Kintaro Miyagi (born April 14, 1998) is a Filipino footballer for

Philippines Football League The Philippines Football League, commonly known as PFL, is a Filipino professional football league sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is the Philippines' highest level of men's club football, supplanting the United Footb ...

club

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

. He has played for the

Philippines national football team The Philippines national football team (Filipino/ tl, Pambansang koponan ng futbol ng Pilipinas, lit=) represents the Philippines in international football, governed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and has been playing internationa ...

Amateur career

Youth

While attending

Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

, Miyagi played for the Magis Eagles his school's varsity team which he helped win various titles. He was also represented

Mandaue Mandaue (), officially the City of Mandaue ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Mandaue; fil, Lungsod ng Mandaue), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 364,116 ...

in local inter-city tournaments as well as Central Visayas in regional meets such as the

Palarong Pambansa The Palarong Pambansa (Filipino language, Filipino for "National Games") is an annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from 17 regions of the Philippines. The event, started in 1948, is organized and governed by the Department of Ed ...

Collegiate career

He decided to move to Metro Manila from Cebu after he graduated from high school to study at the

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

to take up a bachelor's degree in Physical Education. The university's football head coach, Anto Gonzales offered him a scholarship to study at the school so he could become part of UP's football team. Miyagi helped lead the Maroons to two

UAAP Football Championship The University Athletic Association of the Philippines Football Championship is usually held during the second semester of the school year (December–April). Tournament format The tournament has three divisions: men, women and boys. As of seaso ...

titles in Seasons 78 and 80, as well as four

Philippine University Games The Philippine University Games, abbreviated as the UNIGAMES, is a national collegiate sports competition in the Philippines organized by the UNIGAMES, Incorporated. Founded in 1996, it was first held at the University of St. La Salle, the foundi ...

(Unigames) championships, before deciding to forgo his final collegiate playing year to pursue a football career professionally.

Professional career

Miyagi was signed by his hometown

club

Cebu F.C. Dynamic Herb Cebu Football Club (also known as DH Cebu or Cebu FC) is a Philippines, Filipino professional association football, football club based in Cebu City. The team plays in the Philippines Football League (PFL), the top-flight league of f ...

, who are to make their debut in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

International

Miyagi became part of the youth program of the Philippine national team in 2011. He was part of the country's U13/U14 squad representing the country in youth tournaments. He played as a defender as a national youth player. As part of the U15 team which was coached by Anto Gonzales, he played at the 2013

Football Association of Malaysia The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM, ms, Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia) is the national governing body of football in Malaysia responsible for organising the Malaysia national football team within the country. The Football Association of ...

(FAM)-Frenz U-15 ASEAN Champions Trophy. In 2016, he was part of the U19 squad coached by Dan Padernal for the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers. His first call up to the senior national team was in 2017. He was part of a squad which participated at the 2017 CTFA International Tournament, a friendly tournament in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. The national team is led by

Marlon Maro Marlon Maro (born June 21, 1965) is a Filipino football coach and former international football player. He was the head coach of the Philippines women's national football team in 2021. Club career Maro played as a player for Philippine Navy. ...

in lieu of regular coach,

Thomas Dooley Thomas Dooley (born May 12, 1961) is an American former soccer player and coach. He played as a defender and defensive midfielder and was a long-time member and former captain of the United States national team. Dooley recently served as the ...

since the national federation was supposed to send an under-23 team which Maro coaches. Miyagi earned his first cap in the 3–1 win against

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

on December 1, 2017. He came in as a substitute for Phil Younghusband in the 70th minute. Playing for the senior team as a striker, Miyagi scored the third goal for the Philippines in the 81st minute.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyagi, Kintaro Filipino people of Japanese descent University of the Philippines alumni University Athletic Association of the Philippines footballers Filipino footballers Philippines international footballers 1998 births Living people Association football forwards Cebu F.C. players