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 manager. He is currently the manager of

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 ...

Club career

After graduating from high school, he joined

Yokohama Flügels was a Japanese football club that played in the J.League between 1993 and 1998. The club was an original member ("Original Ten") of the J.League in 1993. In 1999 the club was officially merged with local rivals Yokohama Marinos and the two tea ...

with teammate

Yasuhiro Hato is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Club career Hato was born in Minamiawaji on 4 May 1976. After graduating from high school, he joined Yokohama Flügels with teammate Takayuki Yoshida in 1995. He played a ...

in 1995. He played many matches as forward from first season and the club won the

1994–95 Asian Cup Winners' Cup The winners of the 1994–95 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, the association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation, are listed below. Preliminary round Central Asia East Asia Pakistan representatives withdrew First round ...

. In 1998, the club won

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 ...

. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, he scored the winning goal. However the club was disbanded at the end of 1998 due to financial strain, he then moved to its merger club

Yokohama F. Marinos is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Having won the J-League title four times an ...

. However his opportunity to play decreased and he moved to

J.League Division 2 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 Y ...

Oita Trinita is a Japanese football club currently playing in J2 League, having been relegated after the 2021 season after a three-year stint in J1 League. The club's home town is Ōita, Ōita, Ōita city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Ōita, Beppu, ...

in 2000. He played as offensive midfielder in many matches. The club won the championship in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and was promoted to the first division. He returned to Yokohama F. Marinos in 2006. He moved to his local club

in 2008. He played many matches until 2011. In 2012, he could not play for injury and the club was relegated to second division. Although he thought of retirement, he extended the contract a year. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, the club finished second and was promoted to first division. He retired at the end of the season.

National team career

In August 1993, Yoshida was selected Japan U17 national team for the 1993 World Championship on home soil and he played 3 matches.

Coaching career

After the retirement, Yoshida started coaching career at

in 2015. He served a coach under manager

Nelsinho Baptista Nélson "Nelsinho" Baptista Júnior (born July 22, 1950) is a Brazilian retired Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right back, and manager who currently works as the Manager (association fo ...

. In August 2017, Nelsinho was sacked for poor results and Yoshida became a new manager as Nelsinho successor. Although Vissel gained

Lukas Podolski Lukas Josef Podolski (; born Łukasz Józef Podolski, , on 4 June 1985) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ekstraklasa club Górnik Zabrze. Known for his powerful and accurate left foot, he is known for his explosive ...

in July 2017, Vissel finished at the 9th place in 2017 season. In 2018 season, Vissel gained

Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of his ...

in July and Vissel rose to the 4th place temporarily. However Vissel went down after that and Yoshida resigned in September when the club was at the 10th place. In April 2019, he became a manager again as

Juan Manuel Lillo Juan Manuel "Juanma" Lillo Díez (born 3 November 1965) is a Spanish football manager, currently in charge of Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd SC. Having started coaching before his 20s, he was the youngest manager in charge of a La Liga club, h ...

successor. However Vissel won only 1 match in 7 matches and he resigned in June.

Club statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

;Yokohama Flügels *

Asian Cup Winners' Cup The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was started in 1991 as a tournament for all the domestic cup winners from countries affiliated to the AFC. The winne ...

: 1994–95 *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

;Yokohama F. Marinos * J.League Division 1:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

;Oita Trinita *

References

External links

* * * 1977 births Living people Association football people from Hyōgo Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan youth international footballers J1 League players J2 League players Yokohama Flügels players Yokohama F. Marinos players Oita Trinita players Vissel Kobe players Japanese football managers J1 League managers J2 League managers Vissel Kobe managers V-Varen Nagasaki managers Association football forwards {{Japan-footy-forward-1970s-stub