Shunsuke Nakamura biography

Shunsuke Nakamura biography
Japanese football player

Soccer player
Height - 178cm
Playing position Midfielder
Shunsuke Nakamura

Career
Nissan F.C. Junior Youth
Toko Gakuen High School
Club App (Gls)
Yokohama Marinos 146 (33)
Reggina 81 (11)
Celtic 68 (15)
National team
Japan 59 (13)

Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 30 April 2007
National team caps and goals correct
as of March 31, 2007.

born June 24, 1978
A Japanese football player who played for Celtic of the Scottish Premier League, Reggina and Yokohama Marinos. He was one of the most prominent and successful Asian player to play in Europe now and became the first Japanese player to score in the Champions League and the second Asian player to do so.

He won the Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004 with the Japanese national football team, and was named Most Valuable Player in the 2004 competition. He has also appeared in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, and the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Japanese Under-23 team.

In his first season with Celtic, Nakamura helped the club win the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup. His contributions to the Japanese national football team are represented by 16 goals. His former clubs include Yokohama F. Marinos and Reggina, for whom he scored 38 and 11 goals respectively before moving to Celtic on 25 July 2005 for a fee of around 1.25 million pounds.

Playing style
Nakamura is a playmaking midfielder usually deployed by Celtic on the right hand side of midfield. He had previously been positioned in the centre or on the left hand side of the pitch, since he is left footed.

He is known for his vision and touch, as well as being a free-kick specialist. He can create scoring opportunities for his teammates but is also more than capable of scoring himself. Former Shimizu S-Pulse and Kashiwa Reysol manager and Tottenham Hotspur player Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura was so good, he "could open a tin of beans with his left foot".

Slightly built at 178 cm tall, Nakamura has been criticized for lack of strength on the ball, and his weakness was one of the reason for his omission from Japan's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad. He has addressed this shortcoming during three seasons in Italy and he has flourished in the similarly physical Scottish football. Combined with the physical maturity, Nakamura's ability to create opportunities for teammates and unlock defences, as well as his accurate direct free kicks have made him one of the most important players on the Japanese national team and a key player for his club sides.

Early years
Born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, Nakamura began playing football competitively at age 5, playing with the local youth club side Misono FC until he entered junior high school. In fifth grade, he was selected for Yokohama's city all-star team's tour of the former Soviet Union, even though the team was only meant to include sixth graders.

In 1991 at age 12, he joined Nissan F.C. Junior Youth, the youth division of Nissan Motors' club side, which would become Yokohama Marinos when J. League began play in 1993.

Nakamura was not promoted to the Nissan F.C. Youth team In 1994, and he enrolled at Toko Gakuen High School in Kawasaki. Nakamura was named the most valuable player of Japan's national high school football tournament in 1995, and led the school to the tournament final in 1996.

After graduation from Toko Gakuen in 1997, Nakamura signed with the local club, Yokohama Marinos.

National team
Youth national teams (1996-2000)
Nakamura's national team career with Japan started in 1996 as the only high school player selected to the Under-19 team for the Asia Youth Championship. The following year, he was a member of Japan's Under-20 team that finished in the final 8 of the FIFA World Youth Championship.

In 1999, Nakamura was selected as a member of Japan's Under-23 team that won all its Asian qualifying matches in the run up to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Nakamura formed a lethal combination in the attacking midfield with Shinji Ono on a team that would form the core of the Japanese national team, and included Atsushi Yanagisawa, Junichi Inamoto and Naohiro Takahara. In Sydney, Japan reached the quarter.

Under Troussier (2000-02)
Nakamura made his senior national team debut on February 13, 2000, in an Asian Cup qualifier match against Singapore. He scored a first national team goal against Brunei in the very next match on February 16, 2000, also in Asian Cup qualifying.

After helping Japan win Asian Cup 2000, Nakamura appeared to have cemented his place in the national team, having played every match of the tournament. His national team career took a sharp turn in a friendly match on March 25, 2001, a humiliating 5-0 loss to France. He did not play for the team led by manager Philippe Troussier again until almost a year later, in a friendly match against Ukraine on March 21, 2002.

Although Nakamura played in four friendly matches leading up to the 2002 World Cup Finals, he was left off the 23-man squad for Japan to the disappointment of fans. In the second to last warm up match for the 2002 World Cup Finals against Honduras, he scored two goals, one of them a curling shot made directly from a corner kick. He picked up a knee injury against Honduras and did not play in the final warm up match, a 3-0 loss against Norway, and was ultimately not picked for the World Cup squad.

Despite Nakamura's talents, Troussier could not find a place in his rigid, defensive minded system. He believed Nakamura lacked the physique and stamina to play either the center or the left of midfield, and had a surplus of players at both positions.

Under Zico (2002-06)
After the World Cup, Troussier resigned as manager of Japan, and was replaced by former Brazil and Kashima Antlers star Zico. The new coach immediately brought the talented player back to the national team, starting Nakamura in his début against Jamaica.

