Sergio Escudero (エスクデロ 競飛王, ''Esukudero Seruhio''; ; born September 1, 1988) is a professional
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 ...
. Born in Spain, he has represented Japan internationally. He is the son of Argentine-Japanese footballer
Sergio Ariel Escudero.
Biography
As the son of a former Argentine-Japanese footballer of
the same name, he was born to
Argentine parents of Spanish descent in Spain, and thus held dual Argentine and Spanish citizenship. In 2007, he acquired Japanese citizenship automatically as a result of his father's naturalization. Escudero is a cousin of
Damián Escudero
Damián Ariel Escudero (born 20 April 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder.
He was a well-travelled professional, playing for a number of clubs in Argentina, Spain, Mexico and Brazil after starting out a ...
and nephew of
Osvaldo Escudero
Osvaldo Salvador Escudero (born October 15, 1960 in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes) is a former Argentine professional footballer. He was part of the Argentina Under-20 team that won the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship in Japan.
Escudero st ...
.
Career
When Escudero was three years old, he moved to
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 ...
because of his father's work and joined the local club team. After living in Japan for five years, he moved to
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and Escudero began his career with the
Vélez Sársfield youth team, where his father, also named
Sergio Ariel Escudero and uncle
Osvaldo Salvador Escudero have played. Then he was called up to the U-15
Argentina national team training camp.
In 2001, Escudero returned to Japan and joined
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 ...
junior youth team in Chiba and later moved to
Urawa Red Diamonds
, colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...
junior youth team in Saitama. He scored many goals in youth level league matches and contracted with Urawa Reds in 2005. Playing 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 ...
, Escudero made his debut as a professional on April 15, 2005, against
Albirex Niigata
is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. From 2023, Albirex will be playing on the J1 League, coming back to the fir ...
at the age of 16 years, 8 months and 21 days and he became the second youngest
J. League
The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most succe ...
Division 1 player after
Takayuki Morimoto
is a Japanese professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for Taiwan Football Premier League club Taichung Futuro F.C., Taichung Futuro. He holds the record for the youngest Japanese playe ...
. In 2006, German outfit
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
were interested in him but Urawa refused to release him.
On June 11, 2007, he obtained his Japanese citizenship and therefore he had a chance to play for the
Japan U-20 team at
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. However he failed to make it to the tournament since the squad was submitted before he became a Japanese citizen. In May 2008, he joined the
U-23 national team which played at the
2008 Toulon Tournament
The 2008 Toulon Tournament was the 36th edition of the Toulon Tournament, and was held from 20 May to 29 May 2008. Tournament finished with the final between Italy and Chile at Stade Mayol in Toulon as Italy had the title after the final score of ...
and scored a goal against
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
.
On July 17, 2012, Escudero joined South Korean outfit
FC Seoul
FC Seoul ( ko, FC 서울) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS Group. They play their home games ...
on a six-month loan deal. He received number 26 and scored his debut goal on July 21. He scored 4 goals and provided 3 assists in the end of the season. His loan was made permanent in December. He scored the opening goal and assisted
Dejan Damjanovic's 2:2 Equalizer in the
2013 AFC Champions League Final
The 2013 AFC Champions League Final was the final match of the 2013 AFC Champions League, the thirty-second round of the top grade Asian club football tournament. It was organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was the eleventh roun ...
match against China powerhouse
Guangzhou Evergrande
Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...
in October 26, 2013. His impressive performance made him
Man of the Match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
.
On 25 February 2015, Escudero signed a two-year contract with
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
Jiangsu Guoxin-Sainty
Jiangsu Football Club (), later known as Jiangsu Sainty F.C. (2000–2016) and Jiangsu Suning F.C. (2016–2021), was a professional football club that participated in the Chinese Super League since 2009 until its dissolution in 2021. The tea ...
.
Career statistics
''Updated to end of 2018 season''.
Club
International
International goals
:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.''
Under–23
Awards and honours
Club
;Urawa Red Diamonds
*
J. League Division 1
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 Football Confederation, Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promot ...
: 1
::
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
*
Emperor's Cup
, commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...
: 2
::
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 ...
,
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
*
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
: 1
::
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
*
Japanese Super Cup
The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association (JFA). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the r ...
: 1
::
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
;FC Seoul
*
K League Classic
The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs.
History
The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...
: 1
::
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
;Jiangsu Guoxin-Sainty
*
Chinese FA Cup
The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh titl ...
: 1
::
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
References
External links
Profile at Kyoto Sanga*
*
Q&A with Escudero at fussballD21Yahoo! Sports Profile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escudero, Sergio
1988 births
Living people
Footballers from Granada
Citizens of Argentina through descent
Argentine footballers
Spanish footballers
Japanese footballers
Japanese expatriate footballers
J1 League players
J2 League players
K League 1 players
Chinese Super League players
Urawa Red Diamonds players
FC Seoul players
Jiangsu F.C. players
Kyoto Sanga FC players
Ulsan Hyundai FC players
category:Tochigi SC players
Expatriate footballers in South Korea
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in South Korea
Expatriate footballers in China
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in China
Argentine sportspeople of Spanish descent
Spanish people of Argentine descent
Sportspeople of Argentine descent
Naturalized citizens of Japan
Japanese people of Spanish descent
Japanese people of Argentine descent
Sergio Escudero
Association football forwards