BioTakahiro Shimotaira began his career with Kashiwa Reysol, and his contributions were invaluable to helping the team win promotion to the J1 in 1995. He remained a central figure in the Reysol lineup until 2000, when a bit of restructuring at the team prompted by a new coach left him out in the cold. The following year he accepted a transfer to FC Tokyo, but in the two years he spend at the capitol city club, he failed to claim a central spot and his career started to move onto a downhill course. In 2003, another coaching change provided an opportunity for Shimotaira to return to the club that raised him, and though he was beginning to show his age, the return to familiar surroundings allowed him to breifly revive his career. He played 20 matches in 2003, but by 2004 he was clearly nearing the end of his career, and began to focus his efforts on coaching the many youngsters at Kashiwa. Shimotaira retired at the end of the 2004 season, but remains close to his old club and is studying to earn a coaching license so he can join the staff of Reysol's youth programme. As one of the players who created the mold for hard-tackling, fiercely combative midfielders, Shimotaira was feared and respected throughout his career, and inspired many imitators such as teammate Tomokazu Myojin and another former NT member, Kazuyuki Toda. Though Shimotaira himself received only a few calls to the national team, his contributions over 234 league matches will long be remembered by Reysol fans and J.League historians. |
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BioSeigo Shimokawa established himself as a very dependable and hard-working goaltender at Cerezo Osaka in the mid-1990s, and served as the team's unflinching starter for close to a decade. Playing on a team that was dedicated to offence, and treated defensive duties as an afterthought, Shimokawa was forced to work hard throughout his career, and though the Cerezo defence often leaked goals badly, that was never an accurate reflection of Shimokawa's contributions. On the contrary, despite a relatively high goals-against average, the Cerezo keeper even won a few calls to the National Team, though he never received a NT cap. Unlike some keepers who can lose their composure after conceding a goal, Shimokawa earned a reputation for cool and even-tempered fortitude, even when he was being barraged by shots from the opposing team. By 2003 age, injury and competition from younger players finally pushed him out of the starting spot that he had held at Cerezo continuously since joining them out of university. Shimokawa extended his career for two more seasons with a move to Kawasaki Frontale, but was only able to win occasional playing time as age began to catch up with him. Nevertheless, his career statistics make him a suitable inclusion as a member of our hall of fame, and he will long be remembered by the Cerezo faithful for his cool presence at the back of the flaming pink defence. |
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BioFor nearly a decade, Masanori Sanada was the cool head at the back of the Shimizu S-Pulse, spending eleven seasons at his hometown club and leading the Wingheads to two cup championships and a runner-up league result in 1999, when S-Pulse lost to Jubilo Iwata. Sanada was also between the posts in 2000, when S-Pulse captured the Asia Cup Winner's Cup. Sanada was never called up to the national team, but he did represent his country at the 1987 Universiade, when he started in net for the Japan all-university team. In 2001, Sanada finally stepped aside to relinquish his starting position to young Takaya Kurokawa, but he continued to wear the Number 1 jersey and make occasional appearances for S-Pulse until the end of 2004, when he finally called an end to his playing career and joined the S-Pulse coaching ranks. At the time he ritired, his 243 first-division starts put him third on the all-time list of J.League keepers, just one appearance behind the "grand old man", Nobuyuki Kojima. |
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BioMasaaki Saawanobori was a central figure at Shimizu S-Pulse throughout his career, and fully deserves the nickname "Mr. S-Pulse", for his great contributions to the team that he served faithfully for 13 years. Sawanobori helped set the mold for the Japanese play-making midfielder, and though he would soon be surpassed by a younger, more talented generation of players, when the J.League was formed back in 1993, he was one of the early stars and icons. Though not as well as those who came later, and gained fame for Japanese midfielders, Sawanobori set the standard in the early years, and pioneered the stereotype of a small, nimble player who could shred opposing defences with a single touch of the ball. Sawanobori was also a member of Japan's National Team, earning 22 caps over his NT career and scoring three goals. However, in terms of gaining fame for the National Team, his timing was unfortunate. He did not begin to see any regular action until the year following Japan's famous "Agony at Doha" match, and by the time the 1998 World Cup qualification matches began he had been edged out of the NT lineup by younger players like Hidetoshi Nakata and Hiroshi Nanami. Although it was not considered particularly unusual in the early years of the league, by the time that Sawanobori retired it was becoming rare for a player to spend his entire career with a single team. Over a 381-match J.League career, however, Sawanobori made an indelible mark for the Wingheads of eastern Shizuoka. He still ranks high in the list of J.League career leaders for goals and assists, and he certainly rates as a legend in S-Pulse team history. |
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