Yoshiaki Takagi (高木 善朗, Takagi Yoshiaki, born 9 December 1992) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for J1 League club Albirex Niigata.
[1][2] He is noted for being a free-kick specialist[citation needed] and emerging as a regular member at Tokyo Verdy in his debut season at the age of 17.
[3] Alongside Arsenal winger Ryo Miyaichi and FC Bayern Munich forward Takashi Usami, Takagi is considered part of what has been termed by the Japanese media as the "Platinum Generation.
"[3] In October 2009, Takagi was elected Japan U-17 national team for 2009 U-17 World Cup.
He comes from a sports family, with his father Yutaka being a former professional baseball player, notably for Yokohama BayStars, and brother Toshiyuki is also a professional footballer.