Hiroyuki Shirai

Hiroyuki Shirai is a former Japanese football player who is currently a coach at J3 League club FC Ryukyu.

Club career

Shirai was born in Fuji on 17 June 1974. After graduating from high school, he joined his local club Shimizu S-Pulse in 1993. He moved to Verdy Kawasaki and then to Cerezo Osaka in 1998. He 2000 he joined J2 League club Shonan Bellmare and he played there for six seasons. In 2006 he moved to Vegalta Sendai. Initially he played as regular player. However, he lost regular position due to injury in June 2006. In 2008 he moved to Japan Football League club FC Ryukyu. He played only three league matches; this was due to injury. He retired at the end of 2008 season.

National team career

In July 1996, Shirai was selected Japan U-23 national team for 1996 Summer Olympics. At this tournament, he played 2 matches. Although Japan won 2 matches, Japan lost at first round. Japan beat Brazil in first game, it is known as "Miracle of Miami" in Japan.