Takahiro Yamada (footballer)

Takahiro Yamada
Personal information
Full nameTakahiro Yamada
Date of birthApril 29, 1972
Place of birthTakatsuki, Osaka, Japan
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing positionMidfielder (retired)
Youth career
1988-1990Shimizu Commercial High School
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1991-1997Nissan Motors / Yokohama Marinos159(18)
1998Kyoto Purple Sanga29(1)
1999Verdy Kawasaki27(1)
2000-2003Vegalta Sendai65(3)
National team
1994Japan1(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Takahiro Yamada (山田 隆裕 Yamada Takahiro, born April 29, 1972 in Osaka, Japan) is a retired Japanese football (soccer) player. He was a skillful attacking midfielder.

Career

Yamada was educated at and played for Shimizu Commercial High School. At the high school, he won the national high school championship and the national youth championship with his team mates including Hiroshi Nanami, Go Oiwa and Shigeyoshi Mochizuki. Some scouts regarded him as the No. 1 high school player of his age.

After graduating in 1990, he joined Japan Soccer League side Nissan Motor F.C. where his powerful dribbling helped him quickly establish himself as a regular. When Japan's first-ever professional league J. League started in 1993, Nissan F.C. was transformed to Yokohama Marinos for whom he continued to play.

He moved to Kyoto Purple Sanga in 1998, and then to Verdy Kawasaki in 1999. He announced the retirement from the game after the 1999 season at the age of 29. However, Hidehiko Shimizu, the manager of J. League Division 2 side Vegalta Sendai, who had also managed Yamada at Yokohama Marinos, successfully persuaded him to come out of the retirement and help Sendai to gain the promotion to Division 1. Yamada played for Sendai for 3 years from June 2000 to June 2003 before finally hanging up his boots. He was the leader and the influential player for Sendai who were promoted to Division 1 for the 2002 season.

He was capped once for the Japanese national team when he played in a friendly against Australia on September 27, 1994 at the Tokyo National Olympic Stadium.[1] He was a member of the Japan team that won the 1992 AFC Asian Cup but did not play in the tournament.

After retiring from the game, he started his own business, a franchise chain of bakeries specialising in Melon buns, in Sendai.

Club career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Japan League Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Total
1990/91Nissan MotorsJSL Division 100000000
1991/929010100
1992Yokohama MarinosJ. League 1-009191
19932733011314
19943211031362
199543710-447
19962310092323
19972560050306
1998Kyoto Purple SangaJ. League 12911000301
1999Verdy KawasakiJ. League 12713020321
2000Vegalta SendaiJ. League 21901100201
20012833020333
2002J. League 11802020220
200300001010
Country Japan 2802315135533029
Total 2802315135533029

International career statistics

Japan national team
YearAppsGoals
199410
Total10

Honors and awards

Team honours

References

  1. Yoon, Hyung-Jin. "Japan International Matches - Details 1990-1999". RSSSF. Retrieved 2009-05-13.