At the age of 15, he was a highly anticipated talent in Japanese football, and once played 2 shots and 1 pass in a single game against the national junior team.
At the age of 16, he appeared in the World Junior Championship and was promoted to the Kyoto Immortals first team. He never wanted to suffer consecutive lumbar vertebrae fractures and left leg tibia fractures, which made him lose for a while. Even at the age of 20, he was swept away by the J2 League team and became an unemployed player.
It was in this situation that he chose to stay in Germany, starting from the 5th division and knocking on the door of the 4th division team with a goal.
A year later, he made his Bundesliga appearance, scoring in his second European top five league game and putting his name back in the mainstream.
01. Rising Star of the World Junior Championship: Confused because of 2 serious injuries
a. Draw with the champion team in the World Junior Championship: Missing a penalty becomes heartbreaking
In May 2016, when Japan's U16 national junior team defeated China U17 junior 5-1 at Jiangyin Sports Center, Soichiro Uegetsu, who was only 15 years old at the time, started the game, contributing two goals and one assist.
A year later, the 16-year-old Soichiro Kazuki started in the round of 16 of the Under-17 World Youth Championship to help Japan draw 0-0 with England.
Unfortunately, in the subsequent penalty shootout, the team lost 3-5, and the person who missed the penalty was precisely Soichiro Kamizuki, who appeared in the fourth place.
After the game, Soichiro cried silently, but the talent of this team is still recognized by many people. Because that England team eventually won the title, even beating Spain in the final, Japan was the only opponent who did not lose in regular time.
In the same year, Soichiro Kamigetsu, who broke through sharply, had a good impact, loved internal explosive shots, and was nicknamed "Kyoto Cristiano Ronaldo", successfully entered the first team of Kyoto Immortals.
b. Two consecutive serious injuries: At the age of 21, he actually lost his job in the J2 League
Perhaps too early to step into the professional arena, Soichiro unfortunately suffered from injuries many times last month. In September 2018, he fractured his lumbar spine during training with the team, and his debut season in the professional league ended in a hurry.
In the 2019 season, Soichiro Shangyue, who finally returned, suffered a serious injury to a fractured tibia in his left leg during preseason training, and once again missed the court for half a year, and only played 3 times throughout the season.
In the 2020 season, Soichiro finally established himself in the first team last month. However, under the three-centre-back system of the immortal bird, this "Kyoto Ronaldo" is positioned as a right wingback.
0 goals and 0 assists, he also looked helpless when talking about his dismal statistics: "I try not to think about it, I can only do my best. My performance in getting the ball continued to improve, I didn't just look for passes, I started trying to take the ball myself. I will use my goals to create a new character that is unique to me. ”
Unfortunately, in the subsequent 2021 season, the lineup changed a lot after the team changed coaches. Despite consecutive goals, Soichiro was not trusted by the manager last month, not only became a substitute, but also became an unemployed player after the end of the season because his contract expired.
02. Rebirth in the German 5th Division: He made it through hell
a. Rebirth in the 5th division of Germany
Seeing that many of his teammates who used to be in the World Junior Championship could shine in Europe (such as Hidei Kushin), Soichiro Shangyue, who was abandoned by the J2 League team, decided to go to Europe to try his luck.
In February 2022, through the matchmaking of a German agency, he successfully signed with Durham FC in the fifth division of Germany. Before this, there were actually Bundesliga second teams who wanted to sign him, but they stopped because Kyoto Immortals asked for youth compensation.
Joining the team in the winter window, contributing 5 goals and 5 assists in 13 games in half the season, Durham FC was successfully promoted, and last month Soichiro also received an olive branch from Schalke 04 and got the opportunity to try out for the U23 team.
b. Knock on the door of the first team with a goal
Summer Window successfully moved to Schalke 04 II (Germany's 4th division team), contributing eight goals and five assists in 14 games in the first half of the season.
Last month, Soichiro not only got a new contract, but also got the opportunity to train with the first team in Turkey in January.
In the run-up to the World Cup, Soichiro scored in three consecutive first-team warm-up matches last month. Such an excellent performance allowed him to qualify for promotion to the first team.
As a promoted horse, Schalke 04 has a poor record and is currently ranked last in the Bundesliga. The team needed a fast winger, but the budget was insufficient to buy people.
They can only dig potential internally, so they fell in love with Soichiro Shangyue, who scored goals and assists in the second team. Japanese veteran international Maya Yoshida also plays for this team and gives his little brother a lot of advice and help.
03. In his second appearance, he scored his first goal in the Bundesliga
a. Goal in his second appearance: Japanese player who scored the fourth Bundesliga goal this season
In the round of 17 of the Bundesliga, Schalke 04 lost 6-1 at home to RB Leipzig.
However, for Soichiro last month, he ushered in a new milestone in his life.
Starting the game, he took advantage of a counter-attack opportunity in the 56th minute of the game, cut into the box after a stop, and calmly shot to score.
Less than a month after his 22nd birthday, he finally proved that he can stand in Europe's top five leagues like his former junior teammates.
Born on December 22, 2000, Soichiro Kagetsu became the fourth Japanese player to score in the Bundesliga this season, after Daichi Kamata, Hang Endo and Ritsu Do.
b. The Bundesliga debut was good: Eintracht Frankfurt broke out in a cold sweat
If it's just a goal, it's not enough to prove his talent. In his Bundesliga debut, against Eintracht Frankfurt, Soichiro was even better last month.
The "Kyoto Cristiano Ronaldo", who was swept away by the J2 League team one year ago, threatened the opponent's goal three times in a row. In particular, this burst shot from inside the box hit the post and almost scored in his debut.
In the following game, he also had a beautiful header on goal, but unfortunately he was saved by the opposing goalkeeper.
Judging from these shots, the nickname he got back then is really not a false name.
Last month, Soichiro was quite fast, this time the counterattack tore open the opponent's wing, and accurately crossed to find his teammate, but unfortunately the shot was blocked by the defender.
It is no accident that he has been able to score goals and assists in the lower German leagues.
In order to be able to succeed, Soichiro put in a great effort last month. Instead of even living in a big city with a high concentration of Japanese, he chose a small city like Gelsenkirchen while practicing German and trying to fully integrate.
At this time, he has just passed the age of 22, and no one dares to say whether Soichiro will return to the Japanese national team in the future. If he continues his current performance in the Bundesliga, anything is really possible.
Conclusion:
The fracture of his lumbar spine and tibia bone brought him great setbacks, but it also made him learn to face life stronger.
Higher talent will give you more chances to start over. But only a heart that does not give up can take you to continue to pursue your dreams.