New Kagawa for BVB? Yamamoto surprises even Kovac | OneFootball

After his dream debut for Borussia Dortmund, Takato Yamamoto is already causing great excitement. BVB coach Niko Kovac is also full of praise for the 18-year-old Japanese player and is giving him hope for more.

Takato Yamamoto made an immediate lasting impression in his first appearance in a Borussia Dortmund shirt. The 18-year-old Japanese player impressed in the 3-1 friendly win over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen with a strong performance, scored a superb goal, and then received high praise from coach Niko Kovac.

The youngster, who is initially planned for the U23s and joined BVB on loan from Gamba Osaka with an option to buy, came on at half-time and immediately added spark to Dortmund’s attacking play. Yamamoto had already played a decisive role in Serhou Guirassy’s opening goal before scoring the final 3-1 himself late on after a well-worked move. He later produced another highlight with a precise outside-of-the-foot cross, even though Guirassy only hit the crossbar.

Kovac was correspondingly impressed by the debut of the Japan U19 international when speaking to WAZ after the match. “There were already quite a few good things in there. And not only you, but I also watched very closely and saw a lot that was useful. He’ll bring us joy, certainly in the second team at first. But that doesn’t mean the door to the top is closed. Quite the opposite.”

BVB coach Kovac raves about Yamamoto

The BVB coach had barely had any chance to get to know Yamamoto beforehand. “I saw him for the first time on Thursday. I didn’t know him before that either,” Kovac revealed after the match.

Photo: IMAGO

For Yamamoto himself, the move to Dortmund was also a special step. Just a few days ago, the midfielder had said: “I still can hardly believe it. Borussia Dortmund — such a big club. It’s the first time I’ve left Japan, everything here is new to me. But I’m ready. I want to learn and improve every day. And I’ll give everything to repay this trust.”

His successful debut is already reminding many fans of Shinji Kagawa. The former crowd favorite also moved from Japan to Dortmund in 2010 and went on to become one of the defining players of the title-winning teams under Jürgen Klopp. Whether Yamamoto can follow a similar path remains to be seen. However, his dream debut is likely to have significantly improved his chances of proving himself ready for bigger tasks.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.