- Takuya Takagi
Football player infobox| playername= Takuya Takagi
fullname = Takuya Takagi
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1967|11|12
cityofbirth =Minamishimabara, Nagasaki
countryofbirth =Japan
height = 188cm
currentclub = Retired
position = Forward
youthyears = 1983-1985
1986-1989
youthclubs = Kunimi H.S.Osaka University of Commerce
years = 1990-1991
1991-1997
1998-1999
2000
clubs = Fujita
Mazda / Sanfrecce HiroshimaVerdy Kawasaki Consadole Sapporo
caps(goals) = 015 00(3)
173 0(62)
040 0(11)
017 00(0)
nationalyears = 1992-1997
nationalteam = Japan
nationalcaps(goals) = 044 0(27)
manageryears = 2006-2007
managerclubs =Yokohama FC nihongo|Takuya Takagi|高木琢也|Takagi Takuya|bornNovember 12 ,1967 inMinamishimabara, Nagasaki is a former Japanese football (soccer) player and a current football coach. He is currently a coach atTokyo Verdy . [http://www.verdy.co.jp/information/introduction/staff.pdf] He was a physical forward and the Japanese media and fans dubbed him as the "Cannon of Asia".Playing career
Club
He was educated at and played for Kunimi High School and
Osaka University of Commerce . After finishing the university in 1990, he joinedJapan Soccer League side Fujita S.C. (cerrentShonan Bellmare ). He moved to Mazda S.C. (currentSanfrecce Hiroshima ) in 1991 and was awarded the JSL Young Player of the Year in 1992. His partnarship with CzechIvan Hašek up front was so successful that Hiroshima won the second stage ofJ. League in 1994.Due to financial difficulties, Hiroshima was forced to release their key players including Takagi in 1998. He moved to Verdy Kawasaki. He was then transferred to J. League Division 2 side
Consadole Sapporo in 2000 and retired there at the end of the season.International
He was capped 44 times and scored 27 goals for the Japanese national team. He made his international debut in a friendly against Argentine on
May 31 ,1992 at the Tokyo National Olympic Stadium, the first match underHans Ooft 's reign. He scored his first international goal in a Dynasty Cup match againstChina national football team onAugust 24 ,1992 inBeijing . He became the ace striker for Ooft's Japan national team.He was a member of the Japan team that won the
1992 AFC Asian Cup . He scored the lone goal in the final against Saudi Arabia and even though he is said to be awarded the Most Valuable Player of the competition, this is not true. The honor went to his team mateKazuyoshi Miura . Takagi wasn't even elected into the Tournament Best Eleven.He was also a member of the Japan squad who participated in the AFC final qualifying stage for the
1994 FIFA World Cup . He was suspended for the crucial last match that the Japanese fans now refer to as theAgony of Doha , and watched from the bench a late Iraqi equaliser dashed Japan's hope to qualify for the finals in the U.S.A.He also took part in the
1996 AFC Asian Cup hosted by UAE. He played 3 games and scored 1 goal against Syria in the competition.Managerial career
2006
After finishing his playing career, he worked as a soccer commentator on television. He also acquired the S-Class Coaching License that was a prerequisite to manage a J. league club in 2004.
At the beginning of 2006, he was appointed an assistant coach at
Yokohama FC . He was unexpectedly promoted to the manager of the club to replace Yusuke Adachi who was sacked only after the team lost toEhime F.C. in the opening match of the season. [ [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sj20060307a1.html Yokohama FC fires Adachi | The Japan Times Online ] ] Takagi's lack of coaching experience and untimely dismissal of Adachi worried the fans who decided in protest to watch the second match of the season (the first match under Takagi) in silence.However, Takagi quickly convinced the supporters as he guided the club unbeaten for the first fifteen matches under his reign. This was the record unbeaten run since appointment of a new manager in J. League. The club made another J. League record when they did not concede any goal for 770 consecutive minutes by breaking
Shimizu S-Pulse 's 731 minutes recorded in 1993. They kept 7 consecutiveclean sheet s which was also a tied J. League Division 2 record.Yokohama FC, who had been languishing in the bottom half of the standing previous 5 seasons since their accession to J2, won the title and gained the first-ever promotion to J. League Division 1.
2007
The club made a drastic change in their squad before the beginning of the 2007 season in preparation for the fight in the top-flight. Eleven players left while another eleven joined the club. Those who left included the striking partners
Shoji Jo and Alemão who scored 30 goals together out of club's 61 goals in the previous season. Long-serving Tomotaka Kitamura and Tsuyoshi Yoshitake also left. Takagi enhanced his squad by recruiting former Japanese internationalsTatsuhiko Kubo andDaisuke Oku (both fromYokohama F. Marinos ), and Silva (from Tokyo Verdy). [ [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sj20070301g6.html Yokohama FC | The Japan Times Online ] ]They beat Marinos in a Yokohama derby in the second match of the season, but otherwise the things didn't go well for Takagi. [ [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sj20070311a1.html Hayakawa's early goal gives Yokohama FC derby victory | The Japan Times Online ] ] New team leaders Oku and Kubo were sidelined due to injuries and the club was anchored at the bottom of the standing. The club signed high-profile former Japanese international midfielder
Atsuhiro Miura in August. Apparently there was a conflict between the management and Takagi as he expressed disgruntlement on Miura's signing quoting that what the club needed at that point was a good defender or forward. He was sacked onAugust 27 ,2007 and replaced by Brazilian Julio Cesar leal Junior. [ [http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/416335 Japan Today - News - Yokohama FC sacks manager Takagi ] ]2008
He became a coach at
Tokyo Verdy under manager and his former international team mateTetsuji Hashiratani .Clubs
* 1990-1991: flagicon|Japan Fujita
* 1991-1997: flagicon|Japan Mazda SC / Sanfrecce Hiroshima
* 1998-1999: flagicon|Japan Verdy Kawasaki
* 2000: flagicon|JapanConsadole Sapporo National team
* (Champions)
*Honors and awards
Team Honors
* (Champions)
References
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