When Hosei Kijima dropped to St. Louis CITY SC in this year’s MLS SuperDraft, the match between player and club immediately felt like a fit.
At Wake Forest, Kijima was viewed as the squad’s engine, and his reputation as a student of the game surely caught the attention of CITY sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel and head coach Bradley Carnell. But player development is never linear, and during his first few months in St. Louis, Kijima has had to work the margins to find slivers of opportunities within the first team.
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When his latest opportunity came as an early substitute on Saturday at Inter Miami, Kijima seized the chance to play and ran with it.
During a 3-3 draw in South Florida, Kijima put forth an outstanding effort as an injury replacement for Rasmus Alm. In 63 minutes of action, Kijima registered his first MLS assist, while giving CITY a glimpse of his potential to help the lineup this season and in the years to come.
As he’s worked to find his niche with CITY, Kijima has functioned as the club’s Swiss Army Knife—a role similar to the one filled last season by Homegrown talent Miguel Perez. Kijima, though, is seemingly already built for MLS play. He has thrived in a more advanced role with CITY2, and he has noticeably improved in each of his MLS appearances. Though he is inexperienced, Kijima is physical and fast, and he possesses a great soccer IQ.
“He’d be in the coach’s room every matchday, too, if we let him,” Carnell said recently.
The MLS is a league where players with that archetype and attention to detail can thrive.
Doing so, however, isn’t so simple.
To even get to this point where he’s considered a depth option for the first team, Kijima has had to work double duty with CITY2. He has made five starts at the MLS Next Pro level, including four starts coming directly after subbing into MLS games on the same weekend. Though it may be a lot to juggle, the workload has allowed him to find his game as an attacking midfielder. That’s a dimension of Kijima’s game that Carnell was quick to utilize in the draw against Miami. In just over an hour on the field, Kijima created three chances, made six recoveries, and grabbed his first MLS assist on Indiana Vassilev’s goal late in the first half.
Consider it major progress in Kijima’s ongoing quest to become a CITY matchday regular. Not only did he help on the attack, Kijima acquitted himself well in transition. He even demonstrated his range to recover against a Lionel Messi-led counterattack.
“I’ve just told the boys here, guys who invest in their careers, it’s tough to find minutes with us,” Carnell said, while discussing Kijima’s growth. “But then you go and play CITY2 and get a couple of games. You look great in the 10 in the last game for Bobby [Murphy, CITY2’s manager], and all of a sudden you think he could be an option off the bench just the way he empties the tank, the way he presses, [and] the way he applies our principles. And this is important. This is a winning combination. If you can get that target performance out of Hosei, it’s exactly what was necessary for a game with Lionel Messi.”
It’s clear that Kijima has taken a step forward. Right now, as Aziel Jackson continues to fall out of the rotation, his ability to slot into Alm’s position provides a look Carnell can use. It won’t always be smooth for a newcomer like Kijima. But CITY has clearly found value in the Wake Forest product, who is quickly becoming a crucial depth piece as the club attempts to climb back up the table.
