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

Okayama was born in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

on August 27, 1973. After graduating from high school, he joined his local 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 1992. He became a regular player as mainly offensive midfielder in 1995 season and he played many matches for a long time. The club won the champions

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

1999 Emperor's Cup Statistics of Emperor's Cup in the 1999 season. Overview It was contested by 80 teams, and Nagoya Grampus Eight won the championship. Results 1st round *Juntendo University 2–0 Aichi Gakuin University *Tochigi SC 0–2 Júbilo Iwata Youth *Ku ...

. In Asia, the club also won the 2nd place

1996–97 Asian Cup Winners' Cup The winners of the 1996 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, the association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation, are listed below. First round West Asia ''1 Al Qadisiyah withdrew'' East Asia ''1 Old Benedict ...

. In 2005, he moved to

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. From 2023, Albirex will be playing on the J1 League, coming back to the fir ...

. In 2007, he moved to

Albirex Niigata Singapore Albirex Niigata Singapore FC, abbreviated as Albirex Niigata (S), is a Singaporean football club that plays in the Singapore Premier League. The club is a satellite team of Albirex Niigata of Japan. History Albirex Niigata Singapore, a satellite ...

. He retired end of 2008 season.

Club statistics

References

External links

* 1973 births Living people Association football people from Aichi Prefecture Japanese men's footballers J1 League players Nagoya Grampus players Albirex Niigata players Men's association football midfielders {{Japan-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub