is a Japanese

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 last played for Japan national team until 2003. He play as a Defender and currently manager of club, Kochi United.

Club career

Akita is a strong and physical centre-back, who is also arguably one of the best headers of the ball within 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 ...

. One of the best defenders of his generation and a 10-year stalwart for the

Kashima Antlers The are a professional association football, football club based in Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan. They currently play in the J1 League, the top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The club has financial backing from Mercari, a Japanese ...

since 1993, Akita left Kashima in early 2004 to move back to his native

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, signing for hometown team

Nagoya Grampus Eight ; 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 ...

. He moved 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 ...

side

Kyoto Sanga FC 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 ...

at the beginning of the 2007 season. In November 2007, he announced his retirement from the game. Akita won the champions

4 times,

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 ...

3 times and

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 ...

2 times at Kashima Antlers. He was selected Best Eleven 4 times.

International career

On 24 October 1995, Akita debuted for Japan national team against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. He played at

1996 Asian Cup The 1996 AFC Asian Cup was the 11th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in the United Arab Emirates between 4 and 21 Decembe ...

. He became a regular from the middle of 1997 and at

1998 World Cup qualification 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

in 1997, Japan won the qualify for

1998 World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

first time Japan's history. He played at 1998 World Cup and

1999 Copa América The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from 29 June to 18 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. In order to bring the number of competing teams to twelve, CONMEBOL invited CONCAC ...

. He played full-time in all matches at both competitions. In 2002, he was selected Japan for the first time in 3 years. He was also selected Japan for

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, but he did not play in the match. After 2002 World Cup, he became a regular player again under new manager Zico. On 8 June 2003, the match against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

is his last game for Japan. Although he was a member of Japan for

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 ...

in June, he did not play in the match. He played 44 games and scored 4 goals for Japan until 2003.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref>

Managerial career

After retirement, Akita started coaching career at

in 2008. In July 2010, he became a manager as

Hisashi Kato is a former Japanese Association football, football player and manager. He played for the Japan national football team, Japanese national team. Club career Kato was born in Rifu, Miyagi Prefecture, Miyagi on April 24, 1956. After graduating fr ...

successor. However the club was relegated to

and he resigned end of the season. He signed with

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 ...

in 2012. In November, he resigned and became a manager for

FC Machida Zelvia commonly known as is a Japanese professional football club based in Machida, Tokyo. They currently play in the J1 League, following promotion as J2 League champions in 2023. History Formation and election to the Prefectural League (1989–2 ...

. He was sacked in June 2013. On 4 December 2019, Akita officially manager of

Iwate Grulla Morioka is a Japanese association football club based in Morioka, capital of Iwate Prefecture. They play in Japan Football League from 2025, the Japanese fourth tier of semi-professional football after relegation from J3 League in 2024. Name origin ...

from 2020 season. On 6 December 2021, Akita brought his club promotion to

for the first time in their history after draw against

Azul Claro Numazu is a Japanese professional football team based in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture. They currently play in J3 League, the Japanese third tier of professional football. History Azul Claro Numazu was established in 1977 as Numazu Arsenal and slowly ...

1-1 in final matchweek. Akita left from the club in 2022 season after his club relegated to J3 League from 2023. On 22 December 2024, Akita announcement officially manager of newly promoted J3 club, Kochi United from 2025 season.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Managerial statistics

.J.League Data Site
/ref>

Honours

Player

; Kashima Antlers *

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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 ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Individual *

Best Eleven:

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 ...

* Selected to AFC All Star Team: 1998

Manager

;Iwate Grulla Morioka *

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 ...

runner-up:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team DatabaseProfile at Kochi United SC
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Akita, Yutaka 1970 births Living people Aichi Gakuin University alumni Association football people from Aichi Prefecture Japanese men's footballers Japan men's international footballers J1 League players J2 League players Kashima Antlers players Nagoya Grampus players Kyoto Sanga FC players 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players Japanese football managers J1 League managers J2 League managers J3 League managers Kyoto Sanga FC managers FC Machida Zelvia managers Iwate Grulla Morioka managers Kochi United SC managers Men's association football defenders Footballers at the 1994 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Japan