is a professional

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former

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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He was recently the assistant coach of

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

club Inter Kashi. Born in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, Izumi represented

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

at the international level. Izumi played nine matches for India in 2013 and 2014. Izumi began his professional career in Singapore with Albirex Niigata Singapore and in his native Japan for Mitsubishi Mizushima before moving to India in 2006. He spent the first three years in India with

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

and

Mahindra United Mahindra United Football Club (formerly known as Mahindra & Mahindra) was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, bef ...

before spending six seasons with

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. He then went on to play for Atlético de Kolkata,

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, Pune City, and NEROCA. With NEROCA, Izumi helped the Manipuri club earn promotion to the

. He then ended his career playing with the

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of football in India. The club was esta ...

Club career

Albirex Niigata Singapore

In 2005, Izumi started his professional football career with Albirex Niigata Singapore of the S.League. Albirex Niigata Singapore was an affiliate of

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. They currently play in J1 League after being promoted from J2 League as cha ...

of the J.League. Arata grew a reputation for his speed while in the S.League. He scored his first professional goal of his career against

Tampines Rovers Tampines Rovers Football Club (currently known as BG Tampines Rovers due to sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football, football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of t ...

in the S.League on 18 September 2005. He then scored his second goal of the season on 30 September 2005 against

Woodlands Wellington Woodlands Wellington Football Club was a professional association football, football club based in Woodlands, Singapore, Woodlands, Singapore which played in the S.League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club took part in S.League ...

. Arata ended the season with 22 caps in S.League with 3 goals and 2 caps in the

Singapore Cup The Singapore Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Singaporean football. Established in 1998, it is the foremost prestigious cup competition in the country. It is open to clubs in the Singapore Premier League. Since ...

scoring 1 goal.

Mitsubishi Mizushima

In 2006, after a successful season with Albirex Niigata Singapore in which the team finished 5th in the S.League, Arata moved back to Japan and signed for Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima of the

Japan Football League The , also known as simply the JFL, is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League 100 Year Plan club sta ...

. While with the team Arata also worked for

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

as a toso (a person of paints cars). He worked 10 hours a day from 5 in the morning to 6 in the evening with the car company and then he spent 2 hours practicing with the football team. Despite scoring 7 goals and gaining 7 assists in 24 games during the 2006 season Izumi could not stop the club finishing in 17th place, 2nd the last that season.

East Bengal

In November 2006 Izumi signed for

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. At first he struggled to get accustomed to the Indian climate but eventually he found his way. He ended his maiden season with the club with 1 goal and 10 assists in 14 games.

Mahindra United

In 2007 Izumi signed for

of the

, which replaced the old National Football League. He began the

2007–08 I-League The 2007–08 I-League kicked off on 24 November 2007 at the Fatorda Stadium, Margao, Goa. The first match of the season was played between the two Goan clubs Dempo and Salgaocar. The top team in the I-League qualified for the qualifying ...

campaign with an injury that kept him out of football for six months. He managed to come back that season, scoring 1 goal and getting 2 assists in 8 games. The next season Izumi scored 1 goal and gained 5 assists in 16 I-League games. That season Arata and Mahindra won the

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

Pune

In 2009, Izumi signed for newly promoted I-League side

. Izumi has called his move to Pune as the turning point of his career. In 2010, he finished the season with a career high 10 goals and 10 assists in 26 games. He also scored an extra 6 goals in cup matches. He was the top goalscorer among all midfielders and was also nominated as the best midfielder in the I-League by goal.com. Izumi also won the Pune FC Man of Steel award from the club that season. Arata continued his good form for the club in 2010–11 scoring 6 goals and getting 9 assists in 24 games. On 22 October 2011 Izumi made his 50th appearance for the club in I-League in the opening match of the 2011–12 season against Shillong Lajong. On 24 August 2012 Izumi extended his contract by 2 years with Pune FC.

