In addition to their outstanding achievements on the field, Martini and Jese are famous in the world of soccer, and they have only played for one club throughout their entire playing career, which is worthy of respect from the fans for their loyalty. In the history of the J-League, there have been many players who have been faithful to the end of their careers, and many of them are international players, so today we will take a look at some of the representative figures.
1. Masahiro Fukuda (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Born in 1966, Masahiro Fukuda played as a striker and joined the Japanese professional soccer world after graduating from university. In 1989, he joined Mitsubishi Motors, the predecessor of Urawa Red Diamonds, and played for the team in the sub-league at that time. Masahiro Fukuda played 26 matches for the team in the first season and scored an astonishing 36 goals, which not only helped the team get promoted, but also helped him make a name for himself in the Japanese soccer world.
Masahiro Fukuda continued to maintain a steady goal-scoring rate in the two seasons after his promotion, and apart from getting the chance to represent the Japan national team, he also moved to Urawa Red Diamonds to participate in the J-League, which was established in 1993. However, due to the strength of the team, Masahiro Fukuda didn't score much in the first two seasons of the JLF, with only 10 goals in the first two seasons, which is a bit disappointing.
In the 1995 season, Masahiro Fukuda, who was the captain of the team, finally had his breakthrough. Urawa Red Diamonds, coached by German supervisor Ozick, made great progress that season, and ended up fourth in the overall results of the season. Masahiro Fukuda played 50 matches in the Nippon Professional League that season and scored 32 goals, becoming the league's top scorer and even being selected as the best eleven of the season, which was the biggest achievement of Fukuda's career.
Unfortunately, Urawa Red Diamonds' performance in the 1999 season under the coaching of the famous Hiromitsu Hara was mediocre, and they were even caught up in the relegation spiral, even though they were coached by the Dutch coach Moss in the middle of the season, there was still no improvement. At that time, the J-League still adopted the Golden Goal System, which awarded 3 points for a win within 90 minutes, and 2 points for a win in the extra time Golden Goal Period; Urawa Red Diamonds had to win all 3 points in their last home match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima to be able to protect their relegation.
Unfortunately, Urawa Red Diamonds couldn't beat the opponent in the legal time, and the team had to face the extra time with the status of sure relegation. However, as the captain of the team, Masahiro Fukuda didn't give up, and scored a golden goal for the team to get the final victory, which is regarded as the saddest goal in the history of the JLF, and Masahiro Fukuda didn't have the mood to celebrate at that time on the field.
However, as the hero of the team, Masahiro Fukuda continued to play for the team in the second division and helped the team to win the promotion in the following season. After the promotion, Masahiro Fukuda was gradually relegated to the back-up role, but he was still able to score goals from time to time, and eventually he announced his retirement at the age of 36 after the 2002 season.
Masahiro Fukuda has only ever played for Urawa Red Diamonds in his life, so he is known as Mr. Red Diamonds by the Red Diamonds fans, and his farewell match before the start of the 2003 season attracted more than 50,000 fans, which is a testament to his status as a player of the game. Masahiro Fukuda successfully obtained a professional coaching license after hanging up his boots, and even tried to work as an assistant coach for Urawa Red Diamonds from 2008 to 2010, which shows his loyalty.
2. Masaru Sawaton (Shimizu Heartbeat)
The Japanese soccer world has always been rich in attacking midfielders, and Shimizu Heartbeat's Masayoshi Sawatari is no exception. However, Sawatari's peak period coincided with the popularity of Rukiai and Hidetoshi Nakata, which indirectly led to the lack of highlights of his career in the national team, but his great achievements in Shimizu Heartbeat are enough to make him famous in the history of the world.
Born in 1970, Masayoshi Sawatari joined Shimizu S Pulse in the 1992 season after graduating from Tokai University in Zuhai, Shizuoka Prefecture, where he was born and raised in Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture. After a season of adjustment, Sawatari Masaru became a full-time player in the 1993 season, and his performance that season was even more brilliant, scoring 7 goals in 35 league matches, and he was also selected as the 1993 Nippon Professional League Rookie of the Year, which made him a dominant player for a long time.
Masayoshi Sawatari is a midfielder who often delivers accurate transmissions and has a good ability to score goals from the back, making him an indispensable member of the Shimizu S Pulse, and he even scored 13 goals in the 1995 season, which is really quite good for a midfielder.
In the mid to late 90's and early millennium, Shimizu Heartbeat's strength became more and more complete, and Masao Sawatari helped the team to achieve more honors. 1996 season, the team won the Japan League Cup, and in 1999 season, the team became the second runner-up of the Nippon Professional League, and Masao Sawatari was voted as the best player of the Nippon Professional League in the same season, which was the peak of his personal career.
