Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi

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Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Personal information
Full name Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Date of birth August 15, 1975 (1975-08-15) (age 32)
Place of birth    Fuji, Japan
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10+12 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Júbilo Iwata
Youth clubs
1991–1994 Shimizu Commercial High School
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994–2001
2001–2003
2003–2005
2005–
Yokohama Marinos/Yokohama F. Marinos
Portsmouth
Nordsjælland
Júbilo Iwata
193 (0)
012 (0)
008 (0)
105 (0)   
National team2
1997– Japan 114 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 18:42, 15 May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 12:00, 28 March 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (川口 能活 Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu?, born August 15, 1975 in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture), sometimes referred to as Yoshi Kawaguchi, is a Japanese footballer. He is a goalkeeper and a member of the Japanese national football team.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Kawaguchi studied at Shimizu Commercial High School and was a member of the football team there. After finishing high school, he joined the professional football team Yokohama Marinos (now known as Yokohama F. Marinos). He was called up to the Japanese national team and played in the Atlanta Olympic games. He kept a clean sheet against Brazil in the first game.

Following impressive performances for both club and country, he moved to English club Portsmouth, signing for a club record £1.8m. However, he struggled to adapt to life in the English Football League, and struggled with the physical side of the First Division, notably in a 3-1 away defeat to Grimsby Town. Kawaguchi lost his place to veteran Dave Beasant after being held responsible for Portsmouth's 4-1 home defeat to lowly Leyton Orient in the FA Cup. Despite his poor performances for Pompey he remained something of a cult hero with the fans, on account of his cheerful demeanour, and his insistence that he would work hard to regain his place. After a season of playing reserve team football, he made his final appearance for Portsmouth in the final game of the 2002/3 Football League First Division championship winning season, coming on at half time to a standing ovation in the 5-0 win against Bradford City. Despite this brief reappearance, he realised that his future lay elsewhere, and moved on to Nordsjælland of the Danish league. Prior to the 2005 Japanese football season, Kawaguchi returned to his home country when he signed with perennial title-contenders Júbilo Iwata.

Kawaguchi is a renowned penalty stopper, making two saves in the shootout against Jordan in the 2004 Asian Cup quarter final and also saving from Croatia's Darijo Srna in the 2006 World Cup. During the 2007 Asian Cup he was instrumental in Japan's quarter-final win against Australia making two saves from Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill in the penalty shootout, thus making him the Man of the Match.

In August of 2006, it was revealed that he would wear the captain's armband, as new Japan manager Ivica Osim believed that former captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto was not getting enough playing time at his domestic club, Gamba Osaka, who has since moved to FC Red Bull Salzburg.

[edit] Honors

Personal:

With the Japanese national football team:

  • FIFA World Cup
    • Match Appearance: 1998, 2006
    • Finals Roster: 2002
  • AFC Asian Cup
    • Appearance: 2000, 2004, 2007
    • Winner: 2000, 2004

With the Yokohama Marinos and Yokohama F. Marinos :

[edit] Club Career Stats

Last update: 15 May 2008

Season Team Country Division Apps Goals
1994 Yokohama Marinos Flag of Japan Japan 1 0 0
1995 Yokohama Marinos Flag of Japan Japan 1 41 0
1996 Yokohama Marinos Flag of Japan Japan 1 15 0
1997 Yokohama Marinos Flag of Japan Japan 1 22 0
1998 Yokohama Marinos Flag of Japan Japan 1 34 0
1999 Yokohama F. Marinos Flag of Japan Japan 1 28 0
2000 Yokohama F. Marinos Flag of Japan Japan 1 28 0
2001 Yokohama F. Marinos Flag of Japan Japan 1 25 0
01/02 Portsmouth F.C. Flag of England England 2 11 0
02/03 Portsmouth F.C. Flag of England England 2 1 0
03/04 Nordsjælland Flag of Denmark Denmark 1 8 0
04/05 Nordsjælland Flag of Denmark Denmark 1 0 0
2005 Júbilo Iwata Flag of Japan Japan 1 29 0
2006 Júbilo Iwata Flag of Japan Japan 1 34 0
2007 Júbilo Iwata Flag of Japan Japan 1 32 0
2008 Júbilo Iwata Flag of Japan Japan 1

[edit] National team

[edit] External Links

Preceded by
Flag of Japan Kazuaki Tasaka
J-League Young Player of the Year
1995
Succeeded by
Flag of Japan Toshihide Saito