Masashi Nakayama

Masashi Nakayama

Personal information
Full name	Masashi Nakayama
Date of birth	23 September 1967
Place of birth	Okabe, Shizuoka, Japan
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 ^1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current team	Azul Claro Numazu
Number	39
Youth career
1983–1985	Fujieda-Higashi H.S.
1986–1989	Tsukuba University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1990–2009	Yamaha Motors / Júbilo Iwata	419	(207)
2010–2012	Consadole Sapporo	12	(0)
2015–	Azul Claro Numazu
Total		431	(207)
National team^‡
1990–2003	Japan	53	(21)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 September 2015. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 December 2010

Masashi Nakayama (中山 雅史 Nakayama Masashi, born 23 September 1967) is a professional footballer. Born in Shizuoka, Gon Nakayama attended Fujieda Higashi High School and Tsukuba University before he joined Jubilo Iwata of the Japan Football League, a precursor to the J. League, which consisted of company sponsored teams. He retired in December 2012 at age 45 after playing 3 seasons for Consadole Sapporo, then he came back almost three years later with Azul Claro Numazu in JFL.

Career

Playing as a Forward, Nakayama made his J. League debut on 11 March 1994. From then until 2009, he was an ever-present part of the Jubilo lineup as they were consistently one of the top teams in the J. League since its inception. With a strike-rate of more than a goal every two games throughout his career, Nakayama was the inspirational and talismanic leader for both Jubilo Iwata and the Japanese national team.

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals in France, Nakayama scored the only goal of the tournament and the first goal for Japan in the history of the World Cup against Jamaica on 26 June 1998.^[1] As of 2009, he has scored 21 goals in 53 appearances for the Japanese national team, which places him 8th all-time among goalscorers for his country.

Nakayama also holds the world record fastest hat-trick at international level. He managed three goals in an AFC Asian Cup qualification match against Brunei on 16 February 2000 in only three minutes and three seconds,^[1] beating the previous record of Englishman George William Hall set in 1938 (against Ireland) by 27 seconds. This striker becomes a record-holder with other hat-tricks, that he did it in four successive games of J.League, from 15 to 29 April in 1998. He scored 16 times in these games.^[1] The record is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records

Affectionately known as Gon, Nakayama is a fan favorite among many casual Japanese football fans for his outspoken and humorous nature. Now in the twilight of his career, injuries and age have taken a toll on Nakayama's skills but he still remains a favorite of the Jubilo faithful, as evidenced by the fact that he draws the loudest cheers by far from the home crowd at Yamaha Stadium when his name is announced during warm-ups or when he comes on as a substitute.

On 4 December 2012, he announced his retirement at the age of 45, citing injuries to his both knees, after making J. League's all-time leading scores of 157 goals.^[1] In September 2015, he began to train with Azul Claro Numazu and then he signed a contract with the JFL's side.^[2]

Statistics

Last updated: 14 September 2015

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Japan			League		Emperor's Cup		J. League Cup		Asia		Total
1990/91	Yamaha Motors	JSL Division 1	13	4			2	1	-		15	5
1991/92			18	15			1	0	-		19	15
1992		Football League	16	13			-		-		16	13
1993			18	18	1	0	0	0	-		19	18
1994	Júbilo Iwata	J. League 1	12	3	0	0	0	0	-		12	3
1995			45	18	0	0	-		-		45	18
1996			27	9	0	0	13	7	-		40	16
1997			27	18	4	2	11	6	-		42	26
1998			27	36	3	4	0	0	-		30	40
1999			23	6	1	2	1	1	-		25	9
2000			29	20	3	2	4	1	-		36	23
2001			30	16	1	0	8	4	-		39	20
2002			29	16	3	2	7	3	-		39	21
2003			12	3	5	0	2	1	-		19	4
2004			19	3	4	1	5	0	4	1	32	5
2005			29	6	2	0	2	0	1	0	34	6
2006			13	1	1	0	3	1	-		17	2
2007			15	1	2	0	5	1	-		22	2
2008			16	1	2	1	3	1	-		21	3
2009			1	0	1	0	1	0	-		3	0
2010	Consadole Sapporo	J. League 2	12	0	1	0	-		-		13	0
2011			0	0	0	0	-		-		0	0
2012		J. League 1	1	0	0	0	0	0	-		1	0
2015	Azul Claro Numazu	JFL	0	0	-		-		-		0	0
Total			432	207	34	12	68	27	5	1	539	247

