Hidetoshi Nakata
Nakata in 2012 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Hidetoshi Nakata | ||
Date of birth | January 22, 1977 | ||
Place of birth | Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Playing position | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1992–1994 | Nirasaki High School | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1995–1998 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 85 | (16) |
1998–2000 | Perugia | 48 | (12) |
2000–2001 | Roma | 30 | (5) |
2001–2004 | Parma | 67 | (5) |
2004 | → Bologna (loan) | 17 | (2) |
2004–2006 | Fiorentina | 20 | (0) |
2005–2006 | → Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 21 | (1) |
Total | 288 | (41) | |
National team | |||
1991–1993 | Japan U-17 | 6 | (2) |
1994–1995 | Japan U-20 | 12 | (6) |
1995–2000 | Japan U-23 | 12 | (3) |
1997–2006 | Japan | 77 | (11) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Hidetoshi Nakata, Cavaliere OSSI (中田 英寿 Nakata Hidetoshi, born January 22, 1977) is a former Japanese football player who played as a midfielder. He is widely considered to be one of the most famous Asian footballers of his generation, and one of the greatest Japanese players of all time.[1]
Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award in 1997 and 1998, the Scudetto with Roma in 2001, played for Japan in three FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002 and 2006) and competed in the Olympics twice (1996 and 2000). In 2005, he was made the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, one of Italy's highest honors, for improving the country's image overseas.[2] Nakata has also been involved in fashion, regularly attending runway shows and wearing designer clothing.
Nakata announced his retirement at age 29 on July 3, 2006 after a ten-year career that included seven seasons in the Italian Serie A and a season in the English Premier League. In March 2004, Pelé named Nakata in his FIFA 100, a list of the top living footballers at the time. Nakata was the only Japanese, and one of only two Asian footballers (the other being Korean defender Hong Myung-bo) to be named on the list.
Club career
Early career
Nakata began his professional career at age 18 in 1995, with J1 League side Bellmare Hiratsuka (now Shonan Bellmare). After the 1998 World Cup in France, Nakata was signed by Perugia in Italy's Serie A for 4M US$,[3] becoming the second Japanese player ever to appear in the Italian top league after Kazuyoshi Miura had done it for Genoa four years earlier. In his first season in Italy, Nakata scored 10 goals, his single-season highest total.
Roma
In January 2000, after one and a half seasons at Perugia, Nakata moved to Roma for 42 Billion ITL (€21.691 million)[4] helping the team win the scudetto. The highlight of Nakata's career at Roma came on May 6, 2001 in the Serie A match against Juventus at Stadio Delle Alpi. After replacing Francesco Totti in the second half with Roma trailing 0–2, Nakata netted with a 30-yard goal beyond Juventus goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar's reach, with 11 minutes left in the match. He then helped Roma score the equalizer when his fierce drive from outside the box was parried by Van der Sar into the path of Vincenzo Montella, who scored for Roma in the last minute. The match ended with a 2–2 draw and Roma maintained a six-point margin atop the league table.[5]
Parma
In the summer of 2001, Nakata penned a four-year deal with Parma[6] for a transfer fee of 55 billion lire (€28.4 million)[7][8] a world record payment for an Asian player which would not be broken for 14 years.[9] He made his club debut on 8 August 2001 in their 0–2 defeat at Stadio Ennio Tardini against Lille in the first leg of the third round of the Champions League.[10] More than one month later, on 23 September, Nakata scored his first goal for Parma in Serie A at home over Brescia, which also proved to be the winning goal of the match.[11] Nakata played there for two and a half seasons, where he scored a crucial goal during the 2001–02 season in the 1–2 first leg deficit of the Coppa Italia final against Juventus,[12] which Parma eventually won.[13]
Later years
In January 2004, Nakata joined Bologna where he played the remainder of the 2003–04 season before moving to Fiorentina, where he played the following season. In August 2005, Nakata moved to Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on loan. During his season at Bolton, which would be the last of his professional career, he scored once in the league, in a 2–0 win over West Bromwich Albion.[14]
International career
After having represented Japan at the 1993 U-17 World Championship (where he scored a goal) and at the 1995 U-20 World Championship (where he scored twice), Nakata was part of the Japan squads at the 1996 Olympics, where Japan upset Brazil,[15] and at the 2000 Olympics. His senior national team debut came in May 1997 against South Korea.[16]
He was a key member of the Japanese side that qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring five goals in qualification matches and setting up all three Japanese goals in the qualification play-off against Iran. He helped Japan reach the final of the 2001 Confederations Cup but left the national team before the final to join Roma for their final league matches.[17] Nakata played in all four of Japan's matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, scoring the second goal of a 2–0 first round win against Tunisia.
