sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Junichi Inamoto (稲本 潤一, Inamoto Jun'ichi, born 18 September 1979) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nankatsu SC.[4] He played for Japan national team.

Junichi Inamoto

Inamoto playing for Kawasaki Frontale in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Junichi Inamoto[1]
Date of birth	(1979-09-18) 18 September 1979 (age 43)[1]
Place of birth	Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s)	Midfielder[3]
Club information
Current team	Nankatsu SC
Number	8
Youth career
1992–1997	Gamba Osaka
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2004	Gamba Osaka	118	(16)
2001–2002	→ Arsenal (loan)	0	(0)
2002–2004	→ Fulham (loan)	41	(4)
2004–2006	West Bromwich Albion	28	(0)
2004–2005	→ Cardiff City (loan)	14	(0)
2006–2007	Galatasaray	25	(0)
2007–2009	Eintracht Frankfurt	43	(0)
2009–2010	Rennes	5	(0)
2010–2014	Kawasaki Frontale	99	(3)
2015–2018	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	47	(1)
2019–2021	SC Sagamihara	19	(1)
2022–	Nankatsu SC	2	(0)
National team
1995	Japan U-17	3	(0)
1998–1999	Japan U-20	11	(4)
1998–2000	Japan U-23	15	(5)
2000–2010	Japan	82	(5)
Honours Representing  Japan FIFA Confederations Cup 2001 Korea-Japan AFC Asian Cup 2000 Lebanon FIFA U-20 World Cup 1999 Nigeria AFC U-19 Championship 1998 Thailand AFC U-16 Championship 1994 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 October 2022

Club career

Inamoto was born in Kagoshima Prefecture.[3] He played for Japanese club Gamba Osaka during his last year of high school, signing with the club in 1997. In April when at the age of 17, he debuted opening match in 1997 J.League season,[4] which made him the youngest player who played J.League (at that time).[5] He played for Gamba until summer 2001 and played 118 matches in J1 League.[4] He was then one of many high-profile transfers of Asian players to Europe, signing with Arsenal of the Premier League. Inamoto scored two goals for the Japanese national team at the 2002 World Cup, but had already been released by Arsenal shortly before the tournament began.[6] He was then signed by Fulham on a long-term loan deal from Gamba Osaka.[7] Initially he settled well at the London club,[8] garnering good notices as a tough-tackling midfielder with an eye for a spectacular goal. He became a cult favourite quickly, scoring four goals over the two legs of Fulham's Intertoto Cup final against Bologna, scoring once in the first leg[9] and a hat trick in the second.[10] Other notable goals he scored in his time for Fulham include goals against Tottenham Hotspur,[11] Sunderland,[12] Middlesbrough[13] and also in the 3–1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2003.[14] He also scored in the FA Cup against Everton[15] which commentator Barry Davies described as "a Japanese peach".^{[citation needed]} Inamoto was also described as "bigger than Beckham" by the Japanese media.[16] However, he sustained a fractured tibia in an international friendly against England, and returned to Gamba Osaka to do promotional work. Fulham were interested in signing him once more, but concerns remained over his recovery from injury.[17][18]

Inamoto signed with West Bromwich Albion for a decidedly small £200,000 transfer fee, which was only to be paid once he had made an appearance for the Midlands club.[19] However, Gary Megson departed as West Bromwich Albion manager shortly afterwards, and successor Bryan Robson was unsure of the player. Inamoto was loaned to Cardiff City for the latter part of the 2004–05 season,[20] and impressed, being recalled to play a role in West Brom's survival campaign in the Premiership. In 2005–06 he was a regular in the West Brom side, and was called up to the Japan squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first Albion player to play in the tournament for 20 years.^{[citation needed]} Whilst at West Brom Inamoto scored once, an extra time winner in a League Cup tie against former club Fulham on 25 October 2005.[21]

On 31 August 2006, he signed for Galatasaray.[22] On 29 May 2007, it was revealed that he signed a two-year contract with German club Eintracht Frankfurt, joining on a free transfer.[23] Inamoto was presented in a press conference joining fellow Japanese striker Naohiro Takahara in Frankfurt and was released on 30 May 2009. On 19 June 2009, French Ligue 1 side Rennes announced that Inamoto had signed a contract with them.[24]

Inamoto signed for J1 League club Kawasaki Frontale on 11 January 2010 in a move back to his homeland. He played for Frontale for 5 seasons. He resigned end of 2014 season.[25] Inamoto then subsequently featured for side Consadole Sapporo (later Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) in J2 League. Consadole won the 2016 season and was promoted to J1.[26] However he could only play single-digit matches every season from 2016 season.[4] He resigned at the end of 2018 season.[27] In 2019, he signed with J3 League club SC Sagamihara.[28]

International career

In August 1995, Inamoto was selected Japan U-17 national team for 1995 U-17 World Championship. He played all 3 matches.[29] In April 1999, he was selected Japan U-20 national team for 1999 World Youth Championship.[29] At this tournament, he played three matches and Japan came second place.

On 5 February 2000, Inamoto debuted for Japan national team under manager Philippe Troussier against Mexico.[30] After the debuted, Inamoto played 10 matches or more every year under Troussier.[30]

In September 2000, Inamoto was selected Japan U-23 national team for 2000 Summer Olympics. He played full-time in all 4 matches and scored a goal against Slovakia.[29]

In 2000, Inamoto played at 2000 Asian Cup. He played four matches[30] while Japan won the championship. In 2001, he also played at 2001 Confederations Cup. He played four matches[30] and Japan came second place. In 2002, he was selected Japan for 2002 World Cup. He played all four matches and scored two goals against Belgium at first match and Russia at second match. Japan qualified to the knockout stage first time in Japan's history.