Atlético de Kolkata

In 2015 Izumi was drafted to Atlético Kolkata of the 2015 Indian Super League season. He started his campaign for the side with a goal against

FC Goa Futebol Clube de Goa is an India, Indian professional association football, football club based in Fatorda, Goa, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of Football in India, Indian football. The club was established on 2 ...

in a high voltage 1-1 clash on 7 October. Six days later on 13 October Izumi scored against

in 2–1 win which was witnessed by a home crowd of sixty thousand Kolkata fans and legendary

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

Salt Lake Stadium The Salt Lake Stadium, officially known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), is a multi-purpose stadium, used mostly for football matches, located in Salt Lake City, Greater Kolkata, with a capacity of 68,000 spectators. Named after S ...

. He returned after an injury almost a month later and produced a match winning performance against

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

, coming off the bench and scoring twice on 84th and 90+3 minutes with his team winning the match 3–2. His last goal came in a 2–3 defeat on 14 December against

Mumbai City FC Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is part of the City Football Group. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of the Ind ...

on the final match of the group stage.

NEROCA

In January 2017, after playing with Pune City, Izumi signed with

I-League 2nd Division The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional association football, football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation ...

side NEROCA.

Kerala Blasters

On 23 July 2017, Izumi was selected in the 6th round of the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft by the

for the 2017–18 Indian Super League season. He made his debut for the club during their opening match of the season on 17 November 2017 against ATK. He started and played the whole match as Kerala Blasters drew 0–0. At the end of the season, Izumi announced his retirement from professional football on 18 July 2018.

Style of play

As player he can play anywhere on midfield and also as a

False 9 In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

. Mostly Izumi likes to operate behind the striker or as a playmaker but also can play in as winger for his crossing abilities. Although, he has been criticized sometimes for lack of consistency throughout his career.

International career

On 24 August 2012, Izumi gained Indian citizenship, giving away his Japanese passport in order to do so, thus making him eligible to play for

at the international level. Then on 29 January 2013 it was confirmed that Izumi had been called up to

Wim Koevermans Wilhelmus ("Wim") Jacobus Koevermans (born 28 June 1960) is a Dutch football coach and former player. A central defender, he earned one cap for the Netherlands national team. Koevermans was a member of the Dutch team that won the European title ...

side for the friendly against

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Izumi then made his international debut in that match when he came on in the 64th minute for Lenny Rodrigues as India went on to lose the match 4–2. Since then Izumi has also been called up to India's

2014 AFC Challenge Cup The 2014 AFC Challenge Cup was the fifth and the final edition of the AFC Challenge Cup, an international Association football, football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging co ...

qualification squad and their

2013 SAFF Championship The 2013 South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly referred to as 2013 SAFF Championship, was the 10th SAFF Championship for List of men's national association football teams#AFC (Asia), men's national football teams organized by the ...

squad.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Izumi took up the role of youth coach with the Reliance Foundation Young Champs, the youth academy division for the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

. In August 2023, Izumi was appointed as assistant coach of Inter Kashi, a newly founded club which is set to make their

debut.

Personal life

Arata was born to Akiko Izumi, a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

mother and Narendra Khambholja, a Gujarati father. On 24 August 2012, it was officially announced by his club, Pune FC, that he has received Indian citizenship from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. Izumi also holds an Indian name, Neelkanth Khambholja.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

India *

SAFF Championship The SAFF Championship (erstwhile SAARC Gold Cup and SAFF Gold Cup), is the primary association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the South Asian Football Fede ...

runner-up:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

East Bengal * Indian Super Cup: 2006 *

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...

: 2006 Mahindra United *

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is a football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal. The IFA came into existence in 1893, and was named after the association. The IFA Shield to ...

: 2008 *

Mumbai Football League The Mumbai Football League, also known as the Harwood League, is organised by Mumbai Football Association (MFA), as a ladder-based competition involving a total of five divisions and over 300 teams. It is the top football league in Mumbai and ...

: 2007–08, 2008–09 Pune *

runner-up: 2012–13; third place: 2009–10 *