Japan national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1990	1	0
1991	0	0
1992	6	3
1993	8	4
1994	0	0
1995	4	1
1996	0	0
1997	2	2
1998	10	4
1999	1	0
2000	7	6
2001	8	1
2002	3	0
2003	3	0
Total	53	21

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	29 August 1992	Beijing, China PR	South Korea	2–2	Draw	Dynasty Cup 1992
2.	1 November 1992	Hiroshima, Japan	North Korea	1–1	Draw	1992 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
3.	6 November 1992	Hiroshima, Japan	China PR	3–2	Won	1992 AFC Asian Cup Semi-finals
4.	5 May 1993	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Sri Lanka	5–0	Won	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.	18 October 1993	Doha, Qatar	Iran	1–2	Lost	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.	21 October 1993	Doha, Qatar	North Korea	3–0	Won	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.	28 October 1993	Doha, Qatar	Iraq	2–2	Draw	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.	28 May 1995	Tokyo, Japan	Ecuador	3–0	Won	Friendly
9.	8 November 1997	Tokyo, Japan	Kazakhstan	5–1	Won	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	16 November 1997	Johor Bahru, Malaysia	Iran	3–2	Won	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Play-off
11.	1 March 1998	Yokohama, Japan	South Korea	2–1	Won	Dynasty Cup 1998
12.	1 April 1998	Korea Republic	South Korea	1–2	Lost	Friendly
13.	26 June 1998	Lyon, France	Jamaica	1–2	Lost	1998 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
14.	28 October 1998	Osaka, Japan	Egypt	1–0	Won	Friendly
15.	13 February 2000	Macau	Singapore	3–0	Won	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
16.	16 February 2000	Macau	Brunei	9–0	Won	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
17.	16 February 2000	Macau	Brunei	9–0	Won	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
18.	16 February 2000	Macau	Brunei	9–0	Won	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
19.	20 February 2000	Macau	Macau	3–0	Won	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
20.	20 February 2000	Macau	Macau	3–0	Won	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
21.	15 August 2001	Fukuroi, Japan	Australia	3–0	Won	AFC/OFC Cup Challenge

National team

• 1992 Asian Cup
• 1998 FIFA World Cup
• 2001 Confederations Cup
• 2002 FIFA World Cup

Honors and awards

Team

• FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2001
• 1992 Asian Cup (Champions)
• AFC Champions League Champions: 1999
• Asian Super Cup Champions: 1999
• J. League Champions: 1997, 1999, 2002

Individual

• J. League Most Valuable Player: 1998
• J. League Top Scorer: 1998, 2000
• J. League Best Eleven: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002
• Japanese Footballer of the Year: 1998
• Selected to AFC All Star Team: 1999

Trivia

• Nakayama is currently the all-time top goal scorer in J. League division 1 with 157 goals. He holds the record for top scorer in a single season, scoring 36 goals in 1998.
• Nakayama once portrayed himself on television, performing voice work for a guest role on the anime Hungry Heart: Wild Striker.
• Nakayama appeared on the front cover of the Japanese releases of Konami's Winning Eleven video game series (WE 6 and WE 6: Final Evolution) in 2002 and 2003.
• He married actress Tomoko Ikuta in 1996, and together they had a daughter. Ikuta did the voice-over for lead actress Lee Young-ae in the Japanese version of the popular South Korean TV series Dae Jang Geum.
• Nakayama Will Be a Special Guest Appearance in The HappinessCharge PreCure! as Himself This episode corresponds with the opening of the World Cup.

References

1. Japan icon Nakayama calls time on career FIFA.com 4 December 2012
2. http://www.azul-claro.jp/information/25886/

External links

• Masashi Nakayama at National-Football-Teams.com