After 2002 World Cup, Inamoto played at 2003 and 2005 Confederations Cup.[30] In 2006, he was selected Japan for 2006 World Cup. He played two matches while Japan was eliminated in the group stages.

After 2006 World Cup, Inamoto was not selected Japan 1 year for generational change. In June 2007, he played for Japan for the first time in a year.[30] After that, he played several matches every year. In 2010, he was selected Japan for 2010 World Cup. He played two matches[30] and Japan qualified to the knockout stage. This World Cup is his last game for Japan. He played 82 games and scored 5 goals for Japan.[30]

Career statistics

Club

As of 14 October 2022[4][31]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Gamba Osaka	1997	J1 League	27	3	3	0	6	0	–		36	3
	1998		28	6	1	0	4	0	–		33	6
	1999		22	1	2	0	0	0	–		24	1
	2000		28	4	2	0	4	1	–		34	5
	2001		13	2	0	0	3	0	–		16	2
	Total		118	16	8	0	17	1	–		143	17
Arsenal (loan)	2001–02	Premier League	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	4	0
Fulham (loan)	2002–03	Premier League	19	2	2	0	2	0	10[lower-alpha 1]	4	33	6
	2003–04		22	2	2	1	1	0	–		25	3
	Total		41	4	4	1	3	0	10	4	58	9
West Bromwich Albion	2004–05	Premier League	3	0	0	0	0	0	–		3	0
	2005–06	Premier League	22	0	2	0	2	1	–		26	1
	2006–07	Championship	3	0	0	0	0	0	–		3	0
	Total		28	0	2	0	2	1	–		32	1
Cardiff City (loan)	2004–05	Championship	14	0	2	0	0	0	–		16	0
Galatasaray	2006–07	Süper Lig	25	0	3	0	–		5	1	33	1
Eintracht Frankfurt	2007–08	Bundesliga	24	0	2	0	–		–		26	0
	2008–09		19	0	1	0	–		–		20	0
	Total		43	0	3	0	–		–		46	0
Rennes	2009–10	Ligue 1	5	0	0	0	0	0	–		5	0
Kawasaki Frontale	2010	J1 League	28	0	2	0	4	0	5	0	39	0
	2011		12	2	1	0	1	0	–		14	2
	2012		20	0	1	0	3	0	–		24	0
	2013		25	0	3	0	10	0	–		36	0
	2014		14	1	1	0	1	0	3	0	19	1
	Total		99	3	8	0	20	0	8	0	135	3
Consadole Sapporo	2015	J2 League	31	0	1	0	–		–		32	0
	2016	J2 League	8	1	0	0	–		–		8	1
	2017	J1 League	6	0	0	0	0	0	–		6	0
	2018		2	0	1	0	5	0	–		8	0
	Total		47	1	2	0	5	0	–		54	0
SC Sagamihara	2019	J3 League	9	1	0	0	–		–		9	1
	2020		1	0	0	0	–		–		1	0
	2021	J2 League	9	0	2	0	–		–		11	0
Nankatsu SC	2022	Kanto Soccer League	2	0	0	0	–		–		2	0
Career total			441	25	34	1	49	2	25	5	549	33

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[30]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Japan	2000	14	0
	2001	11	1
	2002	11	2
	2003	10	1
	2004	6	0
	2005	10	0
	2006	4	0
	2007	3	0
	2008	2	0
	2009	4	1
	2010	8	0
Total		82	5

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Inamoto goal.

List of international goals scored by Junichi Inamoto

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	4 July 2001	Ōita, Japan	FR Yugoslavia		1–0	Friendly match
2	4 June 2002	Saitama, Japan	Belgium		2–2	2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
3	9 June 2002	Yokohama, Japan	Russia		1–0	2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
4	28 March 2003	Tokyo, Japan	Uruguay		2–2	Friendly match
5	9 September 2009	Utrecht, Netherlands	Ghana		4–3	Friendly match

Honours

Fulham

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002[32]

Hokkaido Consodale Sapporo

• J2 League: 2016[33]

Japan U17

• AFC U-17 Championship: 1994^{[citation needed]}

Japan U20

• FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 1999^{[citation needed]}

Japan

• AFC Asian Cup: 2000^{[citation needed]}
• FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2001^{[citation needed]}

Individual

• J.League Best Eleven: 2000^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Junichi Inamoto – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Junichi Inamoto at National-Football-Teams.com
• Japan National Football Team Database
• Junichi Inamoto at J.League (in Japanese)
• Junichi Inamoto at Soccerbase

На других языках

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- [en] Junichi Inamoto

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[es] Jun'ichi Inamoto

Junichi Inamoto (稲本 潤一, Inamoto Jun'ichi?) (Yūsui, Prefectura de Kagoshima, Japón, 18 de septiembre de 1979) es un futbolista japonés que juega como centrocampista en el SC Sagamihara.

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[fr] Jun'ichi Inamoto

Jun'ichi Inamoto (稲本　潤一, Inamoto　Jun'ichi?), né le 18 septembre 1979 dans la ville de Yūsui, de la préfecture de Kagoshima, est un footballeur japonais évoluant au poste de milieu. Il est international japonais.

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[it] Jun'ichi Inamoto

Jun'ichi Inamoto (稲本 潤一 Inamoto Jun'ichi?; Yūsui, 18 settembre 1979) è un calciatore giapponese, centrocampista del Sagamihara.

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[ru] Инамото, Дзюнъити

Дзюнъи́ти Инамо́то (яп. 稲本潤一; англ. Junichi Inamoto; 18 сентября 1979, Юсуи, Кагосима, Япония) — японский футболист, опорный полузащитник клуба «Сагамихара». Выступал за сборную Японии. Обладатель Кубка Азии по футболу 2000 года.

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