Schalke have announced that they have signed Atsuto Uchida to a contract extension that will keep him at the Veltins Arena through June 2015. His contract was set to expire at the end of the upcoming season.
Atsuto Uchida Signs Schalke Extension
The right back will remain in Gelsenkirchen until 2015.
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The right back made 26 total appearances for Schalke last season including eight in the Europa League. Overall, Uchida has made 67 appearances for Schalke over the past two seasons since being brought to Germany from Kashima Antlers.
“We’re delighted he’s signed a new deal because he’s a very dependable player who identifies 100% with FC Schalke 04,” the club’s sporting director Horst Heldt said.
The Japanese international, 24, has been capped 50 times by Japan since making his debut in 2008. He became the first teenage Japanese player to play for the national team since the formation of the J League, and he holds the record for the youngest player to score for Japan in a World Cup Qualifier.
Uchida will be the starting right back for Schalke for the upcoming season. Their defense was rather porous last season and will have to be improved dramatically this season if they have ideas of legitimately challenging Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich for the title.
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