Shogun Soccer Scouting #4: Kaili Shimbo
Athletic Left Back with a Wand of a Left Foot!
Hi all! I’m back with another Shogun Soccer Scouting feature… on Kaili Shimbo.
Date of Birth: August 16, 2002
Age: 21 years old
Nationality: Japan
Position: Left Back (Back 4 or Back 5)
Club: Renofa Yamaguchi (J2)
Squad Number: #48 (2024 season)
Height/Weight: 1.71m // 64 kg (Source: Soccer Digest)
Kaili Shimbo was born in Tokyo and played for the Kashiwa Reysol youth teams until switching to Cerezo Osaka’s U-18 team in 2018. He went on to play for Cerezo’s U-23 team in 2020 (which were allowed to participate in J3 back then) before making a permanent switch to Renofa Yamaguchi. After mere cameo appearances in the J2 2021 season, in the following two seasons Shimbo moved on loans to J3 sides Tegevajaro Miyazaki and then Iwate Morioka Grulla. After earning a regular starting spot at Iwate and his very good performances, he was recalled to Renofa Yamaguchi for the 2024 season.
At Iwate Grulla Morioka Kaili Shimbo was playing as the Left Wing Back in a 3-5-2. For Renofa Yamaguchi this season he has nominally been a Left Back in a 4-4-2 shape which, at times and during games, can shift fluidly to a 3-5-2 // 3-4-2-1 as well.
Renofa Yamaguchi are a side that mostly set up in a mid-block with the occasional high press depending on the situation/opposition. While it’s easy to lock them in as a “long ball” team on first watch, in reality they do mix it up by trying to play out from the back as well. As mentioned earlier, their shape can switch between a Back 3 and Back 4 easily as Shimbo can push up as a Wing Back/Winger while the rest of the defenders shuffle over or one of the double-pivot would drop next to the Center Backs. At times, Shimbo will even form as the Left of the Three to become a deep lying distributor.
Kaili Shimbo shares set piece duties as the Left footer alongside teammate Joji Ikegami (Right footer). Renofa Yamaguchi have been a surprise contender for the J1 promotion play-off places under new manager Ryo Shigaki. However, the loss of striker Tsubasa Umeki and his aerial ability in open-play and set pieces to promotion rivals Sendai has forced Renofa to tweak their tactics. We will have to see how Shimbo reacts to these tactical changes in the 2nd half of the season but this report only goes up to a few games since Umeki’s departure. So far Kaili Shimbo has 1 Goal and 8 Assists, which already matches his entire tally from the 2023 J3 season, at the higher J2 level and with 12 more games left to go in the current season!
VIDEO NOTE: Kaili Shimbo plays on the Left, wears #48 and has dyed blonde hair. Renofa’s kit colors are orange with white lettering (home), white with black lettering (away), purple (3rd).
Let’s get started!
Defending
Block Defending
Kaili Shimbo is agile and has quick reactions to intercept passes and recover loose/2nd balls. Along with his good body shape in the defensive line, this allows him to quickly shift in any direction. Due to his speed Shimbo is adept at covering or chasing long balls over the top but more direct balls coming into an opponent can be a bit harder for him to deal with. However, with the way Renofa set up defensively, Shimbo is usually tasked with covering for the Center Back who goes to challenge for most of the initial aerial balls (mostly Renan, the Left Center Back) and doesn’t have to get into these duels as often. Shimbo keeps a calm demeanor under pressure and doesn’t hesitate to take responsibility for a loose ball or to pass it back to the goalkeeper/fellow defender away from danger.
When faced off against an opponent in 1v1 situations, Shimbo is very competent. When the ball is shifted wide over to the feet of the opponent attacker, Shimbo steps up aggressively to challenge. Shimbo keeps his body set low and bounces on the balls-of-the-feet to quickly react to any direction. He makes quick steps to keep pace with the attacker’s movements. Shimbo also approaches from good angles and cuts potential openings for passes.
Shimbo uses his arms to block and wedge himself in front of the opponent’s body to tackle and is cognizant to keep his hands/arms tucked in when defending inside his own box. Shimbo doesn’t dive in unnecessarily but can misjudge the flight of the ball in aerial challenges.
