is a former

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 ...

ese

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 and currently the manager of

Kochi United SC commonly known as Kōchi United SC (高知ユナイテッドSC, ''Kōchi Yunaiteddo Esushi'') is a football club based in Kōchi, the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture in Japan. They play in the Japan Football League, Japan's fourth tier of se ...

Playing career

Yoshimoto was born in

Kochi Prefecture Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part ...

on May 13, 1978. After graduating from Fukuoka University, he joined

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

Nagoya Grampus Eight (formerly known as ) is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939, the c ...

in 2001. On November 17, he debuted as substitute center back from the 89th minute against JEF United Ichihara. However he could only play this match at the club. In June 2002, he moved 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 ...

club Yokohama FC. He played many matches as center back with Shinya Sakoi. In 2003, he moved to J2 club

Mito HollyHock is a Japanese professional football (soccer) club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team's hometown is located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. Its nickname "HollyHock" derives from the family crest of the Tokugawa clan who governed from Mit ...

. He became a regular player as center back and played many matches until 2007. In 2008, he moved to J2 club Yokohama FC again. Although he played many matches, he could not become a regular player and retired end of 2009 season. In 2012, he signed with Prefectural Leagues club Blancdieu Hirosaki FC and became a player manager. He played many matches as regular player and the club was promoted 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 ...

from 2013. He retired end of 2017 season.

Coaching career

In 2012, Yoshimoto signed with Prefectural Leagues club Blancdieu Hirosaki FC and became a player manager. The club was promoted to

from 2013. He managed the club until end of 2017 season. In 2020, he was assistant manager of his hometown club,

. In 2022, he was promoted from assistant manager to manager of his hometown club

Club statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

; Blancdieu Hirosaki * Aomori Prefecture 1st Division : 2012 *

Tohoku Soccer League is a Japanese football league covering the Tōhoku region, the 6 prefectures of Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata. It is one of the nine Japanese Regional Leagues, the fifth and sixth league levels in the Japanese association ...

Div. 2 : 2014

References

External links

* 1978 births Living people Fukuoka University alumni Association football people from Kōchi Prefecture Japanese men's footballers J1 League players J2 League players Nagoya Grampus players Yokohama FC players Mito HollyHock players Japanese football managers Men's association football defenders {{Japan-footy-defender-1970s-stub