Masashi Nakayama

Masashi Nakayama (中山 雅史, Nakayama Masashi, born 23 September 1967) is a Japanese football manager and former player who is the head coach of Júbilo Iwata. He played as a forward in his playing career. Born in Shizuoka, Nakayama attended Fujieda Higashi High School and University of Tsukuba before he joined Yamaha Motors (currently; Júbilo Iwata) of the Japan Soccer League, a precursor to the J1 League, which consisted of company sponsored teams. He retired in December 2012 at age 45 after playing 3 seasons for Consadole Sapporo, then he came back almost three years later with Azul Claro Numazu in Japan Football League, the club has been promoted to the J3 League since 2017. He also attends by the nickname Gon Nakayama.

Masashi Nakayama
中山 雅史
Masashi Nakayama's autograph
Personal information
Full name Masashi Nakayama
Date of birth (1967-09-23) 23 September 1967
Place of birth Fujieda, Shizuoka, Japan
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Azul Claro Numazu
Number 39
Youth career
1983–1985 Fujieda Higashi High School
1986–1989 University of Tsukuba
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–2009 Júbilo Iwata 419 (207)
2010–2012 Consadole Sapporo 13 (0)
2015–2021 Azul Claro Numazu 0 (0)
Total 722 (399)
National team
1990–2003 Japan 53 (21)
Teams managed
2021– Júbilo Iwata
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 December 2018

Career

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 Júbilo Iwata lineup 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 Júbilo Iwata and the Japanese national team.

At the 1998 World Cup finals in France, Nakayama scored the only goal of the tournament and the first goal for Japan in the history of the World Cup against Jamaica on 26 June 1998.[1] He has scored 21 goals in 53 appearances for the Japanese national team.[2]

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. This striker becomes a record-holder with other hat-tricks, that he did it in four successive games of J1 League, 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

Affectionately known as "Gon Nakayama" is a fan favorite among many casual Japanese football fans for his outspoken and humorous nature. Now in the twilight of his career, injuries and age have taken a toll on Nakayama's skills but he still remains a favorite of the Jubilo faithful, as evidenced by the fact that he draws the loudest cheers by far from the home crowd at Yamaha Stadium when his name is announced during warm-ups or when he comes on as a substitute.

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] In September 2015, he began to train with Azul Claro Numazu, later signing for the team as a player.[3] Two years later, having still not made his début for Azul Claro in league or cup competition, his contract was renewed for 2017 season, a first for a professional football club.[4] 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 two year prior, Nakayama revealed he was appointed the manager of Júbilo Iwata in the J2 league.[5]

Career statistics

Club
As of end of 2018 season[6][7]
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Japan League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup AFC Total
1990/91Yamaha MotorsJSL Division 113421—155
1991/92181510—1915
1992Football League1613——1613
199318181000—1918
1994Júbilo IwataJ1 League1230000—123
1995451800——4518
199627900137—4016
1997271842116—4226
199827363400—3040
19992361211—259
200029203241—3623
200130161084—3920
200229163273—3921
20031235021—194
2004193415041325
2005296202010346
20061311031—172
20071512051—222
20081612131—213
2009101010—30
2010Consadole SapporoJ2 League12010——130
20110000——00
2012J1 League100000—10
2015Azul Claro NumazuFootball League00———00
201600———00
2017J3 League0000——00
20180000——00
2019——
Total 4322073412682751539247

International

[2]

Japan national team
YearAppsGoals
199010
199100
199263
199384
199400
199541
199600
199722
1998104
199910
200076
200181
200230
200330
Total5321

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.29 August 1992Beijing, China PR South Korea2–2DrawDynasty Cup 1992
2.1 November 1992Hiroshima, Japan North Korea1–1Draw1992 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
3.6 November 1992Hiroshima, Japan China PR3–2Won1992 AFC Asian Cup Semi-finals
4.5 May 1993Dubai, United Arab Emirates Sri Lanka5–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.18 October 1993Doha, Qatar Iran1–2Lost1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.21 October 1993Doha, Qatar North Korea3–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.28 October 1993Doha, Qatar Iraq2–2Draw1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.28 May 1995Tokyo, Japan Ecuador3–0WonFriendly
9.8 November 1997Tokyo, Japan Kazakhstan5–1Won1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.16 November 1997Johor Bahru, Malaysia Iran3–2Won1998 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Play-off
11.1 March 1998Yokohama, Japan South Korea2–1WonDynasty Cup 1998
12.1 April 1998Korea Republic South Korea1–2LostFriendly
13.26 June 1998Lyon, France Jamaica1–2Lost1998 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
14.28 October 1998Osaka, Japan Egypt1–0WonFriendly
15.13 February 2000Macau Singapore3–0Won2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
16.16 February 2000Macau Brunei9–0Won2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
17.16 February 2000Macau Brunei9–0Won2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
18.16 February 2000Macau Brunei9–0Won2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
19.20 February 2000Macau Macau3–0Won2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
20.20 February 2000Macau Macau3–0Won2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
21.15 August 2001Fukuroi, Japan Australia3–0WonAFC/OFC Cup Challenge

International tournaments

Honours

Club
Júbilo Iwata

International
Japan

Individual

Trivia
  • Nakayama is currently the all-time top goal scorer in J1 League with 157 goals. He holds the record for top scorer in a single season, scoring 36 goals in 1998.
  • Nakayama once portrayed himself on television, performing voice work for a guest role on the anime Hungry Heart: Wild Striker.
  • Nakayama 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.
  • He married actress Tomoko Ikuta in 1996, and together they had a daughter. Ikuta did the voice-over for lead actress Lee Young-ae in the Japanese version of the popular South Korean TV series Dae Jang Geum.
  • Nakayama Will Be a Special Guest Appearance in The HappinessCharge PreCure! as Himself This episode corresponds with the opening of the World Cup.

References
  1. Japan icon Nakayama calls time on career FIFA.com 4 December 2012
  2. Japan National Football Team Database
  3. 中山雅史選手アスルクラロ沼津加入のお知らせ (in Japanese). Azul Claro. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  4. 2017シーズン 中山 雅史選手 契約更新のお知らせ (in Japanese). Azul Claro. 25 December 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  5. "中山 雅史選手、退団のお知らせ - アスルクラロ沼津　アスルクラロスルガ株式会社". アスルクラロ沼津　アスルクラロスルガ株式会社 (in Japanese). 13 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  6. 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. 251 out of 289)
  7. Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)", 8 February 2017, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411420 (p. 273 out of 289)
  8. "Nakayama's unstoppable". Asian Football Confederation. 19 February 1999.
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