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. He played for Japan national team. His son Shunta Nagai is also a former footballer.

Club career

Nagai was born in Saitama on April 16, 1952. After graduating from high school, he joined Furukawa Electric in 1971. The club won the league champions in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and 1985–86. The club also won

1976 Emperor's Cup Statistics of Emperor's Cup in the 1976 season. Overview It was contested by 26 teams, and Furukawa Electric won the championship. Results 1st Round *Fukuoka University 2–1 Tanabe Pharmaceuticals * Nippon Kokan 1–3 Yomiuri * Teijin Matsuya ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1986 JSL Cup Statistics of JSL Cup in the 1986 season. Overview It was contested by 27 teams, and Furukawa Electric won the championship. Results 1st Round *Furukawa Electric 4-1 Tanabe Pharmaceuticals * Fujita Industries 4-0 Osaka Gas * Yamaha Motors 3-1 ...

. He retired in 1988. He played 272 games and scored 63 goals in the league. It is the record for most appearances in

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

Division 1. In 1976, he was selected Japanese Footballer of the Year awards. He was selected Best Eleven 5 times.

National team career

On August 13, 1971, when Nagai was 19 years old, he debuted for Japan national team against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. He also played at 1972 Summer Olympics qualification in 1971. Although, he did not play for Japan in 1972, he was selected Japan for

1974 World Cup qualification Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

in 1973. He also played at

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

1978 Asian Games The 8th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was de ...

. In 1980, he was selected Japan for 1980 Summer Olympics qualification, Japan's failure to qualify for

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. This qualification was his last game for Japan. He played 69 games and scored 9 goals for Japan until 1980.Japan National Football Team Database
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Coaching career

After retirement, Nagai became a coach for Furukawa Electric (later ''JEF United Ichihara'') in 1988. In 1989, he became a manager for Japan U-20 national team. In 1992, he returned to JEF United Ichihara and managed until 1993. In 1996, he signed with

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 ...

(JFL) club

Fukushima FC Fukushima F.C. was a Japanese football club based in Koriyama, Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national ...

and managed in 1 season. In 1998, he signed with JFL club Albirex Niigata. The club joined new league

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 1999. In 2001, he moved to Yokohama FC. In 2006, he signed with his local women's league club Urawa Reds Ladies. In 2012, Nagai was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame.

Club statistics

National team statistics

Managerial statistics

J.League Data Site
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Personal honors

*Japanese Footballer of the Year - 1976

References

External links

*

*

at

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions. History The organisat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagai, Yoshikazu 1952 births Living people Japanese men's footballers Japan men's international footballers Japan Soccer League players JEF United Chiba players Japanese football managers J1 League managers J2 League managers JEF United Chiba managers Albirex Niigata managers Yokohama FC managers Footballers at the 1974 Asian Games Footballers at the 1978 Asian Games Men's association football forwards Asian Games competitors for Japan Association football people from Saitama (city)