is a former

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 ...

player. He played for Japan national team.

Club career

Watanabe was born in Fujieda on September 10, 1972. After graduating from

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private research university in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. The university finds its roots in a school called Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (English Law School), which was founded in 1885, and became a university in 1 ...

, he joined

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba 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 Sankyo ...

in 1995. He played as regular player from first season. The club won the champions at 1999 J.League Cup. At the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, he scored a tie goal in the 89th minute and he was selected

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. The club also won the 3rd place in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and 2000 J1 League. He retired end of 2004 season.

National team career

On August 13, 1997, Watanabe debuted for Japan national team against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

.Japan National Football Team Database
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Club statistics

National team statistics

Honours

Kashiwa Reysol *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...

Individual * J. League Cup MVP: 1999

References

External links

*
Japan National Football Team Database
* 1972 births Living people Chuo University alumni Japanese men's footballers Japan men's international footballers J1 League players Kashiwa Reysol players Men's association football defenders Association football people from Fujieda, Shizuoka 20th-century Japanese sportsmen {{Japan-footy-defender-1970s-stub