Hidetoshi Nakata , Cavaliere OSSI (中田 英寿 Nakata Hidetoshi ; born January 22, 1977 in Yamanashi Prefecture), is a Japanese former football player. He was one of the most famous Asian footballers of his generation.
Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award in 1997 and 1998, the Scudetto with A.S. Roma in 2001, played for Japan in three FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002 and 2006) and played in the Olympics twice (1996 and 2000). In 2005, he was made the Knight of the Star of Italian Solidarity, one of Italy's highest honors, for improving the country's image overseas. Nakata is known as a fashion icon, regularly attending runway shows and wearing designer fashion.
Nakata announced his retirement at age 29 on July 3, 2006 after a ten-year career that included seven seasons in the Italian Serie A and a season in the English Premier League.
Pelé named Nakata in his FIFA 100 in March 2004.
Club career
Nakata began his professional career at age 18 in 1995, with J. League side Bellmare Hiratsuka (now Shonan Bellmare). He represented Japan at the 1996 Olympics, where Japan upset Brazil. Nakata also appeared in the 2000 Olympics.
He made his senior national team debut in May 1997 against South Korea and was a key member of the Japanese side that qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, setting up all three Japanese goals in the qualification play-off against Iran. After the World Cup in France, he moved to Perugia in Italy's Serie A.
In January 2000, after one and a half seasons at Perugia, Nakata moved to Roma for 30 Billion ITL, whom he helped to win the scudetto. The highlight of Nakata's career at Roma came on May 6 , 2001 in the Serie A match against Juventus F.C. at Stadio Delle Alpi. After replacing Francesco Totti in the second half with Roma trailing 0-2, Nakata netted with a 30-yard screamer beyond Juventus goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar's reach. Nakata then set up another goal when his fierce drive from outside the box was parried into the path of Vincenzo Montella, who duly equalised for Roma. The match ended with a 2-2 draw and Roma maintained a six-point margin atop the league table.
He also helped Japan reach the final of the 2001 Confederations Cup that season, but left the national team before the final to join Roma for their final league matches. In the summer of 2001, he joined Parma for 55 billion ITL, where he played for two and a half seasons.
Nakata played in every match for Japan at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, and scored a goal against Tunisia.
In January 2004, Nakata joined Bologna where he played the remainder of the 2003–04 season before moving to Fiorentina, where he played the following season. In August 2005, Nakata moved to Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on loan. During his season at Bolton he scored once in the league, in a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.
At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nakata played in all three matches for Japan, losing to Australia and Brazil, and drawing with Croatia. His performance against Croatia earned him a Man of the Match award.
Although Nakata has appeared in every World Cup match that Japan has played thus far, he was not selected for the country's Asian Cup-winning squads in 2000 and 2004.
On July 3, 2006, Nakata announced his retirement from professional football and the Japanese national team on his personal website "I decided half a year ago that I would retire from the world of professional football... after the World Cup in Germany." Nakata wrote, "I will never again stand on the pitch as a professional player. But I will never give up football." On June 9, 2007, he made an appearance on the pitch again for the first time in public after his retirement when he played at Luís Figo's charity match.
Nakata has cited the popular manga and anime series, Captain Tsubasa , as his primary inspiration in choosing football as a career.
Career statistics
National team
- 1998 FIFA World Cup
- 2001 Confederations Cup
- 2002 FIFA World Cup
- 2003 Confederations Cup
- 2005 Confederations Cup
- 2006 FIFA World Cup
- May 1997-June 2006
- Debut against South Korea
- FIFA World Cup appearances: 1998, 2002, 2006
International goals
Honours
- Asian Cup Winners Cup Champions: 1996
- Dynasty Cup Champions:1998
- FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2001
- Serie A Champions: 2001 (with AS Roma)
- Coppa Italia: 2002 (with AC Parma)
- Selected to FIFA 100: 2004
- FIFA Confederations Cup Best Eleven: 2001
- AFC Asian Player of the Year: 1997 1998
- J-League Best Eleven: 1997
Outside of football
Outside of football Nakata has shown interest in fashion, attending runway shows, wearing designer clothing and sporting colorful haircuts. He dyed his hair red for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, hoping to attract the attention of European scouts, and Japanese hairstylist Aki Watanabe credits him as a trendsetter in hair styles. Andrea Tenerani, photographer for GQ in Italy said of Nakata, "He's perfect; he's like a model. And he's totally obsessed with fashion," and Calvin Klein designer Italo Zucchelli said, "(Nakata) plays with fashion like all of them now, but in a cooler, more sophisticated way than many others." He was featured in the July 2007 US version of GQ with a 12-page spread on Fall Fashion.
