Hajime Moriyasu
Encyclopedia
is a retired Japanese football player. He was a defensive midfielder. He is now a coach at Albirex Niigata
.
side Mazda
in 1987. New manager Hans Ooft
rated him highly and established him as an anchoring midfielder of the team. In April 1990, Moriyasu had a trial at Manchester United
. When Japan's first ever professional league J. League Division 1 started in 1993, Mazda was transformed to Sanfrecce Hiroshima
for whom he continued to play. Together with Yahiro Kazama
, he controlled Hiroshima's midfield and contributed to the club winning the second stage of the 1994 J. League season.
In 1998, Ooft became the manager of Kyoto Purple Sanga and recruited Moriyasu on a loan deal. The deal was initially meant to be a permanent one but infuriated Hiroshima supporters collected signatures against the deal, which forced the clubs to settle for a loan. He was the linchpin of Kyoto for the 1998 season.
Moriyasu came back to Hiroshima for the 1999 season but find out his opportunities to play gradually decreasing mainly because of young Kazuyuki Morisaki's challenge for the place.
He was offered a coaching position at Hiroshima in 2002 but turned it down to continue to play. He moved to Vegalta Sendai
and retired there at the end of the 2003 season.
in 1992. He called up and played Moriyasu for his first match in charge against Argentina held on May 31, 1992 at the Tokyo National Olympic Stadium
. Moriyasu was still a low-profile player at that time and many international teammates didn't know how to pronounce his name. What Ooft asked him to do throughout his reign was a simple task, to "win the ball and pass it to playmaker Ruy Ramos
".
He was a member of the Japan team that won the 1992 AFC Asian Cup
and played all the Japan games except the final against Saudi Arabia
for which he was ineligible due to suspension.
Under Ooft, Japan progressed to the final qualifying stage of the AFC
for the 1994 FIFA World Cup
. Moriyasu was on the pitch when Japan's hope to play in the finals 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
.
He was capped 35 times between 1992 and 1996. He scored one goal for his country in a friendly against Australia on February 10, 1996.
and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
. He was a coach for the Hiroshima first team from 2007 to 2009. He is currently a coach at Albirex Niigata
.
|1987/88||rowspan="5"|Mazda
||JSL Division 1
||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1988/89||rowspan="3"|JSL Division 2
||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1989/90||19||8||0||0||0||0||19||8
|-
|1990/91||27||13||0||0||3||1||30||14
|-
|1991/92||JSL Division 1
||18||4||0||0||0||0||18||4
|-
|1992||rowspan="6"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima
||rowspan="6"|J. League 1||colspan="2"|-||0||0||8||1||8||1
|-
|1993||35||2||4||1||0||0||39||3
|-
|1994||40||3||3||0||1||0||44||3
|-
|1995||25||4||5||0||colspan="2"|-||30||4
|-
|1996||26||3||5||0||14||2||45||5
|-
|1997||25||1||2||0||5||0||32||1
|-
|1998||Kyoto Purple Sanga||J. League 1||32||1||2||0||4||0||38||1
|-
|1999||rowspan="3"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima
||rowspan="3"|J. League 1||27||1||0||0||3||1||30||2
|-
|2000||22||0||0||0||2||0||24||0
|-
|2001||16||0||1||0||3||0||20||0
|-
|2002||rowspan="2"|Vegalta Sendai
||rowspan="2"|J. League 1||27||0||2||0||6||1||35||1
|-
|2003||18||0||1||0||3||1||22||1
357||40||25||1||52||7||434||48
357||40||25||1||52||7||434||48
|}
|1992||7||0
|-
|1993||15||0
|-
|1994||4||0
|-
|1995||6||0
|-
|1996||3||1
|-
!Total||35||1
|}
Albirex Niigata
is a Japanese J. League Division 1 association football team. Despite the club's relative youth, only joining the J. League in 1999, Albirex are one of Japan's best supported teams. In 2003, while still playing in the second tier of Japanese football , Albirex attracted the best average crowd in...
.
Club
Moriyasu was educated at and played for Nagasaki Nihon Daigaku Gakuen High School. After finishing his school, he joined Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
side Mazda
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
is a Japanese association football club in the J. League Division 1.-Club name:The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and an Italian word frecce or 'arrows'...
in 1987. New manager Hans Ooft
Hans Ooft
Marius Johan Ooft is a Dutch football manager who is the first foreigner to coach Japan national football team. Under Ooft, Japan won AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 1992.-Honors:*AFC Asian Cup Champions - 1992*J. League Cup Champions - 2003...
rated him highly and established him as an anchoring midfielder of the team. In April 1990, Moriyasu had a trial at Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
. When Japan's first ever professional league J. League Division 1 started in 1993, Mazda was transformed to Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
is a Japanese association football club in the J. League Division 1.-Club name:The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and an Italian word frecce or 'arrows'...
for whom he continued to play. Together with Yahiro Kazama
Yahiro Kazama
Yahiro Kazama is a Japanese football manager and former player. He is the first Japanese player to score in J...
, he controlled Hiroshima's midfield and contributed to the club winning the second stage of the 1994 J. League season.
In 1998, Ooft became the manager of Kyoto Purple Sanga and recruited Moriyasu on a loan deal. The deal was initially meant to be a permanent one but infuriated Hiroshima supporters collected signatures against the deal, which forced the clubs to settle for a loan. He was the linchpin of Kyoto for the 1998 season.
