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 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 previously played for the Japan national team. His wife is Japanese actress Rosa Kato.

Club career

Early years

In 2000, Matsui graduated from and began his professional career with Kyoto Purple Sanga of the

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 ...

Kyoto Purple Sanga

After his J1 League rookie season Purple Sanga were relegated to

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

. However, the following season Matsui played a prominent role in helping his club finish first in J2, earning the club a promotion back to J1. In 2002 the club continued their success by having a strong season, finishing sixth in the league and winning the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

. The club's success and Matsui's increased exposure lead to Matsui being called up to the national team for the first time in 2003. However, his club was again relegated to J2 after the 2003 season, and could not earn a return to Division 1 after the 2004 season.

Le Mans

In 2004, after four and a half seasons in Kyoto, Matsui signed with

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

in France. Matsui chose Le Mans, then a second division club, over

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, one of the top clubs in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

, because he believed that the style of Italian football was too defensive. In Japan, Matsui had been criticized for his small physique and mental weakness, but he adapted to the fast, physical style of French football by changing his style and holding on to the ball less. In his first season with Le Mans, he helped the club earn a runners-up finish in Ligue 2 and a promotion to Ligue 1. In 2005–06, in Matsui's first season playing in Ligue 1, Le Mans began undefeated in its first six matches of the season and finished 11th place in the league. Matsui was voted as the Player of the Month for January 2006. Jean-Sébastien Grond of ''Football.fr'' has dubbed Matsui "the sun of Le Mans" (''le soleil du Mans''), while many Le Mans supporters and the media consider him the top player for the club. In the 2006–07 season, Matsui appeared in 27 games and Le Mans finished 12th place in Ligue 1. During the 2007–08 season, Matsui expressed desire to transfer to a new club at the end of the season, when his contract with Le Mans was set to expire. Among the teams which were believed to have shown interest in signing him at the time were

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

of the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

and

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

of the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

, and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

Saint-Étienne

At the conclusion of the 2007–08 season, after having played for Le Mans for four consecutive years, Matsui announced his transfer to

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

on a three-year signing. In the beginning of the 2008–09 season Matsui was seeing very limited playing time, which was believed to have been due to his poor form combined with a rift with the manager, Laurent Roussey. However, on 10 November 2008 Roussey was released by Saint-Étienne due to the club's poor performance. At the time of Roussey's release the club had lost five consecutive matches and sat in 18th place in the 20-team league, with a record of three wins, nine losses and a draw. During the club's poor slide, Saint-Étienne co-president Roland Romeyer criticized several players including Matsui, whom Romeyer had questioned whether he was a body-double for the 'real' Japanese star Sainté had brought in from Le Mans in the summer. On 11 November 2008, Saint-Étienne announced that

Alain Perrin Alain André Christian Perrin (; born 7 October 1956) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at Troyes AC, Troyes, whom he took from t ...

was appointed as the club's new manager. Perrin had led

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

to the domestic double in the previous season by winning the Ligue 1 title and the French Cup. In 2009, Matsui again moved to a new club in the Ligue 1, this time to

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

Grenoble

Matsui still showed his qualities by scoring four league goals in the campaign; one versus Lorient on 28 November 2009, two goals against Auxerre on 6 February 2010 and one versus Sochaux on 17 April 2010. However the season with Grenoble was reflected poorly as the team finished bottom of Ligue 1 and was relegated.

Tom Tomsk

During the summer transfer window in the Russian Premier League, Matsui moved to Siberian club

FC Tom Tomsk FC Tom Tomsk () was a Russian professional football club, based in the Siberian city of Tomsk. The team played in Trud Stadium (Tomsk) before being dissolved in 2022. History The team was previously named ''Burevestnik'' (1957), ''Tomich'' (19 ...

on loan until the end of the Russian Championship of 2010. He played his first match for his new team on 11 September against

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...

and was substituted.

Dijon

On 5 July 2011, Matsui signed a two-year contract with the club in Dijon, a new entrant in France's

Slavia Sofia

On 11 September 2012, Matsui joined

Bulgarian A PFG The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

club

Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia 1913 () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground is the Stadion Aleksandar Sh ...

