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.

Playing career

Watanabe was born in

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

on November 9, 1971. After graduating from high school, he joined Fujita Industries in 1990. He played several matches from first season and he played many matches as center back from 1992. The club won the champions in 1993 and was promoted to

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 ...

from 1994. From 1994, he became a regular player and the club won the champions

1994 Emperor's Cup This article documents statistics from the Emperor's Cup of the 1994 season. Overview There were 32 teams that participated in the contest, and Bellmare Hiratsuka won the championship. Results 1st round *Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–0 Cosmo Oil Yok ...

. In 1996, he moved to

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. ...

. However he could not play many matches. In 1997, he moved to

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 am ...

club

Consadole Sapporo is a Japanese professional football club, which plays in the J1 League. The team is based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. The club name of "Consadole" is made from ''consado'', a reverse of the Japanese word and the Spanish expression ...

. He played as regular player. The club won the champions in 1997 and was promoted to

from 1998. In 1999, he moved to

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 ...

based in his local. The club won the 3rd place in 1999 and was promoted 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 ...

from 2000. In 2001, he moved to J2 club

Montedio Yamagata is Japanese professional association football club based in Tendo, Yamagata. The club plays in J2 League. Montedio is a coined word combining the Italian word for "mountain" (Monte) and the word for "God" (Dio). History The club based in T ...

. He retired end of 2002 season.

Club statistics

References

External links

* 1971 births Living people Association football people from Ibaraki Prefecture Japanese men's footballers Japan Soccer League players J1 League players J2 League players Japan Football League (1992–1998) players Japan Football League players Shonan Bellmare players Cerezo Osaka players Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo players Mito HollyHock players Montedio Yamagata players Men's association football defenders {{Japan-footy-defender-1970s-stub