Carson, Calif. - It took a while but Japanese winger Kohei Yamada finally joined his Colorado Rapids teammates on Tuesday in California. The 23-year-old, who the Rapids selected in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft last month, arrived in Los Angeles earlier in the day after a 15-hour journey from Osaka, Japan with a stop in Beijing, China.
Following the MLS Combine and SuperDraft, Yamada returned to his native Japan and had to await a new visa to be able to return to the U.S.
He met his new Rapids teammates, including the only other Japanese player in MLS - Kosuke Kimura (photo above) - before the team took the field for a preseason match against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center.
Yamada is expected to begin training with the team in the next few days and could possibly see action in one or both preseason games later this week against the San Jose Earthquakes at Cal-Poly University in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
