Toshiya Fujita

Toshiya Fujita
藤田 俊哉
Personal information
Date of birth (1971-10-04) October 4, 1971 (age 52)
Place of birth Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1987–1989 Shimizu Commercial High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1993 University of Tsukuba
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–2005 Júbilo Iwata 336 (94)
2003 → Utrecht (loan) 14 (1)
2005–2008 Nagoya Grampus 83 (6)
2009–2010 Roasso Kumamoto 75 (6)
2011 JEF United Chiba 4 (0)
Total 512 (107)
International career
1995–2005 Japan 24 (3)
Managerial career
2014–2017 VVV-Venlo (Coach)
2017–2018 Leeds United
(Head of Football Development (Asia))
Medal record
Júbilo Iwata
Winner J1 League 1997
Winner J1 League 1999
Winner J1 League 2002
Runner-up J1 League 1998
Runner-up J1 League 2001
Runner-up J1 League 2003
Winner J.League Cup 1998
Runner-up J.League Cup 1994
Runner-up J.League Cup 1997
Runner-up J.League Cup 2001
Winner Emperor's Cup 2003
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2004
Representing  Japan
FIFA Confederations Cup
Silver medal – second place 2001 Korea-Japan
AFC Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 2004 China
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Toshiya Fujita (藤田 俊哉, Fujita Toshiya, born October 4, 1971) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Fujita played for Júbilo Iwata, Utrecht, Nagoya Grampus, Roasso Kumamoto and JEF United Chiba. He won five major titles during his time at Júbilo. He also gained 24 caps for the Japan national team between 1995 and 2005.[1]

From 2017 to 2018, he held the position of Head of Football Development (Asia) for English club Leeds United.[2]

Club career

Fujita attended and played football at Shimizu Commercial High School and University of Tsukuba before joining Júbilo Iwata in 1994. Playing as a creative midfielder, Fujita has played an integral role in helping to build Júbilo Iwata into one of the most successful franchises in the J1 League.

Although Fujita is not as well known as some of his more illustrious teammates, this probably has more to do with his low-key manner and quiet efficiency rather than a lack of skills. As part of the Júbilo midfield, Fujita had an essential role in providing the transition from defense to attack. In 1999, his contributions to his team were recognized as he was made team captain and won the league MVP award.

Fujita joined FC Utrecht, a team of the Eredivisie, on loan in mid-2003.[3] The team was unable to match the performances of the top-tier teams in the Netherlands. As a result, FC Utrecht were unwilling to pay the transfer fee required to keep Fujita and he returned to Japan to once again play for Júbilo Iwata at the end of 2003.[4]

From 2004, Fujita played for Júbilo Iwata again. However, his opportunity to play decreased in 2005, he moved to Nagoya Grampus Eight (later Nagoya Grampus) in June 2005. His opportunity to play decreased in 2008 and he left the club end of the season. From 2009, he played for J2 League club Roasso Kumamoto (2009–10) and JEF United Chiba (2011). He announced his retirement in June 2012.

International career

On February 15, 1995, Fujita debuted for the Japan national team against Australia. In June 1999, he was selected by Japan for the first time in four years by manager Philippe Troussier. He played at 1999 Copa America. In 2001, he was selected by Japan for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. He did not play in the match while Japan came second place.

In October 2003, he was selected Japan for the first time in four years by manager Zico. In 2004, he played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification. He was also selected by Japan for the 2004 Asian Cup. While he did not play in the match, Japan won the title twice in a row. He played 24 games and scored 3 goals for Japan until 2005.[5]

Japan Pro-Footballers Association (JPFA)

Fujita had been managing the Japan Pro-Footballers Association (JPFA, ja[6]) as a chairman for five years with Tetsuro Kiyooka, FIFA players' agent as a chief operating officer and formed the organization as a trade union in 2011[7] as well as represented the all Japanese footballers and the Japan national football team to protect their rights and status.[8][9]

Coaching career

In 2014 joined Dutch side VVV-Venlo as part of the coaching staff.

On July 21, 2017, it was announced he had left VVV-Venlo join English EFL Championship side Leeds United as Head of Football Development (Asia).[2] On January 3, 2018, Leeds signed their first ever Japanese player, signing Japanese international Yosuke Ideguchi from Gamba Osaka.[10] In late 2018, Fujita left his role with Leeds United to become head of international relations with the Japanese Football Federation.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Júbilo Iwata 1994 J1 League 38 7 1 0 4 0 – 43 7
1995 49 11 1 1 – – 50 12
1996 25 4 1 0 14 1 – 40 5
1997 24 9 4 3 6 0 – 34 12
1998 33 17 3 0 6 4 – 42 21
1999 29 4 3 0 4 1 – 36 5
2000 30 8 3 1 4 1 – 37 10
2001 26 11 2 1 7 0 – 35 12
2002 30 10 3 0 7 2 – 40 12
2003 13 6 0 0 6 0 – 19 6
2004 29 7 5 1 0 0 4 0 38 8
2005 10 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 14 1
Utrecht (loan) 2003–04 Eredivisie 14 1 – – 3 0 17 1
Nagoya Grampus[a] 2005 J1 League 22 2 2 0 0 0 – 24 2
2006 24 2 2 0 4 0 – 30 2
2007 29 2 2 0 1 0 – 32 2
2008 8 0 1 0 4 1 – 13 1
Roasso Kumamoto 2009 J2 League 50 4 1 0 – – 51 4
2010 25 2 0 0 – – 25 2
JEF United Chiba 2011 J2 League 4 0 1 0 – – 5 0
Career total 512 107 34 7 67 10 11 1 625 123
  1. ^ "Nagoya Grampus Eight" until 2008

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[5]
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 1995 6 2
1996 0 0
1997 0 0
1998 0 0
1999 4 0
2000 0 0
2001 0 0
2002 0 0
2003 3 0
2004 10 1
2005 1 0
Total 24 3
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fujita goal.
List of international goals scored by Toshiya Fujita
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 February 23, 1995 Hong Kong, China  China 1–0 2–1 Friendly
2 June 10, 1995 Nottingham, England  Sweden 1–0 2–2 Umbro Cup
3 March 31, 2004 Jalan Besar, Singapore  Singapore 2–1 2–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honors

Júbilo Iwata

Japan

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FUJITA Toshiya". Japan National Football Team Database. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Toshiya Fujita moved from VVV to a prestigious English club! What is your goal in the home of football?". YAHOO Japan. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017.
  3. ^ "Fujita joins Utrecht". The Japan Times. August 14, 2003. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  4. ^ "Toshiya Fujita" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  5. ^ a b "FUJITA Toshiya – Japan National Football Team Database". www.jfootball-db.com.
  6. ^ "Home". Japan Pro-Footballers Association (in Japanese). Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  7. ^ "Japanese association JPFA will form a union". FIFPro.
  8. ^ "Players make cash demand to JFA". The Japan Times. December 21, 2010.
  9. ^ "Japan FA chief warns players against boycott". SOCCERWAY.
  10. ^ https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/video-leeds-united-start-january-transfer-business-early-with-signing-of-midfielder-yosuke-idehguchi-1-8903750 [dead link]

External links

  • Toshiya Fujita – FIFA competition record (archived)
  • Toshiya Fujita at National-Football-Teams.com
  • Japan National Football Team Database
  • Toshiya Fujita at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
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