Japanese footballer (born 1967)
Masashi Nakayama
(
中山 雅史
,
Nakayama Masashi
, born 23 September 1967)
, nicknamed
"Gon"
during his playing career, is a Japanese
professional football
manager
and former
player
. He is currently the manager of
J3 League
club
Azul Claro Numazu
.
Club career
[
edit
]
Born in
Shizuoka
, Nakayama attended Fujieda Higashi High School and
University of Tsukuba
before he joined
Yamaha Motors
(currently;
Jubilo Iwata
) of the
Japan Soccer League
, a precursor to the
J1 League
, which consisted of company sponsored teams. Playing as a
forward
, Nakayama made his J1 League debut on 11 March 1994. From then until 2009, he was an ever-present part of the
Jubilo Iwata
line-up as they were consistently one of the top teams in the J1 League since its inception. With a strike-rate of more than a goal every two games throughout his career, Nakayama was the inspirational and talismanic leader for both Jubilo Iwata and the
Japan national team
. He holds a record by scoring four hat-tricks in four successive J1 League games, from 15 to 29 April in 1998. He scored 16 times in these games.
[1]
The record is recognized by the
Guinness Book of World Records
. He also holds the record for top scorer in a single season, scoring 36 goals in
1998
.
On 4 December 2012, he announced his retirement at the age of 45, citing injuries to his both knees, after being J1 League's all-time leading scorer with 157 goals.
[1]
At the time of his retirement, he had played three seasons for
Consadole Sapporo
. In September 2015, he began to train with
Azul Claro Numazu
, later signing for the team as a player.
[2]
Two years later, having still not made his debut for Azul Claro in
league
or
cup
competition, his contract was renewed for
2017 season
, a first for a professional football club.
[3]
International career
[
edit
]
At the
1998 FIFA World Cup
, Nakayama scored the only goal of the tournament and the first goal for the
Japan national team
in the history of the World Cup against
Jamaica
on 26 June 1998.
[1]
He has scored 21 goals in 53 appearances for the Japan national team.
[4]
Nakayama also holds the world record fastest hat-trick at international level. He managed three goals in an
2000 Asian Cup qualification
match against
Brunei
on 16 February 2000 in only three minutes and three seconds,
[1]
beating the previous record of Englishman
Willie Hall
set in 1938 (against
Northern Ireland
) by 27 seconds.
Managerial career
[
edit
]
On 13 January 2020, Nakayama announced his retirement as a player at the age of 53. Having been the U-18 coach for
Azul Claro Numazu
for the prior two years, Nakayama revealed he was appointed the assistant manager of
J2 League
club
Jubilo Iwata
.
[5]
On 13 November 2022, Nakayama returned to
J3 League
club Azul Claro, where he was appointed manager.
[6]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Nakayama married actress
Tomoko Ikuta
in 1996, and together they have a daughter. Ikuta did the voice-over for lead actress
Lee Young-ae
in the Japanese version of the popular South Korean TV series
Jewel in the Palace
.
Nakayama portrayed himself on television, performing voice work for a guest role on the anime
Hungry Heart: Wild Striker
. He also portrayed himself in episode 19 of
HappinessCharge PreCure!
. This episode corresponded with the opening of the World Cup. He appeared on the front cover of the Japanese releases of
Konami
's
Winning Eleven
video game series (
World Soccer: Winning Eleven 6
and
World Soccer: Winning Eleven 6 - Final Evolution
) in 2002 and 2003.
Career statistics
[
edit
]
Club
[
edit
]
- As of the end 2020 season after retirement as player
[7]
[8]
International
[
edit
]
- Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nakayama goal.
List of international goals scored by Masashi Nakayama
No.
|
Date
|
Venue
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
Result
|
Competition
|
1
|
29 August 1992
|
Beijing
, China
|
South Korea
|
1
?1
|
2?2
|
1992 Dynasty Cup
|
2
|
1 November 1992
|
Hiroshima
, Japan
|
North Korea
|
1
?1
|
1?1
|
1992 AFC Asian Cup
|
3
|
6 November 1992
|
China
|
3
?2
|
3?2
|
4
|
5 May 1993
|
Dubai
, United Arab Emirates
|
Sri Lanka
|
6
?0
|
6?0
|
1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
5
|
18 October 1993
|
Doha
, Qatar
|
Iran
|
1
?2
|
1?2
|
6
|
21 October 1993
|
North Korea
|
2
?0
|
3?0
|
7
|
28 October 1993
|
Iraq
|
2
?1
|
2?2
|
8
|
28 May 1995
|
Tokyo
, Japan
|
Ecuador
|
1
?0
|
3?0
|
1995 Kirin Cup
|
9
|
8 November 1997
|
Kazakhstan
|
3
?0
|
5?1
|
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
10
|
16 November 1997
|
Johor Bahru
, Malaysia
|
Iran
|
1
?0
|
3?2
|
11
|
1 March 1998
|
Yokohama
, Japan
|
South Korea
|
1
?0
|
2?1
|
1998 Dynasty Cup
|
12
|
1 April 1998
|
Seoul
, South Korea
|
South Korea
|
1
?1
|
1?2
|
Friendly
|
13
|
26 June 1998
|
Lyon
, France
|
Jamaica
|
1
?2
|
1?2
|
1998 FIFA World Cup
|
14
|
28 October 1998
|
Osaka
, Japan
|
Egypt
|
1
?0
|
1?0
|
Friendly
|
15
|
13 February 2000
|
Macau
|
Singapore
|
2
?0
|
3?0
|
2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
|
16
|
16 February 2000
|
Brunei
|
1
?0
|
9?0
|
17
|
2
?0
|
18
|
3
?0
|
19
|
20 February 2000
|
Macau
|
1
?0
|
3?0
|
20
|
3
?0
|
21
|
15 August 2001
|
Fukuroi
, Japan
|
Australia
|
3
?0
|
3?0
|
2001 AFC?OFC Challenge Cup
|
Managerial statistics
[
edit
]
Update;
as of 16 April 2023
[9]
Team
|
From
|
To
|
Record
|
G
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
Win %
|
Azul Claro Numazu
|
13 November 2022
|
present
|
7
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
0
28.57
|
Total
|
7
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
0
28.57
|
Honours
[
edit
]
- Jubilo Iwata
- Japan
Individual
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Yamaha Motors" until 1994
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]