Yuya Osako was definitely one of the most discussed players at Werder. In fact, Osako was THE player fans bickered about the most. That was also the case with his engagement at 1. FC Köln. The Japanese were regularly accused of lack of enthusiasm and poor performance. But at least on paper this can be refuted.

At 1. FC Köln, where he was active from 2014 to 2018, he contributed 37 points in 120 competitive games - quite a good value. In his first Werder season, 2018/19, the Japanese scored five goals and three assists in 23 competitive games. In the 2019/20 season, with his ten goals, he was instrumental in Werder being able to save themselves in the relegation and then secured relegation against SC Paderborn. Then came the burglary. When Werder were relegated in 2020/21, the form curve of the now 32-year-old also pointed downwards. Osako failed to score.

This was followed by a free transfer to his home country. In Japan, Osako plays for Vissel Kobe and has been one of the top performers there ever since. Alongside soccer legend Andres Iniesta, who is captain in Kobe, Osako has contributed 24 points in 44 competitive games so far. In addition, Osako, Japanese Footballer of the Year 2018, is one of the candidates for the Japan World Cup squad in Qatar. Osako was last on the field for Germany's upcoming World Cup opponent at the beginning of the year.

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This article was originally posted on 90min.com as On the Pitch with Andres Iniesta: What Does Yuya Osako Actually Do? released.