Naohito Hirai facts for kids

Naohito Hirai (平井 直人, Hirai Naohito, born July 16, 1978) is a former Japanese football player. He mostly played as a goalkeeper. After his playing career, he became a coach.

Playing Career: Naohito Hirai's Journey

Naohito Hirai was born in Kyoto, Japan, on July 16, 1978. He began his professional football career in 1997. He joined a team called Kyoto Purple Sanga. This team later changed its name to Kyoto Sanga FC.

Early Years as a Goalkeeper

For his first few years, Naohito Hirai did not play much. He was a backup goalkeeper. But by the middle of 2000, he became the main goalkeeper for his team. At the end of 2000, his team, Kyoto Purple Sanga, moved down to a lower league called J2 League.

Winning the Emperor's Cup

In 2001, Naohito Hirai briefly lost his main goalkeeper spot. However, his team quickly moved back up to the top league, J1 League, in just one year. In 2002, he became the main goalkeeper again. That year was very special for the club. Kyoto Sanga FC won the Emperor's Cup. This was the first major trophy in the club's history!

Later Career and Retirement

After winning the cup, Naohito Hirai continued to play many games until 2007. In 2008, another goalkeeper joined the team, and Hirai played less often. He retired from playing football at the end of the 2010 season.

Years later, in 2017, he was coaching Renofa Yamaguchi FC. Many goalkeepers on the team were unable to play. So, Naohito Hirai was temporarily registered as a player to help out. He did not play in any games, and his player registration was removed a week later. The same thing happened in March 2018. He was coaching Kataller Toyama and was registered as a player because of injuries to other goalkeepers. Again, he did not play in any matches, and his registration was removed in April.

Coaching Career: After Playing

After he stopped playing football, Naohito Hirai started a new career as a coach.

• In 2011, he began coaching at his old club, Kyoto Sanga FC. He worked as a goalkeeper coach there until 2012.
• In 2013, he moved to Ehime FC and coached there until 2014.
• He returned to Kyoto Sanga FC in 2015.
• In 2017, he moved to coach at Renofa Yamaguchi FC.
• In 2018, he joined Kataller Toyama as a coach.

Club Statistics

External Links

• Naohito Hirai at J.League Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

See also

In Spanish: Naohito Hirai para niños