Keita Suzuki

Keita Suzuki
鈴木 啓太
Personal information
Full name Keita Suzuki
Date of birth (1981-07-08) 8 July 1981
Place of birth Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1997–1999 Tōkai University Fuzoku Shōyō H.S.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2015 Urawa Red Diamonds 372 (10)
National team
2002–2004 Japan U23 26 (2)
2005–2008 Japan 28 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 February 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 January 2011

Keita Suzuki (鈴木 啓太 Suzuki Keita, born 8 July 1981) is a Japanese football (soccer) player. He is a defensive midfielder and currently plays for Urawa Red Diamonds. He is a cousin of Koki Mizuno.[1]

His wife is a Japanese actress Hiroko Hatano.

Career

After graduating from Tōkai University Fuzoku Shōyō High School, he joined J. League side Urawa Red Diamonds in 2000. His first professional appearance came in an Emperor's Cup match against Honda Lock S.C. on 3 December 2000. He broke into Urawa's first team in 2001 and became a mainstay in the midfield. He contributed to the club winning the J. League championship in 2006 and was chosen as one of the J. League Best Eleven 2006. In October 2015, he announced that he'll leave his only squad at the end of the season.[2]

He was a captain for the Japan's Olympic team through the final qualifying stage to Athens 2004. However, he was not included in the final squad for the Olympic as coach Masakuni Yamamoto favoured overage player Shinji Ono.

Japan's former national coach Ivica Osim rated Suzuki highly and handed him his first senior cap on 9 August 2006, in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago. He is the only player who started all of the 20 matches under Osim's reign. Osim once referred to him as the Japanese answer to Claude Makélélé.[3]

After the last game of 2015 regular season, he announced his retire from football.[4]

Career statistics

As of 14 February 2016

Club

Club Season League Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Champions League Other1 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Urawa Red Diamonds 2000 002100--21
2001 1514020--211
2002 2611041--312
2003 29110101--402
2004 2504080-20390
2005 2904062--392
2006 3115060-10431
2007 331100012050511
2008 230201010-270
2009 3211070--401
2010 1703050--250
2011 1912060--271
2012 3123020--362
2013 300004040-380
2014 2811030--321
2015 4000005010100
Career total 372103416442209050115

1Includes J. League Championship, Japanese Super Cup, A3 Champions Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

International

[5]

National teamYearAppsGoals
Japan U-23
200261
200380
2004121
Total262
Japan
200670
2007130
200880
Total280

Appearances in major competitions

Team Competition Category Appearances Goals Team Record
Start Sub
 Japan2004 Summer Olympics QualificationU-22~23611Qualified
 Japan2007 AFC Asian Cup qualificationSenior500Qualified
 Japan2007 AFC Asian CupSenior6004th place
 Japan2010 FIFA World Cup qualificationSenior200Qualified

International goals

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.

Under-23

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 10 October 2002 South Korea Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan  Thailand
2–0
3–0
2002 Asian Games
2. 3 March 2004 United Arab Emirates Al Jazira Stadium, Abu Dhabi  Lebanon
2–0
4–0
2004 Summer Olympics Qualification

Honours

Japan

2007

Club

Urawa Red Diamonds
2006
2015
2005, 2006
2003
2007
2006

Individual

2007
2006, 2007

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.