Shunsuke Nakamura

Shunsuke Nakamura (中村 俊輔) is a Japanese former professional footballer.

He is currently the first team coach of Yokohama FC.

At age 12 in 1991, Nakamura joined the youth setup of, one of the predecessors of the club known today as Yokohama F. Marinos.

While training at the youth setup, Nakamura was already honing his dead-ball technique, practising free kicks for an hour every day outside of team practice; his coaches also acknowledged he had good ball skills and technique.

However, at that time Nakamura was physically underdeveloped compared to his teammates and struggled to transition to the youth level, and eventually was not chosen for the youth team.

Rather than continue on the fringes of Nissan's youth setup, Nakamura instead decided to enroll at in Kawasaki, despite the school being a two-and-a-half-hour commute each way.

Nakamura led Tōkō Gakuen to Japan's national high school football tournament in 1995 and to the tournament final in 1996.

It was his performance there that earned him a call-up to the Japan under-20 team for the 1996 AFC Youth Championship and subsequently for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Nakamura began his professional career with J1 League club Yokohama Marinos in 1997, eventually making 338 league appearances during two spells at the club totalling just over twelve seasons.

In between his spells at Marinos, Nakamura played in Europe with Espanyol, Celtic, and Reggina.

He also appeared in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship as a member of the Japan under-20 team and the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Japan under-23 team.

Born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, Nakamura began playing football competitively at age 5 with local junior club side Misono FC, where his playmaking abilities already garnered attention from locals.

In fifth grade, he was selected for Yokohama's city junior all-star team's tour of the Soviet Union, even though the team was only meant to include sixth graders.

By his graduation from Tōkō Gakuen in 1997, Nakamura had attracted interest from several top-flight Japanese clubs, including offers from Júbilo Iwata, Verdy Kawasaki, and Gamba Osaka.

In 1997, Nakamura chose to sign with J.League Division 1 club Yokohama Marinos, the club whose youth setup he had left only a few years earlier.

Nakamura made his début with Marinos on 8 March in a J.League Cup match against Verdy Kawasaki and his league début on 16 April against Gamba Osaka.

Nakamura finished his rookie season with 31 appearances and 5 goals.

Nakamura had his break-out season the following year in 1998, making 37 appearances and scoring 10 goals; his playmaking ability in creating scoring chances for teammates also contributed to Nakamura being considered one of the best young players in Japan.

He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013.

Renowned as one of the best free kick takers ever, Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans with his left foot".

In 2000, Nakamura had his best season in Yokohama, recording 5 goals and 11 assists in league play, helping Marinos to the first-stage championship; Nakamura was awarded J.League Most Valuable Player for his contributions.

The following year, Nakamura made 31 appearances and scored 5 goals in all competitions, including 6 appearances and 2 goals in the 2001 J.League Cup, which the Marinos won.

Due to his success, Nakamura became the subject of transfer target rumours from a number of European clubs including Real Madrid and several Lega Calcio sides such as Reggina, Chievo, Perugia, Napoli, Lecce, and Atalanta.

Reggina gained promotion to Serie A after the 2001–02 season and had already been looking to sign a marquee player for some time.

It is said that, on the day Reggina secured promotion, then-Chairman Pasquale Foti had already called the Marinos to inquire about a Nakamura transfer while Reggina's players were still on the pitch celebrating.

Expectations for Nakamura were very high; the prestigious number 10 shirt was even taken from teammate Francesco Cozza and given to Nakamura, and the club sold 25,000 Nakamura shirts in the first five months he was at the club.

Nakamura responded by scoring in three consecutive matches early in the season; in league play, Nakamura finished the season with 32 appearances and tied for the team lead with 7 goals, helping Reggina narrowly avoid relegation (Reggina defeated Atalanta in the relegation playoff).

Nakamura felt he had to leave Japan and play in Europe to further develop and advance his career, especially after the disappointment of being left off of Japan's 2002 World Cup squad.

Nakamura left Marinos partway through the 2002 season to join Reggina, newly promoted to Serie A, after the clubs agreed to a 6-month loan and US$3.5 million transfer fee.

Prior to his departure from Marinos, Nakamura remained in top form, scoring 4 goals in 8 appearances.

Nakamura had come to the attention of Reggina scouts after an international match against Honduras during the 2002 Kirin Cup in which Nakamura had a standout performance and scored two goals.

Nakamura struggled with injuries in 2003 and was limited to just 18 appearances in the 2003–04 season (these injuries also caused him to miss a 2003 Confederations Cup game against Colombia and national team duty in November 2003).

The frequent changes resulted in Nakamura mostly coming off the bench during the 2003–04 season and not fitting in well under Mazzarri in 2004–05 when Reggina only scored 36 goals in their entire league campaign, with Nakamura only managing to contribute two goals (although each came in crucial 1–0 league victories in a season where Reggina finished only 2 points clear of the relegation zone).

Coupled with Reggina's struggle to avoid relegation every season that he had been at the club, Nakamura became concerned he was regressing from top-level football and decided it was time to move on.

Additionally, Reggina underwent four managerial changes in just Nakamura's first two years at the club; Walter Mazzarri, hired in the summer of 2004, would already be Nakamura's fifth manager at Reggina.

Nakamura expressed interest in playing in Spain and media reports linked him to La Liga sides Atlético Madrid and Deportivo as well as Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2005.

Other European clubs including Leeds United, Lazio, and Parma reportedly had also expressed interest during Nakamura's time at Reggina, but Nakamura ultimately chose to join Scottish Premier League runners-up Celtic.

His team accomplishments at Celtic include winning the Scottish Premier League in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the Scottish League Cup in 2006 and 2009, and the Scottish Cup in 2007.

Nakamura has 98 caps and 24 goals for the Japan national football team, including appearances in the FIFA World Cup finals in 2006 and 2010 and winning the AFC Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004; he was named Most Valuable Player of the 2004 competition.

During his time at Celtic, he became one of the best Asian players to have ever played in Europe; he was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, was named Scottish Player of the Year and SFWA Footballer of the Year in 2007, and became the first Japanese player to score in the UEFA Champions League.