is a Japanese football manager and former player.

Club career

Nishino was born in Saitama on 7 April 1955. After graduating from

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

, he joined

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo G ...

in 1978. The club won the 2nd place at 1980 JSL Cup and

1982 Japan Soccer League 1982 was the 18th season of the Japan Soccer League. First Division Mitsubishi tied Yanmar's four championships with its own run. NKK could not adjust to the top flight for this season and was relegated instantly. Honda saved itself by defeatin ...

. He retired in 1990. He was elected Best Eleven in 1985–86.

International career

In March 1977, when Nishino was a

student, he was selected in Japan national team for

1978 World Cup qualification Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 � ...

. At this qualification, on 6 March, he debuted against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He played 12 games and scored 1 goal for Japan until 1978.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref>

Managerial career

After retirement, in 1990, Nishino became a coach for

(later ''Kashiwa Reysol''). From 1991, he managed the Japan U-20 national team and Japan U-23 national team. At U-23 Japan in 1996 Summer Olympics Qualifiers, Japan qualified to

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

for the first time in 28 years since

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

, where Japan won the Bronze Medal. At 1996 Olympics, although Japan won 2 matches, Japan lost in the First round. At this time, Japan beat

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in first game. It was known as the "Miracle of Miami" ( マイアミの奇跡) in Japan. In 1997, Nishino returned to Kashiwa Reysol and became a coach. In 1998, he became a manager. In 1999, he led the club to win the 1999 J.League Cup. In 2000, the club won the 3rd place in

J.League Division 1 The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

for 2 years in a row and he received Best Managers award. However, he was sacked in July 2001. In 2002, he signed with Gamba Osaka. In 2005, the club won

for the first time in club history and he was elected for the Best Manager award. In 2008, the club won

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

and the 3rd place at

Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 20 ...

. He was also elected AFC Coach of the Year awards. The club also won the 2007 J.League Cup, the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and the 2009 Emperor's Cup. He resigned in 2011. In May 2012, he signed with

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matc ...

as Masahiro Wada's successor. However, he was sacked in November. In 2014, he signed with Nagoya Grampus and managed the club until 2015. In March 2016, Nishino returned to the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions. History The organi ...

as a technical director. In April 2018, Japan national team manager Vahid Halilhodžić was sacked and Nishino was named as the new manager. A big challenge for Nishino was lack of time for preparation, while also being doubted because of his lack of coaching experience. Nonetheless, in the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, he registered history by helping Japan to beat

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

2–1, the first ever defeat of a

CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Surina ...

team to an Asian side. His brilliant tactics continued to be demonstrated when Japan held

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

in a 2–2 draw. His Japan lost 0–1 to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in the final group match, but as Japan received lesser yellow cards than Senegal, Japan controversially qualified to the knockout stage, becoming the only Asian team to do so in the 2018 World Cup. However, his Japan lost 2–3 to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

despite having led 2–0, thus were eliminated from the tournament. Nishino is scheduled to step down once his current term expires at the end of July, following the World Cup. Nishino consented to take charge of the Thailand's

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

and under-23 national sides on 17 July 2019, became the first Asian to coach Thailand, and on 24 January 2020, this contract has been extended until 2022. On 29 July 2021,

Football Association of Thailand The Football Association of Thailand under Patronage of His Majesty the King ( th, สมาคมกีฬาฟุตบอลแห่งประเทศไทย ในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์), or FA Thailand for s ...

announced that it had parted ways with Nishino, which was later explained due to Thailand's poor performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

;Kashiwa Reysol * J.League Cup:

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

;Gamba Osaka *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

* J.League Cup:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

* Japanese Super Cup:

Individual

* Japan Football Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2019 ;Player *

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football 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 ...

Best Eleven: 1985–86 ;Manager *

J.League Manager of the Year J.League Manager of the Year is an annual award given to one manager by the J.League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of th ...

: 2000,

* AFC Coach of the Year: 2008

References

External links

*
Japan National Football Team Database
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nishino, Akira 1955 births Living people Waseda University alumni Sportspeople from Saitama (city) Association football people from Saitama Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan international footballers Japan Soccer League players Kashiwa Reysol players Japanese football managers J1 League managers Kashiwa Reysol managers Gamba Osaka managers Vissel Kobe managers Nagoya Grampus managers Japan national football team managers 2018 FIFA World Cup managers Association football midfielders Japanese expatriate football managers