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Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi

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Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Kawaguchi with Júbilo Iwata in 2010
Personal information
Full name Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi[1]
Date of birth (1975-08-15) 15 August 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1991–1993 Shimizu Shogyo High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–2001 Yokohama F. Marinos 193 (0)
2001–2003 Portsmouth 12 (0)
2003–2005 Nordsjælland 8 (0)
2005–2013 Júbilo Iwata 228 (0)
2014–2015 Gifu 43 (0)
2016–2018 Sagamihara 43 (0)
Total 527 (0)
International career
1995–1996 Japan U23 10 (0)
1997–2010 Japan 116 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Japan
AFC Asian Cup
Winner 2000 Lebanon
Winner 2004 China
FIFA Confederations Cup
Runner-up 2001 Korea-Japan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (川口 能活, Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu, born 15 August 1975), also known as Yoshi Kawaguchi, is a retired Japanese footballer who played as a goalkeeper.[2]

Kawaguchi spent most of his professional career in the Japanese J1 League, with brief spells in Europe as a reserve goalkeeper. He has earned 116 international caps for Japan, making him one of the ten most capped players in the history of the team. He additionally served as captain from 2006 to 2008. He was part of the Japanese squads at the 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 editions of the FIFA World Cups, the 2004 and 2007 editions of the AFC Asian Cups, as well as the 1999 Copa América.

Career

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Early career

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Born in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, Kawaguchi studied at Shimizu Commercial High School and was a member of the football team there. After finishing high school, he joined the professional football team Yokohama Marinos (later Yokohama F. Marinos).

Portsmouth

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Following impressive performances for both club and country, he moved to English club Portsmouth,[3] signing for a club record £1.8m.[4] However, he struggled to adapt to life in the English Football League, and struggled with the physical side of the First Division, notably in a 3–1 away defeat to Grimsby Town. Kawaguchi lost his place to veteran Dave Beasant after being held responsible for Portsmouth's 4–1 home defeat to underdogs Leyton Orient in the FA Cup. Despite his poor performances for Pompey he remained something of a cult hero with the fans, on account of his cheerful demeanour, and his insistence that he would work hard to regain his place. After a season of playing reserve team football, he made his final appearance for Portsmouth in the final game of the 2002–03 Football League First Division championship winning season, coming on at half time to a standing ovation in the 5–0 win against Bradford City.

Nordsjælland

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Despite this brief reappearance, he realised that his future lay elsewhere, and moved on to Nordsjælland of the Danish league.

Júbilo Iwata

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Prior to the 2005 Japanese football season, Kawaguchi returned to his home country when he signed with then-perennial title-contenders Júbilo Iwata.[5]

International career

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Early career (1996–2001)

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Kawaguchi was called up to the Japan national team and played in the Atlanta Olympic games. He kept a clean sheet against Brazil in the first game. He played in Japan's first ever World Cup game in 1998 in a 1–0 defeat to Argentina, and throughout the tournament, his stellar performance prevented Japan from being scored more than one, with all three Japanese defeats were just one-goal margin. In 2001, Kawaguchi was Japan's first-choice goalkeeper as the team finished runner-up in the Confederations Cup.

Captain (2004–2006)

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Kawaguchi is a noted penalty stopper, making two saves in the shootout against Jordan in the 2004 Asian Cup quarter-final and also saving from Croatia's Darijo Srna in the 2006 World Cup. During the 2007 Asian Cup he was instrumental in Japan's quarter-final win against Australia making two saves from Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill in the penalty shootout, thus making him the Man of the Match.

In August 2006, it was revealed that he would wear the captain's armband, as new Japan manager Ivica Osim believed that former captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto was not getting enough playing time at his domestic club, Gamba Osaka.

Marginal role (2008–2010)

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Kawaguchi is his country's most-capped goalkeeper and overall third most-capped player with 116 caps for Japan, six behind second-placed Masami Ihara with 122 caps, but an injury in 2008 had since sidelined him from action.[6] Long-time rival Seigo Narazaki had since been playing as first-choice keeper for Japan.

