Hidetoshi Nakata facts for kids
Nakata in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 January 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.75 m | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1994 | Nirasaki High School | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–1998 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 85 | (16) |
| 1998–2000 | Perugia | 48 | (12) |
| 2000–2001 | Roma | 30 | (5) |
| 2001–2004 | Parma | 67 | (5) |
| 2004 | → Bologna (loan) | 17 | (2) |
| 2004–2006 | Fiorentina | 20 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| Total | 288 | (41) | |
| National team | |||
| 1991–1993 | Japan U-17 | 6 | (2) |
| 1994–1995 | Japan U-20 | 12 | (6) |
| 1995–2000 | Japan U-23 | 12 | (3) |
| 1997–2006 | Japan | 77 | (11) |
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Hidetoshi Nakata is a famous Japanese former football player. He was a talented midfielder and is seen as one of the best players from Asia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Nakata was the first player from an Asian country to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or, a very important football award.
Nakata started his professional career in 1995. He won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award twice, in 1997 and 1998. He also won the Scudetto (the top Italian league title) with Roma in 2001. Nakata played for Japan in three World Cup tournaments: 1998, 2002, and 2006. He also played in the Olympics twice, in 1996 and 2000.
In 2005, Italy gave him a special award called the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity. This was for helping to make Italy look good around the world. Nakata is also interested in fashion and often goes to fashion shows. He stopped playing football when he was 29, on July 3, 2006. He had played for ten years, including seven seasons in Italy's top league, Serie A, and one season in England's Premier League. In 2004, the legendary player Pelé included Nakata in his FIFA 100 list, which named the top living footballers at that time. Nakata was one of only two Asian players on this special list.
Contents
Club Career: Playing in Japan and Italy
Starting Out in Japan
Nakata began his professional football journey at 18 years old in 1995. He joined a J1 League team called Bellmare Hiratsuka (now known as Shonan Bellmare). He quickly became an important attacking midfielder for the team. In his first season, the club won the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, which was their first Asian title. Nakata even scored the winning goal in the final match.
From 1996, he became a regular player for Bellmare Hiratsuka. In 1997, he was chosen for the J.League Best XI, which means he was one of the best players in the league.
Moving to Italy: Perugia
After the 1998 World Cup in France, Nakata moved to Italy. He signed with Perugia in Italy's top league, Serie A. He was only the second Japanese player ever to play in this league. In his first season in Italy, Nakata scored 10 goals, which was the most he ever scored in a single season.
Playing for Roma
In January 2000, after playing for Perugia for a year and a half, Nakata joined Roma. He helped the team win the scudetto, which is the Serie A championship. A very memorable moment for Nakata at Roma happened on May 6, 2001. Roma was playing against Juventus and was losing 0–2. Nakata came into the game in the second half.
He scored an amazing goal from far away, 30 yards out, with only 11 minutes left. Then, he helped Roma score another goal to tie the game. His powerful shot was blocked by the Juventus goalkeeper, but another Roma player, Vincenzo Montella, scored from the rebound. The game ended 2–2, and Roma stayed at the top of the league.
Time at Parma and Other Clubs
In the summer of 2001, Nakata moved to Parma. He signed a four-year deal. He played for Parma for two and a half seasons. He scored a very important goal in the first game of the 2002 Coppa Italia final against Juventus. Parma eventually won that cup.
In January 2004, Nakata played for Bologna for the rest of the 2003–04 season. After that, he moved to Fiorentina for the next season. In August 2005, Nakata joined the English team Bolton Wanderers on loan. This was his last season as a professional player. He scored one goal for Bolton in a 2-0 win against West Bromwich Albion.
International Career: Playing for Japan
Nakata played for Japan's national teams at different age levels. He played for the U-17 Japan team in the 1993 U-17 World Championship. He also played for the U-20 Japan team in the 1995 U-20 World Championship.
He was also part of the U-23 Japan team for the 1996 Olympics, where Japan famously beat Brazil. He also played in the 2000 Olympics. His first game for the senior national team was in May 1997 against South Korea.
Nakata was a key player for Japan when they qualified for the 1998 World Cup. He scored five goals in the qualification matches. He also set up all three of Japan's goals in a special play-off game against Iran. He helped Japan reach the final of the 2001 Confederations Cup.
Nakata played in all four of Japan's games at the 2002 World Cup. This World Cup was special because it was held in both South Korea and Japan. He scored Japan's second goal in a 2–0 win against Tunisia.
At the 2006 World Cup, Nakata played in all three matches for Japan. He even won the "Man of the Match" award for his performance against Croatia. After the 2006 World Cup, on July 3, 2006, Nakata announced he was retiring from professional football. He said he had decided this six months earlier. He explained that he was no longer enjoying football as much and wanted to explore other things in the world.
Even though Nakata played in every game for Japan in their first three World Cup appearances, he was not part of the teams that won the Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004. In total, he played 77 games for Japan and scored 11 goals.
How He Played: Style on the Field
Nakata was a fast, creative, and hard-working attacking or central midfielder. He was known for his great skills with the ball, his quickness, and his ability to see the whole field. He was also good at making runs into the penalty area to score goals. Nakata had a very powerful shot from outside the box.
Life Outside Football
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Outside of football, Nakata is very interested in fashion. He often attends fashion shows, wears designer clothes, and has had many colorful hairstyles. He even dyed his hair blond for the 1998 World Cup to get the attention of European football scouts. Many people see him as a trendsetter in fashion.
Nakata has also been involved in other activities. He is an editor for Monocle magazine. He has said that the popular Japanese manga and anime series, Captain Tsubasa, inspired him to become a football player. In recent years, he has supported Special Olympics football. He became a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics in 2014.
In 2015, Nakata opened a restaurant in Hong Kong called Koko. This restaurant serves sakes that Nakata himself helped create. He has developed his own brand of sake and even made a mobile app called "Sakenomy" to teach people about sake. He wants more people to learn about and enjoy sake, explaining that it can be paired with many different types of food, not just Japanese.
Nakata in Media and Games
Nakata was part of a famous Nike advertisement called "Secret Tournament" before the 2002 World Cup. He appeared alongside other football stars like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Nakata was also featured on the cover of various Japanese versions of the EA Sports’ FIFA video game series, including FIFA Football 2002. In 2018, he was added as a special "icon" player in FIFA 19.
He also appeared as a hidden player in the 2012 video game Inazuma Eleven 2: Firestorm / Blizzard. Later, he had an important role in the story of Inazuma Eleven 3 and its anime series, where he was the captain of the Italian team, Orpheus.
Awards and Achievements
Bellmare Hiratsuka
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1995
Roma
- Serie A: 2000–01
Parma
- Coppa Italia: 2001–02
Japan
- Kirin Cup: 1997
- Dynasty Cup: 1998
Individual Awards
- J. League Best XI: 1997
- Japanese Footballer of the Year: 1997
- AFC Player of the Year: 1997, 1998
- Dynasty Cup MVP: 1998
- FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Ball: 2001
- FIFA 100 (named by Pelé as one of the greatest living footballers)
- Golden Foot Legends Award: 2014
Nominations
- Nominated for Ballon d'Or: 1998, 1999, 2001
- Nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002
