Wonderkid Factory | Part 18 | Celebrating Our Greatest Ever Wonderkid Factory

GK – Daiki Honda (26): Honda came through the academy in 2032, spent a season in the reserves and a season on loan in J3, before making 6 appearances in 2033/34. From there, he became first choice keeper, going on to make 326 appearances for the club, only conceding 302 goals. He’s also got 16 caps for Japan.

RB – Yoshiki Tanaka (26): Tanaka is one of those players who doesn’t look great on paper, but performs superbly. Primarily, a wingback, he adapted to right back this season and got 10 assists. He also came through the 2032 intake and has 39 goals and 92 assists in 338 games for the club. But he’s surprisingly not had a Japan call-up yet.

RB – Kazuyori Hyodo (23): Pushing Tanaka at right back is Hyodo, who’s also primarily a wingback and delivers plenty of assists. He came through the academy in 2035 and spent a year in J3 before stepping up to the first team in 2038. He’s since got 23 assists in 176 games.

CB – Yuya Sugiyama (24): Sugiyama was quickly touted as a star of the future, coming through the 2034 intake and stepping up to the first time in 2035/36. The new vice-captain has racked up 331 games for the club and earned 6 caps for Japan.

CB – Toshiya Saito (21): One of the newer generation is Saito who, despite only being 5’7, has performed well to fill a hole at centre back. Saito came through the academy in 2038, had loan in J3 and J2, then stepped into the first team in 2040/41. His technical and mental attributes are among the best at the club, and he’s played 99 games for Gunma and earned 4 caps for Japan.

LB – Yoshimitsu Mito (28): Very much the father figure in this squad, Mito is a bit of a living legend among Gunma fans. He came through the 2031 intake, had a couple of loans in J3 and stepped into the first team in 2033/34. Since then, he’s got a club-high 94 assists and 35 goals in 390 games for the club. He’s also won 5 caps for Japan and, despite constant Saudi interest, isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

DM – Mitsuhiro Kato (23): Arguably the most talented player to come through the Gunma academy is midfielder Kato. He adjusted to a deeper role for the title-winning campaign and excelled with strong performances. Kato came through the 2035 intake, headed on loan to J3 in 2035, and became a first team regular from 2036/37. He’s since racked up 35 goals and 39 assists in 288 games, as well as 3 goals in 17 caps for Japan.

DM – Jhohann Badwan (21): One of the few foreign imports in the team is Colombian colossus Badwan. He signed from Nacional in January 2039 and established himself as a midfield lynchpin the following season. He’s got great technical ability and loves a tackle in the engine room, but has 19 goals with 14 assists in 148 games since, and has 3 caps for Colombia.

CM – Naoya Miura (19): The hot prospect of the current side is midfielder Miura, who established himself as a key player this season. Miura came through the 2039 intake and excelled on loan in J3 in 2039/40 before breaking into the first team in the second half of the following campaign. His technical attributes aren’t outstanding, but superb physicals and electric pace make the difference. He’s already scored 18 goals with 7 assists in 63 games for the club, and has scored 1 goal in 4 caps for Japan.

AM – Rintaro Okamoto (22): Okamoto forced his way into the first team as a makeshift striker, but performed much better dropping into his natural midfield role this season. He came through the 2036 intake, had a season in the reserves before being thrown into the first team at 18. He’s scored 45 with 35 assists in 208 games for the club, as well as 1 goal in 5 caps for Japan.

AM – Atsushi Shimizu (26): The star man of the squad is undoubtedly Shimizu, who routinely scores and creates for fun. Shimi came through the 2032 intake, went straight into the first team before a loan in J2 saw him really develop nicely for his return in 2035/36. This season, he racked up 41 goal contributions, and he’s scored 90 goals with 71 assists in 314 games for the club. He’s also racked up 22 caps for Japan, scoring 4 goals.

AM – Riku Hasegawa (20): Supporting those midfielders is the exciting Hasegawa. he came through the 2038 intake and, after impressing in the reserves, stepped up the first team in 2040/41. A breakthrough season this time around delivered 21 goal contributions, and he can fill in across the midfield. He’s already got 20 goals and 10 assists in 90 games.

AM – Kazuki Hamano (19): Another exciting prospect is the diminutive Hamano, who can also fill in across the midfield. He came through the 2039 intake and stepped up to the first team this season, impressing with 12 goal contributions.

ST – Lucio Lucero (21): The only other foreigner starter is the deadly Lucero, who was signed from San Lorenzo for a club record £9.5m in 2040. He’s since scored 26 in 54 league games and 36 in 72 in all competitions. Lucero is considered the best player at the club and is far and away the best based on Rasamu’s attribute ID system (475). And, unsurprisingly, there’s interest from Saudi.

ST – Andrzej Szpucha (20): If interest in Lucero was to materialise, the man to replace him could be Polish youngster Szpucha. The pacey striker hasn’t had much of a look in, but did score 5 goals this season.