Transition Defending
Due to the nature of his role in the team, he can be positioned quite high up. This is especially more so when Renofa Yamaguchi shift to a Back 3 in-possession. On turn-overs, these situations can be quite dangerous for the team as opponents take advantage of the space left behind. However, Kaili Shimbo has the recovery speed to make up the ground in all but the most extreme cases. It’s not just his physical speed but his quick reactions especially when it comes to counter-pressing as he closes down the ball carrier or moves to block potential passing options.
Box Defending
This is the area of greatest concern. While he is diligent in marking and blocking, the physical aspect is clearly not a strength and I’m not confident his already meager defensive production in his own box will scale up to J1 or better leagues.
Shimbo has difficulty dealing with crosses and diagonal balls and gets caught ball watching in these situations but he’s better when it’s straight long balls from the front (much like when he’s defending long balls outside the box). Often he does not get good distance on headed clearances in duels and may unintentionally play it back into dangerous areas. On the positive side, Shimbo keeps a cool head when picking up loose/2nd balls in his own box and his uncontested clearances can also lead to good counterattacks due to his long passing acumen.
Passing
Shimbo can be a secure outlet in possession or build-up. From the defensive 3rd, he makes many progressive, line-breaking passes down the line or diagonals inside for players in the half-spaces or central areas. However, he can make some silly mistakes in the middle 3rd from stray unforced passes leading to counterattacks which can be a bit of a worry. If he cuts those mistakes out then he can be a even more reliable presence in the build-up than he already is. Further forward, he is very clever in combining with his teammates (especially Kota Kawano, #20) down the left wing with 1-2s and 3rd-man-runs performed very frequently. This passing ability combined with his movement make him a very good asset in breaking teams down in the final 3rd.
Long Passing & Crossing
Shimbo lofts many passes down the line with decent accuracy by eye. Renofa Yamaguchi as a team are fairly comfortable with booting it long to regain territory or at least use it as an opportunity to push up their lines back into a mid-block. So the volume of Shimbo’s long passing and poor completion percentage % by the data needs to be placed in that context. Even if the passes don’t reach the intended target, it can cause defenders enough trouble to earn a throw-in and while Shimbo may occasionally over-hit them for a goal kick, he doesn’t often skew it out-of-bounds on the sides.
Kaili Shimbo’s strongest asset is crossing. He is able to reliably curl in crosses from the Left Wing to all areas of the box provided he’s able to gain an extra yard of open space. He has variety of crosses in his arsenal, floated or driven crosses, but low cut-backs are rare as he doesn’t enter the box often. Shimbo also doesn’t cross with his Right very often as he doesn’t cut back inside to cross, mostly to pass only. He can also hit crosses on his first touch when receiving a lay-off. It should come as no surprise that Shimbo’s 8 assists have come from crosses!
Set-Pieces & Shooting
Shimbo’s shooting isn’t much to write about. They mostly end up as blocked shots as he receives these opportunities from loose balls at the edge of the box from poor angles. He’s got decent technique, as you’d expect much like his crossing, and has the potential to score a few goals per season but currently it’s not something you can expect from him due to how reliant the team are on him as a provider.
Set pieces are another key skill that Renofa Yamaguchi rely on Kaili Shimbo for. As seen from his open-play crossing Shimbo can be very accurate and it’s evident in the responsibilities given to him in these situations by the coaching staff and the team. Whether it’s in-swinging or out-swinging from either side of the pitch, lots of designed set-pieces evolve around his ability to hit the target areas in the box. As an aside, he also takes a lot of throw-ins so there’s potential to design throw-in routines so he can receive the ball back in space to cross it in quickly as well. This may help mitigate his inability to create enough separation on the dribble and let him get more accurate crosses off than he already does.
Ball Control & Dribbling
When it comes to Shimbo’s final actions he can be fairly one-footed, as in he rarely makes crosses by cutting back onto his Right foot and frequently uses the outside of the Left foot to poke or curl passes around in combination play. His Right foot touches mostly come from his ball carrying as he bursts forward and sets himself up for a cross with his favored Left foot.
