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World Cup South Africa 2010
History - Groups - Players - Venues
Favorite Players by Country (Germany 2006)
Group F - Japan:
Shunsuke Nakamura
Place of Birth: Yokohama, Japan
Date of Birth: June 24th, 1978
Position: Midfielder
Clubs: Yokohama Marinos, Reggina, Celtic
He has won the Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004 with the Japanese national football team, and was named Most Valuable Player in the 2004 competition. He has also appeared in the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Japanese Under-23 team.
He is known for his vision and touch, as well as a free kick specialist. He can create scoring opportunities for his teammates while also capable of scoring himself.
Slightly built at 178 cm tall, Nakamura has been criticized for lack of strength on the ball, and his physical weakness was one of the reasons for his omission from Japan's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad. However, he has addressed this shortcoming during his three seasons in Italy and he has flourished in the similarly physical Scottish football.
Nakamura's national team career with Japan started in 1996 as the only high school player selected to the Under-19 team for the Asia Youth Championship. The following year, he was a member of Japan's Under-20 team that finished in the final 8 of the FIFA World Youth Championship.
In 1999, Nakamura was chosen a member of Japan's Under-23 team that won all its Asian qualifying matches in the run up to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Nakamura formed a lethal combination in the attacking midfield with Shinji Ono on a team that would form the core of the Japanese national team, and included Atsushi Yanagisawa, Junichi Inamoto and Naohiro Takahara. In Sydney, Japan reached the quarterfinal round.
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