Yuto Yamashita
# Yuto Yamashita

Yuto Yamashita (山下 優人, Yamashita Yuto, born 24 May 1996) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder for J2 League club Iwaki FC.

## Youth career

Yamashita attended Aomori Yamada High School and made over 40 appearances for the school's team before moving to Toin University of Yokohama in 2015. He scored on his first start for the university team, in a 2–1 JUFA Kanto League 1 victory over Keio University. He also made his first appearances in the Emperor's Cup, playing 90 minutes in both of their games and helping Toin to a narrow 4–3 defeat against J1 League club Shonan Bellmare. Yamashita played 66 times and scored 6 goals for his university between 2015 and 2018. In his third year, he was asked to represent Kanto A in the Denso Cup tournament.

## Club career

In December 2018, it was announced that Yamashita would be signing for Tohoku Soccer League team Iwaki FC for the 2019 season. He made his debut for the team in May in a 3–2 Emperor's Cup defeat to Sendai University and went on to make 10 appearances in his first season with the club, helping Iwaki to gain promotion to the Japan Football League. In the 2020 season, Yamashita only made 13 appearances for the club but in the 2021 season he played in every game as Iwaki gained promotion to the J3 League. He scored his first goal for the team in a 1–1 league draw with FC Osaka. After an excellent season, Yamashita was named the league's MVP and was also inducted into the 2021 JFL Best XI.

Before the start of the 2022 season, it was announced that Yamashita would be made captain for the upcoming campaign. He made his J.League debut in a 1–1 draw with Kagoshima United and went on to play in every minute of every game throughout the season as he helped Iwaki to back-to-back promotions. For the second season running, Yamashita was inducted into the league's Best XI. In December 2022, it was announced that he had renewed his contract with the club.

## Career statistics

### Club

    As of the start of the 2023 season.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :

| Club | Season | League | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Japan | Japan | Japan | League | League | Emperor's Cup | Emperor's Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Toin University of Yokohama | 2015 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| Iwaki FC | 2019 | Tohoku Soccer League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Iwaki FC | 2020 | JFL | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 0 |
| Iwaki FC | 2021 | JFL | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 2 |
| Iwaki FC | 2022 | J3 League | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 0 |
| Iwaki FC | 2023 | J2 League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Iwaki FC | Total | Total | 78 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 90 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 78 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 92 | 2 |

* ↑ 3 appearances in the All Japan Senior Football Championship
* ↑ 6 appearances in the Japanese Regional Football Champions League

## Honours

### Iwaki FC

* Tohoku Soccer League : 2019
* Japanese Regional Football Champions League : 2019
* Japan Football League : 2021
* J3 League : 2022

### Individual

* JFL MVP: 2021
* JFL Best XI: 2021
* J3 League Best XI: 2022
