- Akira Kaji
Football player infobox| playername= Akira Kaji
fullname = Akira Kaji
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|1|13
cityofbirth =Minamiawaji, Hyogo
countryofbirth =Japan
height = height|ft=5|in=9
currentclub =Gamba Osaka
position = Right Back
youthyears = 1995-1997
youthclubs = Takigawa Daini H.S.
years = 1998-1999 2000-2001 2002-2005 2006-
clubs =Cerezo Osaka Oita Trinita (loan)FC Tokyo Gamba Osaka
caps(goals) = 024 00(0) 075 00(3) 089 00(1) 073 00(2)
nationalyears = 1998-1999
2003-2008
nationalteam = Japan U-20
Japan
nationalcaps(goals) = 008 00(1)
064 00(2)
pcupdate =28 August 2008
ntupdate =28 August 2008 nihongo|Akira Kaji|加地 亮|Kaji Akira|extra=bornJanuary 13 ,1980 inMinamiawaji, Hyogo is aJapan ese professionalsoccer player. He is a specialist on the right-hand side of the pitch playing as a full back or a widemidfielder . He currently plays forJ. League sideGamba Osaka . [ [http://www.gamba-osaka.net/en/players.html Players | GAMBA OSAKA Official Site ] ]Playing career
Club
After graduating from Takigawa Daini High School, Kaji joined
Cerezo Osaka in 1998. He made his first league appearance onJuly 25 ,1998 againstAvispa Fukuoka . At the club, he found it difficult to break into the first team and was loaned out to J. League Division 2 sideOita Trinita at the beginning of the 2000 season.After spending 2 years at Oita, Kaji came back to Division 1 in 2002 to play for
F.C. Tokyo . The managerHiromi Hara made him a regular and assigned a more attacking role. His club won the 2004J. League Cup by beatingUrawa Red Diamonds in the final which ended 0-0 after the extra time. The penalty shoot-out was required and his successful conversion as the last penalty taker for Tokyo finally broke the deadlock.He was transferred to Gamba Osaka at the beginning of the 2006 season and scored in the opening league match against
Urawa Reds . He was selected as a member of the2006 J-League Team of the Year .International
He was a member of the Japan team for the
1999 FIFA World Youth Championship finals where the team finished runners-up.He gained his first cap for Japan when national coach
Zico played him onOctober 8 ,2003 in a friendly against Tunisia. He was rated highly by Zico who made him the first-choice right full-back. He was a member of the Japan team who won the2004 Asian Cup inChina . [http://2004.afcasiancup.com/en/tournament/teams.asp@cid=1040&sqid=958&ccd=JPN&tbl=Y] In a 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup against Brazil, his goal was disallowed by a controversial offside decision. [ [http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1625989,00.html Brazil Squeaks Past Japan | World Cup 2006 | Deutsche Welle | 22.06.2005 ] ] His first goal for the country finally came onAugust 17 ,2005 in a World Cup qualifier against Iran. [ [http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/nats/2005/iranb.html Japan National Team: WC2006 Qualification Match (Iran) ] ]He made the final squad for the
2006 FIFA World Cup finals. In a preparation match against Germany just before the tournament, he injured his ankle when tackled byBastian Schweinsteiger . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/japan/5056182.stm BBC SPORT | Football | World Cup 2006 | Teams | Japan | Zico furious with Schweinsteiger ] ] Zico considered his replacement but decided to keep him. He missed Japan's first game in the tournament against Australia withYūichi Komano filling in for his place, but he returned to the team and played in the rest of the competition.After the 2006 World Cup, Zico was replaced by
Ivica Osim who also regularly picks him for the national team. He was a member of the Japan team for the2007 AFC Asian Cup and played all the Japan games in the tournament.On
May 20 ,2008 he announced retirement from international football.National team
* (Champions)
*
*International Goals
Honors and awards
Individual Honors
*
J-League Best eleven: 2006Team Honors
*
FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 1999
*Asian Cup Champions: 2004References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.