Yuji Nakazawa

Japanese association football player

Yuji Nakazawa (中澤 佑二, Nakazawa Yuji, born February 25, 1978) is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Yuji Nakazawa
Nakazawa playing for Japan in 2008
Personal information
Full name Yuji Nakazawa
Date of birth (1978-02-25) February 25, 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Yoshikawa, Saitama, Japan
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+12 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1993–1995 Misato Technical High School
1996–1997 América
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Tokyo Verdy 83 (5)
2002–2018 Yokohama F. Marinos 510 (31)
Total 593 (36)
National team
2000 Japan U-23 4 (0)
1999–2010 Japan 110 (17)
Honours
Yokohama F. Marinos
Winner J1 League 2003
Winner J1 League 2004
Runner-up J1 League 2002
Runner-up J1 League 2013
Runner-up J.League Cup 2018
Winner Emperor's Cup 2013
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2017
Representing  Japan
AFC Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 2000 Lebanon
Gold medal – first place 2004 China
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Biography

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Nakazawa was born in Yoshikawa on February 25, 1978. After graduating from Misato Technical High School, he moved to Brazil in 1996. In 1998, he returned to Japan and signed with J1 League club Verdy Kawasaki (later Tokyo Verdy) as a trainee. He signed professional contract in 1999. In 1999, he became a regular center back and was selected "Rookie of the Year award" and Best Eleven. In 2002, he moved to Yokohama F. Marinos. The club won the champions in the 2003 and 2004 J1 League. He was also selected "MVP award" and "Japanese Footballer of the Year" in 2004 season. He played as regular center back for long time. He retired end of the 2018 season at the age of 40.

On September 8, 1999, Nakazawa debuted for the Japan national team against Iran. In 2000, he was selected the Japan U-23 national team for 2000 Summer Olympics and played all 4 matches. He also played at 2000 Asian Cup and won the champions. However his opportunity to play decreased after the 2000 Asian Cup. From autumn 2003, he became a regular player as center back with Tsuneyasu Miyamoto. In 2004, he participated in the 2004 Asian Cup. He played all 6 matches and scored 3 goals, and Japan won the champions again. He also played at 2006 World Cup. In 2007, he played in the 2007 Asian Cup, but this time the team failed to defend the title and finished the 4th place. In 2010, he was selected Japan for 2010 World Cup. He played all 4 matches as center back with Marcus Tulio Tanaka. Nakazawa played 110 games and scored 17 goals for Japan until 2010.

Statistics

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[1][2]

Club statistics League CupLeague CupContinentalTotal
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
JapanLeague Emperor's Cup J.League Cup AsiaTotal
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 J1 League 26 0 0 0 2 0 - 28 0
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 30 1
2005 27 3 1 0 3 0 4 0 35 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 38 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
Country Japan 593 36 43 3 63 4 11 0 710 43
Total 593 36 43 3 63 4 11 0 710 43

[3]

Japan national team
YearAppsGoals
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

References

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  1. Yuji Nakazawa at National-Football-Teams.com  
  2. Yuji Nakazawa at J.League (in Japanese)  
  3. Japan National Football Team Database

Other websites

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