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nakata played in all three matches for Japan, losing to Australia and Brazil, and drawing with Croatia. His performance against Croatia earned him a Man of the Match award.[18] After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, on July 3, 2006, Nakata announced his retirement from professional football and the Japanese national team on his personal website "I decided half a year ago that I would retire from the world of professional football ... after the World Cup in Germany." Nakata wrote, "I will never again stand on the pitch as a professional player. But I will never give up football."[19][20] In a 2014 interview in TMW Magazine, Nakata confirmed that he had retired at such a young age because he was no longer enjoying football, and wanted instead to see what was going on in the world.[21]
Despite Nakata playing every match in Japan's first three World Cup appearances, he was not selected for the country's Asian Cup-winning squads in 2000 and 2004. In total, he was capped 77 times for Japan, scoring 11 goals, 9 of which came in official FIFA competitions.[16]
Style of play
A quick, creative, hard-working, and offensive-minded central midfielder, with an eye for goal, Nakata was known for his technical ability, agility, vision, passing, and his ability to make attacking runs into the penalty area and score goals; he also possessed a powerful shot from outside the area.[1][22][23]
Media
Having been signed to sportswear company Nike, Nakata featured in Nike's "Secret Tournament" advertisement (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, in the buildup to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.[24] He appeared alongside other star football players from around the world, including Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo, Thierry Henry, Roberto Carlos and Francesco Totti, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".[24][25]
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental1 | Super Cup2 | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Bellmare Hiratsuka | 1995 | J1 League | 26 | 8 | 2 | 1 | - | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 10 | |
1996 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | 44 | 4 | |||
1997 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 30 | 4 | ||||
1998 | 12 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 12 | 3 | ||||||
Total | 85 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 121 | 21 | ||
Perugia | 1998–99 | Serie A | 33 | 10 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 33 | 10 | |||
1999–2000 | 15 | 2 | - | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 22 | 4 | ||||
Total | 48 | 12 | - | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 55 | 14 | ||||
Roma | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 15 | 3 | - | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 18 | 3 | ||
2000–01 | 15 | 2 | - | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | - | 22 | 3 | ||||
Total | 30 | 5 | - | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | - | 40 | 6 | ||||
Parma | 2001–02 | Serie A | 24 | 1 | - | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | - | 38 | 4 | ||
2002–03 | 31 | 4 | - | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 4 | |||
2003–04 | 12 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - | 18 | 1 | ||||
Total | 67 | 5 | - | 10 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 9 | |||
Bologna | 2003–04 | Serie A | 17 | 2 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 17 | 2 | |||
Total | 17 | 2 | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 17 | 2 | |||||
Fiorentina | 2004–05 | Serie A | 20 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | - | - | 23 | 0 | |||
Total | 20 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | - | - | 23 | 0 | |||||
Bolton Wanderers | 2005–06 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | 32 | 1 | |
Total | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | 32 | 1 | |||
Career total | 288 | 41 | 11 | 1 | 38 | 6 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 382 | 53 |
1Includes other competitive competitions, including the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup, UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League. 2Includes other competitive competitions, including the Japanese Super Cup and Supercoppa Italiana.
National team
Japan national team | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
1997 | 16 | 5 |
1998 | 10 | 1 |
1999 | 3 | 0 |
2000 | 4 | 0 |
2001 | 7 | 1 |
2002 | 8 | 2 |
2003 | 11 | 1 |
2004 | 2 | 0 |
2005 | 10 | 0 |
2006 | 6 | 1 |
Total | 77 | 11 |
- 1998 FIFA World Cup
- 2001 Confederations Cup
- 2002 FIFA World Cup
- 2003 Confederations Cup
- 2005 Confederations Cup
- 2006 FIFA World Cup
Appearances in major competitions
Team | Competition | Category | Appearances | Goals | Team Record | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | Sub | |||||
![]() | 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship | U-17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | Quarterfinals |
![]() | 1994 AFC Youth Championship | U-19 | 6 | 0 | 2 | Runner-up |
![]() | 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship | U-20 | 4 | 0 | 2 | Quarterfinals |
![]() | 1996 Olympics qualification | U-22 | 5 | 0 | 1 | Qualified |
![]() | 1996 Olympics | U-23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Round 1 |
![]() | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | Senior | 11 | 1 | 5 | Qualified |
![]() | 1998 Dynasty Cup | Senior | 2 | 0 | 2 | Champions |
![]() | 1998 FIFA World Cup | Senior | 3 | 0 | 0 | Round 1 |
![]() | 2000 Olympics qualification | U-22 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Qualified |
![]() | 2000 Olympics | U-23 | 3 | 0 | 1 | Quarterfinals |
![]() | 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup | Senior | 4 | 0 | 1 | Runner-up |
![]() | 2002 FIFA World Cup | Senior | 4 | 0 | 1 | Round of 16 |
![]() | 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup | Senior | 3 | 0 | 1 | Round 1 |
