Product of Cerezo Osaka U-15, and winning the Japanese national high school championship as the striker of the team with Takashi Inui up front, Kohei Yamada left Osaka University of Economics during his sophomore season to begin his career with Thespa Kusatsu in Japan's J.
After two seasons with Thespa Kusatsu, Yamada was scouted at the Japan Pro-Footballers Association (JPFA) Tryout by Major League Soccer, and invited to the Major League Soccer combine in January 2012, with a hope of being selected by one of Major league Soccer's nineteen clubs.
He was selected by Colorado Rapids in the third round of the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft (52nd overall).
[1] Yamada had signed with MLS before the draft, so became part of the Rapids squad immediately.
This biographical article related to a Japanese association football midfielder born in the 1980s is a stub.