Approaching full match fitness after a run of impressive first team appearances is our Japanese international star, Junichi Inamoto. The extra good news for all City fans is that he will be with us for at least another month after West Brom agreed to extend his loan period.
Ina, as he is known both here and in Japan, made his debut on Boxing Day against Wolves and as each match has passed his contribution to the team's improvement has increased.
Ina was born in Osaka on 18 September, 1979 and he honed his skills at Gamba Osaka's youth academy before graduating to the senior club in 1998 on leaving high school.
"I had begun playing when I was six, first joined Seiei Gakuen SC and then the Gamba Junior Youth team when I was 13 years old," he said. Two years later I was selected for the national Under-16 team."
Ina showed great promise even at that early stage in his development. While just 17, he became the youngest J-League player in history when on the 12 April 1997 he played for Gamba Osaka against Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the Expo'70 Stadium.
He topped that seven days later by becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in the J-League when he netted against Shimizu S-Pulse. While all this was happening to the youngster, he was quietly continuing his studies at high school.
International Call
"I played in the World Youth Championships in 1999 for Japan and then followed that by playing for my country in the Sydney Olympics of 2000. After that came the Asian Cup held in Lebanon which we won, so my international career was off to a good start," said Inamoto.
That international career, which now totals 51 caps, began in Hong Kong in February 2000 when Japan were beaten 1-0 by Mexico.
Ina, as he is known both here and in Japan, made his debut on Boxing Day against Wolves and as each match has passed his contribution to the team's improvement has increased.
Ina was born in Osaka on 18 September, 1979 and he honed his skills at Gamba Osaka's youth academy before graduating to the senior club in 1998 on leaving high school.
"I had begun playing when I was six, first joined Seiei Gakuen SC and then the Gamba Junior Youth team when I was 13 years old," he said. Two years later I was selected for the national Under-16 team."
Ina showed great promise even at that early stage in his development. While just 17, he became the youngest J-League player in history when on the 12 April 1997 he played for Gamba Osaka against Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the Expo'70 Stadium.
He topped that seven days later by becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in the J-League when he netted against Shimizu S-Pulse. While all this was happening to the youngster, he was quietly continuing his studies at high school.
International Call
"I played in the World Youth Championships in 1999 for Japan and then followed that by playing for my country in the Sydney Olympics of 2000. After that came the Asian Cup held in Lebanon which we won, so my international career was off to a good start," said Inamoto.
That international career, which now totals 51 caps, began in Hong Kong in February 2000 when Japan were beaten 1-0 by Mexico.
