Hidetoshi Nakata

Lore & Background

Nakata began his professional career at age 18 in 1995 with J1 League side Bellmare Hiratsuka. He played many matches as an attacking midfielder in his first season and the club won the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. In the final against Al-Talaba, he scored the winning goal in the 81st minute. From 1996, he was a regular player and was selected for the J.League Best XI in 1997. After the 1998 World Cup, Nakata was signed by Perugia in Italy's Serie A for 4 million U.S. dollars, becoming the second Japanese player ever to appear in the Italian top league. In his first season in Italy, Nakata scored 10 goals, his single-season highest total. In January 2000, Nakata moved to Roma for 42 billion lire, helping the team win the scudetto. The highlight came on 6 May 2001 against Juventus at Stadio Delle Alpi. After replacing Francesco Totti in the second half with Roma trailing 0–2, Nakata netted a 30-yard goal beyond Edwin van der Sar's reach. He then helped Roma score the equalizer when his fierce drive was parried into the path of Vincenzo Montella. The match ended 2–2 and Roma maintained a six-point margin at the top. In summer 2001, Nakata penned a four-year deal with Parma for 55 billion lire, a world record payment for an Asian player which would not be broken for 14 years. He scored a crucial goal as a substitute in the first leg of the 2002 Coppa Italia final against Juventus, which Parma eventually won.

Reader's Guide

Nakata made his senior national team debut in May 1997 against South Korea. He was a key member of the Japanese side that qualified for the 1998 World Cup, scoring five goals in qualification matches and setting up all three Japanese goals in the qualification play-off against Iran. He helped Japan reach the final of the 2001 Confederations Cup but left the national team before the final to join Roma for their final league matches. Despite Nakata playing every match in Japan's first three World Cup appearances, he was not selected for the country's Asian Cup-winning squads in 2000 and 2004. In total, he was capped 77 times for Japan, scoring 11 goals, 9 of which came in official FIFA competitions. In March 2004, Pelé named Nakata in his FIFA 100, a list of the top living footballers at the time. Nakata was one of only two Asian footballers on the list. Outside football, Nakata has shown interest in fashion, attending runway shows, wearing designer clothing and sporting colorful haircuts. He dyed his hair blond for the 1998 World Cup, hoping to attract the attention of European scouts. He is one of the models featuring the Calvin Klein underwear campaign 2010. Nakata is an editor-at-large at Monocle magazine at the invitation of his friend Tyler Brûlé. He has cited the popular manga and anime series, Captain Tsubasa, as his primary inspiration in choosing football as a career.

Did You Know?

• He was named in Pelé's FIFA 100 in March 2004, one of only two Asian footballers on the list.
• Nakata retired at age 29 on 3 July 2006, having decided half a year earlier that he would retire after the World Cup.