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 ...

footballer. He is the current assistant manager of J1 League club

Urawa Red Diamonds , 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 ...

Playing career

Hirakawa was born in

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

on 1 May 1979. After graduating from

University of Tsukuba is a public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Project. The university has 28 colle ...

, he joined J1 League 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 ...

in 2002. Although he is originally a right side player, he became a regular in the line-up as a left side midfielder from July. The Urawa Reds won the

2003 J.League Cup The ''J.League Cup 2003'', officially the 2003 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, was the 1st edition of Japan soccer league cup tournament and the 11th edition under the current J.League Cup format. The championship started on March 8, and finished on ...

for the first time in the club history. In 2004, the Urawa Reds signed

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 mo ...

and Hirakawa lost his place in the team. So, Hirakawa played many positions, including three positions in defence, and as a right side midfielder in the 2004 season. However, his opportunity to play decreased following the summer of 2004. In 2006, he became a regular in the line-up as a right side midfielder and the Urawa Reds won the J1 League for the first time in the club's history. In 2007, he failed to displace

Nobuhisa Yamada is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Yamada mainly played on the right as a defender or midfielder. He spent his entire professional career at Urawa Reds of J1 League with more than 500 league appearances. ...

, so he became a left side midfielder again, leading to the Urawa Reds winning the

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 S ...

. In 2008, he played many matches as a right and left side midfielder. Although he could not play many matches in 2009 because of injury, he played regularly as a right and left side back in 2010. From 2012, he played many matches as a right side midfielder. He then lost his place to young player Takahiro Sekine from 2015. He retired at the end of the 2018 season.

Club statistics

Urawa Reds
/ref>

^*Includes other competitive competitions, including the J.League Championship,

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 ...

and FIFA Club World Cup.

Awards and honours

Club

;Urawa Red Diamonds * J1 League: 1 :: 2006 * Emperor's Cup: 2 :: 2005, 2006 *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of Y ...

: 2 :: 2003,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

* AFC Champions League: 2 ::

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, 2007 *

: 1 :: 2006

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirakawa, Tadaaki 1979 births Living people University of Tsukuba alumni Association football people from Shizuoka Prefecture Japanese footballers J1 League players Urawa Red Diamonds players Association football defenders