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Junichi Inamoto

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Junichi Inamoto
Inamoto playing for Kawasaki Frontale in 2010
Personal information
Full name Junichi Inamoto[1]
Date of birth (1979-09-18) 18 September 1979 (age 45)[1]
Place of birth Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder[3]
Team information
Current team
 Nankatsu SC
Number 8
Youth career
1992–1997 Gamba Osaka
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2004 Gamba Osaka 118 (16)
2001–2002 → Arsenal (loan) 0 (0)
2002–2004 → Fulham (loan) 41 (4)
2004–2006 West Bromwich Albion 28 (0)
2004–2005 → Cardiff City (loan) 14 (0)
2006–2007 Galatasaray 25 (0)
2007–2009 Eintracht Frankfurt 43 (0)
2009–2010 Rennes 5 (0)
2010–2014 Kawasaki Frontale 99 (3)
2015–2018 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 47 (1)
2019–2021 SC Sagamihara 19 (1)
2022– Nankatsu SC 2 (0)
International career
1995 Japan U-17 3 (0)
1998–1999 Japan U-20 11 (4)
1998–2000 Japan U-23 15 (5)
2000–2010 Japan 82 (5)
Medal record
Representing  Japan
FIFA Confederations Cup
Silver medal – second place 2001 Korea-Japan
AFC Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 2000 Lebanon
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Silver medal – second place 1999 Nigeria
AFC U-19 Championship
Silver medal – second place 1998 Thailand
AFC U-16 Championship
Gold medal – first place 1994 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 October 2022

Junichi Inamoto (稲本 潤一, Inamoto Jun'ichi, born 18 September 1979) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nankatsu SC.[4] He is a retired international for the Japan national team.

Club career

Inamoto was born in Kagoshima Prefecture.[3] He played for Japanese club Gamba Osaka during his last year of high school, signing with the club in 1997. In April when at the age of 17, he debuted opening match in 1997 J.League season,[4] which made him the youngest player who played J.League (at that time).[5] He played for Gamba until summer 2001 and played 118 matches in J1 League.[4] He was then one of many high-profile transfers of Asian players to Europe, signing with Arsenal of the Premier League. Inamoto scored two goals for the Japanese national team at the 2002 World Cup, but had already been released by Arsenal shortly before the tournament began.[6] He was then signed by Fulham on a long-term loan deal from Gamba Osaka.[7] Initially he settled well at the London club,[8] garnering good notices as a tough-tackling midfielder with an eye for a spectacular goal. He became a cult favourite quickly, scoring four goals over the two legs of Fulham's Intertoto Cup final against Bologna, scoring once in the first leg[9] and a hat trick in the second.[10] Other notable goals he scored in his time for Fulham include goals against Tottenham Hotspur,[11] Sunderland,[12] Middlesbrough[13] and also in the 3–1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2003.[14] He also scored in the FA Cup against Everton[15] which commentator Barry Davies described as "a Japanese peach".[citation needed] Inamoto was also described as "bigger than Beckham" by the Japanese media.[16] However, he sustained a fractured tibia in an international friendly against England, and returned to Gamba Osaka to do promotional work. Fulham were interested in signing him once more, but concerns remained over his recovery from injury.[17][18]

Inamoto signed with West Bromwich Albion for a decidedly small £200,000 transfer fee, which was only to be paid once he had made an appearance for the Midlands club.[19] However, Gary Megson departed as West Bromwich Albion manager shortly afterwards, and successor Bryan Robson was unsure of the player. Inamoto was loaned to Cardiff City for the latter part of the 2004–05 season,[20] and impressed, being recalled to play a role in West Brom's survival campaign in the Premiership. In 2005–06 he was a regular in the West Brom side, and was called up to the Japan squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first Albion player to play in the tournament for 20 years.[citation needed] Whilst at West Brom Inamoto scored once, an extra time winner in a League Cup tie against former club Fulham on 25 October 2005.[21]

