and patience.
The ball itself, while a tricky one to control, lands right at the feet of the striker, who is only stopped from reaching it off the bounce by intuitive goalkeeping. This placement is something that crops up a lot when watching Takai pass, his accuracy truly is elite for the centre back position. When switching play the ball nearly always arrives at the receivers feet, long balls down the centre are placed away from the nearest defender to ensure possession is maintained, and balls in behind arrive in his attackers stride - placement is Takai's specialty when it comes to passing.
One thing to note is that Takai heavily favours his right foot at this moment in time and can sloppily give away possession when passing on his left. There is a slight breakdown in technique when using his left, it is clear that he's not entirely comfortable on that side.
Press Resistance
As a young defender in his first year of senior football, Takai possess an immense amount of calmness in the face of the pressure that is almost unnatural. Often he will walk forward in possession of the ball or place his foot on top of the ball, baiting pressure so that he can play through it - De Zerbian behaviour. He has no issue carrying past pressure too, even in very risky positions, reading the opposition's body language and feinting to beat them. To be able to do this at such a young age simply isn't normal.
Partially why he is able to be so confident and assured under pressure comes down to the coaching and footballing philosophy at Kawasaki Frontale; possession football is ingrained in them on the training pitch and thus all the players have a great understanding of methods and patterns of beating the press, namely 3rd man passes.
When Takai passing back to his keeper and the Kyoto Sanga attacker jumps from marking Joao Schmidt at the base of midfield to pressure the keeper, a rehearsed pattern of play begins: the keeper will pass to Takai who will then pass to the now unmarked midfielder.
This means that when Takai receives the ball, even with 2 defenders barreling down on him, there is no pressure as he already knows where the ball has to go. There is no panic trying to decipher how to escape the press, this movement is already fully ingrained in his mind.
By having these rehearsed movements put in place before even stepping foot on the pitch, an already composed footballer in Takai becomes nearly impossible to press. He suits a possession system to a tee and is able to execute the movements expected of him with ease. Do not be fooled into thinking that his press resistance is only due to the system he plays in and that this ability would be lessened in a side less coordinated and well coached, Takai can escape pressure even when the structure breaks down.
Here, Takai receives the ball in a disadvantaged and chaotic situation, Kawasaki's usual build up structure has been disrupted and they are outnumbered. As displayed by some artistically drawn arrows, Avispa Fukuoka have shut off all possible passing lanes: the Fukuoka striker will run towards the Kawasaki keeper, closing off the passing lane to both him and the centre back on the other side of the pitch; both of the Kawasaki midfielders are tightly marked, it would not be safe or smart to pass to them; and the Fukuoka player closest to Takai will rush towards him, blocking the passing lane to the most advanced Kawasaki midfielder in the process. However, Takai understands all of this.
With his first touch, Takai pushes the ball away from the man sprinting towards him, completely bypassing the Fukuoka press with one touch. It looks simple but this one touch shows the ability to perfectly read the situation and adjust correctly under great pressure. Again, it is not normal for a then-18 year old to process pressure and act so calmly in this way. To be able to problem solve so quickly to avoid playing into the opposition's hands by not passing back to the keeper as they want him to, while also acting quickly so as to not be dispossessed looking for the right pass, is impressive.
Tackling and Ball Winning
With a nice 62.5% tackle success rate on a decent 1.3 tackles per 90, the metrics suggest that Takai is an average to above-average tackler for the position, and this is backed up by the eye test. He is not an overwhelmingly imposing defender who will fly into crunching challenges, much like his playstyle in possession Takai is more reserved and calculated for the most part. Most of his tackles come from getting shoulder to shoulder and easing players off the ball, being patient and waiting for the correct moment to make an attempt on the ball. This is aided by him being the deepest player on the Kawasaki side most of the time, allowing him to see the danger and sweep in behind, snuffing out runs before they have a chance to threaten the goal.
There is nothing overly extravagant about the way Takai wins the ball, it all begins with his ability to cover ground to either sweep in behind or step up into midfield, combined with his willingness to engage in a physical duel and his long legs allowing him to snatch the ball away.
Takai has have a very smooth slide tackle, again aided by his long legs allowing for more leeway in the tackle as he can engage from further away or wrap them around from behind to win the ball. Again, this is not something often used as he is just not all that of an aggressive defender, but when he does feel the need to slide he does so with authority and a very clean technique.
Here, Takai gets beat running down the sideline - he completely flips his hips towards his own byline thinking that the Yokohama player is going to race down the touchline, and thus has to completely readjust and commit to a slide tackle in order to prevent him from running in behind freely. He leaps in and punches his leg forward towards the ball, making sure that he doesn't make contact with the opposition player on the way in, winning the ball with ease and also guiding it towards his own team instead of just leaving it up to fate. There's always going to be a risk leaping in like this but on this occasion it is timed and executed well.
