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 ...

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 ...

or defender.

Career

Japan

Shin played alongside Japanese national hero

Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans wi ...

, who also started his career at Yokohoma. In 2002 acquired by

Omiya Ardija is a professional association football club based in Ōmiya in Saitama, Japan. Its "hometown" as designated by the league is the whole of Saitama city, which is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. Omiya competed in the J1 League follow ...

and then

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team is located in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima. The name, "Vorti ...

. He played part of the 2005 season and all of the 2006 season for ALO's Hokuriku of the

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 a ...

in Japan.

Crystal Palace Baltimore

In his first season in Baltimore, Harada was named to the USL Second Division All-League Second-Team, and followed that up by being named in the USL Second Division All-League First-Team in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Harada has become USL-2 All-League regular by making his fourth consecutive appearance on an All-League team. He was also the

Most Valuable Defender Most or Möst or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** ...

finalist in 2009, and earned that award in 2010. He is nominated as 2010 USL Second Division Most Valuable Player. During the 2008 off-season, several Major League Soccer clubs showed interest in him, and invited to take part in their trials such by Chicago Fire,

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

, and San Jose Earthquakes, but due to injury had to return to Palace for the 2009 season. Following his impressive performances in the 2009 season, Harada went on trial at Baltimore's English parent club,

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. After three months of training with

Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club is a professional football club based in Selhurst in the Borough of Croydon, South London, England, who compete in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. Although formally created as a profes ...

, he was selected as the "Palace's Other Player Of The Year" on Crystal Palace's official club magazine, and featured also on Major League Soccer's expansion team Philadelphia Union's official website as a strong candidate for the club's tryout.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds

On 22 March 2010, the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

announced the signing of Harada to a contract for the 2010 season. While in the second division, Harada won the league's USL Second Division All-League First Team for 4 consecutive years. He re-signed with Pittsburgh, in the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

league, on 21 February 2011.

Dayton Dutch Lions

After the conclusion of the 2012 season, Harada was invited to tryout with

CE Sabadell FC Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team based in Sabadell, a city in the province of Barcelona in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2, holdin ...

that plays in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Segunda División. Before the

season started, Harada signed with

Dayton Dutch Lions Dayton Dutch Lions is an American soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the USL Professional D ...

, where he led the club into the playoffs for the first time in club history.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks

On 12 February 2015, The

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The franchise is owned by Martin E Ra ...

announced the signing of Harada for the 2015 season. This will be Harada's 3rd team in

USL PRO The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. Head Coach Steve Trittschuh praised that "Harada has been a great leader for us and role model for the younger players". On 23 June 2015, Harada made his 100th appearance in

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

as the first Japanese in league history. Harada ended his first season with the

with 2 goals and 2 assists and logged 2,000 minutes of play time. On 12 January 2016, it was announced that Harada had resigned for

for the 2016

season.

Hong Kong

Upon conclusion of

2013 season, Harada announced he would sign with

Yokohama FC Hong Kong Metro Gallery Football Club () is a Hong Kong football club which currently competes in the Hong Kong First Division. History The team began as Fourway Athletics (), it joined Hong Kong First Division in 2008–09 season as a competition member ...

on a loan deal until 31 January 2014.

Retirement

After retiring in 2017, he became a scout for the Japanese J.League side FC Tokyo. In 2019, it was announced that he became the scout for

, in J.League, where he played as a player back in 2002.

Style of play

Proved as a quality utility player who plays both holding midfielder, and center defender by being selected to All-League First-Team for both positions. Known for his accurate distribution, and play making in the middle as the control tower. Admires the Mexican National Team's

Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current head coach of Spanish team Barcelona Atlètic. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and o ...

, and

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

's Pep Guardiola. Has been reported about his "the dedicated — almost spartan — approach" with his professionVeteran Japanese player sets example for Dutch Lions
/ref>

Career statistics

Honors and awards

Yokohama F. Marinos * J1 League Stage 1 Champion: 2000 Individual * 2015 - First Japanese to appear in 100 games in

* 2010 - USL Second Division Most Valuable Player Finalist * 2010 - USL Second Division Most Valuable Defender * 2010 - USL Second Division All-League First Team * 2009 -

: "Palace's Other Player Of The Year" * 2009 - USL Second Division All-League First-Team * 2009 - USL Second Division Most Valuable Defender Finalist * 2008 - USL Second Division All-League First-Team * 2007 - USL Second Division All-League Second-Team

References

External links

*
Pittsburgh Riverhounds player profileCrystal Palace Baltimore player profileSOCCER TRANSITION - Made In Japan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harada, Shintaro 1980 births Living people Association football people from Saitama Prefecture Japanese men's footballers J1 League players J2 League players Japan Football League players Yokohama F. Marinos players Omiya Ardija players Tokushima Vortis players Kataller Toyama players Japanese expatriate men's footballers USL Second Division players USL Championship players Crystal Palace Baltimore players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Dayton Dutch Lions players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football midfielders