Junichi Inamoto

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Junichi Inamoto
Personal information
Full name	Junichi Inamoto
Date of birth	September 18, 1979 (1979-09-18) (age 29)
Place of birth	Yusui, Kagoshima, Japan
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Eintracht Frankfurt
Number	20
Youth clubs
1985-? 1992-1997	Seiei Gakuen SC Gamba Osaka
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997–2004 2001–2002 2002–2004 2004–2006 2004–2005 2006–2007 2007–	Gamba Osaka → Arsenal (loan) → Fulham (loan) West Bromwich Albion → Cardiff City (loan) Galatasaray Eintracht Frankfurt	118 (16) 000 0(0) 041 0(4) 028 0(0) 012 0(0) 025 0(0) 031 0(0)
National team2
1998-1999 1998-2000 2000–	Japan U-20 Japan U-23 Japan	011 0(4) 015 0(5) 070 0(4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 14, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of November 14, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Junichi Inamoto (稲本 潤一, Inamoto Jun'ichi^?, born September 18, 1979) is a Japanese football player who plays in midfield for Eintracht Frankfurt.

[edit] Playing career

Inamoto played for Japanese club Gamba Osaka during his last year of high school, signing with the club in 1998. He was then one of many high profile transfers of Asian players to Europe, signing with Arsenal of the FA Premier League, though he failed to break into the first team, only ever appearing in the Carling Cup. 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.^[1] He was then signed by Fulham on a long-term loan deal from Gamba Osaka. Initially he settled well at the London club, garnering good notices as a tough-tackling midfielder with an eye for a spectacular goal. Notable goals he scored in his time for Fulham include goals against Tottenham Hotspur and also in the win against Manchester United. He also scored a great goal in the FA Cup against Everton which commentator Barry Davies described as "a Japanese peach". 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.^[2]

Inamoto ended up signing 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.^[3] However, Gary Megson departed as West Bromwich Albion manager shortly afterwards, and successor Bryan Robson was unsure of the Japanese's talent. Inamoto was loaned to Cardiff City F.C. for the latter part of the 2004-05 season,^[4] and impressed, being recalled to play a role in WBA's survival campaign in the Premiership. During his time with the Baggies his most impressive moment came when he scored a 35 yard winner in the Carling Cup against old team Fulham. 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.

On August 31, 2006, he signed for Galatasaray.^[5] Inamoto scored a superb individual goal in a Champions League clash against Girondins Bordeaux, but could not prevent a 3-1 loss, with the team finishing at the bottom of group with four points.

On 29 May 2007 it was revealed that he signed a two-year contract with German club Eintracht Frankfurt, joining on a free transfer.^[6]Inamoto was presented in a press conference joining fellow Japanese striker Naohiro Takahara in Frankfurt.

[edit] Career statistics

(correct as of May 11, 2008)

[edit] National team

• 2000 Asian Cup (Champions)
• 2001 Confederations Cup
• 2002 FIFA World Cup
• 2003 Confederations Cup
• 2005 Confederations Cup
• 2006 FIFA World Cup

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	July 4, 2001	Ōita, Japan	Yugoslavia	1-0	Won	Friendly
2.	June 4, 2002	Saitama, Japan	Belgium	2-2	Drew	2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
3.	June 9, 2002	Yokohama, Japan	Russia	1-0	Won	2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
4.	March 28, 2003	Tokyo, Japan	Uruguay	2-2	Drew	Friendly

[edit] National team games appearances

[edit] Honours and awards

[edit] Individual honours

• J-League Best Eleven: 2000

[edit] Team honours

• FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2001
• FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 1999
• Asian Cup Champions: 2000

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Junichi Inamoto Official Website
• Profile at West Bromwich Albion's official site
• Statistics at soccerbase.com
• Junichi Inamoto FIFA competition record

Junichi Inamoto international tournaments v • d • e Japan squad – 2000 Summer Olympics 1 Narazaki • 2 Nakazawa • 3 Matsuda • 4 Morioka • 5 Miyamoto • 6 Inamoto • 7 H. Nakata • 8 Myojin • 9 Hirase • 10 Nakamura • 11 Miura • 12 Sakai • 13 Yanagisawa • 14 Motoyama • 15 Nishi • 16 K. Nakata • 17 Takahara • 18 Tsuzuki • Coach: Troussier v • d • e Japan Squad - 2000 AFC Asian Cup Winners (2nd Title) 1 Kawaguchi • 3 Matsuda • 4 Morioka • 6 Hattori • 8 Mochizuki • 9 Nishizawa • 10 Nanami • 11 Miura • 12 Morishima • 13 Yanagisawa • 14 Nakamura • 15 Oku • 17 Inamoto • 19 Kubo • 20 Takakuwa • 21 Shimoda • 22 Nakazawa • 24 Myojin • 26 Kaimoto • 27 Kitajima • 29 Takahara • 30 Ono • Coach: Troussier v • d • e Japan squad – 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-up 1 Kawaguchi • 2 Uemura • 3 Matsuda • 4 Morioka • 5 Inamoto • 6 Hattori • 7 H. Nakata • 8 Morishima • 9 Nishizawa • 10 Miura • 11 Nakayama • 12 Narazaki • 13 Yamashita • 14 Ito • 15 Fujita • 16 K. Nakata • 17 Myojin • 18 Toda • 19 Kubo • 20 Hato • 21 Ono • 22 Suzuki • 23 Tsuzuki • Coach: Troussier v • d • e Japan squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Kawaguchi • 2 Akita • 3 Matsuda • 4 Morioka • 5 Inamoto • 6 Hattori • 7 H. Nakata • 8 Morishima • 9 Nishizawa • 10 Nakayama • 11 Suzuki • 12 Narazaki • 13 Yanagisawa • 14 Alex • 15 Fukunishi • 16 K. Nakata • 17 Miyamoto • 18 Ono • 19 Ogasawara • 20 Myojin • 21 Toda • 22 Ichikawa • 23 Sogahata • Coach: Troussier v • d • e Japan squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Narazaki • 2 Narahashi • 3 Akita • 4 Morioka • 5 Inamoto • 6 Hattori • 7 H. Nakata • 8 Ogasawara • 9 Okubo • 10 Nakamura • 11 Matsui • 12 Doi • 13 Oku • 14 Alex • 15 Myojin • 16 K. Nakata • 17 Miyamoto • 18 Nagai • 19 Endō • 20 Takahara • 21 Tsuboi • 22 Yamada • 23 Kawaguchi • Coach: Zico v • d • e Japan squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Narazaki • 2 Tanaka • 3 Chano • 4 Endō • 5 Miyamoto • 6 K. Nakata • 7 H. Nakata • 8 Ogasawara • 9 Tamada • 10 Nakamura • 11 Suzuki • 12 Doi • 13 Yanagisawa • 14 Alex • 15 Fukunishi • 16 Oguro • 17 Miura • 18 Inamoto • 19 Motoyama • 20 Tsuboi • 21 Kaji • 22 Moniwa • 23 Kawaguchi • Coach: Zico v • d • e Japan squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Narazaki • 2 Moniwa • 3 Komano • 4 Endō • 5 Miyamoto • 6 K. Nakata • 7 H. Nakata • 8 Ogasawara • 9 Takahara • 10 Nakamura • 11 Maki • 12 Doi • 13 Yanagisawa • 14 Alex • 15 Fukunishi • 16 Oguro • 17 Inamoto • 18 Ono • 19 Tsuboi • 20 Tamada • 21 Kaji • 22 Nakazawa • 23 Kawaguchi • Coach: Zico