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

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Club career

Nakano started his career with FC Tokyo while studying at the Waseda University. He moved to Germany in 2011 to join 6th division side Pommern Greifswald. He was loaned to Ekstraklasa side Arka Gdynia in 2012, but left less than five months later, without a first team appearance. He moved to

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

in 2013, joining Latvian First League side BFC Daugavpils. In his first season, Nakano managed a 1:1 goal ratio, scoring 26 goals in 26 games as his team were promoted to the Latvian Higher League. He earned a transfer to fellow Latvian side FK Jelgava in January 2016, and was included in the 2016 Latvian Higher League team of the season. Despite his good performances, Nakano struggled with the freezing weather in Latvia, as temperatures dipped to −25° in the winter. He was offered a move to

Thai League The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

side Chonburi F.C. in 2017, an opportunity which he took.

International career

Nakano has represented Japan at numerous youth levels, and was called up to represent a Japan XI against the

Nepal national football team The Nepal national football team ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्रिय फुटबल टोली) represents Nepal in FIFA, International men's association football, football, and is governed by the All Nepal Football Association ...

in 2016.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

Honours

Jelgava * Latvian First League: 2022 * Latvian Cup: 2015–16

References

External links

Profile
at UEFA {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakano, Ryotaro 1988 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Japanese men's footballers Association football people from Tokyo Metropolis People from Koganei, Tokyo FC Tokyo players Greifswalder SV 04 players Arka Gdynia players BFC Daugavpils players FS Jelgava players Ryotaro Nakano Ryotaro Nakano Oberliga (football) players IV liga players Latvian Higher League players Ryotaro Nakano Ryotaro Nakano Japanese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Latvia Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Latvia Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Thailand