By Jinseong Kim
AFC Ann Arbor are delighted to announce the signing of Yushi Nagao for the 2022 USL League Two campaign. Nagao is from Japan and will join fellow Japanese Shion Soga and Daisuke Otsuka who have already confirmed their commitment to the Mighty Oak.
Nagao is a native of Tokyo and played youth soccer at his home town. Prior to college, Nagao spent his youth at Tokyo Verdy, a seven time winner of J1 League. He advanced to Maebashi Ikuei High School, and played in nationwide championships during his junior high.
The Japanese midfielder then moved to the U.S. and started his college career at Marshalltown Community College in Iowa. In the 2019-20 season, Nagao scored eight goals and made six assists in 16 games, marking a 50% goals-to-games ratio in his freshman year. The season after, Nagao logged three goals and three assists in a total of 12 appearances.
Before the start of 2021 season, Nagao transferred to the NCAA Division I side FIU. He then quickly became the regular starter for the Tigers, playing 13 games and providing three assists. A game that showed his quality was against Jacksonville, when he completed two assists and led a 6-0 win against the in-state rival.
Apart from his college career, Nagao spent last summer at the NPSL Keystone Conference side First State FC and NISA Nation outfit Atlantic City FC. He was the regular pick for the First State, scoring a debut goal in his first appearance. At Atlantic CIty, Nagao played in the NISA Independent Cup match against Allentown United.
When asked about the reason behind his decision to join the Mighty Oak, Nagao pointed out his dream of playing in front of fans. “The reason why I decided to join AFCAA is that playing for the club and fans [of AFCAA] is the best for me to achieve my goal during this summer season over any team that I had in mind. I'm really glad to join this team and I'm excited to play for the team.”
With the addition of Nagao, the men’s team now has three Japanese players in the squad. For players from overseas, playing with teammates from the same cultural background is a huge benefit. Nagao was positive to join the Japanese squad. “It is easier to get to know what they want to play, and how they play. So for me, it's easy to build chemistry between me and them.”
In describing his traits, Nagao would say, “As a player, I am a technical midfielder and a hard worker. I am confident that I can entertain fans [on the stands]. As a person, I am a kind and chill guy, and at the same time I like to get along with people. I feel like I laugh everyday.”
Men’s Head Coach Rod Asllani highly praised his hardworking style of play, and characteristics as a versatile midfielder. “As a #10 Yushi creates a lot of scoring chances but what distinguishes him from other players in that position is his desire and work rate to win the ball back,” Asllani would say. He continued: “His creativity when in possession and the ability to press high and be very aggressive off the ball fits well with our way of playing at AFCAA. We’re very excited to have him join us this season and we’re confident that he will have a positive impact in our club.”
Chatting about his future goals, Nagao would state, “My final goal is to be a professional player. To achieve this goal, I want to get awards and show my skills as much as I can this season.”
We welcome Yushi to The Mighty Oak family and we look forward to a positive summer along with the entire men’s and women’s squad.
About AFC Ann Arbor
Association Football Club Ann Arbor (AFC Ann Arbor) was founded in 2014 and competes in USL2 (men’s) and USLW (women’s) national amateur leagues. We are a community-based club, focused on equity, justice, and anti-racism. We consider all of our stakeholders, including supporters, players, staff, and ownership to be part of the #AFCAAFamily. Come On You Mighty Oak!