Having a thesis on dribbling, Kaoru Mitoma is booming in Brighton shirt following the 2022 World Cup, becoming the pride and example of Asian football.
Having a thesis on dribbling, Kaoru Mitoma is booming in Brighton shirt following the 2022 World Cup, becoming the pride and example of Asian football.
One of the coolest teams at Premier League 2022-23 is Brighton, which not only plays attractive football but also occupies a relatively high position: 6th in the rankings.
Currently, Brighton is only 6 points from the top 4, while kicking 1-2 matches less than the main rivals.
Brighton parted ways with Graham Potter, who was struggling amid pressure at Chelsea, lost Leandro Trossard to the top team Arsenal, and at one point Moises Caicedo rebelled to leave, but the club did not collapse.
It can be said that Brighton creates a new feature in terms of football in the English Premier League. This is thanks to the small contribution of Kaoru Mitoma – a surprising discovery in the past few weeks.
More precisely, Trossard’s farewell opened the door for Mitoma to play regularly. He immediately seized the opportunity, immersed himself in the tactical system that Roberto de Zerbi built and displayed outstanding qualities.
Mitoma scored 3 goals in 3 consecutive matches on all fronts, something he has not done since leaving Japan to play abroad.
What makes fans Brighton The excitement was that 2/3 of Mitoma’s goals were made in the last minutes, deciding the victory for the home team.
He sealed a 2-1 victory in the second minute of injury time of the second half and knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup, before scoring in the 87th minute to bring 3 points to Bournemouth on the Premier League playground.
Mitoma has outstanding scoring performance since the 2022 World Cup
Premier League fans eagerly watch Mitoma. He is seen as the new pride of Asia, overshadowing other colleagues, including Son Heung Min. At the age of 25, the Japanese guy is revolutionizing English football with his own style.
Success from university
Developing talent at the Kawasaki Frontale academy, Mitoma was promoted to the first team at the age of 18. At this time, his career was threatened when he did not want to play professionally because he thought he was not ready, so he chose Tsukuba University – the power of Japanese college football.
“I felt that I was not prepared physically well. This choice gave me more minutes to play and improve.”Mitoma admitted.
Entering the University of Tsukuba to study Physical Education, Mitoma studied her thesis on dribbling. He concentrated on studying running with the ball while recording how he and his opponent reacted.
Mitoma’s goal is to find the best way to pass people. He wears a camera on his head, helping to record what his eyes observe, focusing on dribbling movements. All the data is analyzed by him on the computer late at night.
Studying during college makes Mitoma now one of the best breakout players English football.
Mitoma has an average of 2.5 successful breakouts every 90 minutes. Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin is the only one with a higher average, 3.6 passes per 90 minutes.
The moment Mitoma knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup
Armando Broja (Chelsea) and Said Benrahma (West Ham) also average 2.5 successful dribbles, but the actual percentage is lower. The first one succeeds 61.5% of the breakouts, the latter 45%. The Japanese star alone is 62%.
The 25-year-old star pointed out the importance of this research in the football career that he is going through: “I learned that good players don’t look at the ball. They look ahead.”.
He tries to put that into practice: “I was a good dribbler, but no exception. Since then, my dribbling ability has doubled.”.
After college, Kaoru officially joined the J1 League with Kawasaki Frontale for the 2020 season, where he became the first rookie to overcome the 10-goal barrier. He scored 13 goals in 30 games (18 goals in 37 games, across all competitions).
Brighton discovered Mitoma’s talent and signed him for 3 million euros in the summer of 2021. Before this boom period, he was on loan at Union SG (Belgium).
Mitoma transformed following the 2022 World Cup, becoming one of the most decisive players in the Premier League (actual performance more than double the expected goal stat – see chart 3). He continues to research and apply his thesis to the English football scene.
“Kaoru has a natural talent. He may not have a great game, but if Mitoma is on the field, he can’t be replaced.”De Zerbi praised the student. “Because, because I feel like he can always score.”.
Mitoma is now Brighton’s jewel. His development became a model for young Japanese and Asian players.