Moriyasu came back to Hiroshima for the 1999 season but find out his opportunities to play gradually decreasing mainly because of young Kazuyuki Morisaki's challenge for the place.
He was offered a coaching position at Hiroshima in 2002 but turned it down to continue to play. He moved to Vegalta Sendai
Vegalta Sendai
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in J. League Division 1. The team is located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Their home stadium is Yurtec Stadium Sendai, in Izumi-ku, Sendai, although a few home games have also been played at nearby Miyagi Stadium.-History:Founded in 1988...
and retired there at the end of the 2003 season.
International
Ooft became the national coach of JapanJapan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
in 1992. He called up and played Moriyasu for his first match in charge against Argentina held on May 31, 1992 at the Tokyo National Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Tokyo)
or National Stadium is a stadium in Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan that served as the main stadium for the 1964 Summer Olympics. It currently serves as the stadium where the Japan national football teams home matches and major football club cup finals are held.-History:The stadium was...
. Moriyasu was still a low-profile player at that time and many international teammates didn't know how to pronounce his name. What Ooft asked him to do throughout his reign was a simple task, to "win the ball and pass it to playmaker Ruy Ramos
Ruy Ramos
, formerly Ruy Gonçalves Ramos Sobrinho , is a Brazilian-born football player, who became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 1989. He was one of the first foreign players in Japanese professional soccer, joining Yomiuri in 1977 at the age of 20...
".
He was a member of the Japan team that won the 1992 AFC Asian Cup
1992 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 1992 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan between October 29 and November 8. The host nation, Japan, defeated the defending champion Saudi Arabia in the final in Hiroshima.-Stadiums:...
and played all the Japan games except the final against Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia national football team
Saudi Arabia national football team is the national team of Saudi Arabia and is controlled by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation...
for which he was ineligible due to suspension.
Under Ooft, Japan progressed to the final qualifying stage of the AFC
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
for the 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
. Moriyasu was on the pitch when Japan's hope to play in the finals 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
Agony of Doha
The Agony of Doha is a term used by fans of the Japanese national football team to refer to the qualification match for their 1994 FIFA World Cup match with Iraq, held in Doha, Qatar on October 28, 1993....
.
He was capped 35 times between 1992 and 1996. He scored one goal for his country in a friendly against Australia on February 10, 1996.
Coaching
He served as a coach for Sanfrecce Hiroshima from the 2004 season. He also coached the Japan national youth team which participated in the 2006 AFC Youth ChampionshipAFC Youth Championship
The AFC U-19 Championship, formerly known as AFC Youth Championship, is an annual football competition organised by the sport's Asian governing body, Asian Football Confederation . The competition has been held since 1959...
and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup , hosted by Canada from June 30 to July 22, 2007. Argentina defeated Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth...
. He was a coach for the Hiroshima first team from 2007 to 2009. He is currently a coach at Albirex Niigata
Albirex Niigata
is a Japanese J. League Division 1 association football team. Despite the club's relative youth, only joining the J. League in 1999, Albirex are one of Japan's best supported teams. In 2003, while still playing in the second tier of Japanese football , Albirex attracted the best average crowd in...
.
Club career statistics
|-|1987/88||rowspan="5"|Mazda
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
is a Japanese association football club in the J. League Division 1.-Club name:The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and an Italian word frecce or 'arrows'...
||JSL Division 1
Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1988/89||rowspan="3"|JSL Division 2
Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1989/90||19||8||0||0||0||0||19||8
|-
|1990/91||27||13||0||0||3||1||30||14
|-
|1991/92||JSL Division 1
Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
||18||4||0||0||0||0||18||4
|-
|1992||rowspan="6"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
is a Japanese association football club in the J. League Division 1.-Club name:The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and an Italian word frecce or 'arrows'...
||rowspan="6"|J. League 1||colspan="2"|-||0||0||8||1||8||1
|-
|1993||35||2||4||1||0||0||39||3
|-
|1994||40||3||3||0||1||0||44||3
|-
|1995||25||4||5||0||colspan="2"|-||30||4
|-
|1996||26||3||5||0||14||2||45||5
|-
|1997||25||1||2||0||5||0||32||1
|-
|1998||Kyoto Purple Sanga||J. League 1||32||1||2||0||4||0||38||1
|-
|1999||rowspan="3"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
is a Japanese association football club in the J. League Division 1.-Club name:The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and an Italian word frecce or 'arrows'...
||rowspan="3"|J. League 1||27||1||0||0||3||1||30||2
|-
|2000||22||0||0||0||2||0||24||0
|-
|2001||16||0||1||0||3||0||20||0
|-
|2002||rowspan="2"|Vegalta Sendai
Vegalta Sendai
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in J. League Division 1. The team is located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Their home stadium is Yurtec Stadium Sendai, in Izumi-ku, Sendai, although a few home games have also been played at nearby Miyagi Stadium.-History:Founded in 1988...
||rowspan="2"|J. League 1||27||0||2||0||6||1||35||1
|-
|2003||18||0||1||0||3||1||22||1
357||40||25||1||52||7||434||48
357||40||25||1||52||7||434||48
|}
International career statistics
|-|1992||7||0
|-
|1993||15||0
|-
|1994||4||0
|-
|1995||6||0
|-
|1996||3||1
|-
!Total||35||1
|}