Nakata is currently also an Editor-at-Large at Monocle at the invitation of his friend Tyler Brûlé, who also serves as the magazine's Editor-in-Chief.
Notes and references
- ^ "Arise, Sir Nak!". This Is Lancashire. October 14, 2005 . http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/2005/10/14/872606.html . Retrieved July 3, 2006 .
- ^ "Japan in need of miracle". 2006 FIFA World Cup. June 21, 2006 . http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060621/1/80s3.html . Retrieved July 3, 2006 .
- ^ "Just making the final was a triumph for cup co-host". Sports Illustrated (Associated Press). June 11, 2001 . http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/2001/06/11/japan_confed/ . Retrieved July 3, 2006 .
- ^ "Bolton 2-0 West Brom". BBC. 23 October 2005 . http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4344558.stm . Retrieved 15 September 2009 .
- ^ "Japan 0-0 Croatia". BBC News. June 18, 2006 . http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853196.stm . Retrieved July 7, 2008 .
- ^ "Japan and Bolton midfielder Nakata to retire". Reuters . July 3, 2006 . http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=373155&cc=5901 . Retrieved July 3, 2006 .
- ^ "To live is to journey, and to journey is to live.". Hidetoshi Nakata. July 3, 2006 . http://www.nakata.net/en/hidesmail/hml16700.htm . Retrieved January 22, 2007 . ...
nakata.net -- 中田英寿オフィシャルホームページ
2009-11-04 Revalue NIPPON「鹿児島編」スタート！ 中田英寿の旅の模様を動画で配信中！
English | nakata.net
Profile. Birth date:January 22nd 1977 Height :175cm Weight :72kg Birth place :Yamanashi Hidetoshi Nakata is a former footballer as well as businessperson who has made significant ...
Hidetoshi Nakata - Wikipedia
Hidetoshi Nakata (中田 英寿, Nakata Hidetoshi?) (Yamanashi, 22 gennaio 1977) è un ex calciatore giapponese. Ex centrocampista centrale con propensione offensiva ritiratosi ...
Hidetoshi Nakata Quotes
7 quotes and quotations by Hidetoshi Nakata ... As a professional athlete, I believe that I need to explore my opportunities to the maximum, in order to excel and continue to play ...
Hidetoshi Nakata - AskMen.com
Hidetoshi Nakata Men Celebrities Profile Biography, Latest Photos, Pics, News, Gossip, Comments, Success and Woman Magnetism! Check out Hidetoshi Nakata on AskMen.com Now!
Hidetoshi Nakata - Wikipédia
Hidetoshi Nakata est un joueur de football japonais né le 22 janvier 1977 à Yamanashi (Japon). Il est l'un des plus fameux joueurs d' Asie. Le 3 juillet 2006, Hidetoshi Nakata a ...
hide-hidetoshi-nakata
This is actually part of Hide's photo spread in Men's Uno China (read the earlier post about it) but I just found this photo. All of his clothes in the photo spread are provided by ...
YouTube - Football Asia - Hidetoshi Nakata Feature
its fantastic to know that a person of his status is trying to make use of his name to help many countries and people who loved football. Respect.
Hidetoshi Nakata
advertisement. Overview. Date of Birth: 22 January 1977, Yamanashi, Japan more. Contact: View manager contact info on IMDbPro. Trivia: 1996 Atlanta Olympic 1998 FIFA World cup ...