Kosuke Kimura
 Kosuke Kimura playing with the Colorado Rapids (MLS) 2011 |
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kosuke Kimura | ||
| Date of birth | May 14, 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Kobe, Japan | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Colorado Rapids | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999 | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
| 2003–2006 | Western Illinois Leathernecks | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004 | Thunder Bay Chill | 13 | (0) |
| 2007– | Colorado Rapids | 105 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 22, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Kosuke Kimura (木村光佑 Kimura Kōsuke) (born May 14, 1984 in Kobe) is a Japanese footballer who currently plays for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
He is the only player in the league's history who was born in Japan[1], and was a starting defender for the Rapids in its run to the MLS Cup Championship in 2010.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] College and amateur
Kimura's career in organized soccer began with the youth team of J. League side Kawasaki Frontale. A broken foot at age 15 prematurely ended his time with the club. Despite this, he would eventually earn an athletic scholarship to play college soccer at Western Illinois University after moving to the United States, where he took an intensive English-language course and the SAT, on which he achieved a near-perfect score on its mathematics section.[1] A four-year letterman with the Leathernecks from 2003 to 2006,[2] he also played with the Thunder Bay Chill of the USL Premier Development League.[3]
[edit] Professional
Kimura was drafted by Colorado Rapids in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft,[4] and in doing so became first Japanese-born player in the history of Major League Soccer.[5] He was a bit-part player for much of his first two seasons, playing four games in his rookie season, and featuring in 18 games in 2008, 17 as a starter.
He scored his first career goal on May 2, 2009, in a game against Real Salt Lake.[6] On November 13, 2010, he scored the game-winning goal on San Jose that took the Colorado Rapids to MLS Cup 2010. On November 21, 2010, Kimura played for a full 90 minutes (plus 30 minutes of extra time) to help the Colorado Rapids win the MLS Cup against FC Dallas in Toronto, Ontario.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Colorado Rapids
- Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Championship (1): 2010
- Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2010
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Bell, Jack. "Determination and Hard Work Distinguish Defender for Rapids," The New York Times, Tuesday, September 14, 2010.
- ^ Kosuke Kimura (profile) – Western Illinois University Athletics.
- ^ Thunder Bay Chill highlights.
- ^ "Stats Centre: Kosuke Kimura Facts". Guardian.co.uk. http://guardian.touch-line.com/StatsCentre.asp?Lang=0&CTID=56&CPID=139&pStr=Player&PLID=203639&TEID=3131. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ Nguyen, Joe (2009-05-15). "Rapids' Kimura's dream takes him halfway around world". AsiaXpress.com. http://www.asiaxpress.com/Articles/2009/may/kimura/1.html. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ^ http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/game.jsp?match=05022009_RSLCOL
[edit] External links
- Kosuke Kimura – Official website.
- MLS player profile
- Kosuke Kimura at Yahoo! Sports
- May 2009 Kosuke Kimura interview with AsiaXpress.com
|
|||||
- 1984 births
- Living people
- Colorado Rapids players
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- Association football midfielders
- Japanese expatriate footballers
- Japanese expatriates in the United States
- Japanese footballers
- People from Kobe
- Thunder Bay Chill players
- Western Illinois University alumni
- USL Premier Development League players
