Akira Kaji (加地 亮, Kaji Akira, born 13 January 1980) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a defender. He last played for Japan national team until 2008.
After graduating from Takigawa Daini High School, Kaji joined Cerezo Osaka in 1998. He made his first league appearance on 25 July 1998 against Avispa Fukuoka. At the club, he found it difficult to break into the first team and was loaned out to J2 League side Oita Trinita at the start of the 2000 season.
After spending two years at Oita, Kaji came back to J1 League in 2002 to play for FC Tokyo. The manager Hiromi Hara made him a regular and assigned a more attacking role. His club won the 2004 J.League Cup by beating Urawa Reds in the final which ended 0–0 after the extra time. The penalty shoot-out was required and his successful conversion as the last penalty taker for Tokyo finally broke the deadlock.
After eight years with Gamba Osaka, Kaji signed with Major League Soccer club Chivas USA on 24 June 2014.[3] However, the club was disbanded in 2014, he returned to Japan and joined Fagiano Okayama in 2015. He retired end of 2017 season.
He gained his first cap for Japan national team when national coach Zico played him on 8 October 2003 in a friendly against Tunisia. He was rated highly by Zico who made him the first-choice right full-back. He was a member of the Japan team which won the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in China.[4] In a 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup against Brazil, his goal was disallowed by a controversial offside decision.[5] His first goal for the country finally came on 17 August 2005 in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification against Iran.[6]
He made the final squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. In a preparation match against Germany just before the tournament, he injured his ankle when tackled by Bastian Schweinsteiger.[7] Zico considered his replacement but decided to keep him. He missed Japan's first game in the tournament against Australia with Yuichi Komano filling in for his place, but he returned to the team and played in the rest of the competition.
After the 2006 World Cup, Zico was replaced by Ivica Osim who also regularly picked him for the national team. He was a member of the Japan team for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup and played all the Japan games in the tournament. On 20 May 2008, he announced retirement from international football. He played 64 games and scored 2 goals for Japan until 2008.[8]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[9][10][11]
akira, kaji, 加地, kaji, akira, born, january, 1980, japanese, former, professional, footballer, played, defender, last, played, japan, national, team, until, 2008, 加地, 亮kaji, with, gamba, osaka, 2010personal, informationfull, name, date, birth, 1980, january, 1. Akira Kaji 加地 亮 Kaji Akira born 13 January 1980 is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a defender He last played for Japan national team until 2008 Akira Kaji加地 亮Kaji with Gamba Osaka in 2010Personal informationFull nameAkira Kaji 1 Date of birth 1980 01 13 13 January 1980 age 43 Place of birthMinamiawaji Hyogo JapanHeight1 77 m 5 ft 10 in 2 Position s DefenderYouth career1995 1997Takigawa Daini High SchoolSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1998 1999Cerezo Osaka24 0 2000 2001Oita Trinita75 3 2002 2005FC Tokyo89 1 2006 2014Gamba Osaka225 2 2014Chivas USA15 0 2015 2017Fagiano Okayama86 1 Total514 7 International career1998 1999Japan U208 1 2003 2008Japan64 2 Honours FC TokyoWinner J League Cup 2004Gamba OsakaWinner AFC Champions League 2008Winner J1 League 2014Runner up J1 League 2010Winner J League Cup 2007Winner J League Cup 2014Winner Emperor s Cup 2008Winner Emperor s Cup 2009Winner Emperor s Cup 2014Runner up Emperor s Cup 2006Runner up Emperor s Cup 2012Representing JapanAFC Asian Cup2004 ChinaFIFA U 20 World Cup1999 NigeriaAFC U 19 Championship1998 Thailand Club domestic league appearances and goals Contents 1 Club career 2 International career 3 Career statistics 3 1 Club 3 2 International 4 Honors 5 References 6 External linksClub career EditAfter graduating from Takigawa Daini High School Kaji joined Cerezo Osaka in 1998 He made his first league appearance on 25 July 1998 against Avispa Fukuoka At the club he found it difficult to break into the first team and was loaned out to J2 League side Oita Trinita at the start of the 2000 season After spending two years at Oita Kaji came back to J1 League in 2002 to play for FC Tokyo The manager Hiromi Hara made him a regular and assigned a more attacking role His club won the 2004 J League Cup by beating Urawa Reds in the final which ended 0 0 after the extra time The penalty shoot out was required and his successful conversion as the last penalty taker for Tokyo finally broke the deadlock He was transferred to Gamba Osaka at the beginning of the 2006 season and scored in the beginning league match against Urawa Reds He was selected as a member of the 2006 J League Best XI The club won the champions 2007 J League Cup 2008 and 2009 Emperor s Cup In