- Koki Mizuno
Football player infobox
playername= Koki Mizuno
fullname = Koki Mizuno
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1985|9|6
cityofbirth =Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka
countryofbirth =Japan
height = height|m=1.73
currentclub = Celtic
clubnumber = 29
position = RightMidfielder
youthyears = 2002-2004
youthclubs = Shimizu High School
years = 2004-2007 2008-
clubs = JEF United Celtic
caps(goals) = 86 (13)
00 0(0)
nationalyears = 2007-
nationalteam = Japan
nationalcaps(goals) = 4 (0)
pcupdate = 19 May, 2008
ntupdate = 22 July, 2008nihongo|Koki Mizuno|水野 晃樹|Mizuno Kōki|bornSeptember 6 ,1985 inShimizu-ku, Shizuoka is aJapan ese footballer. He is a midfielder and currently plays forScottish Premier League side Celtic.He is also the cousin of fellow Japanese international
Keita Suzuki .Career
Club
After graduating from
Shimizu Commercial High School , Mizuno joined J. League sideJEF United Ichihara Chiba in 2004. He was the MVP of the 2006J. League Cup competition.In early January 2008, speculation arose in the Scottish press that Celtic would move for Mizuno. This was later confirmed by Celtic chief executive
Peter Lawwell who explained that the club planned on signing Mizuno, if he was granted a work permit.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/7177492.stm|publisher=BBC Sport website|title=Celtic edge closer to Mizuno deal |date=9 January 2008]After initially being denied a permit, Celtic manager
Gordon Strachan took part in an appeal hearing in which he described his other Japanese importShunsuke Nakamura as a "flawless performer" and "The best player I have ever worked with, and that includes (Kenny) Dalglish and (Gary) McAllister", and claimed that Mizuno was a young player of immense talent and potential. The appeal was successful cite news|url=http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=670381.html#nakamura+welcomes+mizuno|publisher=Fifa.com|title=Nakamura welcomes Mizuno|date=15 January 2008] and Celtic completed the signing of Koki Mizuno on TuesdayJanuary 29 2008 . OnJuly 18 2008 , Mizuno made his debut in a 2-0 pre-season friendly win overSouthampton F.C. . He has yet to play any competitve games for CelticInternational
Mizuno was a member of the Japan team for
2005 FIFA World Youth Championship where he scored a goal against Benin. His first cap as a full international came when he substitutedNaohiro Takahara onMarch 24 ,2007 in a friendly against Peru. He was a member of the Japan team for2007 AFC Asian Cup and played 2 games as a substitute.Honours
Personal
JEF United
* 2006J. League Cup MVPTeam
JEF United
*J. League Cup : 2005, 2006References
External links
*
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