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 (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Azul Claro Numazu (head coach) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1985 | Fujieda Higashi High School | |||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1989 | University of Tsukuba | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | 432 | (207) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–2003 | Japan | 53 | (21) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Júbilo Iwata (assistant manager) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Azul Claro Numazu | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 being a great goal scorer. He won many awards during his playing career, including the J.League Most Valuable Player in 1998. He was also the J.League Top Scorer in 1998 and 2000.
Today, Masashi Nakayama is the head coach for J3 League club Azul Claro Numazu.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Masashi Nakayama was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. He went to Fujieda Higashi High School and then to University of Tsukuba. After college, he joined a team called Yamaha Motors in 1990. This team later became Júbilo Iwata, a very well-known club in Japan.
Early Career and J.League Debut
Nakayama played as a forward, which means his main job was to score goals. He made his first appearance in the J1 League on March 11, 1994. For many years, until 2009, he was a key player for Júbilo Iwata. They were one of the best teams in the J1 League.
Record-Breaking Achievements
Nakayama was an amazing goal scorer. He often scored more than one goal every two games he played. He holds a special record recognized by the Guinness World Records. In 1998, he scored four hat-tricks (three goals in one game) in four games in a row! He scored 16 goals in those four games. He also holds the record for the most goals in a single J.League season, scoring 36 goals in 1998.
Retirement and Comeback
On December 4, 2012, Nakayama announced he was retiring from playing football. He was 45 years old and had injuries to both of his knees. At that time, he was the J1 League's all-time top scorer with 157 goals. He had played for Consadole Sapporo for three seasons before retiring.
But he didn't stay retired for long! In September 2015, he started training with Azul Claro Numazu and later signed with them as a player. He continued to be part of the team, even renewing his contract for the 2017 season, which was quite unusual for a professional club.
Playing for Japan
Masashi Nakayama also played for the Japan national football team. He made 53 appearances and scored 21 goals for his country.
World Cup History
At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Nakayama scored a very important goal. On June 26, 1998, he scored Japan's only goal in the tournament against Jamaica. This was also the first goal ever scored by the Japan national team in the history of the World Cup!
Fastest Hat-Trick Record
Nakayama holds another world record for the fastest hat-trick in an international game. On February 16, 2000, during a qualifying match for the 2000 Asian Cup against Brunei, he scored three goals in just three minutes and three seconds! This broke a record that had stood since 1938.
Becoming a Manager
On January 13, 2020, Masashi Nakayama officially retired as a player at the age of 53. He had already been coaching the U-18 team for Azul Claro Numazu for two years. After retiring as a player, he became the assistant manager for J2 League club Júbilo Iwata.
Then, on November 13, 2022, Nakayama returned to J3 League club Azul Claro, but this time as their main manager. He continues to lead the team as of July 2025.
Personal Life
Masashi Nakayama is married to actress Tomoko Ikuta. They got married in 1996 and have a daughter together. His wife, Tomoko, even did the Japanese voice for the main actress in a popular South Korean TV show called Jewel in the Palace.
Nakayama has also appeared in some TV shows and video games. He did voice work for an anime called Hungry Heart: Wild Striker. A fictional version of him also appeared in the Captain Tsubasa manga series. He even appeared as himself in an episode of HappinessCharge PreCure! that was related to the World Cup. He was also on the cover of the Japanese versions of Konami's Winning Eleven video game series in 2002 and 2003.
Honours and Awards
Masashi Nakayama has won many awards and titles throughout his career, both with his clubs and with the national team.
Club Honours
- AFC Champions League: 1998–99 (with Júbilo Iwata)
- Asian Super Cup: 1999 (with Júbilo Iwata)
- J1 League: 1997, 1999, 2002 (with Júbilo Iwata)
- Emperor's Cup: 2003 (with Júbilo Iwata)
- Japanese Super Cup: 2000, 2003, 2004 (with Júbilo Iwata)
Japan National Team Honours
- 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
- 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