Shimbo frequently receives both in-motion from runs down the wing or to feet in the build-up. I think he is very good when it comes to opening up his body to receive with the inside of the Left foot from long diagonals or more simple passes. He is also comfortable chest-ing down lofted balls, either stationary or on-the-move into the direction of his next action.
Overall Shimbo exhibits calm on the ball and his first touch is usually well thought out, pushing forward into open space or with his next few actions in mind. He gets a lot of reps in from setting himself up to cross within his 2nd or 3rd touches in the final 3rd.
Shimbo is quite adept at evading opponents under pressure due to his good close control in tight spaces in all areas of the pitch. He can spin away and make quick directional changes to shake off opponents. However, Shimbo is not a great 1v1 dribbler along the side-lines and that’s his biggest weakness in attack.
He has occasional moments of inspiration but largely uses his quick acceleration to gain a bit of space to send a cross in rather than completely going past his man, especially when he receives the ball to feet. He can be adept at using his quick-feet to skip past players though when he and the ball are in-movement. Otherwise, he has some quick stop-start and directional change movements but ultimately gets stuck trying to make body feints that aren’t very effective. Shimbo loves trying to cut inside his opponent via a nutmeg but most of the time he is not successful.
This can be seen when he’s left without support and is forced to simply attempt going down the line and earning a throw-in or corner kick from a blocked cross. His limitations are quite clear when you see how little he drives into the box of his own volition. As a result, Shimbo usually crosses early or outside the width of the box rather than from inside the box.
Movement & Physical Attributes
(Re-)Positioning & Off-Ball Runs
Kaili Shimbo has a really good awareness of space, constantly positioning himself in between-the-lines on the Left Wing when Renofa Yamaguchi have possession. In the build-up from deeper or in the middle 3rd of the pitch, Shimbo is adept at shifting his position along the sides to support central players or to receive from the Center Backs. He is responsive and actively calls for the ball when open from these positions to progress the ball forward.
Shimbo makes lots of 3rd-man-runs to receive the ball in the final 3rd or to push forward into the final 3rd himself via a carry. He likes to receive the ball in those little pocket of space between the opponent Full Back - Winger to give himself the room to immediately swing the ball into the box if necessary. Overall, he is a very good support player for Renofa Yamaguchi’s wing-play and has very good chemistry with the regular Left Midfielder, Kota Kawano, as well as any one of the central midfielders who shifts over to provide support on the Left side.
In attacking transitions, he bombs up the wing quickly and his pace allows him to catch up to the play with supporting over or under-lapping runs. If he is the initiator of these situations, then he can carry the ball forward into space and pick out passes to attackers, if not go wide and cross the ball in himself. However, Shimbo is not really the one with the ability to finish off these moves with a shot himself.
Kaili Shimbo has a knack for picking up loose balls and being well positioned to deal with rebounds. Of course, this is baked into the tactics of the team as Renofa Yamaguchi concentrate play a lot on the Left Wing with long diagonals or long balls catapulted toward Tsubasa Umeki (or others) who would then either hold it up or flick-on a header for Shimbo to collect in the final 3rd.
Speed & Agility
As mentioned, his agility can be seen from his ability to twist-and-turn to get out of trouble when on the ball under pressure. This agility also allows him to defend well in being able to keep up with opponent dribblers and their directional changes. In general, Shimbo’s good body balance/control and great acceleration allow him to push off into a run after a pass, including quick 1-2 combinations, in the final 3rd to give him the separation from his opponent to cross the ball. As can be seen in the footage across all sections, Shimbo has pace to very quickly bomb up and down the wing which makes him very active in transition phases, both in attack or defense.
Physicality & Heading
Kaili Shimbo, while not the strongest defender physically, is tenacious and not afraid to get stuck in when necessary. He is aggressive and steps up to deal with wingers receiving the ball in 50-50 ground duels and often comes out on top despite his size.