Shimizu Heartbeat won the Asian Cup Championship in 2000 and the Emperor Cup in 2001, which made Masayoshi Sawatari, the captain of the team at that time, establish the leadership position in the team, and this period can be regarded as the peak of Shimizu Heartbeat's founding history.
However, after the peak, Shimizu S Pulse's performance gradually dropped, and Masayoshi Sawatari's goal scoring also decreased. 2005 season, Shimizu S Pulse was even caught up in the whirlpool of relegation, but fortunately the team's last match was a 1-goal victory over Kobe Victory Boat to stay in the relegation, and Masayoshi Sawatari, who was already 35 years old at that time, announced the end of his career the following day after the match after the completion of his mission.
Summarizing Sawatari's career in Shimizu S Pulse, he scored 85 goals in a total of 381 matches, which shows his superior goal-scoring ability; and the rare peak in the club's history, Sawatari Masaru was an indispensable member of the team during that period, which is no wonder that he has a supreme status in the hearts of Shimizu S Pulse fans. Unfortunately, Sawatari has never been the first choice of attacking midfielder for the Japanese national team, and has only represented the club 16 times in his career. The 1994 Asian Games was one of the few tournaments that Sawatari attended, which can be considered as the regret of Sawatari's career.
3. Kanko Morishima (Sakura Osaka)
Compared to Masayoshi Sawatari, Kuan-Ko Morishima, who also plays as an attacking midfielder, had a much smoother national team career, representing the Japanese national team more than 60 times in his playing career. Although he has never won any major championships for Cerezo Osaka, he has been with the team for many years with highs and lows, which is enough to establish his image as a loyalist.
Born in Hiroshima in 1972, Hiroki Morishima started his professional career as a soccer player in 1991 when he joined Osaka Sakura's predecessor, Yoma Diesel. Prior to the establishment of the Japanese Professional League in 1993, Osaka Cherry Blossoms only played in the second division, but in the 1994 season, Morishima scored 16 goals in 28 matches for the team in the Japanese Second Division, earning the team promotion and the chance to play in the highest division.
Cerezo Osaka's first season of promotion was mediocre, basically aiming for relegation, but Kuan-Ko Morishima scored 11 goals in his first season in the JLF, and was voted as one of the best 11 players in the JLF that season. Morishima's performance also attracted the attention of the Japanese national team and he became a regular member of the team, and his career has been on the rise.
In the following seasons, Kuan-Ko Morishima gave a stable performance and had a high scoring rate. In the 1998 season, Kuan-Ko Morishima scored 18 goals in 29 matches in the JLF, which was a better efficiency than many other scorers. In the 2000 season, Kuan-Ko Morishima scored 15 goals and represented the Japanese national team in the 2000 Asian Cup in Lebanon, winning the championship and the most important title of his career.
However, after 2000, Sakura Osaka's performance took a sharp turn for the worse. Although the team made it to the final of the Emperor Cup in the 2001 season, it failed to win the championship and was relegated to the Nippon Professional League (JPL) in the end of the season. However, as a national player, Kuan-Ko Morishima chose to stay in the team, and helped the team to return to the JLF as the runner-up in the 2002 season. Although Kuan-Ko Morishima played in the JLF, he did not lose his status in the Japanese national team, and even represented Japan in the final week of the 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup.
After the World Cup, Kuan-Ko Morishima officially bid farewell to the national team and focused on playing for Cerezo Osaka. However, as he is getting older, Morishima's position on the field is starting to fall back, and he is using his rich experience to stabilize the team's midfield line, so he has delivered fewer goals than before. Unfortunately, Cerezo Osaka still had no breakthrough in strength, and Morishima was not able to help the team to win the major championships, and finally returned to the JLF for four seasons, and was relegated again in the 2006 season.
Morishima, who was 35 years old at the time, chose to stay in the team to play in the second division, hoping to lead the team with his experience. However, Morishima was already old, and his chances of playing in the team became fewer and fewer, and he only played 6 times in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, and after failing to win the promotion in the 2008 season, Morishima officially announced that he would hang up his boots.
Although Kanko Morishima did not win any major pennants for Cerezo Osaka, his career has proved his status in the team, and the No. 8 jersey he wears has a sacred status in Cerezo Osaka, with juniors such as Shinji Kagawa, Hiroshi Kiyotake, and Yaoichiro Kakitani all proud to inherit the No. 8 jersey. Morishima was officially appointed as the chairman of Cerezo Osaka in December 2018, and he continues to serve the club, hoping that Cerezo Osaka will reach new heights under his leadership in the future!
