Football: Ex-Japan captain Yoshida joins LA Galaxy on 1.5-yr deal

Former Japan captain Maya Yoshida has signed with the LA Galaxy of U.S. Major League Soccer for a one-and-a-half-year contract through the end of the 2024 season, the club said Thursday.

The 34-year-old defender has been a free agent since his departure this summer from Schalke in Germany.

Yoshida, who hails from Nagasaki Prefecture, began his playing career with J-League first-division club Nagoya Grampus before moving abroad to join VVV-Venlo, then in the Dutch top flight, in 2010.

He spent the longest span of his career with Southampton, playing eight seasons for them in the English Premier...