is a Japanese

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 ...

manager and former player. He made more than 250 appearances in 14 years with

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the c ...

, including a year on loan to

Kyoto Purple Sanga 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 ...

, before spending his final season as a professional with

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 ...

. He also played 35 times for the Japan national team. His brother Hiroshi and his sons Shohei and

Keigo The Japanese language has a system of honorific speech, referred to as , parts of speech that show respect. Their use is mandatory in many social situations. Honorifics in Japanese may be used to emphasize social distance or disparity in rank, ...

are also footballers. He is the current head coach of Japan's senior and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

teams.

Club career

Moriyasu was educated at and played for Nagasaki Nihon University High School. After finishing his school, he joined

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

side

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one ...

in 1987. New manager

Hans Ooft Marius Johan ("Hans") Ooft (born 1947) is a Dutch former football player and manager who became the first foreigner to head the Japanese football team. Under Ooft, Japan won the Asian Championship for the first time in 1992 but was fired a yea ...

rated him highly and established him as an anchoring midfielder in the team. In April 1990, Moriyasu had a trial at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. When Japan's first ever professional league, J.League, started in 1993, Mazda was transformed to

for whom he continued to play. Together with

Yahiro Kazama is a Japanese manager and former footballer. He played for the Japan national team. He is the first Japanese player to score in the J1 League. His two sons Koki Kazama and Koya Kazama are also footballers. Club career Kazama was born in Shi ...

, he controlled Hiroshima's midfield and contributed to the club winning the second stage of the 1994 J1 League season. In 1998, Ooft became the manager of

and recruited Moriyasu on a loan deal. The deal was initially meant to be a permanent one but infuriated Hiroshima supporters collected signatures against the deal, which forced the clubs to settle for a loan. He was the linchpin of Kyoto for the 1998 season. Moriyasu came back to Hiroshima for the 1999 season but find out his opportunities to play gradually decreasing mainly because of young Kazuyuki Morisaki's challenge for the place. He was offered a coaching position at Hiroshima in 2002 but turned it down to continue to play. He moved to

and retired there at the end of the 2003 season.

International career

Ooft became the national coach of Japan national team in 1992. Ooft called up and played Moriyasu for his first match in charge against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

held on 31 May 1992 at the

Tokyo National Stadium The Japan National Stadium, officially named and formerly known as or , is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for association football in Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The facility served as the main stadium for the opening and ...

. Moriyasu was still a low-profile player at that time and many international teammates didn't know how to pronounce his name. What Ooft asked him to do throughout his reign was a simple task, to "win the ball and pass it to playmaker

Ruy Ramos is a former football player and manager, originally from Brazil, who spent his career in Japan and played for the Japan national team. Ramos is currently active as a television personality and '' tarento'', represented with Irving. Club ca ...

". He was a member of the Japan team that won the

1992 Asian Cup The 1992 AFC Asian Cup was the 10th 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 Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan between 29 Octobe ...

and played all the Japan games except the final against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

for which he was ineligible due to suspension. Under Ooft, Japan progressed to the

1994 World Cup qualification File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson M ...

for the 1994 World Cup. Moriyasu was on the pitch when Japan's hope to play in the finals was dashed by an injury time Iraqi equaliser in the last qualifier, the match that the Japanese fans now refer to as the

Agony of Doha In the final round of matches of the final round of Asian qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Japan and Iraq drew 2–2 in Doha, Qatar. If Japan had won the match, they would have qualified for the World Cup for the first time. Instead, Ja ...

. He was capped 35 times between 1992 and 1996.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref> He scored one goal for his country in a friendly against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

on 10 February 1996.

Coaching career

Moriyasu served as a coach for

from the 2004 season. He also coached the Japan national youth team which participated in the

2006 AFC Youth Championship The 2006 AFC Youth Championship was the 34th instance of the AFC Youth Championship. It was held from 29 October to 12 November 2006 in India. It was the first time for India to host this tournament. Sixteen teams from the AFC qualified to the f ...

and the

2007 U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the sco ...

. He was a coach for the Hiroshima first team from 2007 to 2009 before a spell coaching at

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. From 2023, Albirex will be playing on the J1 League, coming back to the f ...

. It was confirmed on 8 December 2011 that Moriyasu would return to Sanfrecce Hiroshima as manager for the 2012 season. Since then, he has won the J1 league title for both the 2012 season and the 2013 season. He left the club in July 2017 after poor results in the league campaign. Moriyasu was the coach of the under-23 national team preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He will stay on even as his duties were broadened by his new appointment. Moriyasu assisted coach Akira Nishino in the last 16 in the recent World Cup finals in Russia. On 26 July 2018, with the current coach stepping down, the Japan Football Association appointed Hajime Moriyasu as the new coach of the men's national team, with an eye to the World Cup in 2022. He led Japan to the

2019 AFC Asian Cup Final The 2019 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match which determined the winner of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of the Asia ...

after defeated

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

3–0 at semi-finals, but was defeated at the final 3–1 to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

to mark Japan's first defeat at a continental final.

Personal life

Moriyasu's son, Keigo Moriyasu, played as a striker for

Edgeworth FC Edgeworth Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Edgeworth, near Newcastle, New South Wales. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW. History The suburb of Edgewort ...

in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW in Australia. Another son Shohei also played football professionally for

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Y ...

side

Kamatamare Sanuki Kamatamare Sanuki (カマタマーレ讃岐、Kamatamare Sanuki) is a football club based in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Takamatsu, the capital city of Kagawa Prefecture of Japan. They currently play in the J3 League. They entered the J League in 2014 aft ...

Club statistics

National team statistics

Managerial statistics

Honors and awards

Player

;Japan *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

(1):

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Manager

;Sanfrecce Hiroshima *

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

(3):

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 gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Japanese Super Cup The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association (JFA). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the r ...

(3):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

: Third Place

;Japan U23 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

: Silver medal

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

;Japan *

: Runner-up

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

EAFF E-1 Football Championship EAFF E-1 Football Championship, known as the East Asian Football Championship from 2003 to 2010, and the EAFF East Asian Cup for the 2013 and 2015 editions, is a men's international football competition in East Asia for member nations of the East ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

;Individual * J.League Manager of the Year (3): 2012, 2013, 2015

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moriyasu, Hajime 1968 births Living people Association football people from Shizuoka Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan international footballers Japan Soccer League players J1 League players Sanfrecce Hiroshima players Kyoto Sanga FC players Vegalta Sendai players 1992 AFC Asian Cup players 1995 King Fahd Cup players AFC Asian Cup-winning players Japanese football managers J1 League managers Sanfrecce Hiroshima managers People from Kakegawa, Shizuoka Association football midfielders 2019 AFC Asian Cup managers 2019 Copa América managers 2022 FIFA World Cup managers