Shimbo is not nearly as bad in the air as you might initially think, indeed he actually wins a fair share of aerial duels looking at the data. As mentioned in the defense section, what should be noted though is that the team is set up so that Shimbo doesn’t contest duels that are heavily not in his favor, the Center Backs like Renan on the Left side take the initiative while Shimbo steps back to cover. In a worse defensive set-up or one where the Left-sided Center Back is neither mobile enough to cover across nor good in the air, I think Shimbo may suffer so this is still a consideration to keep in mind.
In terms of his fitness, he can keep going on long sprints even late in the game. This season, the earliest he’s been taken off was in the 75th minute and then the 78th minute. Otherwise he has played every single minute for Renofa Yamaguchi in the league.
2023 (J3): 35.07 90s, 3160 minutes
2024 (J2): 25.7 90s, 2313 minutes (after Matchday 26)
Data & Miscellaneous
The player radar is fairly straightforward and tracks with what I’ve talked or shown in the previous sections.
His defensive stats are decent, even if he’s not quite the most active defender. From the context provided by the footage in previous sections, he’s mostly pressuring and containing within the boundaries of Renofa’s defensive block rather than going to win balls out right most of the time. Despite going into quite a lot of duels, he is a very clean player that rarely fouls and hasn’t even been carded at all this season.
Shimbo offers fantastic ball progression, ability to drive forward with the ball, and creates danger either directly through crosses or indirectly through combination play to set others up. The poor long pass completion percentage % has been explained in prior sections while his poor dribbling success rate aligns with what I’ve shown on the tape regarding Shimbo’s actual skills in taking defenders on 1v1 compared to his peers in the J2 league. The low dribbling also aligns with Shimbo’s lack of touches in the opposition box as he struggles to make entries into there by himself.
Overall a positive look by the numbers.
Summary
Kaili Shimbo is an athletic Left Back with an eye for a cross. He has slowly built his career starting out from the bottom of the professional pyramid, spending time on loan in J3 before finally getting a chance in J2 this season.
He has spent his entire career on the Left flank as both a traditional Left Back in a Back 4 or as a Wing Back. The tactical set-up of Renofa Yamaguchi this season has allowed him to shift between either role quite fluidly during games and at times even drop closer to the Center Backs to use his passing range in the build-up phase.
One might wonder if he could potentially play as a more inverted Full Back. While feasible due to his demonstrated abilities and range of his progressive passing, secure first touch, good evasive maneuvers on the dribble, and very good positioning due to his understanding of space, nevertheless I believe it would be a waste of his best role as a primary or secondary creator from out wide.
His delivery from open play and set-pieces are his biggest asset not just in terms of his accuracy but the large variety of crosses he can employ. There are still elements to improve upon though as his lack of 1v1 dribbling acumen means that Shimbo doesn’t often make opponent penalty box entries to play more dangerous cut-backs and mostly opts for lofted crosses at the slightest opening between him and his immediate marker out wide. Any prospective team needs to give Shimbo lots of support on the wings so he can combine with 1-2s or make 3rd-man-runs behind defenders to create space for himself and to not stall attacks. Having many aerially dominant teammates not just as box presence to score from Shimbo’s deliveries but to also flick-on passes into Shimbo’s path is optimal to get the best out of him. EDIT (October 10, 2024): I would also add that he hasn’t truly faced the most dangerous wingers in the J2 league 1v1 (let alone any in J1) so it’s hard to judge him on this aspect and it might be an area of concern.
Great Left Backs are a rare commodity, especially one with the kind of zip and accuracy that Kaili Shimbo can give you in open-play and set-pieces. Even so, I would say a move to a top 5 league in Europe would be a steep climb for him right now but he’s shown enough quality to be in contention for a move to non top 5 league, especially in the right tactical set-ups as mentioned here. I think it is best he stays at Renofa Yamaguchi for the rest of the season and see what happens in the J1 promotion play-offs as the team are well in the fight for it. Whatever transpires in November, he can then scope out potential opportunities to step up to J1... and then possibly go beyond.
Thanks for reading!
Resources, Limitations, etc.
Video analysis: DaVinci Resolve 18
Tactical diagrams: Tacticalista
Time period: 2024 J2 Season (22 games)
Footage: Broadcast footage, no tactical camera
Stats: FBref, Transfermarkt, WyScout
Player radars: Ben Griffis