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Masahiro Fukuda

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Masahiro Fukuda
福田 正博
Personal information
Full name Masahiro Fukuda
Date of birth (1966-12-27) December 27, 1966 (age 57)
Place of birth Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1982–1984 Sagami Institute of Technology High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1988 Chuo University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–2002 Urawa Reds 287 (143)
Total 287 (143)
International career
1990–1995 Japan 45 (9)
Medal record
Urawa Reds
Runner-up J.League Cup 2002
Representing  Japan
AFC Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 1992 Japan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Masahiro Fukuda (福田 正博, Fukuda Masahiro, born December 27, 1966) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. He was normally a forward but sometimes also played in midfield.

Club career

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After studying at and playing for Sagami Institute of Technology High School and Chuo University, Fukuda joined Mitsubishi Motors in 1989 and started to play for their football club that played in the Japan Soccer League Division 2. In his rookie season, he scored 36 goals and helped the club to gain the promotion to Division 1.

When Japan's first-ever professional league J1 League started in the early 1990s, Mitsubishi was transferred to the Urawa Reds. He turned professional and continued to play for the club. He scored his first J1 League goal on June 9, 1993 against the Kashima Antlers at Kashima Soccer Stadium. All the Urawa players except the goalkeeper flocked around Fukuda to celebrate the goal. While the celebration was prolonged, the referee signaled the restart and Kashima's Hisashi Kurosaki equalized immediately.

In the 1995 season, Fukuda scored 32 goals, which made him the League's top scorer and a member of the J.League Best XI. Urawa was fighting the relegation battle in the 1998 season. In order to stay up, Urawa needed to win the last match in the normal 90 minutes. The J1 League employed extra time with the golden goal rule even for a league match at that time, and 2 points were awarded for an extra win while a regulation win earned 3 points. Urawa failed to win in the 90 minutes and the players fielded for the extra time knowing that they had already been relegated. Fukuda scored the golden goal, which fans now remember as the "saddest golden goal in the world."[1]

He retired from the game after the 2002 season. He played his senior club football with one club. He was the symbolic player of Urawa Red Diamonds and the fans refer to him as Mr. Reds. At the beginning of 2003, the testimonial match for Fukuda was held at Saitama Stadium where more than 50,000 supporters attended to bid farewell.

National team career

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Fukuda was capped 45 times and scored 9 goals for the Japan national team between 1990 and 1995.[2] His first international appearance came on July 27, 1990 in a Dynasty Cup match against South Korea in Beijing. He scored his first goal for his country on August 24, 1992 in another Dynasty Cup match against China in Beijing.

He was a member of the Japan team that won the 1992 Asian Cup and he played 4 games and scored 1 goal in the semi-final against China.

Under national coach Hans Ooft, Japan reached the 1994 World Cup qualification for the 1994 World Cup. He was on the pitch, after replacing Kenta Hasegawa in the 59th minute, when Japan's hope to play in the finals in the USA was dashed by an injury-time Iraqi equaliser in the last qualifier, the match that the Japanese fans now refer to as the Agony of Doha.

After retirement

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He works as a football commentator and columnist for various programs and magazines. He also acquired the S-Class Coaching license that was a prerequisite to manage a J.League club in 2007. He became an assistant coach at Urawa in 2008 and he resigned in 2010.

Club statistics

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Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Japan League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Total
1989/90 Mitsubishi Motors JSL Division 2 26 36 0 0 1 0 27 36
1990/91 JSL Division 1 18 7 2 0 0 0 20 7
1991/92 15 7 3 2 0 0 18 9
1992 Urawa Reds J1 League - 4 2 9 4 13 6
1993 27 4 2 3 0 0 29 7
1994 25 6 3 2 0 0 28 8
1995 50 32 3 2 - 53 34
1996 4 3 0 0 7 4 11 7
1997 29 21 0 0 8 4 37 25
1998 17 7 3 4 0 0 20 11
1999 23 13 2 1 4 0 29 14
2000 J2 League 12 2 0 0 0 0 12 2
2001 J1 League 14 2 4 0 3 0 21 2
2002 27 3 1 0 9 1 37 4
Total 287 143 27 16 41 13 355 172

National team statistics

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[2]

Japan national team
Year Apps Goals
1990 5 0
1991 2 0
1992 8 3
1993 15 3
1994 0 0
1995 15 3
Total 45 9

Honors and awards

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Individual honors

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Team honors

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References

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  1. ^ "世界で一番悲しいVゴール". Token Corporation. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Japan National Football Team Database
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