The Japanese legendary players that J.LEAGUE has produced
J.League has managed to produce a few wonderful players players for the country over the years…
- J.League
Table of Contents
Toggle1Kazuyoshi Miura
Miura was born on the 26th February 1967 in Shizuoka. He left the Shizuoka Gakuen High School after less than a year and travelled to Brazil to learn football. He became an outstanding player in Brazil when he belonged to Santos. After coming back to Japan in 1990, he joined Yomiuri FC (currently Tokyo Verdy). In 1993 which was when the J league started, he won the title of the J league and also received the MVP award. In 1994, he moved to an Italian club, Genoa, to become a first Japanese player in the Serie A. afterwards, Miura transferred to numerous clubs, such as Tokyo Verdy, Zagreb, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Vissel Kobe, Yokohama FC, Sydney FC. He still plays for Yokohama FC in his 50s. Miura made 89 appearances for the Japan national team and score 55 goals, which is the 2nd highest scorer in history. He is a footballer that Japan is proud of.
- J.League
2Keisuke Honda
Honda was born on the 13th June 1986 in Osaka. He belonged to the junior youth team at Gamba Osaka, but was not able to be promoted to the youth team. He decided to go to Seiryo High School where he attracted attention because of his impressive performances. In 2005, he began his professional career with Nagoya Grampus. During a three-year deal, he became a regular player and transferred to a Dutch club, VVV-Venlo in 2008. In 2010, Honda moved to the Russian side CSKA Moscow and transferred to an Italian club, Inter Milan, in 2013. He was given the No 10 shirt during the spell at Milan, and played in the “Japanese Milan derby game” against Internazionale, which Yuto Nagatomo belonged to. He played in the team as an ace player in the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa and scored a goal in the 2014 World Cup hosted by Brazil. Since 2017, he has played for a Mexican club, Pachuca.
- J.League
3Makoto Hasebe
Hasebe was born on the 18th January 1984 in Shizuoka. He graduated from Fujieda Higashi High School before joining Urawa Reds in 2002. In the second year, his appearances gradually increased. In 2004, the third year, he played as a defensive midfielder and was selected as one of the J league best eleven. He contributed to two consecutive victories in the Emperor Cup since 2005, and the team achieved the first win of the J league in the 2006 season. Hasebe was a key player and moved to a German club, Wolfsburg in 2007. He won the Bundesliga title in the 2008-2009 season, which was his second year. The midfielder also plays as a centre back and a side back in Germany. Numerous managers have credited him with good understanding of tactics and flexibility. Hasebe has captained the Japan national team since the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa.
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4Masashi Nakayama
He was born on the 23rd September 1967 in Shizuoka prefecture. He attended Fujieda Higashi High School and Tsukuba University before he joined Yamaha Motors in 1990. He helped the national side in a central role for the 1994 World Cup held in USA. After Jubilo Iwata were promoted to the J league, he played for the team as a key player. Before the 1998 World Cup held in France, he achieved hat tricks in four consecutive games of the J 1, which made him a record-holder in the Guinness book of the World Records at that time. Nakayama played for the strongest team as a play maker and contributed to the victory of AFC Asian Cup qualification match (currently AFC Champions League). During the spell of Jubilo Iwata, he won 10 titles. The striker became the J league best scorer twice and received MVP award once. During the spell of Consadole Sapporo, he announced his retirement in 2012. Despite that fact, he started to play for Azul Claro Numazu in 2015.
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