4. Jun Soguan (Kashima Antlers)
The three aforementioned loyalists all play in attacking roles, while Kashima Antlers' loyalist Soga Duanjun only plays as a goalkeeper, and his popularity with the fans is of course due to his consistent performance over the years.
Soga was born in Kashima and trained at Kashima Antlers during the youth training years, and was promoted to the first team in 1998 at the age of 19. In the 1999 season, Soga finally made his debut for the first team of Kashima Antlers, and even though he had to play behind the regular goalkeeper, Daijiro Takasan, his playing time was limited, he had already been a part of the then Japan Olympic team, and even attended the Olympic outing with the team in Hong Kong. He also played with the team in Hong Kong for the Olympic Games.
In the 2000 season, Zeng Duanzhun had more and more chances to play, and even played in the League Cup final and helped the team to win the championship, and Kashima Antlers became the Japanese local triple champion that season, and Zeng Duanzhun himself was selected as the best young player of the JLF, but unfortunately Zeng Duanzhun did not have the chance to be selected for the Japanese Olympic team to attend the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
In the 2001 season, Soga started to occupy the regular goalkeeper position of Kashima Antlers, and in his first season, Soga successfully helped Kashima Antlers to defend the JLF Championship, which was a good start. In his first season as a goalkeeper, he helped Kashima Kagoshima to defend the JSL title, which was a good result. With his performance, Soga also earned himself a chance to represent the Japanese national team, and he made his debut in the Blue Knights' uniform in a friendly match against Italy.
In the 2002 season, although Kashima Antlers failed to defend the JLF and only won the League Cup, Zeng Tuanzhun was selected as the JLF's best eleven, which was also his first personal honor.
From the 2001 season until the 2017 season, Zeng Duanzhun has been the goalkeeper of Kashima Antlers for 17 seasons. During this period, he has helped the team win 5 J. League Championships, 3 Emperor Cup Championships, 4 League Cup Championships, and 3 Japan Super Cup Championships, and he is definitely one of the key members of the Kashima Antlers' dynasty.
However, in the 2018 season, the young Zeng Duanzhun was replaced by South Korean goalkeeper Kwon Chun-tae, and although the team won the AFC Champions League for the first time in 2018, Zeng Duanzhun's contribution was not significant. Of course, Zeng Duanjun also realized his age and accepted the role of the No.2 goalkeeper, and after the 2020 season, Zeng Duanjun announced that he would hang up his boots at the age of 41.
Although Soga won a lot of honors at Kashima Antlers, he was not associated with the Japanese national team for many years. Although he was an overage player at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Soga has only represented Japan 4 times in his 20+ year career. He had to face competition from Nobuyuki Kawaguchi, Masayoshi Narasaki, and Shinji Kawashima over the years, so it was a pity that he was not able to make it to the next level in his international career.
5. Keita Suzuki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
In addition to Soga, Keita Suzuki was another loyal advocate in the same era, and coincidentally, both men's national team careers were also dimmed by the fierce competition they faced.
Having said that, Keita Suzuki has won a lot of honors at Urawa Red Diamonds. Born in 1981, Keita Suzuki started his professional career in 2000 when he joined Urawa Red Diamonds, which was then in the Japanese Second Division. He was only 19 years old at the time and was a first-timer, so he didn't have a chance to play in the Nippon Professional League, but he did manage to make two appearances in the early stages of the Emperor Cup.
Urawa Red Diamonds returned to the Nippon Professional League in the 2001 season, and at the age of 20, Keita Suzuki started to become a regular player, making 15 appearances in the league that season, and slowly establishing himself as a member of the team. In addition to Keita Suzuki, Makoto Hasebe, Keisuke Tsuboi, Yuichiro Nagai, and other products of their own youth training became more mature, and the team was coached by two German supervisors, Bajiho and Ozick, and entered a period of harvest in the mid-2000s, and achieved a brilliant record.
During the 2003-2007 season, Urawa Red Diamonds won all the domestic championships and the AFC Champions League in 2007, and Keita Suzuki was one of the core members of the team, and he was voted as the best eleven of the JEFL in the 2006 season, and was also voted as the Mr. Japanese Footballer in 2007, which is a real fame and fortune.
Although Urawa Red Diamonds' record has declined since then, Keita Suzuki was officially appointed captain of the team for the 2009 season, establishing himself as one of the most important players in the team. Although he won a lot of honors in the club, Keita Suzuki's career in the national team was mediocre: although he was the captain of the team in the 2004 Olympic qualifying rounds, he did not make it to the final list; and in 2006, he started to get the attention of the then Japan team supervisor, Okuzen, but he only represented Japan 28 times until 2008, and he did not get to participate in any major tournaments, which is not commensurate with his title of Mr. Japanese Footballer.
