After putting in the hard work all season long, Yutaro Tsukada is being rewarded for the fruits of his labor.
In December of 2023, the Japanese winger was still finishing out his college soccer at West Virginia University, playing in the NCAA Tournament. Now, nine months later, Tsukada has worked his way up to a contract with Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer.
Just four years ago, Tsukada was a freshman, traveling to the United States to play at Daytona State College. After a meeting with former USL Lion Dennis Chin, who is now his agent, he transferred to West Virginia for his junior and senior seasons. During his time at West Virginia, Tsukada impressed in his two years with the Mountaineers and ended up winning a number of personal awards following his senior season. His meteoric rise caught the attention of scouts, leading to his selection by Orlando City in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft with the 25th overall selection.
"I was surprised I got drafted by Orlando," Tsukada told OrlandoCitySC.com. "After my time in Daytona, I feel it has a little bit more meaning being in Florida."
Before he was able to make it to the MLS side, however, Tsukada signed with Orlando City B to get his feet wet in the professional game.
"I thought I could get the first team deal, but I couldn't, but I wasn’t really disappointed, because I knew I had to trust in the process," he said.
Before the season started Orlando City’s MLS side went to preseason camp in Mexico, where Tsukada was invited. It was just the opportunity he needed to showcase his skills against first-team players and show the coaching staff. It turned out to be just what he needed to set a good first impression.
"It was huge for me," he said. "The first week preseason before Mexico, I couldn't play well, and I didn't even play the game against Flamengo, so I thought I needed to show them how skillful I am, how I can contribute and my ability, so it was huge for me. I think I scored three in two games, and then I got three assists in two games. So in terms of dribbling and the result of the game, it was huge"
Going back to Orlando and into the regular season, Tsukada kept that form rolling. With OCB Head Coach Manuel Goldberg working with him, he was able to improve his game even more and continue to impress the coaching staff for both the MLS and MLS NEXT Pro sides.
Ultimately, after a hot start with OCB, scoring four goals and adding four assists in his first 12 games, his efforts were rewarded when he was called up to make his first-team debut on a short-term contract against Inter Miami CF back in May. That moment, Tsukada admitted, was when he realized how close he was to the ultimate goal: a permanent spot on the fisrt team.
"I felt like I was right on the cusp," he said. "I just needed to go a little bit further."
His trajectory just kept shooting upwards as he continued to impress in training sessions, earning more short-term contracts with the MLS side, most recently during the Lions' Leagues Cup run. It was at that point that he finally was able to get over the line as the team offered him a contract.
Now that pen has been put to paper, the real work begins for Tsukada. He still feels that hunger, that drive to become better and is spending every day at training trying to push himself further.
"Oscar [Pareja] always told me, you're top level [on the ball]. Now you're gonna have to work on your defensive side, you're gonna have to improve that," Tsukada said. "Like with Iván [Angulo], he's been very good on the offensive and defensive side, too. So if I want to take his minutes, I'll have to work on that."
