Hiroshi Nanami


Hiroshi Nanami is a Japanese former professional footballer and an assistant coach of the Japan national team.

Club career

Nanami was born in Fujieda on November 28, 1972. After graduating from Juntendo University, he joined Júbilo Iwata in 1995. From first season, he played as regular player and became a most central player in golden era in club history. The club won the champions 1997 J1 League and 1998 J.League Cup. He was also selected Best Eleven for three years in a row. In Asia, the club won 1998–99 Asian Club Championship.
In July 1999, Nanami moved to Serie A club Venezia on loan. However the club was relegated to Serie B in 2000. In September 2000, he returned to Júbilo Iwata. He hurts his knees in 2001 and he reduced opportunities to play in the match after that. The club won the champions at 2002 J1 League and 2003 Emperor's Cup. In 2006, his opportunity to play decreased and he moved to Cerezo Osaka in August 2006. In 2007, he moved to J2 League club Tokyo Verdy. In 2008, he returned to Júbilo Iwata and announced his retirement in November 2008 after being dogged by a knee injury.

International career

Nanami was a key figure for the Japan national team throughout the late 1990s and during the early part of this century.
On August 6, 1995, Nanami debuted and scored a goal for Japan against Costa Rica. From 1996, he became a central player and wore the number 10 shirt. In 1996, he played all matches for Japan included 1996 Asian Cup. At 1998 World Cup qualification in 1997, Japan won the qualify for 1998 World Cup first time Japan's history. In 1998, he played all matches included World Cup. He also played at 1999 Copa América and 2000 Asian Cup. At 2000 Asian Cup, he played full time in all matches and scored 3 goals. Japan won the champions and he was selected MVP Awards. After he hurts his knees in 2001, he did not play for Japan. He played 67 games and scored 9 goals for Japan until 2001.

Coaching career

In September 2014, Nanami became a manager for Júbilo Iwata as Péricles Chamusca successor. Júbilo played in J2 League in 2014 season and aimed to return to J1 League. However Júbilo finished at 4th place in 2014 and missed promotion to J1. In 2015, Júbilo won the 2nd place and promoted to J1 League. Although Júbilo finished 13th place in 2016, Júbilo gained Shunsuke Nakamura and rose at 6th place in 2017. However the club results were bad from 2018. Although Júbilo finished at 16th place of 18 clubs in 2018 and remained J1, he resigned in June 2019 when Júbilo was at the bottom place. On 21 June 2021, he appointed manager of J2 club, Matsumoto Yamaga. 5 months later, coach performance he was poor and his club got relegated to 2022 J3 League for first time in history. In 2022, he left the club after contract expired.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
16 August 1995Kyoto, Japan1–03–0Friendly
224 October 1995Tokyo, Japan1–02–1Friendly
39 December 1996Al Ain, United Arab Emirates1–04–01996 AFC Asian Cup
425 March 1997Muscat, Oman5–010–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
522 June 1997Tokyo, Japan5–010–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
61 November 1997Seoul, South Korea1–02–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
714 October 2000Sidon, Lebanon3–04–12000 AFC Asian Cup
824 October 2000Beirut, Lebanon1–14–12000 AFC Asian Cup
924 October 2000Beirut, Lebanon3–14–12000 AFC Asian Cup

Honours

Júbilo Iwata
Japan
Individual