is a Japanese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He played for Japan national team. He is best known for playing the majority of his career at Kashima Antlers, in addition to his spells with Italian sides

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

and Messina. Yanagisawa earned 58 caps for the Japan national team, and represented them at two

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

s, the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

and the

2000 Asian Cup The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Lebanon between 12 and 29 October 2000. Japan ...

Club career

Yanagisawa was born in Imizu on May 27, 1977. After graduating from high school, he joined Kashima Antlers in 1996. He debuted in May 1996. In 1997, he became a regular player and was selected Rookie of the Year awards. In 1990s, the club won the champions at 1996, 1998 J1 League,

1997 J.League Cup Statistics of J. League Cup, officially the '97 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, in the 1997 season. Overview It was contested by 20 teams, and Kashima Antlers won the cup. Results Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Quarterfinals *Na ...

and

1997 Emperor's Cup Statistics of Emperor's Cup in the 1997 season. Overview It was contested by 81 teams, and Kashima Antlers won the championship. Results 1st Round *Brummell Sendai 7–0 Yamaga Club * Iwami 0–7 Juntendo University *三菱重工長崎 2–1 ...

. In Asia, the club won 3rd place at

1998–99 Asian Cup Winners' Cup The winners of the 1998–99 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, the association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation, are listed below. First round West Asia 1 Al Nejmeh withdrew. East Asia 1 Police SC withdr ...

. In 2000, the club won all three major title in Japan; J1 League,

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of Y ...

and Emperor's Cup. In 2001, the club won J1 League for 2 years in a row and he was selected Japanese Footballer of the Year awards. In 2002, the club won

. In June 2003, Yanagisawa moved to Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

. He moved to Messina in 2004. In March 2006, Yanagisawa returned to Kashima Antlers. In 2007, the club won J1 League and Emperor's Cup. However his opportunity to play decreased behind young player Yuzo Tashiro and

Shinzo Koroki is a Japanese football player who plays for Urawa Red Diamonds. He played for Japan national team. Club career In 2023, Koroki return to Urawa Red Diamonds after Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo expiration contract in 2022 season. International car ...

. He moved to

Kyoto Sanga FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist templ ...

in 2008. He scored 14 goals which is top score in Japanese player in the league. However he could not scored many goals from 2009. He moved to

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in J2 League. The team is located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club'', Vegalta joined the J-League in 1999 after p ...

in 2011. In March 2011,

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six mi ...

occurred in wide area including Sendai. Although he did not play many matches, the club won the 4th place in 2011 and 2nd place in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. He retired end of 2014 season.

International career

In June 1997, Yanagisawa was selected Japan U20 national team for 1997 World Youth Championship. At this competition, he wore the number 10 shirt for Japan and played all five matches and scored four goals. On February 15, 1998, Yanagisawa debuted for Japan national team against Australia. From 1999, he was selected Japan well by manager

Philippe Troussier Philippe Omar TroussierOctober's ten - Religious conversions

. In September 2000, he also was selected Japan U23 national team for

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. He played in all four matches and scored a goal against

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in Quarterfinal. In October, he also played at

2000 AFC Asian Cup The 2000 AFC Asian Cup was the 12th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Lebanon between 12 and 29 October 2000. Japan def ...

and Japan won the champions. In 2002, he was selected Japan for

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

. He played as forward with club teammate

Takayuki Suzuki is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward. He made over 50 appearances for the Japanese national team and he played professionally for two decades in Japan, Brazil, Belgium, Serbia and the United States. Club caree ...

in three games. He also played at 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

. He played 58 games and scored 17 goals for Japan until 2006.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yanagisawa goal.''

Honors

Kashima Antlers * J1 League: 1996,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2001 Japan * AFC Asian Cup:

Individual * Asian Player of the Month: January 1998 *

J.League Rookie of the Year The J.League Best Young Player (formerly known as the "J.League Rookie of the Year" from 1993 to 2019) is awarded by the J.League to the most outstanding rookie of the season. To be considered a rookie, a player must be in his first professional y ...

: 1997 *

J.League Best XI The J.League Best XI is an acknowledgement of the best eleven players in J.League. J1 League (1993–present) Multiple appearances Appearances by club Appearances by country * Only in two occasions there was a full-Japanese Best XI (20 ...

: 1998, 2001, 2008 * Japanese Footballer of the Year: 2001

References

External links

* * * * *
Japan National Football Team Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yanagisawa, Atsushi 1977 births Living people Association football people from Toyama Prefecture Japanese footballers Association football forwards Japan youth international footballers Japan international footballers J1 League players Serie A players Kashima Antlers players U.C. Sampdoria players A.C.R. Messina players Kyoto Sanga FC players Vegalta Sendai players Olympic footballers of Japan Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2000 AFC Asian Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players AFC Asian Cup-winning players Expatriate footballers in Italy Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Japanese expatriate footballers