Kōji Nakata
Kōji Nakata
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Kōji Nakata |
| Date of birth |
July 9, 1979 (1979-07-09) (age 32) |
| Place of birth |
Otsu, Shiga, Japan |
| Height |
1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) |
| Playing position |
Defensive midfielder, Centre Back, Left Back |
| Club information |
| Current club |
Kashima Antlers |
| Number |
6 |
| Youth career |
| 1995–1997 |
Teikyo High School |
| Senior career* |
| Years |
Team |
Apps† |
(Gls)† |
| 1998–2004 |
Kashima Antlers |
144 |
(27) |
| 2005–2006 |
Olympique Marseille |
9 |
(0) |
| 2006–2008 |
FC Basel |
62 |
(3) |
| 2008– |
Kashima Antlers |
44 |
(1) |
| National team‡ |
| 2000–2007 |
Japan |
57 |
(2) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 July 2010.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 February 2010 |
Kōji Nakata (中田浩二 Nakata Kōji; born 9 July 1979 in Otsu, Shiga, Japan) is a Japanese football (soccer) player who played at both the Football World Cup 2002, and the Football World Cup 2006. He currently plays for Kashima Antlers in the J. League.[1]
The 'other Nakata', as he is known to most non-Japanese fans, is a left-footed midfielder. A very versatile player, Nakata has established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders for Japan. Although his preferred position is at defensive midfield, his versatility means he can also operate as left wing-back, his normal position with FC Basel.
In 2004, during the Asian Cup final versus China, Nakata gained notoriety amongst Chinese fans by scoring the second Japanese goal with his hand.[2] Despite Chinese protests, the goal was still allowed. The Chinese media refer to this incident as the "Hand of Koji" incident, alluding to Diego Maradona's infamous hand of god goal.
Nakata moved from Japanese giants Kashima Antlers to France at the start of 2005 when former Japan national team manager Philippe Troussier, then the Olympique Marseille coach, signed him in a deal. After an understandbly unhappy season in France (Troussier was sacked just a few months later), the frozen-out Nakata jumped at the chance to leave and by early 2006 had moved to Switzerland's top team FC Basel where he played as a defender. Kōji was highly rated by Japan coach Zico and is sometimes compared to Junichi Inamoto, also a defensive midfielder for Japan. He returned to J. League club Kashima Antlers in July 2008.
In October 2008 Nakata unerwent knee surgery, effectively ruling him out for the remainder of the 2008 J. League season after appearing in 12 games.
Club Team Career Stats
- As of 4 April 2010
* Includes Intertoto Cup
National Team Career Stats
Appearances in major competitions
Goals for Senior National Team
| Japan national team |
| Year |
Apps |
Goals |
| 2000 |
7 |
0 |
| 2001 |
13 |
0 |
| 2002 |
13 |
0 |
| 2003 |
7 |
0 |
| 2004 |
6 |
2 |
| 2005 |
8 |
0 |
| 2006 |
2 |
0 |
| 2007 |
1 |
0 |
| Total |
57 |
2 |
Honors and awards
Teams
- Kashima Antlers
- Olympique Marseille
- FC Basel
- Japan National Team
Individual
References
External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Nakata, Koji |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
|
| Date of birth |
1979-07-09 |
| Place of birth |
Otsu, Shiga, Japan |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|