George B. Sánchez-Tello and José Antonio Romero

Contributor

Midfield with Ryo Fujii

Could a Japanese national be the future of American soccer? 
Ryo Fujii

On a late January morning in Los Angeles, Ryo Fujii emerges from the subterranean hallways beneath the Los Angeles Galaxy’s stadium to train alongside American soccer stars like Jermaine Jones, Jordan Morris, Christen Press and Becky Sauerbrunn. Slender at five foot 10 and topped by a spiky, black shock of hair somewhere between bedhead and fashionable, Fujii is about to begin his second season as a professional athlete. It is the first day of training for the Galaxy, American soccer’s marquee brand. Each moment promises a turning point for Fujii.