Masaaki Sawanobori

{{Infobox football biography

|name=Masaaki Sawanobori
澤登正朗

|image=

|image_size=

|caption=

|fullname=Masaaki Sawanobori

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1970|1|12}}

|birth_place=Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Japan

|death_date=

|death_place=

|height={{Height|m=1.70}}

|position=Midfielder

|currentclub=

|clubnumber=

|youthyears1=1985–1987|youthclubs1=Tokai University Daiichi High School

|collegeyears1=1988–1991|college1=Tokai University

|years1=1992–2005|clubs1=Shimizu S-Pulse|caps1=381|goals1=85

|totalcaps=381|totalgoals=85

|nationalyears1=1993–2000|nationalteam1=Japan|nationalcaps1=16|nationalgoals1=3

|manageryears1=|managerclubs1=

|medaltemplates=

}}

{{Nihongo|Masaaki Sawanobori|澤登正朗|Sawanobori Masaaki|born January 12, 1970}} is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.

Club career

Sawanobori was born in Fujinomiya on January 12, 1970. After graduating from Tokai University, he joined new club Shimizu S-Pulse based in his local Shizuoka Prefecture in 1992. He played as regular player from first season. He was selected J.League Rookie of the Year in 1993. In 1996, the club won J.League Cup. In 1999, the club won the 2nd place in J1 League and he was selected Japanese Footballer of the Year awards. In Asia, the club also won 1999–2000 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. In 2001, the club won Emperor's Cup. He retired in 2005. He played 381 games and scored 85 goals in the league. Sawanobori was immensely popular at S-Pulse, and having spent his entire career at the club he was affectionately known as Mr S-Pulse.

National team career

In April 1993, Sawanobori was selected Japan national team for 1994 World Cup qualification. At this qualification, on April 8, he debuted against Thailand. In 1994, he also played at 1994 Asian Games. In September 1999, he played for Japan for the first time in 5 years. In 2000, he played at 2000 Asian Cup qualification. This qualification was his last game for Japan. He played 16 games and scored 3 goals for Japan until 2000.[http://www.jfootball-db.com/en/players/sawanobori_masaaki.html Japan National Football Team Database]

Club statistics

colspan=3 \| Club performance ! colspan=2 \| League ! colspan=2 \| Cup ! colspan=2 \| League Cup ! colspan=2 \| Continental ! colspan=2 \| Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
Season ! Club ! League ! Apps	Goals ! Apps	Goals ! Apps	Goals ! Apps	Goals ! Apps	Goals
colspan=3 \|Japan ! colspan=2 \| League ! colspan=2 \| Emperor's Cup ! colspan=2 \| J.League Cup ! colspan=2 \| Asia ! colspan=2 \| Total
1992	rowspan="14"\|Shimizu S-Pulse	rowspan="14"\|J1 League	colspan="2"
\|3	0	10	1	colspan="2"
\|13	1
1993	35	7	4	2	1	0	colspan="2"
\|40	9
1994	41	7	1	0	1	0	colspan="2"
\|43	7
1995	40	13	1	0	colspan="2"
\|colspan="2"
\|41	13
1996	29	9	3	0	16	3	colspan="2"
\|48	12
1997	31	11	3	1	6	0	colspan="2"
\|40	12
1998	32	10	5	3	4	2	colspan="2"
\|41	15
1999	28	9	3	0	4	1	colspan="2"
\|35	10
2000	27	3	5	0	4	1	colspan="2"
\|36	4
2001	26	9	5	2	2	1	colspan="2"
\|33	12
2002	29	3	3	2	7	3	0	0	39	8
2003	14	2	4	0	2	0	1	1	21	3
2004	24	1	1	0	5	0	colspan="2"
\|30	1
2005	25	1	1	0	5	0	colspan="2"
\|31	1
colspan=3\|Total !381\|\|85\|\|41\|\|10\|\|57\|\|11\|\|1\|\|1\|\|480\|\|107

National team statistics

Year	Apps	Goals
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan=3 \| Japan national team
1993	5	1
1994	6	1
1995	0	0
1996	0	0
1997	0	0
1998	0	0
1999	1	0
2000	4	1
Total\|\|16\|\|3

International goals

class="wikitable" ! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1.	May 7, 1993	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	{{fb\|UAE}}	1–1	Draw	1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
2.	October 9, 1994	Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan	{{fb\|MYA\|1974}}	5–0	Won	1994 Asian Games
3.	February 16, 2000	Macau	{{fb\|BRU}}	9–0	Won	2000 AFC Asian Cup Qualification