| Shu Morooka 師岡 柊生 | |
| Birth Date: | 9 December 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan |
| Height: | 1.74 m[1] |
| Currentclub: | Kashima Antlers |
| Clubnumber: | 36 |
| Position: | Forward |
| Youthclubs1: | Owada SC |
| Youthclubs2: | FC Tama |
| Youthclubs3: | Aviation High School |
| Youthyears3: | 2016–2018 |
| College1: | Tokyo International University |
| Collegeyears1: | 2019–2022 |
| Years1: | 2023– |
| Caps1: | 23 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 21:34, 8 August 2024 (UTC) |
is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Kashima Antlers.[2]
In junior high school, Morooka played for FC Tama alongside Ikuma Sekigawa and Junma Miyazaki.[3] He attended Aviation High School and represented them at the National High School Championship in the 2018 tournament, where they lost in the quarter-finals.[4]
In 2019, Morooka moved to Tokyo International University and scored 7 goals in 13 appearances in his debut season.[5] He continued to be a regular starter during his time at university and ended up making 78 appearances in his four seasons across all competitions, including the Kanto University League, scoring 31 goals.
In August 2022, Morooka received an offer from Júbilo Iwata to join them ahead of the 2023 season.[6] However, in November the offer was cancelled as Júbilo had been prohibited from registering new players by FIFA for two transfer windows due to a breach of contract involving Fabián González.[7] [8] This allowed J1 League club Kashima Antlers to offer a contract immediately following the announcement, to which Morooka accepted.[9] [10] The move would join him back up with former school teammate Ikuma Sekigawa.
On 8 March 2023, Morooka made his debut for Kashima in a 1–1 J.League Cup draw with Kashiwa Reysol, appearing as a second-half substitute for Ryotaro Araki.[11] He made his first start for the club in the following month, in a 1–0 league victory over Avispa Fukuoka. Morooka made 9 appearances across all competitions in his debut season.
In his second season, Morooka was afforded much more game time under new manager Ranko Popović and has been a regular member of the starting XI. In July 2024, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–0 victory over Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.[12]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Japan | League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Total | |||||||
| Kashima Antlers | 2023 | J1 League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | J1 League | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |||
Morooka is described as being a well-balanced forward which allows him to effectively lead the line. He is also a hard-working player both offensively and defensively.