kids encyclopedia robot

Ryoichi Maeda facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Ryoichi Maeda
前田 遼一
Ryoichi Maeda - face.jpg
Maeda in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth (1981-10-09) 9 October 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
Height 1.83 m
Playing position Forward
Youth career
1997–1999 Gyosei High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2014 Júbilo Iwata 363 (154)
2015–2018 FC Tokyo 103 (17)
2017–2018 FC Tokyo U-23 10 (3)
2019–2020 FC Gifu 59 (6)
Total 525 (177)
National team
2000–2001 Japan U-20 12 (5)
2003–2004 Japan U-23 5 (0)
2007–2013 Japan 33 (10)
Teams managed
2021–2022 Jubilo Iwata U-18 (Head coach)
2023– Japan (assistant coach)
Honours
Júbilo Iwata
Winner J1 League 2002
Runner-up J1 League 2001
Runner-up J1 League 2003
Winner J.League Cup 2010
Runner-up J.League Cup 2001
Winner Emperor's Cup 2003
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2004
Representing  Japan
AFC Asian Cup
Gold 2011 Qatar
Asian Games
Silver 2002 Busan Team
AFC U-19 Championship
Silver 2000 Iran
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of end of 2020 season.
† Appearances (Goals).

Ryoichi Maeda (前田 遼一, Maeda Ryōichi, born 9 October 1981) is a Japanese football coach and former player. He played as a forward, which means he was a goal scorer. Currently, he helps coach the Japan national team.

Playing for Clubs

Maeda was born in Kobe, Japan. He spent some of his childhood in the United States. He went to Gyosei Junior and Senior High School in Tokyo. While in high school, he was chosen as a special player for development. This allowed him to be a player for Verdy Kawasaki while still playing for his school team. However, he did not play in any official matches for Verdy.

Starting Professional Football

In 2000, after finishing high school, Maeda joined Júbilo Iwata. He played his first professional game on May 3, 2000. This was a league match against Kawasaki Frontale. His first professional goal came in 2001 during a J.League Cup game. He scored against JEF United Ichihara.

Becoming a Top Scorer

At first, Maeda did not play many games. This was because of other strong players like Masashi Nakayama and Naohiro Takahara. But from 2003, he became a regular player. In 2009, he was the J.League Top Scorer with 20 goals. He became the top scorer again in 2010, scoring 17 goals. Júbilo Iwata also won the 2010 J.League Cup that year. Maeda scored two goals in the final and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

Moving to New Teams

In 2013, Júbilo Iwata was moved down to the J2 League. In 2014, Maeda scored 17 goals, but Júbilo could not get promoted back to J1. In 2015, Maeda moved to FC Tokyo, a J1 club. He played regularly until 2016. After that, he played less and scored fewer goals. In 2019, Maeda moved to FC Gifu, a J2 club.

The "Curse of Maeda"

From 2007, something strange started happening. For six years in a row, any team Maeda scored his first goal against in the league would end up being moved down to the J2 League. People started calling this the "curse of Maeda." It became a big topic in 2012. That year, Gamba Osaka was the first team he scored against. Even though they were usually a top team, they were in danger of being moved down. The "curse" continued, and Gamba Osaka was indeed moved down. This happened after they lost to Júbilo Iwata, with Maeda scoring a goal and an assist! The "curse" finally ended in 2013. Maeda's first goal that season was against Urawa, and they were not moved down.

Playing for Japan

Maeda also played for Japan's national teams.

Youth National Teams

He played for the Japan U20 team in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship. He also played for the Japan U23 team. This was during the qualifying games for the 2004 Summer Olympics. However, he was not chosen for the final Olympic team.

Senior National Team

Because he played so well for his club, Maeda made his first appearance for the Japan senior team in 2007. This was in a friendly game against Cameroon. He scored his first goal for Japan on October 17, 2007, against Egypt. In 2011, Maeda played in his first big international tournament, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Japan won this tournament, and Maeda played in all six games. He also played for Japan in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. He played a total of 33 games for Japan and scored 10 goals.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Asia Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Júbilo Iwata 2000 J1 League 1 0 3 0 0 0 – 4 0
2001 9 2 2 1 5 1 – 16 4
2002 4 0 3 1 2 0 – 9 1
2003 28 7 5 1 9 5 – 42 13
2004 27 8 5 3 6 1 3 1 41 13
2005 25 12 0 0 2 2 3 0 30 14
2006 27 15 3 2 7 1 – 37 18
2007 22 12 2 1 0 0 – 24 13
2008 22 8 0 0 0 0 – 22 8
2009 34 20 2 1 6 3 – 42 24
2010 33 17 1 0 10 3 – 44 20
2011 28 14 0 0 3 1 – 31 15
2012 33 13 1 1 4 2 – 38 16
2013 33 9 2 1 4 1 – 39 11
2014 J2 League 37 17 0 0 – – 37 17
Total 363 154 29 12 58 20 6 1 456 187
FC Tokyo 2015 J1 League 30 9 2 1 6 0 – 38 10
2016 29 6 1 0 3 0 8 3 41 9
2017 26 1 1 0 7 1 – 34 2
2018 18 1 0 0 1 0 – 19 1
Total 103 17 4 1 17 1 8 3 132 22
FC Tokyo U-23 2017 J3 League 2 0 – – – 2 0
2018 8 3 – – – 8 3
Total 10 3 – – – 10 3
Career total 476 174 33 13 75 21 14 4 598 212

International Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 2007 2 1
2008 1 1
2009 2 0
2010 2 0
2011 9 4
2012 8 4
2013 9 0
Total 33 10
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Maeda goal.
List of international goals scored by Ryoichi Maeda
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 October 2007 Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan  Egypt 3–0 4–1 2007 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
2 17 February 2008 Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing, China  North Korea 1–1 1–1 East Asian Football Championship 2008
3 17 January 2011 Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar  Saudi Arabia 3–0 5–0 2011 AFC Asian Cup
4 4–0
5 25 January 2011 Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha, Qatar  South Korea 1–1 2–2 2011 AFC Asian Cup
6 11 November 2011 Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan  Tajikistan 3–0 4–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 24 February 2012 Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan  Iceland 1–0 3–1 Friendly
8 3 June 2012 Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan  Oman 2–0 3–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 8 June 2012 Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan  Jordan 1–0 6–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 11 September 2012 Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan  Iraq 1–0 1–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Awards and Honours

Ryoichi Maeda has won many awards and honours during his career:

With Júbilo Iwata

With Japan National Team

  • AFC Asian Cup: 2011 (Winner)
  • Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 2007 (Winner)

Individual Awards

  • Asian Young Footballer of the Year: 2000
  • J.League Top Scorer: 2009, 2010
  • J.League Best XI: 2009, 2010
  • J.League Cup MVP: 2010
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Ryoichi Maeda Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.