is a former Japanese

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.

Playing career

Kato was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

on December 24, 1969. After graduating from high school, he joined

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

(JSL) club Toho Titanium in 1988. He played as regular goalkeeper. In 1991, he moved to JSL club

Tokyo Gas , founded in 1885, is the primary provider of natural gas to the main cities of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Yamanashi, and Nagano. , Tokyo Gas is the largest natural gas utility in Japan. Timeline *October 1, ...

and played in 3 seasons. In 1994, he moved to

Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership am ...

club

PJM Futures was a Japanese football club that played in the former Japan Football League between 1994 and 1996. History PJM Futures was founded in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka in 1987 as the team of PJM Japan, a company based on Paul J. Meyer's U.S. academy Suc ...

. In 1995, he moved to newly was promoted to

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 ...

club,

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 Stadiu ...

. Although he played many matches in 1995, his opportunity to play decreased behind

Yoichi Doi is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Japan national team He is the current goalkeeper coach J2 League club of Renofa Yamaguchi. Club career Doi was born in Kumamoto on 25 July 1973. After gra ...

from 1996. In 1998, he moved to Consadole Sapporo. However he could hardly play in the match behind

Dido Havenaar is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in the Netherlands, Havenaar is a naturalized Japanese citizen. His sons Mike and Nikki are also footballers. Playing career Havenaar was born in Hazerswoude-Dorp, N ...

and

Yohei Sato is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Sato was born in Sendai on 22 November 1972. After graduating from high school, he joined Sumitomo Metal (later ''Kashima Antlers'') in 1991. Although he played many matches in first seaso ...

. In 2000, he moved to

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...

. However he could hardly play in the match behind

Takashi Shimoda is a former Japanese football player. He who is the currently goalkeeper coach for Japan. Club career Shimoda was born in Hiroshima on 28 November 1975. After graduating from high school, he joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 1994. He did not play m ...

. In May 2002, he moved to

(JFL) club Sagawa Express Tokyo. He played many matches in 3 seasons. In 2005, he moved to

Regional Leagues In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

club

Rosso Kumamoto is a Japanese football club based in Kumamoto, the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture. The club currently plays in the J2 League, which is the second tier of football in the country. ''Roasso'' is a portmanteau of the Italian words ''rosso'' an ...

(later ''Roasso Kumamoto''). He played many matches in 2005 and the club was promoted to JFL from 2006. He also served a goalkeeper coach from 2006 and the club was promoted 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 ...

end of 2007 season. He retired from playing career end of 2007 season. On April 18, 2014, he came back as player because multiple goalkeepers were injured. However he did not play in the match and his registration was deleted on April 25.Roasso Kumamoto
/ref>

Coaching career

In 2006, when Kato played for

(later ''Roasso Kumamoto''), he became a goalkeeper coach for the club. He coached until end of 2014 season. In 2015, he moved to

JFA Academy Fukushima LSC JFA may refer to: Football associations * Japan Football Association * Jersey Football Association * Johor Football Association * Jordan Football Association Other uses * JFA (band), an American hardcore punk band * Jazz Foundation of America ...

and became a goalkeeper coach.

Club statistics

References

External links

*
Roasso Kumamoto
1969 births Living people Association football people from Tokyo Japanese men's footballers Japan Soccer League players J1 League players J2 League players Japan Football League (1992–1998) players Japan Football League players Toho Titanium SC players FC Tokyo players Sagan Tosu players Kashiwa Reysol players Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo players Sanfrecce Hiroshima players Sagawa Shiga FC players Roasso Kumamoto players Men's association football goalkeepers {{Japan-footy-goalkeeper-stub