![]() | 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup | Senior | 3 | 0 | 0 | Round 1 |
![]() | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | Senior | 5 | 0 | 0 | Qualified |
![]() | 2006 FIFA World Cup | Senior | 3 | 0 | 0 | Round 1 |
International goals
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | June 22, 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | ![]() | 10-0 | Won | 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
2. | June 22, 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | ![]() | 10-0 | Won | 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
3. | June 28, 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | ![]() | 1–1 | Draw | 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
4. | September 7, 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | ![]() | 6–3 | Won | 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
5. | November 8, 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | ![]() | 5–1 | Won | 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
6. | February 15, 1998 | Adelaide, Australia | ![]() | 3–0 | Won | Friendly |
7. | June 7, 2001 | Yokohama, Japan | ![]() | 1–0 | Won | 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup Semi-finals |
8. | March 27, 2002 | Łódź, Poland | ![]() | 2–0 | Won | Friendly |
9. | June 14, 2002 | Osaka, Japan | ![]() | 2–0 | Won | 2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage |
10. | June 18, 2003 | Saint-Denis, France | ![]() | 3–0 | Won | 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Group Stage |
11. | February 28, 2006 | Dortmund, Germany | ![]() | 2–2 | Draw | Friendly |
Honours
Club
- Bellmare Hiratsuka[26]
- Japanese Super Cup Runner-up: 1995
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1996
- Asian Super Cup Runner-up: 1996
- Roma[26]
- Parma[26]
- Coppa Italia: 2001–02
- Supercoppa Italiana Runner-up: 2002
International
- Japan[27]
- AFC U-19 Championship Runner-up: 1994
- Kirin Cup: 1997
- Dynasty Cup: 1998
- FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2001
Individual
- J. League All-Star Soccer: 1997
- J. League Best Eleven: 1997
- Japanese Footballer of the Year: 1997
- Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize: 1997
- Asian Footballer of the Year: 1997 1998
- Dynasty Cup MVP: 1998
- AFC All Star Team: 1997 1998 1999
- FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Ball: 2001
- FIFA Confederations Cup Best Eleven: 2001
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2002 (Reserve)[28]
- J. League 20th Anniversary Team
- FIFA 100
- Golden Foot Legends Award: 2014[29]
Achievements
- Nominated for Ballon d'Or: 1998, 1999, 2001
- Nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year: 1998,[30] 1999,[31] 2001, 2002[32]
Outside of football
Outside of football Nakata has shown interest in fashion, attending runway shows, wearing designer clothing and sporting colorful haircuts. He dyed his hair blond for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, hoping to attract the attention of European scouts. Japanese hairstylist Aki Watanabe credits him as a trendsetter.[33] Andrea Tenerani, photographer for GQ in Italy said of Nakata, "He's perfect; he's like a model. And he's totally obsessed with fashion."[34] Calvin Klein designer Italo Zucchelli said, "(Nakata) plays with fashion like all of them now, but in a cooler, more sophisticated way than many others."[35] He is one of the models featuring the Calvin Klein underwear campaign 2010. He was featured in the July 2007 US version of GQ with a 12-page spread on fall fashion. He was featured in GQ in his home country in December 2011.[36]
Often regarded as a Japanese David Beckham,[37] because of his obsession with fashion and his status as a role model for many Asian Football exports to Europe, Nakata is an editor-at-large at Monocle[38] at the invitation of his friend Tyler Brûlé, who serves as the magazine's editor-in-chief.
Nakata has cited the popular manga and anime series, Captain Tsubasa, as his primary inspiration in choosing football as a career.[39]
In recent years, he has also been an active supporter of Special Olympics football and participated in the 2010 Special Olympics Unity Cup[40] in South Africa during the World Cup. Nakata was named a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics in 2014.[41]
Towards the end of 2015, Nakata entered into a partnership with Kee Club in Hong Kong to open Koko, a Hong Kong-based restaurant that serves sakes created by Nakata himself. He has developed his own line of sake as well as creating his own mobile educational app, "Sakenomy". Expressing interest in educating the public about sake, Nakata stated, "People recognise brands of wine but not usually brands of sake. There is a lack of information and branding when it comes to sake. That’s why I thought I needed to create a brand that people can recognise and understand. My purpose is to expand the market for all sake not just my own. You can pair any type of cuisine with sake. It can go with French, Italian, even Chinese food, not just Japanese cuisine."[42]
Notes and references
- 1 2 Junko Ogura; Matthew Ponsford (28 May 2014). "Hidetoshi Nakata: Japan's misunderstood son returns from exile". CNN. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ↑ "Arise, Sir Nak!". This Is Lancashire. October 14, 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
- ↑ Paddy Agnew. "The Hidetoshi Nakata story in Serie A | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
- ↑ "BILANCIO D'ESERCIZIO E CONSOLIDATO DI GRUPPO AL 30 GIUGNO 2000" (PDF). AS Roma (in Italian). Borsa Italiana Archive. 28 June 2001. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ↑ "la Repubblica/campionato_partite: Montella e Nakata rimontano la Juve". Repubblica.it. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
- ↑ "Nakata joins Parma". BBC. 6 July 2001. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ↑ AS Roma SpA bilancio 30.06.2001 [AS Roma SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2001]. AS Roma (PDF, require login and purchase) (in Italian). CCIAA] (Italian company filing office).
