is a

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 ...

ese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player. He currently is the manager of club,

Asuka FC , commonly known as is a semi-professional football club based in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The team currently play in Japan Football League, the fourth tier of Japanese football. The club was founded on 6 December, 2003, and has undergo ...

Playing career

Minobe was born in

Moriyama 270px, Lake Biwa from Moriyama is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 85,485 in 34,366 households and a population density of 1533.63 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Mo ...

on July 12, 1965. After graduating from high school, he joined

Matsushita Electric is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and changed its name to in 2008. In 20 ...

(later ''Gamba Osaka'') in 1984. He played many matches mainly as a right back. In 1990, Matsushita Electric won 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 first major title in the club’s history. In 1994, Minobe moved to

Kyoto Purple Sanga is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. Its name "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to deno ...

, playing in 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 ...

. In 1994, he became a captain and played as a regular starter. In 1995, although his opportunity to play decreased, the club finished in second place and was promoted to

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 ...

. However Minobe retired at the end of the 1995 season without having played in J1 at the club.

Managerial career

After retirement, Minobe became a coach for

(later ''Kyoto Sanga FC'') in 1996. He mainly managed the youth team until 2003. In 2004, he became a coach for top team. In October 2006, manager Koichi Hashiratani was sacked and Minobe became the new manager as Hashiratani’s successor. However the season’s results were bad and the club was relegated to the

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 ...

. Although he started the season as manager in 2007, he was sacked in October. In 2008, Minobe signed as manager with J2 club

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club located in Tokushima, capital of Tokushima Prefecture. The club currently playing in the J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football league. Name origin The name, "Vortis" was named in 19 ...

. Although the club finished in bottom place in 2008, the club results improved each season after that and they finished in 4th place in 2011. Minobe resigned at the end of the 2011 season. In 2013, Minibe signed with

club

AC Nagano Parceiro AC Nagano Parceiro (AC長野パルセイロ, ''E Shī Nagano Paruseiro'') is a Japanese football club based in Nagano, capital of Nagano Prefecture. They play in the J3 League, Japanese third tier of professional football. Name origin The clu ...

, and led the club to win the league that year, meaning the club was promoted to the newly formed

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan under the organization of J.League. The league is known as the for sponsorship reasons. The third-tier nation ...

for the 2014 season. In 2014, although the club finished the 2nd place, they lost the promotion/relegation series, and were not promoted to J2. In August 2015, although the club place was doing well in 3rd place, Minobe resigned due to health problems. On 12 January 2021, Minobe was announced officially as the manager of

Kansai Soccer League is the Japanese fifth tier of league football, which is part of the Japanese Regional Leagues. It covers most of the Kansai region, as well as the prefectures of Hyōgo, Kyōto, Nara, Osaka, Shiga and Wakayama. Mie, usually considered part o ...

club,

at the start of 2021 season. On 24 November 2024, Minobe secured promotion to

for the first time in their history for the 2025 season after defeating

J-Lease FC are a Japanese Association football, football club based in Oita (city), Oita City, capital of Oita Prefecture. They currently play in the Kyushu Soccer League, which part of Japanese Regional Leagues. Their main colors, reflected on their crest ...

2-1 in

Takebishi Stadium Kyoto is a multi-purpose stadium in Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It was formerly known as Kyoto Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium. Since August 2019 it has been called Takebishi Stadium Kyoto until July 2029 for the naming rights by ''Takebishi ...

in the

Japanese Regional Football Champions League The Japanese Regional Champions League (, ''Zenkoku Chiiki Sakkā Championzu Rīgu''), known before 2016 as Japan Regional Football League Competition, is a nationwide play-off tournament meant as a transition for Japanese football clubs competin ...

final round.

Club statistics

Managerial statistics

.J.League Data Site
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Honours

Manager

;Asuka FC *

Div 1:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References

External links

* *
Profile at Asuka FC
as Manager 1965 births Living people Association football people from Shiga Prefecture Japanese men's footballers Japan Soccer League players J1 League players Japan Football League (1992–1998) players 20th-century Japanese sportsmen Gamba Osaka players Kyoto Sanga FC players Japanese football managers J1 League managers J2 League managers J3 League managers Kyoto Sanga FC managers Tokushima Vortis managers AC Nagano Parceiro managers Men's association football defenders {{Japan-footy-defender-1960s-stub