Masashi Nakayama facts for kids
Nakayama in 2014
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 23 September 1967 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Fujieda, Shizuoka, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Azul Claro Numazu (manager) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1985 | Fujieda Higashi High School | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–2009 | Júbilo Iwata | 419 | (207) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Consadole Sapporo | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2020 | Azul Claro Numazu | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 722 | (399) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–2003 | Japan | 53 | (21) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Júbilo Iwata (assistant manager) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Azul Claro Numazu | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Masashi Nakayama (中山 雅史, Nakayama Masashi, born 23 September 1967), often called "Gon", is a famous Japanese football player and manager. He was known for scoring many goals as a forward. Today, he manages the J3 League team Azul Claro Numazu.
Contents
Club Career: A Goal-Scoring Star
Masashi Nakayama was born in Shizuoka, Japan. He played football in high school and college before joining Yamaha Motors. This team later became Júbilo Iwata. He started playing in Japan's top league, the J1 League, in 1994.
Nakayama was a key player for Júbilo Iwata for many years. He scored goals in almost every other game he played. He was a true leader for his club and the Japanese national team. He even set a world record by scoring four hat-tricks (three goals in one game) in four games in a row in 1998. He scored 16 goals in those four matches! This amazing achievement is in the Guinness Book of World Records. He also holds the record for the most goals in a single J1 League season, with 36 goals in 1998.
In 2012, at 45 years old, Nakayama announced his retirement from playing. He had knee injuries but was the J1 League's all-time top scorer with 157 goals. He had also played for Consadole Sapporo for three seasons. In 2015, he surprised everyone by returning to play for Azul Claro Numazu. He kept his contract with them until 2017, even though he didn't play in any league or cup games for them.
International Career: Japan's World Cup Hero
Nakayama also had a great career playing for the Japanese national team. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he made history. He scored Japan's very first goal ever in a World Cup match against Jamaica on June 26, 1998. Overall, he scored 21 goals in 53 games for Japan.
He also holds another world record! In a game against Brunei in 2000, he scored a hat-trick in just three minutes and three seconds. This is the fastest hat-trick ever scored in an international football match. He beat the old record by 27 seconds!
From Player to Coach
After a long playing career, Nakayama officially retired as a player in 2020 at age 53. He had already been coaching the U-18 team for Azul Claro Numazu. He then became an assistant manager for J2 League club Júbilo Iwata. In November 2022, Masashi Nakayama returned to Azul Claro Numazu, but this time as the main manager of the team.
Off the Field: Personal Life
Masashi Nakayama is married to actress Tomoko Ikuta. They got married in 1996 and have a daughter. Tomoko Ikuta is famous for doing the Japanese voice for the main actress in the popular TV show Jewel in the Palace.
Nakayama has also appeared on television himself. He did voice acting for a cartoon called Hungry Heart: Wild Striker. A made-up version of him also appeared in the Captain Tsubasa manga series. He even appeared in an episode of HappinessCharge PreCure! that was released around the time of the World Cup. He was also on the cover of the Japanese versions of the Winning Eleven video games in 2002 and 2003.
Awards and Achievements
Masashi Nakayama won many awards and trophies during his career.
- Júbilo Iwata
- AFC Champions League: 1998–99
- Asian Super Cup: 1999
- J1 League: 1997, 1999, 2002
- Emperor's Cup: 2003
- Japanese Super Cup: 2000, 2003, 2004
- Japan National Team
- AFC Asian Cup: 1992
- FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2001
- Individual Awards
- J.League Most Valuable Player: 1998
- J.League Top Scorer: 1998, 2000
- J.League Best XI: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002
- J.League 20th Anniversary Team
- Japanese Footballer of the Year: 1998
- AFC Player of the Month: April 1998
- Selected to AFC All Star Team: 1999
See also
In Spanish: Masashi Nakayama para niños