Zico has lauded Nakamura's improvement since 2002, especially his physical development. Nakamura flourished under Zico's attacking style and earned his place as central playmaker. He led Japan to the championship at Asian Cup 2004, where he was named Most Valuable Player, and qualification for the 2006 World Cup Finals. Nakamura also starred for Japan in the 2003 and 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, scoring a total of 4 goals in 6 matches.

Nakamura was suspended for the World Cup qualification match against North Korea on June 8, 2005 toclinched Japan's place in the 2006 Finals, he nonetheless played a key role in the qualifying run and has replaced Hidetoshi Nakata as the main playmaker in Japan's attack.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Nakamura scored the controversial opening goal in Japan's first game against Australia.

Club career
Yokohama Marinos (1997-2002)
In 1997, 19 year old Nakamura joined Yokohama Marinos of J. League (later merged with Yokohama Flugels and renamed 'Yokohama F. Marinos), a club whose youth side he had played for when it was known as Nissan Motors FC. He made his début with Marinos on April 16 of that year against Gamba Osaka. Nakamura finished the season with 27 appearances and 5 goals.

In 2000, Nakamura had his best season in Yokohama, recording 5 goals and 11 assists, and winning the J. League Most Valuable Player award.

Nakamura left Marinos during the 2002 season to join Reggina of Serie A, after the clubs agreed to a US$3.5 million transfer fee following a 6-month loan period.

Reggina (2002-2005)
Following a disappointment of being omitted from Japan's final World Cup squad, Nakamura joined Italian club Reggina, newly promoted to Serie A. Expectations for Nakamura were high, as he was given the prestigious number 10 shirt from the start, and he responded by scoring in three consecutive matches early in the season.

Nakamura struggled with injuries in the defensive minded Serie A, appearing in just 18 matches in the 2003-04 season, while the club struggled to avoid relegation all three seasons he played there. After three seasons in Italy, he felt it was time to move on.

Celtic (2005-present)
Nakamura expressed interest in playing in Spain and media reports linked him to Atlético Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña of La Liga as well as Bundesliga teams Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2005, but Nakamura ultimately chose to join Scottish Premier League champions Celtic.

Although Japanese football observer Jeremy Walker warned that Nakamura's lack of pace and stamina may be a problem in Scotland, he made an immediate impact with Celtic, as he was named Man of the Match in a début against Dundee United on August 6, 2005. His creativity, as well as work ethic and composure under pressure has won praise from teammates, manager Gordon Strachan and Celtic supporters.

In his first season with Celtic, Nakamura won his first major club titles, the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup. On 13 September 2006, he played his début Champions League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford. He scored a freekick to bring the game level at 2-2. However, the game ended with the home side winning 3-2. On 14 October 2006, he played in a league game against Dundee United at Tannadice Park and went on to get man of the match as well as score his first hat-trick of his Celtic career. The game ended 4-1 in Celtic's favour. On 21 November 2006, Nakamura scored perhaps the most important goal of his career to date with a 30 yard free kick against Manchester United at Celtic Park in a crucial Champions League game. The goal resulted in Celtic progressing to the Champions League knockout stage for the first time. On 26 December 2006, Nakamura chipped the ball over Dundee United's goalkeeper Derek Stillie at Celtic Park. It was Nakamura's performance in the final 20 minutes of the game which allowed Celtic to escape with a point, prompting Gordon Strachan to proclaim him "a genius".

On 25 February 2007, during the Scottish Cup quarter final between Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Nakamura broke a bone in his left hand after an Inverness player stepped on it. However, Nakamura played in the next game on March 3 against Dunfermline Athletic. Gordon Strachan, said that they couldn’t play the second leg of the Champions League match against AC Milan in San Siro without him. The first leg match held in Celtic Park was 0-0. The second leg was 1-0 to Milan.

On April 22, 2007 Celtic won their 41st league championship, and second in a row. The title was won by a stunning injury time free-kick from Nakamura in a 2-1 victory against Kilmarnock. The result left Celtic 13 points clear of Rangers with four matches remaining. Later that day Nakamura was recognized by his peers by him winning the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association's player of the year award for 2007. This was followed in early May by the Scottish Football Writers' Association player of the year award.

Honours
Individual honours
J. League Best Eleven: 1999, 2000
J-League Most Valuable Player: 2000
FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe Award: 2003
Asian Cup Best Eleven: 2000, 2004
Asian Cup Most Valuable Player: 2004
Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2007
Scottish Football Writers' Association Player of the Year: 2007
Scottish PFA Goal of the Season: 2007
Scottish PFA's Team of the Season: 2007
Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: 2007 (Feb)

Team honours
J-League 1st stage - 2000
J. League Cup - 2001
Asian Cup - 2000, 2004
Scottish Premier League - 2006, 2007
Scottish League Cup - 2006

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