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 le ...

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 made 22 appearances scoring 5 goals for Japan national team between 2005 and 2008.

Club career

Oguro joined the

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 ...

in 1999, with

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

. He was loaned to

Consadole Sapporo is a Japanese professional football club, which plays in the J1 League. The team is based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. The club name of "Consadole" is made from ''consado'', a reverse of the Japanese word and the Spanish expression ...

for the 2001 season, and returned to Gamba having impressed many in Osaka. In 2004, Oguro scored the second-highest number of goals in the J1 League, and the highest number of all Japanese-born players. In

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

, Oguro's name resembles that of the god

Daikokuten Daikokuten ( 大黒天) is a syncretic Japanese deity of fortune and wealth. Daikokuten originated from Mahākāla, the buddhist version of the Hindu deity Shiva, conflated with the native Shinto god Ōkuninushi. Overview Mahākāla in East Asia ...

, giving him that nickname.

's official merchandise store has come to be called the ''Shrine of Daikokuten''. In 2005, Oguro was the sixth top J1 League scorer, and helped lead Gamba Osaka to the J1 League championship. In December 2005, Oguro was signed by French club

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

, where he appeared in 17

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

matches. In August 2006, Oguro was transferred to Italian club

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. In June 2008, Oguro returned to Japan and moved to

side

Tokyo Verdy 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 ...

. However he could scored only two goals and Verdy was relegated to

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 ...

. In 2009, he played in J2 League first time and scored 21 goals. However the club finished at 7th place and could not return to J1. In 2010, Oguro moved to J2 club

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the first tier of football in the country. The club was formed by fans of Yokoh ...

and scored 12 goals in 16 matches until June. In June 2010, Oguro moved to J1 club

FC Tokyo Football Club Tokyo, commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team is one of only four in the J.League to be si ...

. In 2011, Oguro transferred to J1 club

Yokohama F. Marinos is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Having won the J-League title four times an ...

. He scored ten goals in 2011 season. However he could scored only two goals in 2012 season. In 2013, initially Oguro was registered in Yokohama F. Marinos (His registration was deleted in March). However on 4 February, Oguro moved to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side

Hangzhou Greentown Zhejiang Professional Football Club (), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang, is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (C ...

for the 2013 season, and rejoined manager

Takeshi Okada is a Japanese former football player and manager. He played for and managed the Japan national team. Club career Okada was born in Osaka on August 25, 1956. After graduating from Waseda University, he joined Japan Soccer League (JSL) club Fur ...

, whom he played under at Consadole Sapporo and Japan national team. In January 2014, Oguro returned to Japan and signed with J2 club

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 ...

. he scored 42 goals in two seasons. In 2016, he moved to

Montedio Yamagata is Japanese professional association football club based in Tendo, Yamagata. The club plays in J2 League. Montedio is a coined word combining the Italian word for "mountain" (Monte) and the word for "God" (Dio). History The club based in T ...

on loan. In 2017, he returned to Sanga. In 2018, he moved to

Tochigi SC , commonly referred to as Tochigi SC are a football club based in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. They currently play in the J2 League. History Teachers in Tochigi Prefecture founded the club in 1953. They were initially called self-exp ...

International career

Oguro was chosen for the Japan national team in 2005 for the 2006 World Cup qualifying games. During his second game for the team on 9 February, Oguro scored the second goal in injury time to help Japan to a 2–0 win over

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

in the final game of Asian qualification.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref> In 2005, Oguro was the fifth top scorer for the Japanese national team. In May 2006, Oguro was called up to play for Japan in the

2006 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 the ...

in Germany. He played 22 games and scored 5 goals for Japan until 2008.

Career statistics

Club

Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社
"2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)"
8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 191 out of 289)

International

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

Honors

Gamba Osaka *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

FC Tokyo *

Suruga Bank Championship The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship was an annual intercontinental football match held in Japan, contested by the reigning champions of the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament was previously officially called the ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Individual *

J.League Best Eleven 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 ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

References

External links

* * *
Japan National Football Team Database
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oguro, Masashi 1980 births Living people Association football people from Osaka Prefecture People from Toyonaka, Osaka Japanese footballers Association football forwards Japan international footballers 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players J1 League players J2 League players Ligue 2 players Serie A players Chinese Super League players Gamba Osaka players Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo players Grenoble Foot 38 players Torino F.C. players Tokyo Verdy players Yokohama FC players FC Tokyo players Yokohama F. Marinos players Zhejiang Professional F.C. players Kyoto Sanga FC players Montedio Yamagata players Tochigi SC players Japanese expatriate footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Japanese expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate footballers in China