On 31 August 2006, he signed for Galatasaray.[22] On 29 May 2007, it was revealed that he signed a two-year contract with German club Eintracht Frankfurt, joining on a free transfer.[23] Inamoto was presented in a press conference joining fellow Japanese striker Naohiro Takahara in Frankfurt and was released on 30 May 2009. On 19 June 2009, French Ligue 1 side Rennes announced that Inamoto had signed a contract with them.[24]

Inamoto signed for J1 League club Kawasaki Frontale on 11 January 2010 in a move back to his homeland. He played for Frontale for 5 seasons. He resigned end of 2014 season.[25] Inamoto then subsequently featured for side Consadole Sapporo (later Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) in J2 League. Consadole won the 2016 season and was promoted to J1.[26] However he could only play single-digit matches every season from 2016 season.[4] He resigned at the end of 2018 season.[27] In 2019, he signed with J3 League club SC Sagamihara.[28]

International career

In August 1995, Inamoto was selected Japan U-17 national team for 1995 U-17 World Championship. He played all 3 matches.[29] In April 1999, he was selected Japan U-20 national team for 1999 World Youth Championship.[29] At this tournament, he played three matches and Japan came second place.

On 5 February 2000, Inamoto debuted for Japan national team under manager Philippe Troussier against Mexico.[30] After the debuted, Inamoto played 10 matches or more every year under Troussier.[30]

In September 2000, Inamoto was selected Japan U-23 national team for 2000 Summer Olympics. He played full-time in all 4 matches and scored a goal against Slovakia.[29]

In 2000, Inamoto played at 2000 Asian Cup. He played four matches[30] while Japan won the championship. In 2001, he also played at 2001 Confederations Cup. He played four matches[30] and Japan came second place. In 2002, he was selected Japan for 2002 World Cup. He played all four matches and scored two goals against Belgium at first match and Russia at second match. Japan qualified to the knockout stage first time in Japan's history.

After 2002 World Cup, Inamoto played at 2003 and 2005 Confederations Cup.[30] In 2006, he was selected Japan for 2006 World Cup. He played two matches while Japan was eliminated in the group stages.

After 2006 World Cup, Inamoto was not selected Japan 1 year for generational change. In June 2007, he played for Japan for the first time in a year.[30] After that, he played several matches every year. In 2010, he was selected Japan for 2010 World Cup. He played two matches[30] and Japan qualified to the knockout stage. This World Cup is his last game for Japan. He played 82 games and scored 5 goals for Japan.[30]

