Shu Morooka
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 9 December 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kashima Antlers | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Owada SC | |||
| FC Tama | |||
| 2016–2018 | Aviation High School | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Tokyo International University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | Kashima Antlers | 47 | (5) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12 September 2025 | |||
Shu Morooka (師岡 柊生, Morooka Shu; born 9 December 2000) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for J1 League club Kashima Antlers.[2]
Youth career
[edit | edit source]In junior high school, Morooka played for FC Tama alongside Ikuma Sekigawa and Junma Miyazaki.[3] He attended Aviation High School and represented them at the National High School Championship in the 2018 tournament, where they lost in the quarter-finals.[4]
In 2019, Morooka moved to Tokyo International University and scored 7 goals in 13 appearances in his debut season.[5] He continued to be a regular starter during his time at university and ended up making 78 appearances in his four seasons across all competitions, including the Kanto University League, scoring 31 goals.
Club career
[edit | edit source]In August 2022, Morooka received an offer from Júbilo Iwata to join them ahead of the 2023 season.[6] However, in November the offer was cancelled as Júbilo had been prohibited from registering new players by FIFA for two transfer windows due to a breach of contract involving Fabián González.[7][8] This allowed J1 League club Kashima Antlers to offer a contract immediately following the announcement, to which Morooka accepted.[9][10] The move would join him back up with former school teammate Ikuma Sekigawa.
On 8 March 2023, Morooka made his debut for Kashima in a 1–1 J.League Cup draw with Kashiwa Reysol, appearing as a second-half substitute for Ryotaro Araki.[11] He made his first start for the club in the following month, in a 1–0 league victory over Avispa Fukuoka. Morooka made 9 appearances across all competitions in his debut season.
In his second season, Morooka was afforded much more game time under new manager Ranko Popović and has been a regular member of the starting XI. In July 2024, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–0 victory over Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.[12] He scored consecutive goals in the last two games of the season to finish the season with three goals overall.
Career statistics
[edit | edit source]Club
[edit | edit source]- As of end of 2024 season[13]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Japan | League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Total | ||||||
| Kashima Antlers | 2023 | J1 League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2024 | J1 League | 32 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |
| Career total | 36 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 3 | ||
Style of play
[edit | edit source]Morooka is described as being a well-balanced forward which allows him to effectively lead the line. He is also a hard-working player both offensively and defensively.[10]
Honours
[edit | edit source]Club
[edit | edit source]Kashima Antlers
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Shu Morooka at Soccerway (archive)Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Shu Morooka at Kashima Antlers
- Shu Morooka at jleague.jp (in Japanese)
- Shu Morooka at j-league.or.jp (in Japanese)
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