Player Profile – Shunsuke Nakamura

Shunsuke Nakamura was born June 24, 1978 in Yokohama, Japan and began playing soccer competitively at age 5, playing with the local youth club side Misono FC until he entered junior high school. In fifth grade, he was selected for Yokohama’s city all-star team’s tour of the former Soviet Union, even though the team was only meant to include sixth graders.

In 1991 at age 12, he joined Nissan F.C. Junior Youth, the youth division of Nissan Motors’ club side, which would become Yokohama Marinos when J. League began play in 1993. However, Nakamura was not promoted to the Nissan F.C. Youth team In 1994, and he enrolled at Toko Gakuen High School in Yokohama. There, Nakamura was named the most valuable player of Japan’s national high school soccer tournament in 1995, and led the school to the tournament final in 1996.

After graduation from Toko Gakuen in 1997, Nakamura signed with the local club, Yokohama Marinos. He made his debut with Marinos on April 16 of that year against Gamba Osaka. Nakamura finished the season with 27 appearances and 5 goals.

In 2000, Nakamura had his best season in Yokohama, recording 5 goals and 11 assists, and winning the J. League Most Valuable Player award.

Nakamura then left Marinos during the 2002 season to join Reggina of Serie A, after the clubs agreed to a US$3.5 million transfer fee following a 6-month loan period.

The expectations on Nakamura were high, as he was given the prestigious number 10 shirt from the start, and he responded by scoring in three consecutive matches early in the season.

However, Nakamura struggled with injuries in the defensive-minded Serie A, appearing in just 18 matches in the 2003-2004 season, while the club struggled to avoid relegation all three seasons he played there. After three seasons in Italy, it was time to move on.

In the summer of 2005, Nakamura chose to join Scottish Premier League powerhouse Celtic even though he had be courted by clubs in Germany and Spain.

He made an immediate impact with Celtic, as he was named Man of the Match in his debut against Dundee United on August 6, 2005. His creativity, as well as his work ethic and composure under pressure has won praises from teammates, manager Gordon Strachan and Celtic supporters

In his first season with Celtic, Nakamura won his first major club titles, the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup, and earned the nickname “Super Naka” from the supporters.

A key member of the Japan football squad, he won the Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004 with the Japanese national football team, and was named Most Valuable Player in the 2004 competition. He has also appeared in the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Japanese Under-23 team.

However, he was omitted from Phillipe Troussier squad in 2002 to the disappointment of a lot of fans. I expect him to play a key role in Japan’s midfield alongside Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono and Junichi Inamoto.