Career statistics

Club

As of 14 October 2022[4][31]
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
Gamba Osaka 1997 J1 League 27 3 3 0 6 0 – 36 3
1998 28 6 1 0 4 0 – 33 6
1999 22 1 2 0 0 0 – 24 1
2000 28 4 2 0 4 1 – 34 5
2001 13 2 0 0 3 0 – 16 2
Total 118 16 8 0 17 1 – 143 17
Arsenal (loan) 2001–02 Premier League 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 4 0
Fulham (loan) 2002–03 Premier League 19 2 2 0 2 0 10[a] 4 33 6
2003–04 22 2 2 1 1 0 – 25 3
Total 41 4 4 1 3 0 10 4 58 9
West Bromwich Albion 2004–05 Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 – 3 0
2005–06 Premier League 22 0 2 0 2 1 – 26 1
2006–07 Championship 3 0 0 0 0 0 – 3 0
Total 28 0 2 0 2 1 – 32 1
Cardiff City (loan) 2004–05 Championship 14 0 2 0 0 0 – 16 0
Galatasaray 2006–07 Süper Lig 25 0 3 0 – 5 1 33 1
Eintracht Frankfurt 2007–08 Bundesliga 24 0 2 0 – – 26 0
2008–09 19 0 1 0 – – 20 0
Total 43 0 3 0 – – 46 0
Rennes 2009–10 Ligue 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 – 5 0
Kawasaki Frontale 2010 J1 League 28 0 2 0 4 0 5 0 39 0
2011 12 2 1 0 1 0 – 14 2
2012 20 0 1 0 3 0 – 24 0
2013 25 0 3 0 10 0 – 36 0
2014 14 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 19 1
Total 99 3 8 0 20 0 8 0 135 3
Consadole Sapporo 2015 J2 League 31 0 1 0 – – 32 0
2016 J2 League 8 1 0 0 – – 8 1
2017 J1 League 6 0 0 0 0 0 – 6 0
2018 2 0 1 0 5 0 – 8 0
Total 47 1 2 0 5 0 – 54 0
SC Sagamihara 2019 J3 League 9 1 0 0 – – 9 1
2020 1 0 0 0 – – 1 0
2021 J2 League 9 0 2 0 – – 11 0
Nankatsu SC 2022 Kanto Soccer League 2 0 0 0 – – 2 0
Career total 441 25 34 1 49 2 25 5 549 33
  1. ^ Includes appearances in the Intertoto Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[30]
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 2000 14 0
2001 11 1
2002 11 2
2003 10 1
2004 6 0
2005 10 0
2006 4 0
2007 3 0
2008 2 0
2009 4 1
2010 8 0
Total 82 5
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Inamoto goal.
List of international goals scored by Junichi Inamoto
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 July 2001 Ōita, Japan  FR Yugoslavia 1–0 Friendly match
2 4 June 2002 Saitama, Japan  Belgium 2–2 2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
3 9 June 2002 Yokohama, Japan  Russia 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
4 28 March 2003 Tokyo, Japan  Uruguay 2–2 Friendly match
5 9 September 2009 Utrecht, Netherlands  Ghana 4–3 Friendly match

Honours

Fulham

Hokkaido Consodale Sapporo

Japan U17

Japan U20

Japan

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "Juni̇chi̇ İnamoto". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Junichi Inamoto: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Junichi Inamoto". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Junichi Inamoto at J.League (archive) (in Japanese) Edit this at Wikidata
  5. ^ goal.com
  6. ^ "Arsenal release Inamoto". BBC Sport. 10 June 2002. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  7. ^ "Inamoto joins". Fulham F.C. 15 July 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Inamoto gears up". Fulham F.C. 23 July 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Fulham force draw". BBC Sport. 13 August 2002. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Fulham clinch Euro glory". BBC Sport. 27 August 2002. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  11. ^ "Fulham stun Spurs". BBC Sport. 11 September 2002. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  12. ^ "Inamoto sees off Sunderland". BBC Sport. 14 September 2002. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  13. ^ "Fulham hold on for win". BBC Sport. 16 August 2003. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  14. ^ "Fulham stun Man Utd". BBC Sport. 25 October 2003. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  15. ^ "Fulham 2–1 Everton (aet)". BBC Sport. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  16. ^ "Bigger than Beckham". Fulham F.C. 24 August 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  17. ^ "Inamoto to leave Fulham". BBC Sport. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  18. ^ "Inamoto signs extension". Fulham F.C. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Inamoto signs for West Brom". BBC Sport. 31 August 2004. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  20. ^ "Cardiff snap up Inamoto on loan". BBC Sport. 23 December 2004. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  21. ^ "Fulham 2–3 West Brom (aet)". BBC Sport. 25 October 2005. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  22. ^ "Inamoto leaves Baggies for Turkey". BBC Sport. 1 September 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  23. ^ "Inamoto kommt" (in German). kicker. 29 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  24. ^ "Junichi Inamoto rejoint le Stade Rennais F.C." (in French). staderennais.com. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  25. ^ Kawasaki Frontale (in Japanese)
  26. ^ J.League
  27. ^ Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo(in Japanese)
  28. ^ SC Sagamihara(in Japanese)
  29. ^ a b c Junichi Inamoto – FIFA competition record (archived) Edit this at Wikidata
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h i Japan National Football Team Database
  31. ^ Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
  32. ^ "Fulham force draw". BBC Sport. 13 August 2002. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
    "Fulham clinch Euro glory". BBC Sport. 27 August 2002. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  33. ^ "J. Inamoto". Soccerway.com.
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