There is also a lot to like about Takai's jockeying technique overall, despite him being spun in this example against Yokohama FC. Obviously there is work needed, but he shows great understanding of the fundamentals of jockeying and 1v1 duels, a vital part of being a defender at the top level.
Like most, he always looks to guide ball carriers vertically down the pitch and onto his stronger foot, putting him in a better position for a tackle if needed. By flipping his hips completely towards his own byline, Takai is in perfect position to stay with the attacker should be decide to burst towards the touchline, a precaution you need to take against usually quicker wingers. However, one clear flaw in this technique, as we saw in the example vs Yokohama FC, is that the ball carrier can cut inside, placing themselves completely behind your back and putting you in a tricky situation.
To combat this, Takai takes very small steps when jockeying, allowing for quick adjustments. This, combined with the fact that he is naturally a fluid mover, allows him to make himself completely square to the ball carrier as he looks to cut inside, with his hips facing the opposition player, in a perfect position to defend. He also makes sure that his legs are bent and he is as close to the ground as possible, allowing him to really burst in either direction to follow the attacker, again something you need to do to keep up with usually quicker attackers, especially when you're as long as Takai.
If I was to point out one clear flaw in Takai's behaviour as a defender is that he is prone to missing challenges when he steps out or lunges in for a tackle in the midfield, resulting in a gaping hole being left in the defensive shape. This is not entirely a technical deficiency as much as it is a timing issue - not being a particularly explosive athlete who can jump up on people rapidly means he needs to be more careful here and lean more towards sweeping up in behind where his long speed can come into play.
One more thing to note about his overall defending is that Takai is already a vocal leader at the back, again showing his maturity. Seldom do you see a teenager take responsibility and organise the defence, telling the backline when to move up and ensure they're positioned correctly in regards to where the ball is - when the opposition passes backwards, he signals for the line to step up.
Aerial Dueling
Being as he is very tall in a league that is on average quite small, and also the fact that he is a centre half, you would expect Takai to be dominant in the air. However, as he often takes the responsibility of sticking on to whoever the oppositions main striker is, which for over half the league is a massive Brazilian journeyman, Takai's aerial duel win rate is only 57.9% - not bad by any means but also not as high as you would expect. Given he is only a teenager, there is obvious room for improvement. Once he fills out his frame and packs more muscle on, expect Takai to have more springs to his jumps and also just be generally more imposing, improving that aerial win rate to around 65% where you want your centre backs.
When he does win the duel he wins it with authority, getting a lot of power on the header and directing either to a teammate or far enough away so that there is not immediate danger. He also looks to disrupt the opposition player just before they jump, pushing them off their launch point and giving him essentially a free header, negating any chance of him being pushed around midair.
There is something not quite right about the way he goes up for headers at the moment, even when he wins, that is hard to pinpoint; it feels like he's not timing his jumps correctly at times or even he is not tracking the ball well. No matter the cause, there is a sense of a lack of refinements in Takai's aerial duels and also a large variance in results - sometimes he is violently attacking the ball, flying head over heels to win the ball, other times he's timid and late to jump. More experience in senior football competing against top athletes will aid him here and help with the consistency issues.
Following on from this, I found that Takai looked uncomfortable and unsure defending against crosses. There is an overall struggle in tracking the ball and understanding where it is going to land, leading him to being a non-factor when defending set pieces, not at all what you want from your centre half. The air of confidence and maturity exuded by Takai completely disappears when defending against a cross and he looks more like the inexperienced teenager he is.
Summary
Kota Takai is a player wise beyond his years who looks like he's been playing professional football for years despite being only 19. An adept passer of the ball, Takai controls the tempo of the game so well for someone so inexperienced, able to split the lines with surgical precision while treasuring the ball as if he has graduated from La Masia, being able to decipher and bypass any and all forms of pressure with the ball at his feet. While nowhere near the complete package defensively, there are glimpses that suggest that he will soon take the next step and become a more imposing figure at the back. With great long speed, willingness to be physical, and long legs to aid in the tackle, Takai can sweep in behind and clear any danger before it fully forms, and likes to step up and defend on the front foot even though he currently gets caught out often. There is a natural understanding for how to jockey that you just don't see in many young defenders. In the air and defending in his box is where he currently struggles the most, struggling to dominate in a smaller, less physical league, but with his size and traits this should be cleaned up over the coming years as he develops. He needs more confidence dealing with crosses, but elsewhere on the pitch he is full of it, even taking up the role as Kawasaki's vocal leader at the back despite this being only his first year in senior football. As he fills out his frame, Takai will become increasingly more formidable and consistent, rounding out his game and surely catching the eye of European clubs.
He reminds me a lot of Brighton's Jan Paul Van Hecke, particularly in his loan spells at Heerenveen and Blackburn where he had yet to put on the muscle to consistently compete with more experienced attackers but you could see the potential. The way he stands with the ball completely unfazed by pressure is the exact same things you'll see from De Zerbi defenders, perhaps leading to me making this comparison.