Hidetoshi Nakata facts for kids
Nakata in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hidetoshi Nakata | ||
| Date of birth | 22 January 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | 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) | |
| International career | |||
| 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) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Hidetoshi Nakata, OSSI (中田 英寿, Nakata Hidetoshi, born 22 January 1977) is a famous Japanese former football player. He was a midfielder, known for his amazing skills. Many people think he was 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. This is a huge award for the best football player in the world. He won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award twice. He also helped Roma win the Italian league title, called the Scudetto, in 2001.
He played for Japan in three World Cup tournaments. These were in 1998, 2002, and 2006. He also played in the Olympics twice. In 2005, Italy gave him a special award, the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity. This was for helping Italy's image around the world.
Nakata retired from football when he was 29 years old, on July 3, 2006. He had played for ten years, including seven seasons in Italy and one in England. In 2004, the legendary player Pelé included Nakata in his FIFA 100 list. This list named the top living footballers at that time. Nakata was one of only two Asian players on this special list.
Contents
Nakata's Club Career
Starting His Football Journey
Nakata started his professional football career at 18 in 1995. He joined a Japanese team called Bellmare Hiratsuka. He quickly became an important player, scoring goals as an attacking midfielder. His team won the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, which was their first Asian title. Nakata scored the winning goal in the final match.
By 1996, he was a regular player. In 1997, he was chosen for the J.League Best XI, which means he was one of the best players in the Japanese league. After the 1998 World Cup, Nakata moved to Italy. He joined Perugia in the top Italian league, Serie A. He was only the second Japanese player to play in this league. In his first season in Italy, he scored 10 goals, which was his highest in a single season.
Playing for AS Roma
In January 2000, Nakata moved to Roma. He helped the team win the scudetto, the Italian league title. A famous 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 a fantastic goal from far away, making the score 1–2. Then, his powerful shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, but another Roma player, Vincenzo Montella, scored the equalizer. The game ended 2–2, and Roma stayed ahead in the league.
Time with Parma
In the summer of 2001, Nakata signed a four-year deal with Parma. His transfer fee was a world record for an Asian player at the time. He played for Parma for two and a half seasons. He scored a very important goal in the 2002 Coppa Italia final against Juventus. Parma went on to win that cup.
Later Years in Europe
In January 2004, Nakata played for Bologna for the rest of that season. After that, he moved to Fiorentina for the next season. In August 2005, Nakata went to England. He joined Premier League 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.
Nakata's International Career
Nakata played for Japan's national youth teams. He played in the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship and the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship. He also played for the U-23 Japan team in the 1996 Olympics. In that tournament, 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. He was a key player when Japan qualified for the 1998 World Cup. He scored five goals in the qualification matches. He also set up all three Japanese goals in a special play-off game against Iran.
Nakata helped Japan reach the final of the 2001 Confederations Cup. However, he left the team before the final to play for Roma in their important league matches. He played in all four of Japan's games at the 2002 World Cup. This World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan. He scored a goal in Japan's 2–0 win against Tunisia.
At the 2006 World Cup, Nakata played in all three matches for Japan. Japan lost to Australia and Brazil. They drew with Croatia. Nakata was named "Man of the Match" for his performance against Croatia.
After the 2006 World Cup, on July 3, 2006, Nakata announced he was retiring. He said he had decided six months earlier to stop playing professional football. He explained that he was no longer enjoying football as much. He wanted to explore other things in the world. He played 77 games for Japan and scored 11 goals.
How Nakata Played
Nakata was a fast, creative, and hard-working attacking or central midfielder. He was great at scoring goals. He was known for his excellent technical skills and quick movements. He had great vision on the field and could make good passes. He was also good at running into the penalty area to score. Plus, he had a very powerful shot from outside the box.
Nakata Outside of Football
Outside of football, Nakata is very interested in fashion. He often goes to fashion shows and wears designer clothes. He even dyed his hair blond for the 1998 World Cup. He hoped this would get the attention of European football scouts. Many people see him as a trendsetter in Japan.
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Nakata has also been involved with Monocle magazine. He has said that the popular Japanese manga and anime series, Captain Tsubasa, inspired him to become a football player. He also supports Special Olympics football. In 2014, he became a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics.
In recent years, Nakata has focused on Japanese sake. He has created his own line of sake and an educational app called "Sakenomy." He wants to teach people more about sake. He believes sake can be enjoyed with many different types of food, not just Japanese.
Nakata in Media
Nakata was part of Nike's "Secret Tournament" advertisement before the 2002 World Cup. He appeared with other famous football stars like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. He was also on the cover of several Japanese versions of the EA Sports’ FIFA video game series. In 2018, Nakata was added as a special "icon" player in FIFA 19.
He was also a hidden playable character in the 2012 video game Inazuma Eleven 2. Later, he had an important role in Inazuma Eleven 3 and its anime series. In that story, Nakata was the captain of the Italian team, Orpheus.
Nakata's Awards and Achievements
Club Trophies
Bellmare Hiratsuka
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1995
Roma
- Serie A (Italian League Title): 2000–01
Parma
- Coppa Italia (Italian Cup): 2001–02
Japan National Team Trophies
Japan
- Kirin Cup: 1997
- Dynasty Cup: 1998
Individual Awards
- J. League All-Star Soccer: 1997
- J. League Best XI: 1997
- Japanese Footballer of the Year: 1997
- Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize: 1997
- AFC Player of the Year: 1997, 1998
- AFC Player of the Month: May 1997, March 1998
- Dynasty Cup MVP: 1998
- AFC All Star Team: 1997, 1998, 1999
- FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Ball: 2001
- FIFA Confederations Cup Best XI: 2001
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2002 (Reserve)
- J.League 20th Anniversary Team
- FIFA 100 (one of the top living footballers chosen by Pelé)
- Golden Foot Legends Award: 2014
- IFFHS Legends
- AFC Opta All-time XI at the FIFA World Cup: 2020
- AFC Fans' All-time XI at the FIFA World Cup: 2020
Special Nominations
- Nominated for Ballon d'Or: 1998, 1999, 2001
- Nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002
See also
In Spanish: Hidetoshi Nakata para niños
