Kensuke Nagai facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Kensuke Nagai | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 5 March 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Nagoya Grampus | ||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1997 | Cariru Tênis Clube | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Iseigaoka SSS | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Asakawa Junior High School | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Kyushu IU High School | ||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Fukuoka University | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Avispa Fukuoka | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Vissel Kobe | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Nagoya Grampus | 57 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Standard Liège | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | → Nagoya Grampus (loan) | 42 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Nagoya Grampus | 62 | (17) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2022 | FC Tokyo | 179 | (21) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Nagoya Grampus | 80 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Japan U-18 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Japan U-19 | 3 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Japan U-20 | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Japan U-23 | 31 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2019 | Japan | 12 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2019 |
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Kensuke Nagai, born on March 5, 1989, is a Japanese football player. He is known as a striker, which means he plays in an attacking position to score goals. He currently plays for the J1 League club Nagoya Grampus.
Kensuke Nagai's Football Journey
Kensuke Nagai started playing football very early! From the age of three, he lived in Ipatinga, Brazil, for five years. There, he began playing street football with his friends.
Early School and College Years
After returning from Brazil, Nagai played soccer for local school clubs in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka. He then joined the Kyushu International University High School team. He played two matches in the 85th All Japan High School Soccer Tournament.
In April 2007, he joined the Fukuoka University club. In 2009, his team won the 33rd Prime Minister's Cup All Japan College Soccer Tournament.
Playing for Professional Clubs
While still playing for Fukuoka University, Nagai also played for professional teams. He played for Avispa Fukuoka in the J. League Division 2 in 2009. In 2010, he played for Vissel Kobe in the J. League Division 1. He was a "J.League designated special player," which means he was a talented college player allowed to play for professional clubs.
International Appearances
Nagai also played for the Japanese national team. On December 23, 2009, he was chosen for Japan's team to play against Yemen. He made his first full international appearance for Japan on January 6, 2010.
He was also part of the Japanese squad for the 2012 Olympics.
Moving to Europe and Back
In January 2013, Nagai moved to Standard Liège, a club in the Belgian Pro League in Belgium. However, he didn't get to play much there. So, from August 2013 to June 2014, he was loaned back to Nagoya Grampus.
In January 2015, he returned to Nagoya Grampus permanently. He has played for FC Tokyo and is now back with Nagoya Grampus.
Career Statistics
Here are some tables showing Kensuke Nagai's career statistics. They show how many games he played (Apps) and how many goals he scored (Goals) for different clubs and national teams.
Club Performance
- Statistics are updated as of December 8, 2024.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other4 | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fukuoka University | 2009 | - | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Avispa Fukuoka | 2009 | 5 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Vissel Kobe | 2010 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Nagoya Grampus | 2011 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | - | 40 | 9 | |
| 2012 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | - | 40 | 13 | ||
| Standard Liège | 2012–13 | 11 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 11 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Nagoya Grampus | 2013 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2014 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 38 | 19 | |||
| 2015 | 31 | 10 | - | 4 | 1 | - | - | 35 | 11 | ||||
| 2016 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | 34 | 7 | ||||
| FC Tokyo | 2017 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | - | - | 39 | 2 | ||
| 2018 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 36 | 5 | |||
| 2019 | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 39 | 10 | |||
| 2020 | 26 | 4 | - | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - | 33 | 5 | |||
| 2021 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | - | - | 49 | 5 | |||
| 2022 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 23 | 0 | |||
| Nagoya Grampus | 2022 | 13 | 4 | - | 2 | 0 | - | - | 15 | 4 | |||
| 2023 | 33 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | - | - | 43 | 6 | |||
| 2024 | 34 | 6 | - | 8 | 3 | - | - | 42 | 9 | ||||
| Career total | 439 | 77 | 24 | 12 | 60 | 13 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 542 | 106 | |
International Performance
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan U18 | |||
| 2007 | 3 | 1 | |
| Japan U19 | |||
| 2008 | 3 | 4 | |
| Japan U20 | |||
| 2009 | 5 | 1 | |
| Japan U23 | |||
| 2009 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 6 | 5 | |
| 2011 | 10 | 4 | |
| 2012 | 12 | 3 | |
| Total | 21 | 9 | |
| Japan | |||
| 2010 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 6 | 3 | |
| Total | 12 | 3 |
International Goals for Japan
- Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 June 2019 | Hitomebore Stadium Miyagi, Rifu, Japan |  El Salvador |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2019 Kirin Challenge Cup |
| 2. | 2–0 | |||||
| 3. | 10 October 2019 | Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan |  Mongolia |
4–0 | 6–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours and Awards
Kensuke Nagai has won several awards and championships throughout his career. These are called "Honours."
With Japan National Teams
- Asian Games:
- Gold Medal: 2010
With Clubs
Nagoya Grampus
- J.League Cup: 2024
- Japanese Super Cup: 2011
FC Tokyo
- J.League Cup: 2020
Individual Awards
- AFC U-19 Championship Top Scorer: 2008
- Summer Universiade Top Scorer: 2009
- Asian Games Top Scorer: 2010
- J.League Best XI: 2019
See also
In Spanish: Kensuke Nagai para niños
