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

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. He played for the Japan national team.

Club career

Maezono was born in

Satsumasendai is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Satsumasendai was established on October 12, 2004, from the merger of the city of Sendai, the towns of Hiwaki, Iriki, Kedōin and Tōgō, and the Koshikijima Islands (whi ...

on 29 October 1973. After graduating from high school, he joined

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 ...

in 1992. He debuted in June 1993 and he became a regular player after his debut. The club 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 ...

, their first major title. In Asia, the club also won the 1994–95 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, their first Asian title. In 1997, he moved to

Verdy Kawasaki is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country. Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with ...

(later ''Tokyo Verdy''). In October 1998, he moved to Brazil and played for Santos (1998) and

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

(1999). In 2000, he returned to Japan and joined

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 Yas ...

club

Shonan Bellmare is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa 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 Hiratsuka ...

. In 2001, he returned to Tokyo Verdy. In 2003, he moved to South Korea and played for Anyang LG Cheetahs (2003) and

Incheon United Incheon United FC is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the city ...

(2004). He announced his retirement in May 2005.

International career

On 22 May 1994, Maezono debuted for the Japan national team against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He also played at the

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games ( ja, 1994年アジア競技大会, ''Senkyūhyakukyūjūyon-nen Ajia kyōgi taikai''), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games ( ja, 第12回アジア競技大会, Daijūni-kai Ajia kyōgi taikai), were held from ...

. From 1995, Maezono prioritized the Japan U-23 national team. He played as captain for U-23 Japan. In the 1996 Summer Olympics Qualifiers Japan qualified for the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

for the first time in 28 years since the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

where Japan won the Bronze Medal. At the 1996 Olympics, although Japan won 2 matches, they exited in the first round. At the Olympics Japan beat

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in the first game. It was known as the "Miracle of Miami" ( マイアミの奇跡) in Japan. He played 3 games at the Olympics and scored 2 goals against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. After the 1996 Summer Olympics, in August 1996, Maezono was selected by the Japan senior team for the first time in years. On 25 August, he played and scored a goal against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. This goal was his first goal for Japan. In December, he played at the

1996 Asian Cup The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th 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 the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 Decem ...

. He played 19 games and scored 4 goals for Japan until 1997.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref>

Beach Soccer career

After retirement, Maezono was selected by the

Japan national beach soccer team The Japan national beach soccer team represents Japan in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the JFA, the governing body for football in Japan. One of the leading Asian beach soccer teams, Japan's best performance at the ...

by manager

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 car ...

who was his team mate at

. Japan won the championship at the

2009 AFC Beach Soccer Championship The 2009 AFC Beach Soccer Championship was a qualifying tournament held during 7 November – 11, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates that determined which two participants will represent the AFC region at the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. P ...

and participated in the 2009 Beach Soccer World Cup.

Club statistics

National team statistics

National team goals

:''Results list Japan's goal tally first.''

Honors and awards

; Individual *

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 ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

; Japan beach soccer national team *

AFC Beach Soccer Championship The AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup is the main championship for beach soccer in Asia, contested between the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the sport's version of the better known AFC Asian C ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

National team

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maezono, Masakiyo 1973 births Living people Association football people from Kagoshima Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan international footballers J1 League players J2 League players K League 1 players Yokohama Flügels players Tokyo Verdy players Santos FC players Goiás Esporte Clube players Shonan Bellmare players FC Seoul players Incheon United FC players Japanese expatriate footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Japanese expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate footballers in Brazil Expatriate footballers in South Korea Olympic footballers of Japan Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1996 AFC Asian Cup players Association football forwards Association football midfielders Footballers at the 1994 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Japan