Maya Yoshida was born in the Japanese city of Nagasaki in 1988. After showing promise at a young age, he made the starting line-up for Nagoya Grampus in 2008, scoring the club's first ever goal in the AFC Champions League. In December 2009, it was announced that Yoshida had transferred to Dutch Club VVV-Venlo, who he played for until 2012 when he joined Southampton FC. Since 2010, he has represented Japan in the national football team.