Ariajasuru Hasegawa (; ; born 29 October 1988) 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 lea ...

who played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Club career

Born in

Tsurugashima, Saitama is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. On January 1, 2021, the city had an estimated population of 69,937 in 31,890 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Tsurugashima is located in the geographic cen ...

, Hasegawa joined Yokohama F. Marinos' youth setup in 2004, aged 16, after starting it out at Sakado Diplomats. In November 2006 he was promoted to the main squad ahead of the following campaign and made his professional debut on 3 March 2007, in a 1–0 home win against

Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese professional football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football, hosting their home matches in the JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōf ...

; however, he struggled severely with injuries during the year. On 6 June 2008, Hasegawa signed a professional deal with Marinos, and scored his first senior goal on 29 November, netting the last in a 2–0 home success against

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club currently competes in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2023. History Founded as Yomiuri Football Club in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the mo ...

. During the 2010 season he was also used as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, but mainly as a substitute. On 6 January 2012, Hasegawa moved to fellow league team

FC Tokyo , commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. From 2025, FC Tokyo is one of the few J.League clubs to be simply called ''Footb ...

. He was mainly used as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

by manager

Ranko Popović Ranko Popović (; born 26 June 1967) is a Serbian Association football, football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of J1 League side Kashima Antlers. Playing career Born in Peć, Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, ...

and scored five goals in

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 ...

; on 29 December 2013 he extended his contract with the club. On 16 January 2014, Hasegawa joined

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osak ...

, reuniting with former manager Popović. He appeared in 30 matches for the side during his first season, scoring once. On 2 July 2015, Hasegawa moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing a one-year deal with

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

and working with Popović for the third time. On 29 March 2016, Hasegawa returned to Japan and play for

Shonan Bellmare is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuk ...

. On 29 December 2017, Hasegawa signed for

Nagoya Grampus ; formerly known as is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture an ...

International career

Hasegawa represented

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 ...

in the under-20 level between 2006 and 2010, being capped three times and scoring one goal. In December 2012 he got called up to the main squad by coach

Alberto Zaccheroni Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian former association football, football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates national football team, United Arab Emirates and Japan national football team, Japan national fo ...

for a friendly against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, but remained unused in the 2–0 win. Born to a Japanese mother and an Iranian father, Hasegawa is eligible to play for Japan or

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, though Japan does not recognize dual citizenship.

Personal life

He was born to a Japanese mother and an Iranian father.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

Player of the Month: September 2013

References

External links

Profile at Omiya ArdijaProfile at Gainare Tottori
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hasegawa, Ariajasuru 1988 births Living people Association football people from Saitama Prefecture Japanese men's footballers J1 League players J2 League players J3 League players 21st-century Japanese sportsmen Segunda División players Yokohama F. Marinos players FC Tokyo players Cerezo Osaka players Real Zaragoza players Shonan Bellmare players RB Omiya Ardija players category:Nagoya Grampus players category:FC Machida Zelvia players category:Gainare Tottori players Japanese people of Iranian descent Iranian people of Japanese descent Japanese expatriate men's footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Men's association football midfielders Sportspeople of Iranian descent Japan men's youth international footballers