Ryuji Kato facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryuji Kato | ||
| Date of birth | December 24, 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Tokyo, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft +1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1985–1987 | Urawa Gakuin High School | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1991 | Toho Titanium | ||
| 1991–1993 | Tokyo Gas | 60 | (0) |
| 1994 | PJM Futures | 28 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | Kashiwa Reysol | 40 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Consadole Sapporo | 0 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Sagawa Express Tokyo | 52 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | Rosso Kumamoto | 14 | (0) |
| 2014 | Roasso Kumamoto | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 196 | (0) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ryuji Kato (加藤 竜二, Katō Ryūji, born December 24, 1969) is a former Japanese football player. He played as a goalkeeper for many different teams throughout his career.
Contents
Ryuji Kato's Football Journey
Ryuji Kato was born in Tokyo, Japan, on December 24, 1969. After finishing high school, he started his professional football career in 1988. He joined a club called Toho Titanium in the Japan Soccer League (JSL). There, he quickly became the main goalkeeper.
In 1991, he moved to another JSL club, Tokyo Gas, where he played for three seasons. Later, in 1994, he joined PJM Futures, which was part of the Japan Football League.
A big step in his career came in 1995 when he moved to Kashiwa Reysol. This team had just been promoted to the top league, the J1 League. Ryuji Kato played in many games during his first year with Kashiwa Reysol. However, in the following years, he played less often because another goalkeeper, Yoichi Doi, became the main player.
He then moved to Consadole Sapporo in 1998. But again, he found it hard to get playing time, as other goalkeepers like Dido Havenaar and Yohei Sato were often chosen. In 2000, he joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but he still didn't play much, with Takashi Shimoda being the preferred goalkeeper.
In May 2002, Ryuji Kato moved to Sagawa Express Tokyo, a club in the Japan Football League (JFL). Here, he played in many matches over three seasons. In 2005, he joined Rosso Kumamoto, which was in the Japanese Regional Leagues. He played a lot in 2005, and his team was promoted to the JFL in 2006.
Ryuji Kato retired from playing football at the end of the 2007 season. Interestingly, he made a very brief comeback as a player on April 18, 2014. This happened because several goalkeepers on his former team, Roasso Kumamoto, were injured. However, he did not play in any matches during this short return, and his registration as a player was removed just a week later.
From Player to Coach
Ryuji Kato's football journey didn't end when he stopped playing. In 2006, while he was still playing for Rosso Kumamoto, he also started working as a goalkeeper coach for the team. He continued in this coaching role until the end of the 2014 season.
In 2015, he moved to the JFA Academy Fukushima LSC, where he continued to work as a goalkeeper coach, helping young players develop their skills.
Looking Back at His Games
Throughout his career, Ryuji Kato played for several different clubs. He was a goalkeeper, so his main job was to stop the other team from scoring goals. He played a total of 255 league games and 266 games overall across all competitions. Even though he was a goalkeeper, he never scored a goal in his professional career.
External Links
- Ryuji Kato at J.League Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Roasso Kumamoto
- biglobe.ne.jp
See also
In Spanish: Ryuji Kato para niños
