Nobuyuki Kojima

Nobuyuki Kojima (小島 伸幸, Kojima Nobuyuki, born January 17, 1966) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for the Japan national team.

Nobuyuki Kojima
小島 伸幸

Personal information
Date of birth	(1966-01-17) January 17, 1966 (age 57)
Place of birth	Maebashi, Gunma, Japan
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1981–1983	Niijima Gakuen High School
1984–1987	Doshisha University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1988–1998	Bellmare Hiratsuka	186	(0)
1999–2001	Avispa Fukuoka	67	(0)
2002–2005	Thespa Kusatsu	67	(0)
Total		320	(0)
International career
1995–1996	Japan	4	(0)
Honours Bellmare Hiratsuka Winner Emperor's Cup 1994 Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1988
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He played for several clubs, including Bellmare Hiratsuka, Avispa Fukuoka and Thespa Kusatsu. He played for the Japan national team (4 matches) and was a participant at the 1998 World Cup.

Club career

Kojima started playing football when he was in the 5th grade and was converted to a goalkeeper at high school. After graduating from Doshisha University in 1988, Kojima joined Fujita Industries (later Bellmare Hiratsuka) playing in the Japan Soccer League Division 1. He became a regular starting member of the team in 1994. He had been playing for the club as an employee of Fujita Industries but turned professional in January 1995.

At the end of 1998, Bellmare released their main players including Kojima as well as Wagner Lopes, Hong Myung-bo, Kazuaki Tasaka and Yoshihiro Natsuka due to their financial problems. Kojima moved to Avispa Fukuoka. He further moved to Thespa Kusatsu in 2002 that played in the Gunma Prefectural League division 2. As a player - assistant coach, he was instrumental in the team's promotion to the Japan Football League, then J2 League. His last competitive game was against Consadole Sapporo on December 3, 2005 and he announced his retirement from the game in January 2006.

International career

In January 1995, Kojima was selected by the Japan national team for the 1995 King Fahd Cup, but did not play any game in the tournament. He played on June 6, 1995 against Brazil in the Umbro Cup. He played four games for Japan until 1996.^[1] He was in the squad for the 1996 AFC Asian Cup and 1998 FIFA World Cup as reserve goalkeeper but did not play any game in the tournament.

After retirement

Kojima is currently an advisor for Kusatsu. He also serves as a pundit for NHK, as of February 2010.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bellmare Hiratsuka^[a]	1988–89	JSL Division 1	5	0					5	0
	1989–90		7	0			0	0	7	0
	1990–91	JSL Division 2	2	0			1	0	3	0
	1991–92		0	0			0	0	0	0
	1992	Football League	0	0			—		0	0
	1993		0	0					0	0
	1994	J1 League	41	0	5	0	1	0	47	0
	1995		47	0	2	0	—		49	0
	1996		29	0	3	0	15	0	47	0
	1997		21	0	3	0	0	0	24	0
	1998		34	0					34	0
Avispa Fukuoka	1999	J1 League	29	0	2	0	3	0	34	0
	2000		30	0	1	0	2	0	33	0
	2001		8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
Thespa Kusatsu	2002	Prefectural Leagues	6	0	3	0	—		9	0
	2003	Regional Leagues	12	0	2	0	—		14	0
	2004	Football League	26	0	5	0	—		31	0
	2005	J2 League	23	0	1	0	—		24	0
Career total			320	0	27	0	23	0	370	0

1. "Fujita Industries" until 1994

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[1]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Japan	1995	3	0
	1996	1	0
Total		4	0

References

1. Japan National Football Team Database

External links

• – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Nobuyuki Kojima at National-Football-Teams.com
• Japan National Football Team Database
• Nobuyuki Kojima at J.League () (in Japanese)