Shinji Okazaki facts for kids
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Okazaki with Japan at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 16 April 1986 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Japan | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Takigawa Daini High School | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 2005–2010 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 121 | (42) | ||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | VfB Stuttgart | 63 | (10) | ||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Mainz 05 | 65 | (27) | ||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Leicester City | 114 | (14) | ||||||||||
| 2019 | Málaga | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Huesca | 62 | (13) | ||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Cartagena | 32 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Sint-Truiden | 37 | (1) | ||||||||||
| Total | 494 | (109) | |||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Japan U23 | 14 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2008–2019 | Japan | 119 | (50) | ||||||||||
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Honours
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Shinji Okazaki (岡崎 慎司, Okazaki Shinji, born 16 April 1986) is a Japanese former professional footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was a goal-scorer. He is most famous for winning the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016.
Shinji Okazaki is also a legend for his country. He is Japan's third all-time top goal scorer with 50 goals.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Shinji Okazaki played for many different clubs during his career. Let's look at some of his most important times.
Starting Out: Shimizu S-Pulse
After finishing high school in 2004, Okazaki joined Shimizu S-Pulse. This was a professional team in Japan. In December 2005, he played his first game in the J.League. He scored his first professional goal in April 2007. In his first full season, he scored three goals in 13 matches.
Okazaki continued to score more goals in the next seasons. He scored ten goals in 27 games in 2008. He even played in the J. League Cup Final that year. His great performance led him to move to a European club in 2011.
Moving to Germany: VfB Stuttgart
On January 30, 2011, Okazaki signed a contract with VfB Stuttgart. This team plays in the Bundesliga, Germany's top football league. He made his first appearance for Stuttgart in a Europa League match. Soon after, he played his first Bundesliga game.
Okazaki scored his first goal for Stuttgart from outside the box. In the 2011–12 season, he scored a fantastic goal with a bicycle kick. This goal was even chosen as the "Goal of the Month" in Germany! He was only the second Japanese player to win this award.
Another German Club: Mainz 05
On July 1, 2013, Okazaki moved to Mainz 05. He scored his first goal for Mainz in his very first game against his old club, Stuttgart. He had a fantastic season, scoring 15 league goals.
In September 2014, Okazaki made history. He became the Japanese player with the most goals ever in the Bundesliga. He scored his 27th and 28th league goals in a game against Hertha Berlin.
Making History: Leicester City
On June 26, 2015, Okazaki joined Premier League team Leicester City. The Premier League is England's top football league. He made his debut in August 2015 and scored his first goal for the club a week later.
On March 14, 2016, Okazaki scored an amazing overhead kick goal. This goal helped Leicester City win 1–0 against Newcastle United. It also put them five points ahead at the top of the league. Leicester City went on to win the Premier League that year! This was a huge surprise to many. Okazaki became only the second Japanese player to win the Premier League.
Because of his great playing in the 2015–16 season, he won the "Asian International Player of the Year" award.
In the 2016–17 season, Okazaki scored twice against Chelsea in a cup game. He also scored his first league goal of the season against Crystal Palace. In November 2016, he scored in a Champions League game. He was the sixth Japanese player to score in this big European competition.
He left Leicester City at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Later Career: Spain and Belgium
After Leicester, Okazaki signed with Málaga CF in Spain in July 2019. However, his contract was canceled after only 34 days. This happened because his wages were too high for the team's budget.
Then, in September 2019, he joined Huesca, another Spanish team. He scored 12 goals in his first season, helping Huesca get promoted to La Liga, Spain's top league. He stayed with Huesca for another year.
In August 2021, Okazaki moved to FC Cartagena in the second division of Spanish football.
Finally, in August 2022, Okazaki signed with Sint-Truiden in Belgium. On February 26, 2024, he announced that he would retire from playing football at the end of the 2023–24 season.
International Career for Japan
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Shinji Okazaki also had a very successful career playing for his country, Japan. He played for Japan's under-23 team in the 2008 Olympic Games. He then made his debut for the senior national team, known as the "Samurai Blue," in October 2008.
He scored his first goal for Japan in January 2009. In October 2009, he scored three goals in two different games! He was named "The World's Top Goal Scorer of 2009" by the IFFHS. This was for his 15 goals with the national team that year.
Okazaki played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He scored a goal against Denmark, which helped Japan reach the second round. In October 2010, he scored the only goal as Japan beat Argentina 1–0. This was Japan's first-ever win against the world champions.
He also played a key role in Japan winning the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. He scored three goals in one game against Saudi Arabia. Japan won the trophy for the fourth time.
Okazaki was the top goal scorer in the Asian part of the qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He scored eight goals. He also scored in the World Cup itself, against Colombia.
In March 2016, Okazaki received a special shirt to celebrate his 100th game for Japan. He is currently the top active goal scorer for Japan. He is also third all-time in team history with 50 international goals.
Managerial Career
Shinji Okazaki helped start a German football club called Basara Mainz in 2014. This was when he was playing for Mainz 05. Now, he works as an adviser for the club. The club started in a very low league but has been promoted several times.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2005 | J.League Division 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2007 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 25 | 5 | |||
| 2008 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 34 | 11 | |||
| 2009 | 34 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 41 | 17 | |||
| 2010 | 31 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 37 | 16 | |||
| Total | 121 | 42 | 17 | 5 | 16 | 2 | — | 154 | 49 | |||
| VfB Stuttgart | 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 12 | 2 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 7 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 25 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 11 | 2 | 42 | 4 | |||
| Total | 63 | 10 | 9 | 1 | — | 13 | 2 | 85 | 13 | |||
| Mainz 05 | 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 33 | 15 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 15 | ||
| 2014–15 | 32 | 12 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 35 | 14 | |||
| Total | 65 | 27 | 3 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 70 | 29 | |||
| Leicester City | 2015–16 | Premier League | 36 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 6 | |
| 2016–17 | 30 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 41 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 32 | 7 | |||
| 2018–19 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| Total | 114 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 137 | 19 | ||
| Huesca | 2019–20 | Segunda División | 37 | 12 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 12 | ||
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Total | 63 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 13 | ||
| Cartagena | 2021–22 | Segunda División | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| Total | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 | ||
| Sint-Truiden | 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | ||
| Total | 37 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 495 | 109 | 47 | 9 | 23 | 5 | 22 | 4 | 587 | 127 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2008 | 4 | 0 |
| 2009 | 16 | 15 | |
| 2010 | 15 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 14 | 8 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 3 | |
| 2013 | 14 | 7 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 4 | |
| 2015 | 13 | 7 | |
| 2016 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 119 | 50 | |
Honours and Awards
VfB Stuttgart
- DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2012–13 (They came in second place in this cup)
Leicester City
- Premier League: 2015–16 (They won the top league in England!)
SD Huesca
- Segunda División: 2019–20 (They won the second division in Spain)
Japan
- AFC Asian Cup: 2011 (They won the Asian Cup!)
- Kirin Cup: 2009, 2011
Individual Awards
- J.League Best XI: 2009 (He was chosen as one of the best players in the J.League)
- IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer: 2009 (He scored the most goals in the world for his national team that year)
- AFC International Footballer of the Year: 2016 (He was named the best Asian player playing outside of Asia)
- Best Footballer in Asia: 2016 (He was named the best footballer in Asia)
See also
In Spanish: Shinji Okazaki para niños
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
- List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
