GameDay. "Kharkiv" - "Fagiano Okayama". Match #7. Summer training camp 2026

July 21 at 19:00 (Kyiv time). Austria, "Sportplatz". Friendly match #7. Summer training camp 2026.

Watch the match broadcast on the YouTube channel "Kharkiv" and on the TV channel

"Kharkiv" has already played 6 friendly matches within the summer training camp in Austria. The team won one game (6:2 against "Karabakh"), played two draws (3:3 with "Wolfsberger" and 3:3 with "Graetz-Kralove"), and suffered three defeats: 0:2 from "Young Boys", 0:4 from "Salzburg", and 0:1 from "Jablonec". The total goal difference is 12:15. The top scorer of the team during the camp is Carlos Paraco (4 goals). The team's training camp is entering its final stage - in a few days, "Kharkiv" will return to Ukraine to prepare for the official matches of the season.

Last season, "Fagiano Okayama" started in the J1 League - the highest division in Japan - from the regular championship in the "West" group, where it finished 6th. According to the competition rules, the team played two matches against the team that finished 6th in the "East" group, which was "Urawa". As a result, a 2-0 victory and a 1-1 draw helped "Okayama" to take the 11th place in the championship. The top scorer of the team was the Brazilian Leo Gaucho.

Since the season in Japan starts only on August 8, Takashi Kiyama's team is gradually preparing for the season. During the European training camp, the team managed to play only 2 friendly matches: lost to the German "Wehen" from the 3rd Bundesliga - 0:2, and then lost again - this time to "Paderborn" from the Bundesliga - 1:3. It is worth noting that "Kharkiv" will be the only non-German opponent for "Okayama" in these training camps, as the team has friendly matches scheduled with "Werder" and "Schalke" next.

Achievements: so far, the team has no significant achievements in Japan. In 2007 and 2008, they triumphed in the Chugoku Championship, which allowed them to move up to the J-League.

Geography: "Okayama" represents the city of Okayama - the administrative center of the eponymous prefecture in the western part of Honshu Island, Japan. The city is located on a plain near the coast of the Inland Sea of Japan, at the mouth of the Asahi River. Okayama is known as the "Land of Sunshine" due to its mild climate with low rainfall, as well as its gardens and historical sites. The population is about 720,000 people. Interestingly, the distance from Kharkiv to Okayama is approximately 11,886 kilometers.

Head coach: Takashi Kiyama - a 52-year-old Japanese specialist. He started his coaching career after finishing his playing career, working with university and youth teams, including in the Vissel Kobe system.

The first serious stage of his career began in 2008 when Kiyama took over at "Mito HollyHock". There he quickly established himself as a promising coach and became one of the youngest J2 League coaches. He later worked with "JEF United Chiba", "Ehime", and "Montedio Yamagata", where he regularly led the teams to promotion battles.

In 2020, the specialist gained experience in the elite division, taking over at "Vegalta Sendai". After that, he was part of the coaching staff of "Gamba Osaka". And since 2022, Kiyama has been the head coach of "Fagiano Okayama".

Transfermarkt: according to the portal, the total value of the team's players is 10 million 480 thousand euros. Interestingly, the squad of "Fagiano Okayama" is predominantly Japanese. There are only 3 foreigners in the team: Brazilians Leo Gaucho and Lukao, as well as South Korean San-ho Na, who is also the most expensive player in the team (his value is 900 thousand euros).