Yuji Nakazawa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yuji Nakazawa
中澤 佑二
Nakazawa 20080622.jpg
Nakazawa playing for Japan in 2008
Personal information
Full name Yuji Nakazawa
Date of birth (1978-02-25) 25 February 1978 (age 43)
Place of birth Yoshikawa, Saitama, Japan
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1993–1995
1996–1997 América Mineiro
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Tokyo Verdy 83 (5)
2002–2018 Yokohama F. Marinos 510 (31)
Total 593 (36)
National team
1999–2000 Japan U-23 12 (0)
1999–2010 Japan 110 (17)
Honours
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Yuji Nakazawa (中澤 佑二, Nakazawa Yūji, born 25 February 1978) is a former Japanese football player.[1]

He played as a centre back for J1 League side Tokyo Verdy and Yokohama F. Marinos.[2] He was the formerly the captain of the Japan national team. His nickname is "Bomber" because of his distinctive hairstyle. Nakazawa is one of only seven Japanese players to reach 100 caps for his country.

Club career[]

Nakazawa started playing football for his home country. He played for Yoshikawa Higashi Junior High School and Misato Technology High School, but attracted no scouts' eyes. Determined to be a pro, he left for Brazil to improve his football skills and trained with América Mineiro. During his time there, he won the Campeonato Mineiro in the junior category and played a key role in coach Ricardo Drubscky's squad.

After a year, he returned to Japan and joined Verdy Kawasaki (later Tokyo Verdy) in 1998 as a trainee, which meant he received no compensation. He impressed the club enough to win a full professional contract the following year.

His first J1 League appearance came on 13 March 1999 against Cerezo Osaka at Todoroki Athletics Stadium. He scored his first league goal on 10 April 1999 against Nagoya Grampus Eight also at Todoroki. That year, he received the J.League Young Player of the Year award and was selected for the J.League Team of the Year.

He was transferred to Yokohama F. Marinos in 2002 and contributed to the club winning two consecutive J1 League championships in 2003 and 2004.[3] He was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the league in 2004.[4] He played more than 30 games every season from 2007 except 2010 season.[1] He also played full time for 178 consecutive games from July 2013 to August 2018. This is a J.League record except goalkeeper.[5][6] However he could not play at all in the match from August 2018 except last match in 2018 season.[7]

On 8 January 2019, Yokohama F. Marinos announced his retirement at 2018 season.[8] He was 40 years old.

National team career[]

Philippe Troussier called him up for Japan national team. Nakazawa played in Olympic qualifiers as well as the finals in Sydney. Troussier promoted him to a full international. His first international appearance came on 8 September 1999 in a friendly against Iran at the International Stadium Yokohama.[9] He scored his first goal on 13 February 2000 in an Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore in Macau.[9]

He was a member of the Japan team who won the 2000 Asian Cup in Lebanon.[9] He played 3 games in the competition.[9] However, he was not selected for the 2002 World Cup finals as Yutaka Akita was preferred.

Under new national manager Zico, he partnered with Tsuneyasu Miyamoto at the back line. He participated in the 2004 Asian Cup finals.[9] He played in all the Japan matches and scored 3 goals, one of which was a stoppage time equaliser in the semi-final against Bahrain, and Japan went on to win the title again.

He also played in the 2006 World Cup in Germany but the team failed to proceed to the knockout stage. After the tournament, he announced his retirement from the international football at the age of 28.[10] However, six months later, he withdrew his decision and Ivica Osim played him in a friendly against Peru on 24 March 2007.[11]

He played in the 2007 Asian Cup finals but this time the team failed to defend the title and finished 4th in the tournament.

On 14 February 2010 Nakazawa made his 100th appearance for the Japan national team against South Korea in the final match of the 2010 East Asian Football Championship at Tokyo National Stadium. Nakazawa becomes only the third Japanese player, following Masami Ihara and Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, to reach 100 caps for his country. Later that year, Yasuhito Endo also reached 100 caps for Japan.

On 30 May 2010 Nakazawa scored an own-goal in a friendly match against England to give England the lead; his defensive partner Marcus Tulio Tanaka had already scored an own goal to draw England level with Japan. The match ended 2–1 to England.

In the 2010 World Cup, Nakazawa played all 4 of Japan's games on their way to the round of 16 and knockout by penalties to Paraguay. He played some of the best football of his entire career and, alongside Marcus Tulio Tanaka, was the heart of defense.

