is a Japanese professional footballer. He is a flexible player, able to play in his natural role as defender, defensive midfielder, and plays for

Thespakusatsu Gunma is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club plays in the J2 League, the second division of professional football in Japan. History The club was founded in 1995 in Kusatsu, one of the most ...

, and the Japan national team.

Club career

Hosogai was amongst the most promising players of

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

. Having helped the Red Diamonds to the AFC Champions League in 2007, he played for Urawa at the

2007 FIFA Club World Cup The 2007 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament played in Japan from 7 to 16 December 2007. It was the fourth FIFA Club World Cup, a tourn ...

. On 23 December 2010, he left Japan and transferred to the German club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who promptly loaned him out to

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...

. On 9 September 2011, he scored his first Bundesliga goal against Leverkusen. Playing for the newly promoted

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n club, Hosogai helped avoiding relegation before returning to Bayer Leverkusen for the 2012–13 season. On 25 July 2016, Hosogai moved to

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

. He joined

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium ...

on 24 March 2017. On 6 December 2018, it was confirmed that Hosogai would join the Thai league club Buriram United for the 2019 season. On 12 December 2019, it was announced that Hosogai had joined club

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลทรู แบงค็อก ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Pathum Thani province. Formerly known as Bangkok University Foot ...

on a season-long loan deal.

International career

Hosogai has represented Japan at numerous youth levels. He was a member of the Japan team for the 2008 Summer Olympics finals, and made his debut for the Japan national team in a 1–0 win against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

(playing in his natural role as central midfielder) at his home stadium in Saitama on 4 September 2010, after being called up for the first time by caretaker

Hiromi Hara is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for Japan national team. He also managed Japan national team as caretaker. Club career Hara was born in Nasushiobara on October 19, 1958. After graduating from Waseda University, he j ...

and under the auspices of new manager

Alberto Zaccheroni Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates and Japan national football teams. He has managed a number of top clubs in Serie A, the high point of his career being his s ...

. He scored his first goal for the senior national team on 25 January 2011 in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup semi-final match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

Career statistics

Club

¹Includes Emperor's Cup and

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

. ²Includes

J. League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or ...

. ³Includes AFC Champions League and

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

. ⁴Includes

Japanese Super Cup The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association (JFA). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the r ...

A3 Champions Cup A3 Champions Cup (also known as East Asian Champions Cup) was an annual football (soccer) tournament jointly organized by the China PR, Japan and Korea Republic football Association. It began in 2003, involving the league champions of China, Japan ...

and FIFA Club World Cup.

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.''

Under-23

Senior team

Appearances in major competitions

Honours

Urawa Red Diamonds * AFC Champions League: 2007 * J. League Division 1: 2006 * Emperor's Cup: 2005, 2006 *

: 2006 Japan * AFC Asian Cup: 2011 ;Individual * Thai League 1 Player of the Month (1): February 2020

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
*
Profile at Kashiwa Reysol
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hosogai, Hajime Living people 1986 births Association football people from Gunma Prefecture Association football fullbacks Association football midfielders Japanese footballers Japan international footballers J1 League players category:J2 League players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Süper Lig players Urawa Red Diamonds players FC Augsburg players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Hertha BSC players Bursaspor footballers VfB Stuttgart players Kashiwa Reysol players category:Thespakusatsu Gunma players Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Olympic footballers of Japan Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2011 AFC Asian Cup players AFC Asian Cup-winning players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players Japanese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Turkey Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Asian Games competitors for Japan