is a Japanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

club

Machida Zelvia commonly known as is a Japanese professional football club based in Machida, Tokyo. They currently play in the J1 League, following promotion as J2 League champions in 2023. History Formation and election to the Prefectural League (1989–2 ...

and the Japan national team.

Club career

Kashiwa Reysol

Nakayama was born in Ibaraki, Japan. He made his official debut for

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo ...

in the J. League Division 1,

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

on 6 May 2015 against the Vietnam-based club Binh Duong F.C in Go Dau Stadium in

Thu Dau Mot Thu and variations may refer to: * Thursday * Thu (surname), the Gan romanization of the Chinese surname Su * Thu (pronoun) or Þu, an Old English pronoun * Thû, an early name for Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien's works * Thu, Palpa, a village develo ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He started and played the full match, receiving a yellow card in the 83rd minute. Nakayama and his club lost the match 1–0. In 2017, Nakayama was named J.League Rookie of the Year.

PEC Zwolle

On 15 January 2019, Nakayama joined

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

team

PEC Zwolle Prins Hendrik Ende Desespereert Nimmer Combinatie Zwolle, commonly known as PEC Zwolle, is a Dutch professional football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football. They have played in the Ered ...

on a three-and-a-half-year deal. He made his debut for Zwolle on 31 March 2019, in a 3–0 home victory over

FC Emmen FC Emmen is a Dutch professional football club based in Emmen, Drenthe. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1925, the club ...

. He scored his first goal in the Netherlands, on 17 January 2020, in a 3–3 draw against

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Huddersfield Town

On 15 July 2022, following PEC Zwolle's relegation from the Eredivisie, Nakayama joined

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

on a two-year deal. Nakayama scored his first goal in England in his third appearance for Huddersfield, a 3–1 victory over

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

on 13 August 2022.

Machida Zelvia

On 14 August 2024, Nakayama was announced at Machida Zelvia.

International career

In May 2017, Nakayama was elected Japan U-20 national team for 2017 U-20 World Cup. At this tournament, he played full time in all four matches as center back. He made his Japan national team debut on 17 June 2019 in the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 Ju ...

game against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, as a starter. Nakayama was selected for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, but he was forced to withdraw from the official squad list, due to an

achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

injury.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Individual * J.League Rookie of the Year:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

References

External links

* * *
Profile
at Kashiwa Reysol official website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakayama, Yūta 1997 births Living people Men's association football defenders Association football people from Saitama Prefecture Japanese men's footballers Japan men's youth international footballers Japan men's under-20 international footballers Japan men's international footballers J1 League players J3 League players Kashiwa Reysol players PEC Zwolle players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Eredivisie players J.League U-22 Selection players category:FC Machida Zelvia players 2019 Copa América players Japanese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in England Japanese expatriate sportspeople in England Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Japan English Football League players Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 2023 AFC Asian Cup players People from Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki 21st-century Japanese sportsmen