The top young player in Asia plays right in the capital of the Meiji Yasuda J.League, after F.C.Tokyo’s Kuryu Matsuki was named AFC Youth Player of the Year.

The 20-year-old Matsuki has established himself as not just a starter for F.C.Tokyo, but one of their most important players. A midfielder who can impose himself on the match in a multitude of ways, he has developed into one of the most dynamic players in the entire league.

In addition to his J.League exploits, Matsuki was a crucial player for Japan at multiple youth levels. He played at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup and also captained the U-20 team, making the semi-finals of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup to qualify them for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Matsuki is the sixth men’s Japanese player to win AFC Youth Player of the Year and is the second Japanese man to be honored at this year’s AFC awards, joining Samurai Blue boss Hajime Moriyasu, who won Men’s Coach of the Year.