is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

football player who plays for

Iwate Grulla Morioka is a Japanese association football club based in Morioka, Iwate. It played in the inaugural season of J3 League in 2014 after winning the Tohoku Soccer League, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues, in 2013. Iwate played in the J3 until 2021, wh ...

in J3 League. Mizuno began his professional career with JEF United Chiba, with whom he won the

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 ...

in 2005 and 2006; he was named most valuable player of the 2006 competition. His other former clubs include

Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League and play their home games in JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu. The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French ...

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium ...

, and Scottish side Celtic. Mizuno has 4 caps for the Japan national team, including two appearances as a substitute at the

2007 Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its hi ...

.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref> As a youth, Mizuno also appeared in the 2005 World Youth Championship as a member of the Japanese Under-20 team, scoring one goal. He is the cousin of

Keita Suzuki Keita Suzuki may refer to: * Keita Suzuki (footballer, born 1981) * Keita Suzuki (footballer, born 1997) * Keita Suzuki (basketball) {{hndis, Suzuki, Keita ...

, also a footballer.

Club career

JEF United Chiba

After graduating from

Shimizu Commercial High School was a co-educational commercial high school located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan. The school was founded in 1921 and was permanently closed on March 31st, 2013. It had a strong soccer program and won the All Japan High School Soccer Tournamen ...

, Mizuno joined

JEF United Ichihara , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba a ...

(later ''JEF United Chiba'') in 2004. He was the MVP of the 2006

competition.

Celtic

Celtic's interest was confirmed by chief executive

Peter Lawwell Peter Lawwell (born 27 May 1959) is the former chief executive of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. He retired in June 2021 from his role as CEO. He was announced as successor to current Celtic chairman Ian Bankier on 2nd December 2022 and will ...

in January 2008 who explained that the club planned on signing Mizuno, if he was granted a work permit. After initially being denied a permit,

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Co ...

took part in an appeal hearing in which he described his other Japanese import

Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans wi ...

as a "flawless performer" and "The best player I have ever worked with, and that includes enny Dalglish and ary McAllister", and claimed that Mizuno was a young player of immense talent and potential. The appeal was successful and Celtic completed the signing of Koki Mizuno on 29 January 2008. On 18 July 2008, Mizuno made his debut in a 2–0

pre-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

friendly win over

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. On 8 November, he made his

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

debut for Celtic in a 2–0 victory over Motherwell, replacing

Scott McDonald Scott Douglas McDonald (born 21 August 1983) is an Australian former professional footballer and is the current head coach for National Premier Leagues club Gold Coast Knights. Originally a striker, McDonald could also play as an attacking m ...

in the 88th minute and, on 21 December 2008, he made his first start in a game against Falkirk. He scored his first goal for Celtic in the 90th minute of the match, assisted by a pass from

. The following season, 2009–10, Mizuno only made two appearances for Celtic in all competitions. On 1 July 2010, Mizuno was released by Celtic.

Kashiwa Reysol

In the summer of 2010, Mizuno signed for J2 League side Kashiwa Reysol. In his first game for Kashiwa, he suffered a knee ligament injury which sidelined him for the rest of the 2010 season.

International career

Mizuno was a member of the Japan team for 2005 World Youth Championship where he scored a goal against

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

. His first cap as a full international came when he substituted

Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese football player and manager. He played for Japan's national football team. Currently, he is the manager for Okinawa SV. Club career Takahara was born in Mishima on 4 June 1979. After graduating from high school, he joined Júbil ...

on 24 March 2007 in a friendly against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. He was a member of the Japan team for

and played two games as a substitute.

Club statistics

''Updated to 23 February 2017''.

National team statistics

Honours

;JEF United Chiba *

Champions: 2005, 2006 ;Celtic * Scottish Premier League Runner-up: 2008–09, 2009–10 ;Individual *

MVP: 2006

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mizuno, Koki 1985 births Living people Japanese men's footballers Japan men's youth international footballers Japan men's international footballers J1 League players J2 League players J3 League players JEF United Chiba players Kashiwa Reysol players Ventforet Kofu players Vegalta Sendai players Sagan Tosu players Roasso Kumamoto players SC Sagamihara players category:Iwate Grulla Morioka players Scottish Premier League players Celtic F.C. players Japanese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Scotland 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Men's association football wingers Association football people from Shizuoka (city)