Yuji Nakazawa

Football player infobox| playername= Yuji Nakazawa
fullname = Yuji Nakazawa
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1978|2|25
cityofbirth = Yoshikawa, Saitama
countryofbirth = Japan
height = height|m=1.87
currentclub = Yokohama F Marinos
clubnumber = 22
position = Defender
nickname = "Bomberhead"
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1996-97 1999-01 2002-
clubs = América Tokyo Verdy 1969 Yokohama F Marinos
caps(goals) = 083 00(5) 178 0(14)
nationalyears = 1999-2000 1999-
nationalteam = Japan U-23 Japan
nationalcaps(goals) = 012 00(0) 081 0(15)
pcupdate = 00:32, 24 June 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 11:32, 11 October 2008 (UTC) nihongo|Yuji Nakazawa|中澤 佑二|Nakazawa Yūji|extra=born February 25, 1978 in Yoshikawa, Saitama is a Japanese football (soccer) player who currently plays for J. League side Yokohama F. Marinos. [ [http://www.f-marinos.com/topteam/members/players_df22.php 横浜F・マリノス 公式サイト｜Yokohama F-Marinos Official Website ] ] He is a center back. His nickname is "Bomber" because of his distinctive hairstyle.

Career

At his young age, Nakazawa was an obscure footballer who played for obscure school clubs. He was educated at and played for Yoshikawa Higashi Junior High School and Sango Technology High School, and attracted no scouts' eyes. Determined to be a pro, he decided to leave for Brazil to improve his football and trained with América Mineiro.

After a year, he came back to Japan and joined Verdy Kawasaki in 1998 as a trainee, which meant he received no compensation from the club. He impressed the club enough to win a full professional contract the following year.

His first J. League appearance came on March 13, 1999 against Cerezo Osaka at Todoroki Athletics Stadium. He scored his first league goal on April 10, 1999 against Nagoya Grampus Eight also at Todoroki. That year, he received the J-League Young Player of the Year award and was selected a member of the J-League Team of the Year

Philippe Troussier called him up for Japan's Olympic team that Troussier managed along with Japan's national team. Nakazawa played in the qualifiers as well as the finals in Sydney. Troussier promoted him to the full international. His first international appearance came on September 8, 1999 in a friendly against Iran at the International Stadium of Yokohama. He scored his first goal on February 13, 2000 in an Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore in Macau.

He was a member of the Japan team who won the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in Lebanon. He played 3 games in the competition. However, he was not selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals as Yutaka Akita was preferred.

He was transferred to Yokohama F. Marinos in 2002 and contributed to the club winning two consecutive J. League championships in 2003 and 2004. [ [http://www.fcjapan.co.jp/mail_magazine/news/feature_view.php3?id=20&m=1 Fc Japan ] ] He was elected as the Most Valuable Player of the league in 2004.

Under new national manager Zico, he partnered with Tsuneyasu Miyamoto at the back line. He participated in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup finals. He played all the Japan matches and scored 3 goals, one of which was a stoppage time equaliser in the semi-final against Bahrain, and Japan went on to win the title again.

He also played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany but the team failed to proceed to the knockout stage. After the tournament, he announced his retirement from the international football at the age of 28. [ [http://english.people.com.cn/200607/27/eng20060727_287024.html People's Daily Online - Japan's Yuji Nakazawa may retire from international soccer ] ] However, six months later, he withdrew his decision and Ivica Osim played him in a friendly against Peru on March 24, 2007. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=soccer&id=2765232 ESPN - Soccer-Disgruntled Nakazawa completes Japan U-turn - Soccer ] ]

He played in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals but this time the team failed to defend the title and finished 4th in the tournament.

National team

* (Champions)
* (Champions)
*
*

Honors and awards

Individual honors

* Asian Cup Best Eleven: 2004
* J-League MVP: 2004
* J-League Young Player of the Year: 1999
* J-League Best Eleven: 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005

Team honors

* Asian Cup Champions: 2000, 2004
* J-League Champions: 2003, 2004

Goals for national team

References

External links

* [http://www.bomber22.com/ Yuji Nakazawa Official Website] (Japanese)
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/php/spieler.php?id=3671 National Football Teams]