Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Personal information
Full name Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Date of birth August 15, 1975 (1975-08-15) (age 36)
Place of birth Fuji, Japan
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Júbilo Iwata
Number 1
Youth career
1991–1994 Shimizu High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1994–2001 Yokohama Marinos 139 (0)
2001–2003 Portsmouth 12 (0)
2003–2005 Nordsjælland 8 (0)
2005– Júbilo Iwata 154 (0)
National team‡
1995–1996 Japan U-23 10 (0)
1997–2010 Japan 116 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 December 2009.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:34, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (川口 能活 Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu?, born August 15, 1975), sometimes referred to as Yoshi Kawaguchi, is a Japanese footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is a former captain of the Japan national team.

Contents

Biography

Born in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, 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. He played in Japan's first ever World Cup game in 1998 in a 1-0 defeat to Argentina.

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 underdogs 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 then-perennial title-contenders Júbilo Iwata.[1]

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 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. Kawaguchi is his country's most-capped goalkeeper and overall second most-capped player with 116 caps for Japan, 6 behind Masami Ihara with 122 caps, but an injury had since sidelined him from action.[2] Long-time rival Seigo Narazaki had since been playing as first-choice keeper for Japan.

A broken leg sustained in a J-League clash against Kyoto Sanga appeared to have sidelined him for the rest of the season thus ruling him out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, after making a full and quick recovery Japanese head coach Takeshi Okada decided to include him in the final squad announced on May 10, 2010. Kawaguchi was one of two Japanese players (the other being Seigo Narazaki) to be named for their national team's 4th consecutive FIFA World Cup. Despite his period of inactivity and having fallen to third in the pecking order, Okada selected him in the hope that his leadership and experience would aid the team's progress. Kawaguchi was appointed captain of the national team during team training on 21 May 2010.[3]

Kawaguchi has not yet been picked to play for the national team under coach Alberto Zaccheroni, and with youngster Eiji Kawashima impressing in Japan's 2011 Asian Cup success, it looks as though the Yokohama-born custodian's international career may be over.

Honors

Personal:

With the Japanese national football team:

With the Yokohama Marinos and Yokohama F. Marinos :

With the Portsmouth :

Career statistics

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 League Cup Asia Total
1994 Yokohama Marinos J. League 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0
1995 41 0 2 0 - - 43 0
1996 15 0 0 0 13 0
1997 22 0 2 0 0 0 - 24 0
1998 34 0 1 0 0 0 - 35 0
1999 Yokohama F. Marinos J. League Division 1 28 0 2 0 6 0 - 36 0
2000 28 0 3 0 5 0 - 36 0
2001 25 0 - 7 0 - 32 0
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2001-02 Portsmouth First Division 11 0 1 0
2002-03 1 0
2003-04 Premier League 0 0 - - - 0 0
Denmark League Danish Cup League Cup Europe Total
2003-04 FC Nordsjælland Superliga 8 0 1 0 1 0
2004-05 0 0
Japan League Emperor's Cup League Cup Asia Total
2005 Júbilo Iwata J. League Division 1 29 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 34 0
2006 34 0 1 0 3 0 - 38 0
2007 32 0 1 0 3 0 - 36 0
2008 33 0 0 0 1 0 - 34 0
2009 26 0 0 0 4 0 - 30 0
Total Japan 347 0 15 0 43 0
England 12 0
Denmark 8 0
Career total 367 0

[4]

Japan national team
Year Apps Goals
1997 21 0
1998 9 0
1999 3 0
2000 8 0
2001 9 0
2002 2 0
2003 2 0
2004 11 0
2005 14 0
2006 19 0
2007 12 0
2008 6 0
Total 116 0

National team

See also

References

  1. ^ "Stats Centre: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi Facts". Guardian.co.uk. http://guardian.touch-line.com/StatsCentre.asp?CTID=63&CPID=147&TEID=3533&PLID=65162&pStr=Player. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  2. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi - Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/kawaguchi-intl.html. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  3. ^ Captain Kawaguchi
  4. ^ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/kawaguchi-intl.html

External links

Júbilo Iwata – current squad