K Kom (foto: Instagram)
Twelve Japanese players represent seven clubs in Montenegro’s second tier, continuing a unique football project established more than a decade ago.
Spremljajte Nogomanio kot prednostni vir na Googlu
Dodajte Nogomanio med priljubjene vire v Google News in
prejemajte najpomembnejše nogometne novice med prvimi.
Montenegro’s second division has become an unexpected destination for young Japanese footballers searching for a route into European football. Their presence is no coincidence, but the result of a project that has connected the two countries for more than a decade.
A total of 12 Japanese players compete in the Montenegrin second tier this season. Last year, the number was even higher at 16. There are now more Japanese footballers in the league than players from neighbouring Serbia, which has ten representatives.
Japanese players account for an impressive 34.3 percent of all foreign footballers in the division.
The league contains ten clubs, and only three of them, Zeta, Berane and Lovćen, do not currently have a Japanese player in their squad.
FK Podgorica lead the way with four: Yusuke Doi, Daigo Urano, Amir Terajima and Kenta Kawai.
Iskra Danilovgrad have two Japanese players, Sho Okaizumi and Tomotaka Ando, while Kom Podgorica also have two in Hinata Sakamaki and Kiyotaka Hosono.
Four other clubs each have one Japanese representative. Hayato Matsumoto plays for Budva, Shunya Ueda represents Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje, Tsubasa Tomonari is with Rudar Pljevlja and Yuma Suwa plays for OFK Grbalj.
The story began in 2013, when Montenegrin coach Predrag Stevović, who had spent more than a decade working in Japan, launched a project designed to bring Japanese players to Montenegro.
Since then, few Montenegrin clubs have avoided working with at least one Japanese footballer. Stevović’s contacts and knowledge of both football cultures created a reliable route between Japanese university football and the lower levels of the European game.
The project gained additional momentum in October 2017, when Japanese investors established what became known as their own club in Montenegro, FK Adria Podgorica.
Stevović became the club’s president and coach, while the other leading officials were Japanese. Adria began competing in Montenegro’s third division, the lowest level of the country’s senior football pyramid.
The club had ambitious plans. Its long-term objective was to reach the top division and eventually qualify for European competition. Those targets were never achieved.
Adria’s senior team withdrew from the third-tier competition during the first half of the 2023/24 season, six years after entering the league. The wider project and the football connection between Japan and Montenegro survived.
Adria had served as a logistical and sporting bridge for young Japanese players who had passed through their country’s university system but were not considered ready or good enough for the professional J.League.
Montenegrin clubs are happy to accept them because the arrangements reportedly bring almost no operational costs. Japanese agencies cover the expenses connected with their players, making the cooperation financially attractive for clubs with limited budgets.
The players also bring useful qualities. They are usually hardworking, tactically disciplined, and quick. Those attributes are highly valued in Montenegrin club football, where matches often lack tempo and tactical structure.
For Japanese players who fail to earn professional contracts at home, Montenegro offers a demanding test. They receive an opportunity to experience senior European football and prove whether they are capable of surviving in difficult conditions.
The pitches are not always perfect, the football is physical, and tackles in the second division are rarely gentle. A player who adapts to muddy surfaces, aggressive opponents and the pressure of senior competition demonstrates mental and physical strength.
Several Japanese footballers have used Montenegro as a platform for respectable careers elsewhere in Europe.
Kohei Kato established himself at Rudar Pljevlja between 2013 and 2016. He later played in Bulgaria and reached Poland’s Ekstraklasa. Kato also received a call-up to the Japan national team, although he never made his international debut.
Noboru Shimura moved from Sutjeska to Spartak Subotica and became one of the more highly regarded foreign players in Serbian football between 2017 and 2023.
Taku Ishihara used his spell with Mladost Podgorica to reach German football, where he represented Erzgebirge Aue and Saarbrücken.
Ryota Noma left Rudar for Radnički Niš and played an important role at the Serbian club between 2017 and 2019. He later continued his career in Russia.
Takeru Komiya offered one of the clearest explanations of why Japanese footballers choose this unusual route. During the 2023/24 season, he finished as the third-highest scorer in Montenegro’s second division with 17 goals.
“The main reason I am here is that I want to play football in Europe. I also saw that there was a wide range of opportunities here to improve on an individual level,” Komiya explained.
During his time in Montenegro, Komiya represented Jezero, Podgorica and Jedinstvo. He also spent a short period in Bosnia and Herzegovina after signing for Sloboda Tuzla.
His journey is far from unusual. For Japanese footballers searching for an opportunity in Europe, the network created by Peđa Stevović has established a recognisable path: arrive in Montenegro, adapt to physical senior football and earn a move to a stronger league.
Montenegrin clubs receive disciplined players without carrying high financial costs. Japanese prospects gain their first chance in Europe. More than a decade after the project began, both sides still see enough value to keep the unlikely football connection alive.