Gen Shōji

Gen Shōji (昌子 源, Shōji Gen; born 11 December 1992) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for J1 League club, Machida Zelvia.

A strong and physical centre-back, Shoji is known for his pace, positioning, and ability to handle one-on-one defensive situations.

Born in Kobe, Japan, Shōji started playing football when he was two years old, starting out in a forward position. His performance when he was in fourth grade playing against the sixth grade attracted attention from Fresca Kobe U12 (Hyogo Prefecture), who signed him. He joined Gamba Osaka Junior Youth during middle school and then Yonago Kita High School. While at Yonago Kita High School, Shoji switched to playing in the centre–back position, a position he played today. At first, Shoji was unhappy with the team's decision to switch him into the centre–back position, but over time, he accepted playing in the position.

It was announced on 30 September 2010 that Shoji would be joining Kashima Antlers from 1 January 2011. Ahead of the 2011 season, Shoji was registered to the Kashima Antlers’ first team in January. He spoke about his expectations at his new club, saying: "In 2011, I want to work hard without losing, so that the directors and supporters can recognize me. I want to try out what I can do. I want to do my best to help my team." He first appeared in the first team for Kashima Antlers as an unused substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the AFC Champions League. From that moment on, Shoji spent months on the substitute bench, due to Daiki Iwamasa, Takeshi Aoki and Masahiko Inoha. On 12 October 2011 he made his Kashima Antlers debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against University of Tsukuba in the second round of the J. League Cup. A month later on 16 November 2011 against Kataller Toyama, Shoji made another appearance for the side, playing 62 minutes, in a 2–1 win. At the end of the 2011 season, Shoji made two appearances for the side.

In the 2012 season, Shoji continued to remain on the substitute bench, as Iwamasa and Aoki were the first choice centre–backs. On 24 March 2012 he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute in a 2–0 loss against Sanfrecce Hiroshima. A month later, Shoji made his first start of the season, playing in the centre–back position, as he helped Kashima Antlers beat Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo in the J.League group stage. Over the season, Shoji then played in different positions, such as, defensive midfield, left–back and right–back, but most of them were substitute. On 8 September 2012 he scored his first Kashima Antlers’ goal, in a 7–1 win against University of Tsukuba in the second round of the Emperor's Cup. Two months later on 3 November 2012, Shoji started in the left–back position for the J.League Cup Final against Shimizu S-Pulse and played 83 minutes before being substituted, as Kashima Antlers won 2–1, his first title of his career. After the match, Manager Jorginho evaluated his performance. At the end of the 2012 season, he went on to make eighteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

In the 2013 season, Shoji made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute, in a 3–2 win against Vegalta Sendai on 9 March 2013. However, his first team opportunities was limited, due to competitions from Iwamasa, Aoki and new signing, Takanori Maeno. Despite this, Shoji made his first league start, starting the whole game, in a 3–2 win against FC Tokyo on 25 May 2013. By June, he suffered a meniscus damage while training and was sidelined for four months, eventually ruling him out for the rest of the season. Despite this, Shoji went on to make five appearances for the side at the end of the 2013 season.

In the 2014 season, Shoji returned to the starting line-up against Ventforet Kofu in the opening game of the season and scored from a header, in a 4–0 win. This was followed up by helping the side keep two clean sheets in the next two matches. His contribution to the first team helped the side finish at the top of the table. However, as the season progressed, the club's place at the top of the table soon slipped. By September, Shoji scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Omiya Ardija on 13 September 2014. This was followed by keeping three clean sheets in the next three matches. The 2014 season proved to be Shoji's breakthrough to the Kashima Anthlers’ first team, and cemented his place in the centre–back position. At the end of the season, he went on to make forty appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

In November 2018, Shoji continued to be linked a move away from Kashima Antlers, as it was reported that Toulouse interested in signing him. It was announced on 29 December 2018 that he signed for Toulouse, signing a three–year contract for a transfer fee of 3 million euros and becoming the first Japanese player to join the club. Upon joining the club, Shoji said he will do his best at Toulouse and learn the speak the French language as quickly as possible.

Shoji made his Toulouse debut, starting the whole game and keeping a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Nîmes Olympique on 19 January 2019. He kept another clean sheet in a follow–up match against Angers SCO, as they drew 0–0. Since joining the club, Shoji became a first team regular for the club, playing in the centre–back position. Manager Alain Casanova described Shoji's signings as a "very good pick" after watching his performance but expected him to improve. Shoji was able to help to help the club avoid relegation despite bad results. At the end of the 2018–19 season, he made twenty appearances in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, however, Shoji suffered a hamstring injury during a pre–season match in a 1–0 defeat against Norwich City and was sidelined for a month. On 6 September 2019 he returned from injury, appearing in a friendly match against Athletic Bilbao. On 25 September 2019 Shoji made his first league appearance of the season and started the match, as Toulouse lost 2–0 against Angers SCO. However, Shoji played 45 minutes, as he sprained his ankle and was substituted. This turns out to be his only appearance for the club this season. Initially out for three weeks, Shoji was sidelined for months and never played for Toulouse again. It was reported in late–January that Toulouse accepted a bid from Gamba Osaka for Shoji. Upon leaving the club, it was reported that Shoji wanted to leave the club, having failed to settle in France and later stated it was a difficult decision to leave.

