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Junichi Inamoto
Junichi Inamoto.jpg
Inamoto playing for Kawasaki Frontale in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-09-18) 18 September 1979 (age 44)
Place of birth Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Height 1.81 m
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Nankatsu SC
Number 8
Youth career
1992–1997 Gamba Osaka
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2004 Gamba Osaka 118 (16)
2001–2002 Arsenal (loan) 0 (0)
2002–2004 Fulham (loan) 41 (4)
2004–2006 West Bromwich Albion 28 (0)
2004–2005 Cardiff City (loan) 14 (0)
2006–2007 Galatasaray 25 (0)
2007–2009 Eintracht Frankfurt 43 (0)
2009–2010 Rennes 5 (0)
2010–2014 Kawasaki Frontale 99 (3)
2015–2018 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 47 (1)
2019–2021 SC Sagamihara 19 (1)
2022– Nankatsu SC 2 (0)
National team
1995 Japan U-17 3 (0)
1998–1999 Japan U-20 11 (4)
1998–2000 Japan U-23 15 (5)
2000–2010 Japan 82 (5)
Honours
Representing  Japan
FIFA Confederations Cup
Silver 2001 Korea-Japan
AFC Asian Cup
Gold 2000 Lebanon
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Silver 1999 Nigeria
AFC U-19 Championship
Silver 1998 Thailand
AFC U-16 Championship
Gold 1994 Qatar
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 October 2022.
† Appearances (Goals).

Junichi Inamoto (稲本 潤一, Inamoto Jun'ichi, born 18 September 1979) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nankatsu SC. He is a retired international for the Japan national team.

Club career

Inamoto was born in Kagoshima Prefecture. He played for Japanese club Gamba Osaka during his last year of high school, signing with the club in 1997. In April when at the age of 17, he debuted opening match in 1997 J.League season, which made him the youngest player who played J.League (at that time). He played for Gamba until summer 2001 and played 118 matches in J1 League. He was then one of many high-profile transfers of Asian players to Europe, signing with Arsenal of the Premier League. Inamoto scored two goals for the Japan national team at the 2002 World Cup, but had already been released by Arsenal shortly before the tournament began. He was then signed by Fulham on a long-term loan deal from Gamba Osaka. Initially he settled well at the London club, garnering good notices as a tough-tackling midfielder with an eye for a spectacular goal. He became a cult favourite quickly, scoring four goals over the two legs of Fulham's Intertoto Cup final against Bologna, scoring once in the first leg and a hat trick in the second. Other notable goals he scored in his time for Fulham include goals against Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and also in the 3–1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2003. He also scored in the FA Cup against Everton which commentator Barry Davies described as "a Japanese peach". Inamoto was also described as "bigger than Beckham" by the Japanese media. However, he sustained a fractured tibia in an international friendly against England, and returned to Gamba Osaka to do promotional work. Fulham were interested in signing him once more, but concerns remained over his recovery from injury.

Inamoto signed with West Bromwich Albion for a decidedly small £200,000 transfer fee, which was only to be paid once he had made an appearance for the Midlands club. However, Gary Megson departed as West Bromwich Albion manager shortly afterwards, and successor Bryan Robson was unsure of the player. Inamoto was loaned to Cardiff City for the latter part of the 2004–05 season, and impressed, being recalled to play a role in West Brom's survival campaign in the Premiership. In 2005–06 he was a regular in the West Brom side, and was called up to the Japan squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first Albion player to play in the tournament for 20 years. Whilst at West Brom Inamoto scored once, an extra time winner in a League Cup tie against former club Fulham on 25 October 2005.

On 31 August 2006, he signed for Galatasaray. On 29 May 2007, it was revealed that he signed a two-year contract with German club Eintracht Frankfurt, joining on a free transfer. Inamoto was presented in a press conference joining fellow Japanese striker Naohiro Takahara in Frankfurt and was released on 30 May 2009. On 19 June 2009, French Ligue 1 side Rennes announced that Inamoto had signed a contract with them.

Inamoto signed for J1 League club Kawasaki Frontale on 11 January 2010 in a move back to his homeland. He played for Frontale for 5 seasons. He resigned end of 2014 season. Inamoto then subsequently featured for side Consadole Sapporo (later Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) in J2 League. Consadole won the 2016 season and was promoted to J1. However he could only play single-digit matches every season from 2016 season. He resigned at the end of 2018 season. In 2019, he signed with J3 League club SC Sagamihara.