. He made his debut in a 2–0 home win over

Lokomotiv Sofia FC Lokomotiv Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refounded in 2015, following ...

on 23 September, coming on as a half-time substitute for Pavle Popara.

Lechia Gdańsk

On 3 July 2013, it was announced by Lechia Gdańsk that he had signed a contract for one year with an option of extension. On 22 July in his debut he scored goals in a 2–2 draw against Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała.

Júbilo Iwata

In 2014, Matsui returned to Japan and signed with

club

Júbilo Iwata is a Japanese professional association football, football team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Iwata, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The club competes in J2 League following relegation from J1 League in 2024 J1 League, 2024. Etymology The team's ...

. Júbilo achieved second place in 2015 season and was promoted to

Odra Opole

On 8 August 2017, Matsui signed for Polish club playing in

2016–17 I liga The 2016–17 I liga (currently named Nice I liga due to sponsorship reasons) was the 9th season of the Polish I liga under its current title, and the 69th season of the second highest division in the Polish football league system since its establ ...

Odra Opole OKS Odra Opole Spółka Akcyjna () is a association football, football club based in Opole, Poland, currently playing in the I liga. History Beginnings The history of Odra Opole began on 16 June 1945, when in the Opole Town Hall, a group o ...

, for an undisclosed fee.

Yokohama FC

In 2018, Matsui returned to Japan and signed with

club

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club was formed by fans of Yokohama Flügels as a protest against Flügels' merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999, becoming th ...

International career

Matsui made his national team debut on 22 June 2003 with

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 ...

2003 Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivi ...

against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and scored his international goal against

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

on 11 October 2005.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref> He also played for the U-23 national team at the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. Despite his performance at Le Mans, Matsui was not part of Zico's selection for the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

. Former Japan coach

Philippe Troussier Philippe Omar Troussier,October's ten – Religious conversions
...

criticized the decision stating that "Matsui was selected as one of the best foreign players in France and didn't make it into the squad of 23 Zico selected, which is a pity given his form and experience." Matsui was called up for the first time under

Ivica Osim Ivan Osim (6 May 1941 – 1 May 2022), best known as Ivica Osim, was a Bosnian professional Football player, footballer and Manager (association football), football manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Bosnian football managers of all ...

's reign to play in friendlies against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in September 2007. Matsui has continued to make national team appearances under

Takeshi Okada is a Japanese football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is currently the owner of FC Imabari Club career Okada was born in Osaka on August 25, 1956. After graduating from Waseda University, he joined Japan Soccer League ...

, who has replaced Osim after Osim suffered a stroke in November 2007. In 2010, Matsu was selected Japan for

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. He played all 4 matches and Japan qualified to the knockout stage. He also played at 2011 Asian Cup. He played 2 matches and Japan won the champions. This Asian Cup was his last game for Japan. He played 31 games and scored 1 goal for Japan until 2011.

Career statistics

Club

J.League
/ref>

International

:''Scores and results list Japan U23's and Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Matsui goal.''

Honours

Kyoto Purple Sanga *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Japan *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan national football team, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (Internatio ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Notes and references

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
* * *
AS Saint-Étienne Player Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsui, Daisuke 1981 births Living people Men's association football wingers Men's association football midfielders Japanese men's footballers Japan men's international footballers J1 League players J2 League players J3 League players 21st-century Japanese sportsmen Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Russian Premier League players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Ekstraklasa players I liga players V.League 1 players Kyoto Sanga FC players Le Mans FC players AS Saint-Étienne players Grenoble Foot 38 players FC Tom Tomsk players Dijon FCO players PFC Slavia Sofia players Lechia Gdańsk players Júbilo Iwata players Odra Opole players Yokohama FC players Saigon FC players YSCC Yokohama players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players AFC Asian Cup–winning players Olympic footballers for Japan Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Japanese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Japanese expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Vietnam Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Association football people from Kyoto