Profile

Born in 1977 in Yamanashi Prefecture. Former Japanese national football player. After participating in the U-17 World Championship (current U-17 World Cup) and World Youth Championship (current U-20 World Cup), he joined J-League Bellmare Hiratsuka (now Shonan Bellmare) in 1995. In 1996, he participated in the Atlanta Olympics.

In 1998, he played in all matches of the France World Cup, which was Japan’s first appearance, and attracted attention from around the world. In July after the World Cup, he moved to A.C. Perugia in the Italian Serie A. In the opening game against Juventus, he scored two goals and proved his ability. After that, he contributed to the league title of the prestigious A.S. Roma and played for top teams in Italy and England for eight seasons in five teams. He also led the team for many years as a member of the Japanese national team. He participated in the World Cup for three consecutive tournaments.

In 2006, he retired from active duty at the age of 29 after the Brazil match at the FIFA World Cup in Germany. In 2014, he became the first Asian to receive the “All-Time Legend” award, which is given to retired players who have made great achievements in the history of football, at the “GOLDEN FOOT AWARD 2014”. He currently serves as an advisory member of FIFA’s International Football Association Board (IFAB).

After retiring from active duty, he traveled both domestically and internationally, and in January 2009, he established the TAKE ACTION FOUNDATION. In April of the same year, he began a journey around all 47 prefectures in Japan to learn about Japanese culture. Starting from Okinawa, he came into contact with cultures rooted in various places such as farmers, sake breweries, and craftsmen, and it took him seven and a half years to complete his journey in Hokkaido. This journey led him to start the REVALUE NIPPON PROJECT, a project to support traditional culture and crafts.

In 2015, he established JAPAN CRAFT SAKE COMPANY Co., Ltd. and is developing various businesses related to sake. The popular sake event “CRAFT SAKE WEEK”, which has been held in various locations throughout Japan since 2016, won the highest award at the international PR award “Golden World Awards” in 2018, and is active in developing the industry.

Former所属 teams

Bellmare Hiratsuka (now: Shonan Bellmare) ＜Japan＞

A.C. Perugia ＜Italy＞

A.S. Roma ＜Italy＞

Parma A.C. ＜Italy＞

Bologna F.C. ＜Italy＞

ACF Fiorentina ＜Italy＞

Bolton Wanderers F.C. ＜United Kingdom＞

Japan National Team History (Main Matches)

1992

U-16 Asian Youth

1993

U-17 Asian Youth (Best 8)

1994

U-19 Asian Youth

1995

World Youth (Best 8)

1996

Atlanta Olympics

1998

France World Cup

2000

Sydney Olympics

2001

Confederations Cup (Runner-up)

2002

Japan-Korea World Cup Final (Best 16)

2003

Confederations Cup

2005

Confederations Cup

2006

Germany World Cup

Awards

1997

League Best 11

1997

AFC Player of the Year
Japan Professional Sports Award (Prime Minister’s Cup Awarded) Grand Prize

1998

AFC Player of the Year
Japan Professional Sports Award (Prime Minister’s Cup Awarded) Distinguished Service Award

00-01

Serie A Championship (Scudetto)

01-02

Italian Cup Championship

2006

Awarded the Italian Star of Solidarity
Knight

2014

GOLDEN FOOT AWARD 2014 All-Time Legend Award