is a former

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

, most notably with

Yokohama Flügels was a Japanese football club that played in the J.League between 1993 and 1998. The club was an original member ("Original Ten") of the J.League in 1993. In 1999 the club was officially merged with local rivals Yokohama Marinos and the two tea ...

from 1991 to 1997.

Playing career

Yokohama Flugels (1991–1997)

Mori was born in Hyogo Prefecture on May 31, 1972. After graduating from high school, he joined

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...

(later renamed to

) in 1991. Upon the clubs election to the

J League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successfu ...

as founding members in 1993, Mori was the club's regular goalkeeper and became recognisable and popular for his dreadlocked hair among the club's supporters, who nicknamed him "Reggae-kun". He kept 5 clean sheets in the inaugural J League season as the Flügels finished 6th, reached the semi-finals of the J League Cup, and won the

1993 Emperor's Cup Statistics of Emperor's Cup in the 1993 season. Overview It was contested by 32 teams, and Yokohama Flügels won the championship. Results 1st round * Kashima Antlers 1–1 (PK 3–2) NKK *Tohoku Electric Power 3–2 Sanyo Sumoto S.C. * Nagoy ...

, as well as the 1994–95 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, with his performances eventually leading to talks of a

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

call-up, however, Mori's career ground to a halt on August 12, 1995 after an incident during a 6-0 loss to

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

. Dissatisfied with the referee, Mori intentionally barged his shoulder against the official and was subsequently sent off and handed a three month suspension, during which rookie goalkeeper

Seigo Narazaki is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Japan national team. Club career After graduating from Nara Ikuei High School in 1995, Narazaki joined J1 League side Yokohama Flügels. In August 1995, reg ...

took his place in goal and eventually became the favoured #1 for the Flügels.

Consadole Sapporo (1997)

Mori briefly returned to the side during the 1996-97 season, but never regained his regular starting position and was transferred to

Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership am ...

club

Consadole Sapporo is a Japanese professional football club, which plays in the J1 League. The team is based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. The club name of "Consadole" is made from ''consado'', a reverse of the Japanese word and the Spanish expression ...

in April 1997. Mori was unable to overtake

Dido Havenaar is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in the Netherlands, Havenaar is a naturalized Japanese citizen. His sons Mike and Nikki are also footballers. Playing career Havenaar was born in Hazerswoude-Dorp, N ...

as the club's first choice and played just 5 times, before retiring upon the end of the season at the age of 25.

Personal life

Mori married model and fashion designer Misaki in 1995. The two have a daughter, born in 1996. Mori became a fan of reggae music and Jamaican culture in the early 1990s, particularly

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

and

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

; he reflected this on the field with dreadlocked hair during his early career. After his retirement from football, Mori opened a bar called "Rock Steady" in Tokyo. Mori often works in the bar as a DJ, mainly playing reggae, ska, funk, rock-a-billy, and blues. In 2005, Mori founded the fashion brand "Wacko Maria" with fellow former professional footballer Keiji Ishizuka.

Club statistics

References

External links

* 1972 births Living people Association football people from Hyōgo Prefecture Japanese men's footballers Japan Soccer League players J1 League players Japan Football League (1992–1998) players Yokohama Flügels players Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo players Men's association football goalkeepers {{Japan-footy-goalkeeper-stub