Maya Yoshida
Centre-Back · Southampton · Japan
About Maya Yoshida
Third-most-capped player in Japanese football history and a three-time World Cup captain, who went on to win MLS Cup with LA Galaxy in 2024 while still playing at the top level in his late thirties.
Maya Yoshida's story
Japan's Defensive General
Maya Yoshida was the cornerstone of Japan's defence for over a decade, his aerial presence and reading of the game making him indispensable at club and country. He captained Japan at three World Cups (2014, 2018, 2022) and led the side to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup title, finishing his international career with 127 caps — third-most in Japanese history.
A Vow at Twelve
Yoshida left Nagasaki for Nagoya Grampus's academy at just twelve, encouraged by his older brother Honami, who found the club's youth programme online. He later said he vowed not to return home "until I succeed." A move to Dutch side VVV-Venlo followed in 2010, arranged through the agent of former Nagoya team-mate Keisuke Honda.
Eight Years on the South Coast
Southampton signed Yoshida in 2012, and he stayed eight seasons, becoming the first Japanese player to reach 100 Premier League appearances and eventually club captain. After spells at Sampdoria and Schalke 04, he left Europe in 2023 for LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
MLS Champion at 36
Yoshida joined LA Galaxy on a free transfer in August 2023, closing out a European career spent in England, Italy and Germany. Within eighteen months he was club captain, and in December 2024 became one of the oldest players to lift the MLS Cup, starting every match of a campaign that ended in the franchise's sixth title.
Beyond the Pitch
Beyond the pitch, Yoshida has spent recent years advocating for fellow professionals, introducing an annual players' award through his sport's domestic players' union. A practising Roman Catholic, he carries a rosary gifted to him at the Vatican into every match. In 2020 he spent his own money buying 10,000 masks for hospitals in Genoa during the pandemic.
Did you know?
- 🎮 A childhood Dragon Ball Z superfan, he had his father donate his entire memorabilia collection to charity — a moment he later credited with teaching him to give back.
- 🗣️ Speaks Japanese and fluent English, plus conversational Italian and Spanish picked up during his career in Europe; he has said his years in Hampshire (ENG) left him "25 per cent English."
- 👨👩👧 Married in 2012 and became a father to a daughter in 2016; the family later relocated from Hampshire to the Los Angeles area for his LA Galaxy career.
- 🎗️ Pledged one percent of his salary to Southampton's Saints Foundation in 2019 and was named the charity's ambassador alongside team-mate James Ward-Prowse.
- 🤝 Considers former Japan team-mate Atsuto Uchida both a rival and his best friend, and remains close with fellow international Eiji Kawashima.
- 📻 Hosts his own Japanese radio show, Yoshida Maya's Challenge & Cover; a throwaway joke about hair loss to a caller once went viral online.
- 😤 Confronted a section of Saudi Arabia fans mocking him during a live post-match interview in October 2021, after a rare defeat in World Cup qualifying.
- 📖 Published his own book, Unbeatable Mind, in Japan in May 2018, and appeared on the cover of the Japanese edition of FIFA 14.
- 🎓 Co-owns a youth football academy in London and is working towards his UEFA A coaching licence, groundwork for a coaching career once he retires as a player.
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