It was announced on 3 February 2020 that Gamba Osaka signed Shoji on a five–year contract for a reported transfer fee of 850,000 euros. Upon joining the club, he said: "I'm coming back to Gamba Osaka. I was taken care of by junior youth, and after that I was fighting as a rival with a different team, but I'm grateful to be back this time. I'm just thinking about leaving results here, and I'm trying to help the team win the championship, or I'm going to pull it, so I'll do my best so that I can do it."

However, Shoji continued to recover from his ankle injury for the next five months, but the season was interrupted due to the pandemic and it was pushed back to July, allowing him to have more time to recover. Having recovered from his injury, he made his debut for the club against Yokohama on 8 August 2020 and started the whole game, as Gamba Osaka won 2–1. Since making his debut for Gamba Osaka, Shoji quickly established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the centre–back position for the next two months. This lasted until he suffered ankle injury in the 17th minute but continued playing, as the club drew 1–1 against Yokohama F. Marinos on 14 October 2020. After the match, Shoji was sidelined for a month with ankle injury. While on the sidelines, he was awarded October's J-League Best Defensive Player. On 14 November 2020 Shoji returned to the starting line–up for Gamba Osaka against Vegalta Sendai, as the club lost 4–0. He later helped Gamba Osaka finish second place in the league. At the end of the 2020 season, Shoji went on to make nineteen appearances in all competitions.

On 8 December 2022, Shōji returned to his former club, Kashima Antlers for the 2023 season. He was named in the starting XI for the first five games of the season, but with the team drawing one and losing four of these, Shoji was dropped to the bench. He did not make the starting line-up in a league game for the remainder of the season and only played 644 minutes in his 21 league appearances.

On 25 December 2023, Gen Shoji announcement permanently transfer to Machida Zelvia for upcoming 2024 season.

It was announced on 1 October 2014 that Shoji was called up for the Japan's squad for the first time by Manager Javier Aguirre. However, he withdrew from the squad, due to an injury. Two months later, it was announced that Shoji was called up for the national team ahead of the AFC Asian Cup in Australia. However, he appeared as an unused substitute throughout the tournament.

On 31 March 2015 Shoji made his Japan debut against Uzbekistan in a friendly match, starting the whole game, as he helped the side beat Uzbekistan 5–1. A year later on 3 June 2016, Shoji made another appearance for Japan, coming on as the 84th-minute substitute, in a 7–2 win against Bulgaria. In December 2017, he was called up to the national team squad for the EAFF E-1 Football Championship as a host. Shoji captained Japan for the first time in his career and led the side to beat North Korea 1–0. In a follow–up match against China, he scored his first Japan goal, which turns out to be a winning goal, in a 2–1 win. However, Japan lost 4–1 to South Korea in a deciding match, which resulted in the opposition team becoming champions in the tournament. After the match, Shoji reflected on the loss, saying: "Today, Korea was amazing. There were a lot of things we had to follow. Of course, duels and balls, but it was quick to make blocks. It was ambiguous about today. I think it was a sad game."

In May 2018, Shoji was named in Japan's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Eventually, he made it to the final cut of the 23 men squad. Shoji made his World Cup debut against Colombia in Matchday 1 of the group stage, where he played the whole game, in a 2-1 win. Shoji later made two more starts in the tournament, as they were eliminated by Belgium in the knockout stage. Shortly after, Fox Sports named Shoji in the Asian's Best Eleven of the tournament.

Following the tournament, Shoji didn't receive a call up from the national team until March 2019 for a match against Colombia, which he played against and the side lost 1–0 on 22 March 2019. Three months later in June, Shoji started two more matches back to back for the national side, including being a captain against El Salvador on 9 June 2019 and helping them keep two clean sheets.

When Shoji was two years old, Great Hanshin earthquake struck in his hometown. He said about the thoughts, saying: "I listened to my father and mother and did some research on my own. You must never forget. I want to do my best on behalf of Kobe as long as I carry the country, regardless of whether I go to the match or not." His father works as the chief of the technical committee chairman of the Hyogo Football Association. Shoji has an older sister, Kaede, who is an actress.

In January 2017, Shoji announced his marriage to a general woman, which took place in the previous October. Outside of football, he said he watches movies, stating it has helped him relive stress.