Yuji Nakazawa

Nakazawa was born in Yoshikawa on February 25, 1978. After graduating from Misato Technical High School, he moved to Brazil in 1996. In 1998, he returned to Japan and signed with J1 League club Verdy Kawasaki (later Tokyo Verdy) as a trainee. He signed professional contract in 1999. In 1999, he became a regular center back and was selected "Rookie of the Year award" and Best Eleven. In 2002, he moved to Yokohama F. Marinos. The club won the champions in the 2003 and 2004 J1 League. He was also selected "MVP award" and "Japanese Footballer of the Year" in 2004 season. He played as regular center back for long time. He retired end of the 2018 season at the age of 40.

On September 8, 1999, Nakazawa debuted for the Japan national team against Iran. In 2000, he was selected the Japan U-23 national team for 2000 Summer Olympics and played all 4 matches. He also played at 2000 Asian Cup and won the champions. However his opportunity to play decreased after the 2000 Asian Cup. From autumn 2003, he became a regular player as center back with Tsuneyasu Miyamoto. In 2004, he participated in the 2004 Asian Cup. He played all 6 matches and scored 3 goals, and Japan won the champions again. He also played at 2006 World Cup. In 2007, he played in the 2007 Asian Cup, but this time the team failed to defend the title and finished the 4th place. In 2010, he was selected Japan for 2010 World Cup. He played all 4 matches as center back with Marcus Tulio Tanaka. Nakazawa played 110 games and scored 17 goals for Japan until 2010.

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• Yuji Nakazawa at Olympedia
• Yuji Nakazawa at FIFA
• Yuji Nakazawa at J.League (player) (in Japanese)
• Yuji Nakazawa at National Football Teams.com
• Yuji Nakazawa at Soccerway.com
• Yuji Nakazawa at FootballDatabase.eu
• Yuji Nakazawa at WorldFootball.net
• Yuji Nakazawa at Transfermarkt (player)