Mitsunari Musaka

Mitsunari Musaka

Personal information
Date of birth	(1991-01-16) 16 January 1991
Place of birth	Tokyo, Japan
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Shimizu S-Pulse
Number	20
Youth career
2003–2005	F.C. Tokyo
2006–2008	Maebashi Scholarship High School
2009–2012	Chuo University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2013–	Shimizu S-Pulse	36	(1)
National team
2009	Japan U18
2010	Japan U19
Honours Competitor for  Japan World University Games Gold 2011 Shenzen Men's Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Mitsunari Musaka (六平 光成, Musaka Mitsunari, born 16 January 1991) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder for Japanese club Shimizu S-Pulse.^[1]

Playing career

He started out playing for the F.C. Tokyo youth syetem, specifically the U-15 Shenzhen team. His team won the 2003 Japanese Club Youth U-15 Championship. He later attended and played for Maebashi Scholarship High School. With his help, the team made the semifinals of the 2008 All Japan High School Soccer Tournament. He scored 2 goals in 5 games and was named to the Tournament All-Star team. He also represented Japan in various U18 tournaments at this time, including the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualification. After graduating from high school, he refused J. League Division 1 offers in order to play for Chuo University.

Musaka captained Japan during the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship in China, scoring a goal and leading his team to the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they lost by a score of 3-2 to South Korea. He played in various other international youth tournaments, such as the Dallas Cup, the SBS Cup, the Sendai Cup and the Milk Cup.

In 2011, he was chosen to represent his country at the 2011 Summer Universiade. He scored two goals in the tournament and had an assist in the championship game, where Japan beat Britain 2-0 to win its 5th Universiade soccer title.^[2]

After his college graduation, he had offers from Shimizu S-Pulse, Omiya Ardija and Kashima Antlers, but on January 1, 2013, Musaka signed with Shimizu. He made his J. League Division 1 debut on July 10 against Kashima Antlers in a 3-1 loss, and scored his first goal as a professional against Kawasaki Frontale on November 2, 2014 in a 3-2 win.^[3]

References