Anthony Tadashi Aoki Nakama (born 8 June 2000) is a Peruvian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

side

Alianza Universidad Club Social Deportivo y Cultural Alianza Universidad de Huánuco, popularly known as Alianza Universidad or Alianza Huanuco, is a football in Peru, Peruvian professional football club, based in the city of Huánuco. The club was founded in 1939 un ...

Career

Early and international career

Aoki started playing football at Carper Club-Aelu, where he already at the age of 4 played with boys up to 7 years old. At that time, he played as a forward but later began playing in the midfielder. Aoki then joined

Deportivo AELU Club Deportivo Asociación Estadio La Unión, commonly known as Deportivo AELU or simply AELU, is a Peruvian Association football, football club, playing in the city of Lima, Peru. History The Asociación Estadio La Unión was founded 1982 by th ...

where he captained with great success in all the minor categories of the club, until he was summoned to train in some micro-cycles of the Peruvian U13 team (in 2012), coached by JJ Oré. Two years later, he was also included in the Peruvian U15 national team squad. In 2015, he received an offer from

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A., shortened to Sporting Cristal, is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, soccer team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by e ...

, which he accepted. In February 2017, Aoki was called up for the Peruvian U17 national team to play in the

2017 South American U-17 Championship The 2017 South American Under-17 Football Championship (, ) was the 17th edition of the South American Under-17 Football Championship, a association football, football competition for the under-17 national teams in South America organized by CONME ...

who would take place from February 23 to March 19. Aoki was also the team captain. He played four games for the team in the South American Championship. In July 2017, Aoki went on a two-week trial at Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos due to an invitation that arose out of the interest of

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

agents. Yokohama is owned by

City Football Group City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a British-based holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations, of which 81% is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, 18% by the American firm Silve ...

, the holding company of

.Yokohama Marinos: Tadashi Aoki entrenó en Japón tras ser observado por agentes del Manchester City
movistardeportes.pe, 15 August 2017 Aoki was spotted by the City agents during the

with the U17 national team and told his representatives, that they would like him to belong to their company.

Club career

Already at the age of 17, Aoki was training with

's first team and in 2017, he signed his first professional contract with Cristal. He played his first game for Cristal in January 2019 in a friendly game against Ecuadorian club C.S. Emelec. Unfortunately shortly after, Aoki suffered an injury that took him away from the courts, preventing him from playing for Cristal. To gain some experience and game fitness, he was loaned out to

Peruvian Segunda División The Peruvian Second Division (; known simply as ''Second Division'', and Liga 2 Caja Cusco for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 2, is the second-highest division in the Peruvian football league system. Founded in 1943, it is a profess ...

club

Unión Huaral Club Sport Unión Huaral, more commonly known as Unión Huaral, is a Peru, Peruvian association football, football club, from the city of Huaral. It was founded in 1947 and currently competes in the Peruvian Tercera División. History The Club Spo ...

in August 2019 for the remainder of the year. He made seven appearances for the team before returning to Cristal in 2020. At the end of February 2020, he was loaned out to

Ayacucho FC Ayacucho Fútbol Club, more popularly known as Ayacucho, is a Football in Peru, Peruvian professional football club located in Ayacucho, Peru. The club won a Segunda División Peruana, Second Division title in 2006, and as Inti Gas, the club finis ...

. He made six appearances for the club. On 28 January 2021 it was reported, that Aoki would continue at

on loan for another year. In February 2022, Aoki moved to

Peruvian Primera Division Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 m ...

side

on a permanent transfer.El volante Tadashi Aoki (2000) se incorpora a nuestro...
facebook.com, 16 February 2022

Personal life

Aoki is also holding a Japanese passport. His role model is former

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

legend

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aoki, Anthony Living people 2000 births Men's association football midfielders Peru men's youth international footballers Peruvian men's footballers 21st-century Peruvian sportsmen Peruvian Segunda División players Sporting Cristal footballers Unión Huaral footballers Ayacucho FC footballers Alianza Universidad footballers Peruvian people of Japanese descent Sportspeople from the Department of San Martín