His ball control is a sight to Behold: Kaoru witha once preferred study to a professional career and wrote his thesis on dribbling. Will The Japanese Player Soon Soon Be Showing Off his Ball Skills at FC Bayern?
His club, Brighton & Hove Albion, raved grandiosely about the “best first touch in world football.” Indeed, Kaoru Mitoma’s tender and artful ball control is likely to make the heart of just about every football fan soar.
In the 3-2 victory against FC Liverpool, the 28-year-old presented the entire repertoire of his skills. Would you like a sample?
Einen langen Ball aus dem Mittelfeld stoppte Mitoma knapp vor der Seitenauslinie mit dem rechten Außenrist zunächst in der Luft, mit einer flinken Körperdrehung tauchte er unter dem Ball hindurch und brachte ihn umgehend mit dem rechten Fuß unter Kontrolle.
Witha scores artistically and crowns his top season
The Japanese player initiated the turnaround just as artistically later on with his goal for 2-2. With a flying direct shot, Mitoma slotted the half-height ball into the net from short range with his left foot.
“I think he has proven this season that he has good body control,” said his coach Fabian Hürzeler afterwards.
With ten goals and three assists in 35 games, the Japanese player is currently playing his best Premier League season since his move from Union Saint-Gilloise to the Seagulls in 2022. He was already making a name for himself alongside Deniz Undav at the Belgians.
Dribbling artist in Bavaria’s Focus?
Mitoma’s performances have now apparently also aroused interest at FC Bayern. According to *Sky* and *Bild*, after the failed signing of desired player Florian Wirtz, Mitoma is considered a candidate to further strengthen the Munich team’s offense.
Allegedly, the Japanese player, whose contract runs until 2027, should be available for a transfer fee of around 50 million euros. In addition, Bayern bosses Max Eberl and Christoph Freund are said to have already held talks with Mitoma’s advisor, as *Sky* continues to write.
Al-Nassr failed with a 90 million euro offer back in January. Instead of enjoying a princely salary in Cristiano Ronaldo’s team in Saudi Arabia, Mitoma preferred to continue proving himself at a high sporting level.
Forced into the role of super-tub
With success. With Brighton, he is still fighting for a ticket to the European Cup in the final phase of the season. However, Mitoma himself is also struggling – due to injury, he was recently only the Seagulls’ super-sub. However, he shone in this role in his last four appearances with three goals.
“He has a few minor problems, nothing major, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to play,” Hürzeler explained before the game at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (5 p.m. in the LIVETICKER). He missed two games completely in recent weeks due to heel problems. In the previous season, he was out for a long time due to back problems.
“We really have to deal with it,” added Hürzeler, “but we know that he has outstanding individual skills, so it’s always good to have him in the squad and be able to bring him on.”
With the root his thesis on dribbling
Mitoma has even turned his ball skills into a science in the truest sense of the word; he has officially completed his dribbling diploma, so to speak. As an 18-year-old, he initially decided against a professional contract with Japanese first division club Kawasaki Frontale and instead preferred to study sports science at the University of Tsukuba.
Kaoru Mitoma showed his whole skills in the duel with FC Liverpool
He wrote his thesis on dribbling. For research purposes, he equipped his teammates in the university team with cameras to analyze their line of sight in one-on-one duels.
“I found that the good players weren’t looking at the ball. They were looking ahead and controlling the ball without looking at their feet. That was the difference,” Mitoma once said at *The Athletic*.
In an *ESPN* interview, he added quite modestly. “I can say that the work has almost nothing to do with my current style of play. I chose the topic because it’s easy to write about. I just wanted to graduate.”
Kimmich so fel witha’s skills
Looking at his ball skills, however, a certain influence of his higher education cannot be denied. Joshua Kimmich has also had his experiences with the man who studied dribbling.
Kaoru Mitoma in the international match Germany – Japan in September 2023 in a duel with Joshua Kimmich
In the 1:4 debacle of the German national team against Japan in September 2023, the last game under national coach Hansi Flick, Kimmich, as right-back, had to deal with Mitoma time and again, and was even duped with a tunnel.
Maybe both will be teammates at Bayern from the summer – and Mitoma will delight the fans here in Germany with his ball skills.