is a former

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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

Soma was born in Kawasaki on December 10, 1981. After playing for

Verdy Kawasaki is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country. Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with ...

(later ''Tokyo Verdy'') youth team, he went on to

Kokushikan University is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. Combined teams of the Graduate School of Engineering and the Department of Science and Engineering competed against 130 team and came in 11th place in the 27th Formula SAE in 20 ...

. When he was a Kokushikan University student, 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

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country. Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with ...

in 2003. In September 2004, he became a regular left side back instead regular player

Atsuhiro Miura is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. He is not related to fellow footballer and who is also from Japan Kazuyoshi Miura. Club career Miura was born in Oita on 24 July 1974. After dropped out from Aoyama Gak ...

left Verdy for Japan national team. Verdy won the champions in

2004 Emperor's Cup The 84th Emperor's Cup Statistics of Emperor's Cup in the 2004 season. Overview It was contested by 80 teams, and Tokyo Verdy won the cup for the fifth time. Results 1st Round *Hiroshima University of Economics 4–0 Sanyo Electric Tokushima * ...

. Although Soma also played as regular player in 2005, Verdy finished at the 17th place in 2005 season and was relegated 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 ...

. In 2006, Soma moved to J1 club

Urawa Reds , 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 ...

. He played many matches as substitute left side midfielder because

Alessandro Santos , often known as Alex, is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Brazil, he became a Japanese citizen and made 82 appearances for the Japan national team. Club career Santos was born in Maringá in Paraná and m ...

played as regular player. In 2007, Although Santos left the club, Soma could not play many matches behind Tadaaki Hirakawa. In 2008, Soma became a regular player as left side midfielder. Reds won the champions in 2006 J1 League,

2006 Emperor's Cup The 86th Emperor's Cup had been held between September 17, 2006 and January 1, 2007. The previous season's winners Urawa Red Diamonds defended the Cup and completed the league-cup double. Schedule Matches First Round Second Round Third Roun ...

and

2007 AFC Champions League The 2007 AFC Champions League was the 26th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament and the 5th edition under the current AFC Champions League title. Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds became champions for the first time, beating Se ...

in 3 seasons. On January 12, 2009, after a three-year contract with the

had come to an end, Soma decided to forgo contract extension talks to pursue a career overseas in Europe. On January 29, 2009 Soma signed with Marítimo of the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

, on a one-and-a-half year contract. At the end of this contract, he left Portugal and signed with 2. Bundesliga club

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus ( Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, Energie played six seasons i ...

. In July 2011, Soma returned to Japan and joined

club

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home match ...

. Although he could not play many matches for injury in 2011, he played as regular left side back in 2012. However Vissel finished at the 16th place in 2012 season and was relegated to

. Although his opportunity to play decreased for injury in 2013, Vissel was returned to J1 in a year. After six seasons with Vissel, he announced his retirement.

Club statistics

Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社
"2016J1&J2&J3選手名鑑"
February 10, 2016, Japan, (p. 98 out of 289) (*) Includes 3 matches at

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

Awards and honours

Club

Tokyo Verdy *

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 ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Urawa Reds *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

References

External links

* * * 1981 births Living people Kokushikan University alumni Japanese men's footballers J1 League players J2 League players Primeira Liga players 2. Bundesliga players Tokyo Verdy players Urawa Red Diamonds players C.S. Marítimo players FC Energie Cottbus players Vissel Kobe players Japanese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Association football people from Kawasaki, Kanagawa {{Japan-footy-defender-1980s-stub