Asia the club won the champions 2008 AFC Champions League and the 3rd place 2008 Club World Cup From 2012 his opportunity to play decreased for injury After eight years with Gamba Osaka Kaji signed with Major League Soccer club Chivas USA on 24 June 2014 3 However the club was disbanded in 2014 he returned to Japan and joined Fagiano Okayama in 2015 He retired end of 2017 season International career EditKaji was a member of the Japan U20 national team for the 1999 World Youth Championship finals where the team finished runners up He gained his first cap for Japan national team when national coach Zico played him on 8 October 2003 in a friendly against Tunisia He was rated highly by Zico who made him the first choice right full back He was a member of the Japan team which won the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in China 4 In a 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup against Brazil his goal was disallowed by a controversial offside decision 5 His first goal for the country finally came on 17 August 2005 in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification against Iran 6 He made the final squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals In a preparation match against Germany just before the tournament he injured his ankle when tackled by Bastian Schweinsteiger 7 Zico considered his replacement but decided to keep him He missed Japan s first game in the tournament against Australia with Yuichi Komano filling in for his place but he returned to the team and played in the rest of the competition After the 2006 World Cup Zico was replaced by Ivica Osim who also regularly picked him for the national team He was a member of the Japan team for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup and played all the Japan games in the tournament On 20 May 2008 he announced retirement from international football He played 64 games and scored 2 goals for Japan until 2008 8 Career statistics EditClub Edit Appearances and goals by club season and competition 9 10 11 Club Season League Emperor s Cup J League Cup Continental a TotalApps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsCerezo Osaka 1998 15 0 1 0 1 1 17 11999 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0Oita Trinita 2000 34 3 2 0 1 0 37 32001 41 0 2 0 4 0 47 0FC Tokyo 2002 20 1 1 0 6 0 27 12003 22 0 2 0 6 0 30 02004 22 0 3 0 1 0 26 02005 25 0 2 0 0 0 27 0Gamba Osaka 2006 29 1 5 1 0 0 5 0 39 22007 28 1 4 1 6 0 38 22008 26 0 5 0 4 0 11 0 43 02009 20 0 5 1 0 0 1 0 26 12010 32 0 2 0 2 0 6 0 42 02011 30 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 37 02012 16 0 5 0 1 0 5 0 27 02013 38 0 2 0 40 02014 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0Fagiano Okayama 2015 36 0 1 0 37 02016 26 1 0 0 26 12017 24 0 0 0 24 0Career total 499 7 38 3 32 1 34 0 608 11 Includes AFC Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup International Edit Appearances and goals by national team and year 8 National team Year Apps GoalsJapan 2003 1 02004 20 02005 14 12006 14 02007 11 12008 4 0Total 64 2Scores and results list Japan s goal tally first score column indicates score after each Kaji goal List of international goals scored by Akira Kaji No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1 17 August 2005 Yokohama Japan Iran 2 1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification2 17 October 2007 Osaka Japan Egypt 4 1 2007 Afro Asian Cup of NationsHonors EditAFC Champions League 2008 Emperor s Cup 2008 2009 J League Cup 2004 2007 Japanese Super Cup 2007Japan AFC Asian Cup 2004 FIFA World Youth Championship 1999 Runner up Individual J League Best XI 2006References Edit 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 FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008 Presented By TOYOTA List Of Players PDF FIFA com Federation Internationale de Football Association 5 December 2008 Archived from the original PDF on 9 December 2008 mlssoccer com afcasiancup com permanent dead link Brazil Squeaks Past Japan World Cup 2006 Deutsche Welle 22 06 2005 Japan National Team WC2006 Qualification Match Iran BBC SPORT Football World Cup 2006 Teams Japan Zico furious with Schweinsteiger a b Japan National Football Team Database Archived from the original on 27 March 2019 Retrieved 15 June 2018 Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc 日本スポーツ企画出版社 2017 J1 amp J2 amp J3選手名鑑 NSK MOOK 8 February 2017 Japan ISBN 978 4905411420 p 176 out of 289 Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc 日本スポーツ企画出版社 2016J1 amp J2 amp J3選手名鑑 10 February 2016 Japan ISBN 978 4905411338 p 199 out of 289 Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc 日本スポーツ企画出版社 J1 amp J2 amp J3選手名鑑 2015 NSK MOOK 14 February 2015 Japan ISBN 978 4905411246 p 183 out of 298 External links EditAkira Kaji FIFA competition record archived Akira Kaji at National Football Teams com Japan National Football Team Database Akira Kaji at J League archive in Japanese Profile at Fagiano Okayama Akira Kaji at Soccerway Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Akira Kaji amp oldid 1129249357, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
