is a Japanese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a defender.

Career

Youth

Shimazaki spent eight years with the

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, in Nakahara ...

academy.

College & MLS SuperDraft

Shimazaki opted to move to the United States to play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

in 2016, where he played for four years, making a total of 69 appearances, scoring seven goals and tallying six assists for the Rams. While at college, Shimazaki appeared for

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

sides

Portland Timbers U23s Capital FC is an American soccer team based in Salem, Oregon, United States. Although founded in 2008 as part of the development system for the Portland Timbers USSF D2 organization, beginning in 2011 they were part of the development system f ...

in 2018, and with

Tormenta FC 2 South Georgia Tormenta FC 2, officially known as Tormenta FC 2, is an American soccer team based in Statesboro, Georgia, United States. Founded in 2019, the club fields a pre-professional team in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American So ...

in 2019. On 13 January 2020, Shimazaki was selected 59th overall in the

2020 MLS SuperDraft The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was the 21st edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first SuperDraft held exclusively via conference call and web streaming. The first two rounds of the 2020 SuperDraft wer ...

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

Professional

On 16 January 2020, Shimazaki joined

New England Revolution II New England Revolution II is a professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer ...

ahead of the 2020 season. He made his professional debut on 25 July 2020, appearing as a half-time substitute against

Union Omaha Union Omaha Soccer Club is an American professional soccer team based in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2020, the team made its debut in USL League One (USL1). History In 2019, USL1 awarded a franchise to Alliance Omaha Soccer Holdings to begin pla ...

. He scored his first goal on 26 August 2020, scoring the game's only goal in a 1–0 win over Greenville Triumph. Shimazaki's contract option was declined by New England on 30 November 2020. On 29 August 2021, Shimozaki announced his retirement from professional soccer.

International

Shimazaki has represented Japan at under-16 and under-17 level.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shimazaki, Ryo 1997 births Living people Japanese men's footballers Japan men's youth international footballers Japanese expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders VCU Rams men's soccer players Capital FC players Tormenta FC players New England Revolution II players USL League Two players USL League One players Columbus Crew draft picks Association football people from Kawasaki, Kanagawa