Kazuyoshi Miura
|
Miura in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kazuyoshi Miura | ||
| Date of birth | 26 February 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Shizuoka City, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Yokohama F.C. | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1973–1979 | Jonai F.C. | ||
| 1979–1982 | Jonai Jr. H.S. | ||
| 1982 | Shizuoka Gakuen H.S. | ||
| 1982–1986 | Clube Atlético Juventus | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1986 | Santos | 2 | (0) |
| 1986 | Palmeiras | ||
| 1986 | Matsubara | ||
| 1987 | CRB | ||
| 1987–1988 | XV de Jaú | ||
| 1988–1989 | Coritiba | 21 | (2) |
| 1990 | Santos | 11 | (3) |
| 1990–1998 | Yomiuri/Verdy Kawasaki | 192 | (100) |
| 1994–1995 | → Genoa (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 1999 | Dinamo Zagreb | 12 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 41 | (21) |
| 2001–2005 | Vissel Kobe | 103 | (24) |
| 2005– | Yokohama F.C. | 231 | (24) |
| 2005 | → Sydney FC (loan) | 4 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1990–2000[1] | Japan | 89 | (55) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:21, 19 April 2016 (UTC). | |||
Kazuyoshi Miura (三浦 知良 Miura Kazuyoshi, born on 26 February 1967)[2] often known simply as Kazu, is a Japanese footballer. He played for the Japanese national team and was the first Japanese recipient of the Asian Player of the Year award in 1993,[3] an award presented annually by the Asian Football Confederation.[4] He plays for Yokohama F.C. in the J. League Division 2.[5][6] Kazu, whose rise to fame in Japan coincided with the launch of the J. League in 1993,[7] was arguably Japan's first superstar in football.
Miura scored fourteen times for Japan during qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, leading the Blue Samurai to their first ever FIFA World Cup finals.[8] He played his last national team match in 2000, and finished with the second-most career goals in Japanese national team history with 55 goals in 89 matches.
Miura holds the records for being the oldest footballer and oldest goalscorer in Japan's professional leagues at aged 48.[9] His elder brother Yasutoshi was also a professional footballer.
Club career
In 1982 Miura left the Shizuoka Gakuen School after less than a year, and travelled alone to Brazil at the age of fifteen to become a professional footballer there.[3] He signed with Clube Atlético Juventus, a youth club in São Paulo, and in 1986, Kazu signed his first professional contract with Santos. He played for several Brazilian clubs including Palmeiras and Coritiba until his return to Japan in 1990.[3]
His time in Brazil elevated him to star status and on his return to Japan, he joined the Japan Soccer League side Yomiuri FC, which later spun off from its parent company Yomiuri Shinbun and became Verdy Kawasaki with the launch of the J. League in 1993.[2][10] With Yomiuri/Kawasaki, Kazu won four consecutive league titles playing alongside fellow Japanese national team regulars Ruy Ramos and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa. Yomiuri won the last two JSL titles in 1991 and 1992 and Verdy Kawasaki won the first two J. League titles in 1993 and 1994. He was named the first J. League Most Valuable Player in 1993 and the last unofficial Asian Footballer of the Year in 1993.[3][11]
Miura then became the first Japanese footballer to play in Italy, joining Genoa C.F.C. in the 1994–95 Serie A season.[3] In his Italian stint, he played 21 times and scored just one goal, during the Genoa derby against Sampdoria. He returned to Verdy Kawasaki for the 1995 season and played with them until the end of the 1998 season.[3] Kazu made another attempt at playing in Europe with Dinamo Zagreb in 1999. He returned to Japan however, following a brief trial with Bournemouth, in the same year, and played with Kyoto Purple Sanga and Vissel Kobe, before eventually signing for Yokohama F.C. in 2005.
He played with Sydney FC of the A-League on a two-month loan in late 2005, appearing in league matches and the 2005 FIFA World Club Championship held in Japan. Kazu scored two goals in his second A-League match, a 3–2 defeat at league leaders Adelaide United.
He is known for his trade mark Kazu Feint and his famous Kazu dance when he scores great goals or great plays. In 2007, Kazuyoshi Miura was selected for the 2007 JOMO All Stars match for J-East and played exceptionally well.[12]
In November 2015, Miura signed a new one-year contract with Yokohama F.C. at the age of 48.[13]
Career statistics
National team statistics
| Japan national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1990 | 3 | 0 |
| 1991 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | 11 | 2 |
| 1993 | 16 | 16 |
| 1994 | 8 | 5 |
| 1995 | 12 | 6 |
| 1996 | 12 | 6 |
| 1997 | 19 | 18 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 5 | 2 |
| Total | 89 | 55 |
International goals
References
- 1 2 "MIURA Kazuyoshi". Japan National Football Team Database. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- 1 2 Boa Sorte Kazu! - Museum - Profile - Personal Data
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Boa Sorte Kazu! - Museum - Profile - Biodata
- ↑ Asian Football Confederation's Asian Player of the Year winners since 1988
- ↑ Jsoccer.com - Soccer in Japan - Football News - Japanese Soccer Information
- ↑ :: National Football Teams ::.. Club - Yokohama FC
- ↑ J.League Official Site
- ↑ "Kazuyoshi Miura, King of Asian Football". FIFA. 24 April 1998. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ↑ "Kazuyoshi Miura, 48, improves record as Japan’s oldest league goalscorer". The Guardian. 5 April 2015.
- ↑ J.League Official Site
- ↑ Asian Football Confederation's Asian Player of the Year winners since 1988
- ↑ Ｊリーグ公式サイト：2007 JOMO ALLSTAR SOCCER：フォトギャラリー
- ↑ "Kazuyoshi Miura: Japan legend signs new Yokohama deal at 48". http://www.bbc.co.uk/. BBC Sport. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015. External link in
|website=(help) - ↑ Kazuyoshi "Kazu" Miura - Goals in International Matches
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kazuyoshi Miura. |
- BOA SORTE KAZU! (Official site)
- Kazuyoshi Miura at National-Football-Teams.com
| Preceded by Takanohana Kōji |
Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize Winner 1993 |
Succeeded by Ichiro Suzuki |
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