Career statistics[]

Club[]

[12]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Japan League Emperor's Cup League Cup Asia Other1 Total
1999 Verdy Kawasaki J1 League 28 1 3 1 2 0 - - 33 2
2000 29 4 2 0 3 0 - - 34 4
2001 Tokyo Verdy 26 0 0 0 2 0 - - 28 0
Total 83 5 5 1 7 0 - - 95 6
2002 Yokohama F. Marinos J1 League 27 1 2 0 0 0 - - 29 1
2003 29 4 2 0 7 2 - - 38 6
2004 27 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 33 1
2005 27 3 1 0 3 0 4 0 1 0 36 3
2006 23 1 3 0 2 0 - - 28 1
2007 32 2 1 0 7 0 - - 40 2
2008 33 4 3 1 3 0 - - 39 5
2009 32 3 1 0 3 0 - - 36 3
2010 22 0 0 0 2 1 - - 24 1
2011 33 1 5 0 5 0 - - 43 1
2012 33 3 5 0 3 0 - - 41 3
2013 34 1 3 1 8 0 - - 45 2
2014 34 2 0 0 2 1 5 0 1 0 39 3
2015 34 0 3 0 3 0 - - 40 0
2016 34 3 5 0 6 0 - - 45 3
2017 34 1 2 0 0 0 - - 36 1
2018 22 1 1 0 2 0 - - 25 1
Total 510 31 38 2 56 4 11 0 5 0 620 37
Career total 593 36 43 3 63 4 11 0 5 0 715 43

1Includes Japanese Super Cup and J.League Championship.

International[]

[13]

Japan national team
Year Apps Goals
1999 1 0
2000 6 2
2001 2 0
2002 1 0
2003 4 0
2004 15 5
2005 12 1
2006 12 1
2007 13 2
2008 16 4
2009 14 2
2010 14 0
Total 110 17

Appearances in major competitions[]

Team Competition Category Appearances Goals Team Record
Start Sub
 Japan 2000 Summer Olympics U-23 4 0 0 Quarterfinals
 Japan 2000 AFC Asian Cup Senior 3 0 0 Champions
 Japan 2004 AFC Asian Cup Senior 6 0 3 Champions
 Japan 2006 FIFA World Cup Senior 3 0 0 Round 1
 Japan 2007 AFC Asian Cup Senior 6 0 1 4th Place
 Japan 2010 FIFA World Cup Senior 4 0 0 Round of 16

International goals[]

[9]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 13 Feb 2000 Macau, China  Singapore 3–0 Won 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2. 13 Feb 2000 Macau, China  Singapore 3–0 Won 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
3. 9 Jun 2004 Saitama, Japan  India 7–0 Won 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. 9 Jun 2004 Saitama, Japan  India 7–0 Won 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
5. 24 Jul 2004 Chongqing, China  Thailand 4–1 Won 2004 AFC Asian Cup group stage
6. 24 Jul 2004 Chongqing, China  Thailand 4–1 Won 2004 AFC Asian Cup group stage
7. 3 Aug 2004 Jinan, China  Bahrain 4–3 Won 2004 AFC Asian Cup semifinals
8. 7 Aug 2005 Daegu, Korea Republic  South Korea 1–0 Won 2005 East Asian Football Championship
9. 10 Feb 2006 San Francisco, United States  United States 2–3 Lost Friendly match
10. 1 Jun 2007 Fukuroi, Japan  Montenegro 2–0 Won 2007 Kirin Cup
11. 25 Jul 2007 Hanoi, Vietnam  Saudi Arabia 2–3 Lost 2007 AFC Asian Cup semifinals
12. 28 Jan 2008 Tokyo, Japan  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–0 Won Friendly Match
13. 6 Feb 2008 Saitama, Japan  Thailand 4–1 Won 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
14. 2 Jun 2008 Yokohama, Japan  Oman 3–0 Won 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
15. 14 Jun 2008 Bangkok, Thailand  Thailand 3–0 Won 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
16. 4 Feb 2009 Tokyo, Japan  Finland 5–1 Won Friendly Match
17. 8 Oct 2009 Shizuoka, Japan  Hong Kong 6–0 Won 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Honours[]

Club[]

Yokohama F. Marinos

International[]

Japan
Major tournament participations
  • 2000 Asian Cup (Champions)
  • 2004 Asian Cup (Champions)
  • 2006 FIFA World Cup
  • 2007 Asian Cup (4th Place)

Individual[]

  • AFC Asian Cup Best Eleven – 2004
  • J.League Most Valuable Player – 2004
  • J.League Rookie of the Year – 1999
  • J.League Best Eleven – 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008
  • J.League 20th Anniversary Team
  • Japanese Footballer of the Year – 2004
  • Selected to AFC All Star Team – 1999
  • East Asian Football Championship Best Defender – 2008

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Yuji Nakazawa at J.League (in Japanese) Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ 横浜F・マリノス 公式サイト｜Yokohama F-Marinos Official Website Archived 22 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Fc Japan
  4. ^ "F. Marinos defender Nakazawa caps big year with J.League MVP award". The Japan Times. 14 December 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  5. ^ nikkansports.com(in Japanese)
  6. ^ Yokohama F. Marinos(in Japanese)
  7. ^ J.League(in Japanese)
  8. ^ Yokohama F. Marinos(in Japanese)
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Japan National Football Team Database
  10. ^ People's Daily Online – Japan's Yuji Nakazawa may retire from international soccer
  11. ^ ESPN – Soccer-Disgruntled Nakazawa completes Japan U-turn – Soccer
  12. ^ Yokohama F. Marinos(in Japanese)
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

Retrieved from ""