- ↑ "Parma, non solo Nakata". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 6 July 2001. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ↑ "Koreans hit the big time". Korea Joongang Daily. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ Evans, Simon (9 August 2001). "Parma rocked by determined Lille". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ↑ "Nakata salva il Parma e la panchina di Ulivieri" [Nakata saves Parma and the bench of Ulivieri]. La República (in Italian). 23 September 2001. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ↑ "Coppa Italia delicately poised". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 April 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ↑ "Parma deny Juventus double". Dawn. Reuters. 12 May 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ↑ "Bolton 2-0 West Brom". BBC. 23 October 2005. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
- ↑ "Japan in need of miracle". 2006 FIFA World Cup. June 21, 2006. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
- 1 2 3 4 "NAKATA Hidetoshi". Japan National Football Team Database.
- ↑ "Just making the final was a triumph for cup co-host". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. June 11, 2001. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
- ↑ "Japan 0-0 Croatia". BBC News. June 18, 2006. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
- ↑ "Japan and Bolton midfielder Nakata to retire". Reuters. July 3, 2006. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
- ↑ "To live is to journey, and to journey is to live.". Hidetoshi Nakata. July 3, 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
- ↑ Guerri, Cristina (January 2014). "In viaggio con Nakata" [On the road with Nakata]. TMW Magazine (in Italian). p. 10. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
Hidetoshi Nakata ha scelto di appendere le scarpette al chiodo ancora giovanissimo. "Il motivo? Non mi divertivo più. Ho preferito scoprire cosa c'è nel mondo, e devo dire che ho imparato molto". (Hidetoshi Nakata chose to hang up his boots while still very young. "The reason? I wasn't enjoying it any more. I preferred to find out what was going on in the world, and I must say I learnt a lot".
- ↑ "Dal Giappone con furore" [From Japan, with furor] (in Italian). Football Magazine Italia. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ↑ "Calcio, Bologna; Signori: Nakata ci darà quel che ci manca" [Football, Bologna; Signori: Nakata will give us what we are missing] (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- 1 2 "A lighter shoe, cooler kits, a faster ball, a Secret Tournament – every touch counts". NikeBiz. Nike. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ↑ Cozens, Claire (3 April 2002). "Cantona hosts World Cup with a difference". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Hidetoshi Nakata". Eurosport. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ↑ "H. Nakata". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ↑ "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan: Report and Statistics" (PDF). FIFA.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ↑ "Legends". Golden Foot. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
- ↑ "Calcio News 1998–1999 (data of 2/1)" (in Japanese). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ "Calcio News 1999–2000 (data of 1/26)" (in Japanese). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ "FIFA World player 2002". Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ Sodje, Efe (2002). "Footballers ... haircuts. Not always the best combination!". BBC. Retrieved July 4, 2006.
- ↑ Martin, J. J. (July 1, 2002). "Feast for marketers: It's all about soccer". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on August 27, 2006. Retrieved July 4, 2006.
- ↑ Wilson, Eric (June 22, 2006). "BLEACH IT LIKE BECKHAM: World Cup of hair style". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2006. Retrieved July 4, 2006.
- ↑ "GQ – December 2011 Japan free download in PDF". Storemags.com. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ 'I don't understand why people are football fans. I don't like to watch any kind of sport' - by Jonathan Northcroft, The Sunday Times, January 1, 2006.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "Q&A: Hidetoshi Nakata on his new Wyndham Street izakaya, Koko". Time Out Hong Kong. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
External links
- Nakata Hidetoshi official web site
- National Football Teams
- Japan National Football Team Database
- Player statistics at J.League Data Site (Japanese)
- Career profile and stats at FootballDatabase
- Player profile at official 2006 FIFA World Cup site
- Hidetoshi Nakata Revealed, on CNN.com
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