A broken leg sustained in a J1 League clash against Kyoto Sanga appeared to have sidelined him for the rest of the season, thus ruling him out of the 2010 World Cup. However, after making a full and quick recovery, Japanese head coach Takeshi Okada decided to include him in the final squad announced on 10 May 2010. Kawaguchi was one of two Japanese players (the other being Seigo Narazaki) to be named for their national team's fourth consecutive World Cup. Despite his period of inactivity, and having fallen to third in the pecking order, Okada selected him in the hope that his leadership and experience would aid the team's progress. Kawaguchi was appointed captain of the national team during team training on 21 May 2010.[7]

Kawaguchi was not picked to play for the national team under coach Alberto Zaccheroni, and with youngster Eiji Kawashima impressing in Japan's 2011 Asian Cup success, Kawaguchi's international career was effectively over.

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[8][9]
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Yokohama F. Marinos[c] 1994 J1 League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
1995 J1 League 41 0 2 0 — — 43 0
1996 J1 League 15 0 0 0 13 0 — 28 0
1997 J1 League 22 0 2 0 0 0 — 24 0
1998 J1 League 34 0 1 0 0 0 — 35 0
1999 J1 League 28 0 2 0 6 0 — 36 0
2000 J1 League 28 0 3 0 5 0 — 36 0
2001 J1 League 25 0 0 0 7 0 — 32 0
Total 193 0 10 0 31 0 0 0 234 0
Portsmouth 2001–02 First Division 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
2002–03 First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2003–04 Premier League 0 0 — — — 0 0
Total 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
Júbilo Iwata 2005 J1 League 29 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 34 0
2006 J1 League 34 0 1 0 3 0 — 38 0
2007 J1 League 32 0 1 0 3 0 — 36 0
2008 J1 League 33 0 0 0 1 0 — 34 0
2009 J1 League 26 0 0 0 4 0 — 30 0
2010 J1 League 17 0 1 0 4 0 — 22 0
2011 J1 League 34 0 1 0 3 0 — 38 0
2012 J1 League 2 0 1 0 0 0 — 3 0
2013 J1 League 21 0 1 0 1 0 — 23 0
Total 228 0 9 0 20 0 1 0 258 0
Gifu 2014 J2 League 37 0 0 0 — — 37 0
2015 J2 League 6 0 0 0 — — 6 0
Total 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 0
Sagamihara 2016 J3 League 19 0 0 0 — — 19 0
2017 J3 League 18 0 — — — 18 0
2018 J3 League 6 0 — — — 6 0
Total 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 0
Career total 519 0 20 0 51 0 1 0 591 0
  1. ^ Includes Emperor's Cup, FA Cup, Danish Cup
  2. ^ Includes J.League Cup, EFL Cup, Danish League Cup
  3. ^ Yokohama Marinos became Yokohama F. Marinos in 1999.

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[10]
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 1997 21 0
1998 9 0
1999 3 0
2000 8 0
2001 9 0
2002 2 0
2003 2 0
2004 11 0
2005 14 0
2006 19 0
2007 12 0
2008 6 0
Total 116 0

Honours

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Yokohama F. Marinos

Portsmouth

Jubilo Iwata

Japan

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Japan" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ Kamikaze-keeper Kawaguchi bold.dk
  3. ^ "Football focus: Tall order for Kawaguchi as Portsmouth seek eastern promise". The Daily Telegraph. 29 September 2001. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Kawaguchi receiving home interest". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Stats Centre: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi Facts". Guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  6. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi - Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  7. ^ Captain Kawaguchi[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411529 (p. 266 out of 289)
  9. ^ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2016J1&J2&J3選手名鑑", 10 February 2016, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411338 (p. 257 out of 289)
  10. ^ "Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi - Century of International Appearances". Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Yasuhito Endo named J-League 30-year MVP, Kazuyoshi Miura, Shunsuke Nakamura in best XI". Mainichi Shimbun. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
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