VfB Stuttgart announced today that Hajime Hosogai will be departing from the club and joining Kashiwa Reysol of the J-league with immediate effect.
Hosogai started his career at Urawa Red Diamonds before venturing into Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. His 11-year career in Europe saw him play for Hertha BSC and FC Augsburg in the German top flight, before playing for Stuttgart in 2. Bundesliga. Hosogai also had a loan stint in the Süper Lig with Bursaspor.
Hosogai's wish fulfilled with move back home
Hosogai joined Stuttgart for the 2016-17 season after the club's relegation from the top flight. Ever since his move to the Mercedes-Benz Arena, the versatile midfielder struggled to get consistent match time, which was a disappointment for him.
Stuttgart's sporting director Jan Schindelmeiser spoke about Hosogai's move and said that Hosogai had "expressed his desire" to leave the club. Schindelmeiser revealed that the club had "discussed" Hosogai's situation with him and finally "fulfilled" his wish to join Reysol.
Despite the abrupt nature of his departure, the club had only positive words for him. Schindelmeiser spoke highly of the Japanese defender, saying: "Hajime is a very pleasant person and an absolute top professional. He wants to play regularly, which of course we can understand."
Hosogai's career has seen him closely follow former manager Jos Luhukay. The Dutchman has managed Hosogai at Hertha, Augsburg and last at Stuttgart. Unfortunately, Luhukay was sacked by Die Schwaben at the end of September 2016 after some disagreements between him and Schindelmeiser.
Hosogai excited to play in Japan
Hosogai made only 10 apperances for Stuttgart in the current season, his lack of game time was down to injuries during the early stages of the season. Adding to his injuries was the sacking of Luhukay, which would have surely dented his confidence.
However, the 30-year-old from Maebashi holds no regrets and spoke brightly of his time in Germany. He said, "I have lived in the five cities of Augsburg, Leverkusen, Berlin, Bursa and Stuttgart, and I decided that Stuttgart should be my last stop in Germany."
He also admitted that he was reconsidering his current situation at the club and said,"I've been thinking about the role I was going to play at VfB Stuttgart and the current situation, talking to club representatives almost every day, talking about my counsellor with a lot of clubs, and then choosing to go to Japan."
After completing his move to Reysol, Hosogai expressed his delight at returning to his country of birth and said that he is "really excited" to play in Japan after such a long time in his career.
The versatile Japanese's departure shouldn't affect Stuttgart's season too much, the club are sitting second on the table behind league leaders 1. FC Union Berlin, as the 2. Bundesliga enters into a more crucial phase of the season.