Takuya Takagi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Takuya Takagi
高木 琢也

Takagi with Roasso Kumamoto
Personal information
Date of birth	(1967-11-12) November 12, 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth	Minamishimabara, Nagasaki, Japan
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	V-Varen Nagasaki (manager)
Youth career
1983–1985	Kunimi High School
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1989	Osaka University of Commerce
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1991	Fujita Industries	15	(3)
1991–1997	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	173	(62)
1998–1999	Verdy Kawasaki	40	(11)
2000	Consadole Sapporo	17	(0)
Total		245	(76)
International career
1992–1997	Japan	44	(27)
Managerial career
2006–2007	Yokohama FC
2009	Tokyo Verdy
2010–2012	Roasso Kumamoto
2013–2018	V-Varen Nagasaki
2019–2020	Omiya Ardija
2021–2022	SC Sagamihara
2025–	V-Varen Nagasaki
Medal record Sanfrecce Hiroshima Runner-up J1 League 1994 Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1995 Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1996 Representing  Japan AFC Asian Cup Gold 1992 Japan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Takuya Takagi (高木 琢也, Takagi Takuya, born November 12, 1967) is a Japanese football manager and a former player. He is currently the manager of the J2 League club V-Varen Nagasaki.

Takagi played as a strong forward. Japanese media and fans called him the Cannon of Asia because of his powerful playing style. His son, Toshiya Takagi, is also a football player.

Playing Career Highlights

Early Football Days

Takuya Takagi went to Kunimi High School and then Osaka University of Commerce. After finishing university in 1990, he joined a team called Fujita Industries. This team is now known as Shonan Bellmare.

In 1991, he moved to Mazda, which is now Sanfrecce Hiroshima. In 1992, he won the JSL Young Player of the Year award. He played very well with Czech player Ivan Hašek. Together, they helped Hiroshima win the second stage of the J1 League in 1994.

Moving to New Teams

Because of money problems, Hiroshima had to let go of some of its best players in 1998. Takagi was one of them. He then joined Verdy Kawasaki.

In 2000, he moved to J2 League team Consadole Sapporo. He played there for one season and then retired from playing football.

International Football for Japan

Playing for the National Team

Takagi played 44 games for the Japan national team. He scored 27 goals for his country. He played his first international game against Argentina on May 31, 1992. This was the first game under the new coach, Hans Ooft.

He scored his first goal for Japan on August 24, 1992, against China. He became a very important striker for Japan under coach Ooft.

Winning the Asian Cup

Takagi was part of the Japan team that won the 1992 AFC Asian Cup. He scored the only goal in the final game against Saudi Arabia, helping Japan win the cup.

Some people thought he won the Most Valuable Player award for that tournament, but that was not true. His teammate Kazuyoshi Miura won that award. Takagi was not even chosen for the Tournament Best Eleven team.

World Cup Qualification Journey

He also played in the games to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He could not play in the very important last match, which Japanese fans call the "Agony of Doha." He watched from the bench as Iraq scored a late goal. This goal stopped Japan from going to the World Cup in the USA.

Takagi also played in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup. He played three games and scored one goal against Syria in that competition.

Coaching Career

Starting as a Coach

After he stopped playing, Takuya Takagi worked as a football commentator on TV. He also earned a special S-Class Coaching License in 2004. This license is needed to manage a J.League club.

Managing Yokohama FC

In 2006, he became an assistant coach at Yokohama FC. He was then made the main manager very quickly. This happened after the team lost their first game of the season. Fans were worried because Takagi did not have much coaching experience. They even watched his first game in silence to show their concern.

However, Takagi quickly showed everyone what he could do. His team did not lose any of their first fifteen games under him. This was a record for a new manager in the J.League. His team also set another record by not letting opponents score for 770 minutes. They also had 7 games in a row where they did not let in any goals.

Yokohama FC had been near the bottom of the league for five years. But under Takagi, they won the J2 League title and moved up to the J1 League for the first time ever.

Before the 2007 season, the club changed many players. Eleven players left, and eleven new ones joined. Takagi brought in famous players like Tatsuhiko Kubo and Daisuke Oku. However, things did not go well. Key players got injured, and the team was at the bottom of the league. Takagi was let go on August 27, 2007.

Time at Tokyo Verdy and Roasso Kumamoto

In 2008, Takagi became an assistant coach at Tokyo Verdy. The team was relegated to J2 that year. Takagi then became the manager in 2009, but he was let go in October due to poor team performance.

He then became the manager of Roasso Kumamoto in 2010. He managed the team until he left after the 2012 season.

Leading V-Varen Nagasaki

On December 20, 2012, Takagi's local club, V-Varen Nagasaki, announced that he would be their new manager. The club had just moved up to the J2 League.

In the 2017 season, his team finished in second place. This meant they were promoted to the J1 League for the first time in the club's history. In 2018, V-Varen Nagasaki signed several players who had been younger students than Takagi at his high school. These included Yuhei Tokunaga, Hokuto Nakamura, and Kenta Tokushige. However, the team finished last in J1 and was moved back down to J2. Takagi left the club at the end of the 2018 season.

Managing Omiya Ardija

In 2019, Takagi joined the J2 club Omiya Ardija as their manager.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

International Goals Scored

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 August 1992	Beijing, China	China	2–0	2–0	1992 Dynasty Cup
2.	26 August 1992		North Korea	2–1	4–1
3.				3–1
4.	29 August 1992		South Korea	2–1	2–2 (aet) (4–2 p)
5.	8 November 1992	Hiroshima, Japan	Saudi Arabia	1–0	1–0	1992 AFC Asian Cup
6.	11 April 1993	Tokyo, Japan	Bangladesh	2–0	8–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.				6–0
8.	15 April 1993		Sri Lanka	1–0	5–0
9.				4–0
10.	18 April 1993		United Arab Emirates	2–0	2–0
11.	30 April 1993	Dubai, UAE	Bangladesh	4–1	4–1
12.	5 May 1994		Sri Lanka	4–0	6–0
13.	5 October 1994	Hiroshima, Japan	Qatar	1–1	1–1	1994 Asian Games
14.	9 October 1994	Onomichi, Japan	Myanmar	2–0	5–0
15.	10 February 1996	Wollongong, Australia	Australia	2–0	4–1	Friendly
16.				3–0
17.	19 February 1996	Causeway Bay, Hong Kong	Poland	2–0	5–0	1996 Lunar New Year Cup
18.				5–0
19.	25 August 1996	Osaka, Japan	Uruguay	3–?	5–3	Friendly
20.	6 December 1996	Al Ain, UAE	Syria	2–1	2–1	1996 AFC Asian Cup
21.	25 March 1997	Muscat, Oman	Macau	2–0	10–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
22.				3–0
23.				6–0
24.	27 March 1997		Nepal	2–0	6–0
25.				3–0
26.				5–0
27.	8 November 1997	Tokyo, Japan	Kazakhstan	5–1	5–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial Statistics

Honors and Awards

Japan

• 1992 Asian Cup
• Dynasty Cup: 1992

Individual Awards

• Dynasty Cup top scorer: 1992

See also

In Spanish: Takuya Takagi para niños