International career

In August 1995, Inamoto was selected Japan U-17 national team for 1995 U-17 World Championship. He played all 3 matches. In April 1999, he was selected Japan U-20 national team for 1999 World Youth Championship. At this tournament, he played three matches and Japan came second place.

On 5 February 2000, Inamoto debuted for Japan national team under manager Philippe Troussier against Mexico. After the debuted, Inamoto played 10 matches or more every year under Troussier.

In September 2000, Inamoto was selected Japan U-23 national team for 2000 Summer Olympics. He played full-time in all 4 matches and scored a goal against Slovakia.

In 2000, Inamoto played at 2000 Asian Cup. He played four matches while Japan won the championship. In 2001, he also played at 2001 Confederations Cup. He played four matches and Japan came second place. In 2002, he was selected Japan for 2002 World Cup. He played all four matches and scored two goals against Belgium at first match and Russia at second match. Japan qualified to the knockout stage first time in Japan's history.

After 2002 World Cup, Inamoto played at 2003 and 2005 Confederations Cup. In 2006, he was selected Japan for 2006 World Cup. He played two matches while Japan was eliminated in the group stages.

After 2006 World Cup, Inamoto was not selected Japan 1 year for generational change. In June 2007, he played for Japan for the first time in a year. After that, he played several matches every year. In 2010, he was selected Japan for 2010 World Cup. He played two matches and Japan qualified to the knockout stage. This World Cup is his last game for Japan. He played 82 games and scored 5 goals for Japan.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gamba Osaka 1997 J1 League 27 3 3 0 6 0 36 3
1998 28 6 1 0 4 0 33 6
1999 22 1 2 0 0 0 24 1
2000 28 4 2 0 4 1 34 5
2001 13 2 0 0 3 0 16 2
Total 118 16 8 0 17 1 143 17
Arsenal (loan) 2001–02 Premier League 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 4 0
Fulham (loan) 2002–03 Premier League 19 2 2 0 2 0 10 4 33 6
2003–04 22 2 2 1 1 0 25 3
Total 41 4 4 1 3 0 10 4 58 9
West Bromwich Albion 2004–05 Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2005–06 Premier League 22 0 2 0 2 1 26 1
2006–07 Championship 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 28 0 2 0 2 1 32 1
Cardiff City (loan) 2004–05 Championship 14 0 2 0 0 0 16 0
Galatasaray 2006–07 Süper Lig 25 0 3 0 5 1 33 1
Eintracht Frankfurt 2007–08 Bundesliga 24 0 2 0 26 0
2008–09 19 0 1 0 20 0
Total 43 0 3 0 46 0
Rennes 2009–10 Ligue 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Kawasaki Frontale 2010 J1 League 28 0 2 0 4 0 5 0 39 0
2011 12 2 1 0 1 0 14 2
2012 20 0 1 0 3 0 24 0
2013 25 0 3 0 10 0 36 0
2014 14 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 19 1
Total 99 3 8 0 20 0 8 0 135 3
Consadole Sapporo 2015 J2 League 31 0 1 0 32 0
2016 J2 League 8 1 0 0 8 1
2017 J1 League 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
2018 2 0 1 0 5 0 8 0
Total 47 1 2 0 5 0 54 0
SC Sagamihara 2019 J3 League 9 1 0 0 9 1
2020 1 0 0 0 1 0
2021 J2 League 9 0 2 0 11 0
Nankatsu SC 2022 Kanto Soccer League 2 0 0 0 2 0
Career total 441 25 34 1 49 2 25 5 549 33

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 2000 14 0
2001 11 1
2002 11 2
2003 10 1
2004 6 0
2005 10 0
2006 4 0
2007 3 0
2008 2 0
2009 4 1
2010 8 0
Total 82 5
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Inamoto goal.
List of international goals scored by Junichi Inamoto
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 July 2001 Ōita, Japan  Yugoslavia 1–0 Friendly match
2 4 June 2002 Saitama, Japan  Belgium 2–2 2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
3 9 June 2002 Yokohama, Japan  Russia 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
4 28 March 2003 Tokyo, Japan  Uruguay 2–2 Friendly match
5 9 September 2009 Utrecht, Netherlands  Ghana 4–3 Friendly match

Honours

Fulham

  • UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002

Hokkaido Consodale Sapporo

Japan U17

  • AFC U-17 Championship: 1994

Japan U20

  • FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 1999

Japan

Individual

  • J.League Best Eleven: 2000

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jun'ichi Inamoto para niños

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