Keita Suzuki had a steady career with Urawa Red Diamonds, but things took a turn for the worse in the 2015 season. The then-coach Berdych Viktor slowly discarded the over-30 Keita Suzuki in order to strengthen the team's midfield, and as a result, he only made 4 league appearances that season. Before the end of the season, Keita Suzuki had already announced that he would be leaving the team at the end of the season, but it was unlikely that he would announce that he would be hanging up his boots and ending his career as a footballer right after the team's last game.
Keita Suzuki's retirement at the age of 34 came as a surprise, and due to the suddenness of the event, Urawa Red Diamonds did not arrange any farewell ceremony, and as a result, the farewell match was not organized until the summer of 2017. Suzuki Keita hung up his boots and did not develop into the coaching world, handsome appearance, in addition to his intermittent soccer program as a guest narrator, but also has a personal Youtube channel, a group of fans can still closely follow his dynamic it!
6. Isao Kurihara (Yokohama Mariners)
Of the six loyalists, Isao Kurihara is the youngest, and he will hang up his boots at the age of 36 after the 2019 season, which is a little earlier than expected for many fans.
Kurihara, who plays as a center, was trained by Yokohama Marinos in junior high school and was officially promoted to the first team in 2002. Kurihara didn't have any chance to play in the first season, and his first appearance in the first team had to wait until 2003, but the team had Yuji Nakazawa and Naoki Matsuda at that time, so it was difficult for Kurihara to get a regular selection.
However, in the 2006 season, the Yokohama Mariners switched to a three-quarterback formation, and Izumi Kurihara was given the opportunity to play with his two older brothers, and at the age of 23 at the time, he took the opportunity to learn from his seniors and made great progress, and he was even selected to the Japan national team that season, and played in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago. In the 2007 season, the Yokohama Mariners once again adopted a four-guard formation, but the youngster, Isuzu Kurihara, was already in the starting lineup, playing alongside Yuji Nakazawa in the middle of the pitch, and has been an indispensable member of the team ever since.
Despite being a regular in club level matches, the Yokohama Mariners went through a dark period between the 2008 and 2012 seasons, with no success in the JAL and no outstanding results in the Cup, making it even more difficult for Isuzu Kurihara to get noticed by the national team. Although Kurihara was given the opportunity to play in international matches under the leadership of Takeshi Okada and Ronnie Szczeszewski, he only made 19 appearances and didn't play in any major tournaments, but winning the 2013 East Asian Cup was the only bright spot.
In the 2013 season, Yokohama Mariners finally made a breakthrough, and won the Emperor Cup after finishing second in the Nippon Professional League. Isuzu Kurihara finally had a chance to play for the team and win an important championship, and he also got a chance to play in the AFC Champions League in 2014. Kurihara is a big and tall player, but his footwork is mediocre, and he is not able to cope with the reform of Yokohama Mariners' style of play. Since the beginning of the 2015 season, Kurihara's chances of playing have been reduced gradually, and his role in the team is not as important as it was in the past.
In the 2019 season, Yokohama Mariners won the Nippon Professional League title after 15 years, and although Isuzo Kurihara didn't play for the team, a league title medal would have been enough to make his playing career a success, and as a result, he announced that he was hanging up his boots at the end of the season.
After hanging up his boots, Isao Kurihara was immediately promoted to the leadership of the Yokohama Mariners, helping to formulate the direction of the club's long-term development, and it seems that Isao Kurihara's relationship with the Yokohama Mariners will still have a long way to go.
The six players mentioned above can be regarded as the representatives of Japanese football loyalists. Nowadays, few Japanese players choose to go abroad not only to improve themselves but also to increase their chances of being selected for the national team. Therefore, I believe that in the foreseeable future, the chances of there being any more international players in the Japanese soccer world will be few and far between.
This week's JLF live streaming schedule:
July 16, 6:00 p.m. Tosu Sandstone vs. Yokohama Mariners (Cable 602/662)
July 16, 6:00 pm Nagoya Whale vs Kawasaki Frontale (Cable 604/664)
July 16, 6:00 p.m. Kashiwa Reysol vs. Hokkaido Sapporo Gonzaga (Cable 605/665)
July 17, 5:30pm Kyoto Immortals vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Cable 601/661)
This week's Sunday B live streaming schedule:
July 17, 5:30pm FC Ryukyu vs. Omiya Squirrels (Cable 602/662)
