Kazumasa Kawano facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kazumasa Kawano | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 November 1970 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Oita, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Nakatsu Technical High School | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1996 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 59 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | → Yokohama Marinos (loan) | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Cerezo Osaka | 25 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 100 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Kazumasa Kawano (河野 和正, Kawano Kazumasa, born 7 November 1970) is a former Japanese football player. He was a goalkeeper, which is the player who protects the goal. After his playing days, he became a coach. As of July 2025, he is the goalkeeper coach for Nagoya Grampus, a club in Japan's top football league, the J1 League.
Contents
Playing Football: Kazumasa Kawano's Career
Kazumasa Kawano was born in Oita Prefecture, Japan, on November 7, 1970. After finishing high school, he started his professional football journey in 1989. He joined a team called Mazda, which later became known as Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Early Years at Sanfrecce Hiroshima
When he first joined, Kazumasa was mostly a reserve goalkeeper. This means he was a backup player, ready to step in if the main goalkeeper, Kazuya Maekawa, couldn't play. However, starting in 1992, Kazumasa got more chances to play. This was because Maekawa often had injuries. In 1995, his team, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, had a great season and finished in second place in the J1 League. They also reached the finals of the Emperor's Cup in both 1995 and 1996.
Moving to New Teams
In 1997, Kazumasa moved to a new club, Nagoya Grampus Eight. Later that year, in September 1997, he went to Yokohama Marinos for a short time. This is called being "on loan." He played many games for Yokohama Marinos because their main goalkeeper, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, was away playing for the Japan national football team. Kawaguchi was helping Japan try to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
After returning to Nagoya Grampus Eight in 1998, Kazumasa moved to Cerezo Osaka in 1999. At Cerezo Osaka, he competed with another goalkeeper, Seigo Shimokawa, for the starting position. From 2001, Kazumasa played in many matches. However, in 2001, Cerezo Osaka's team was moved down to a lower league, the J2 League.
Final Seasons and Retirement
In 2002, Kazumasa continued to play many games for Cerezo Osaka. That year, his team did very well and finished second in the J2 League. This meant they earned promotion back to the top league, the J1 League, for the 2003 season. Even though his team was moving up, Kazumasa decided to retire from playing football at the end of the 2002 season. He had played over 100 professional games in his career.
Coaching Football: A New Chapter
After retiring as a player, Kazumasa Kawano didn't leave football. He started a new career as a coach.
Coaching at Cerezo Osaka
In 2003, he began coaching at his former club, Cerezo Osaka. For many years, until 2013, he mainly worked as a goalkeeper coach for the youth teams. This meant he helped young, upcoming goalkeepers learn and improve their skills. In 2014, he became a coach for the main senior team at Cerezo Osaka.
Current Role
Kazumasa Kawano has continued his coaching journey. As of July 2025, he is the goalkeeper coach for Nagoya Grampus, helping their goalkeepers perform their best in the J1 League.
External links
- Kazumasa Kawano at J.League Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- biglobe.ne.jp
See also
In Spanish: Kazumasa Kawano para niños
