, nicknamed "Gon" during his playing career, is a Japanese professional football manager and former player. He was the J.League Most Valuable Player in 1998, J.League Top Scorer in 1998 and 2000, and J.League Best XI in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002.

Club career Born in Shizuoka, Nakayama attended Fujieda Higashi High School and University of Tsukuba before he joined Yamaha Motors (currently; Júbilo Iwata) of the Japan Soccer League, a precursor to the J1 League, which consisted of company sponsored teams. Playing as a forward, Nakayama made his J1 League debut on 11 March 1994. From then until 2009, he was an ever-present part of the Júbilo Iwata line-up as they were consistently one of the top teams in the J1 League since its inception. With a strike-rate of more than a goal every two games throughout his career, Nakayama was the inspirational and talismanic leader for both Júbilo Iwata and the Japan national team. He holds a record by scoring four hat-tricks in four successive J1 League games, from 15 to 29 April in 1998. He scored 16 times in these games. The record is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. He also holds the record for top scorer in a single season, scoring 36 goals in 1998.

On 4 December 2012, he announced his retirement at the age of 45, citing injuries to his both knees, after being J1 League's all-time leading scorer with 157 goals. At the time of his retirement, he had played three seasons for Consadole Sapporo. In September 2015, he began to train with Azul Claro Numazu, later signing for the team as a player. Two years later, having still not made his début for Azul Claro in league or cup competition, his contract was renewed for 2017 season, a first for a professional football club.

International career At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Nakayama scored the only goal of the tournament and the first goal for the Japan national team in the history of the World Cup against Jamaica on 26 June 1998.Japan icon Nakayama calls time on careerFIFA.com 4 December 2012 He has scored 21 goals in 53 appearances for the Japan national team.Japan National Football Team Database

Nakayama also holds the world record fastest hat-trick at international level. He managed three goals in a 2000 Asian Cup qualification match against Brunei on 16 February 2000 in only three minutes and three seconds, beating the previous record of Englishman Willie Hall set in 1938 (against Northern Ireland) by 27 seconds.

Managerial career On 13 January 2020, Nakayama announced his retirement as a player at the age of 53. Having been the U-18 coach for Azul Claro Numazu for the prior two years, Nakayama revealed he was appointed the assistant manager of J2 League club Júbilo Iwata. On 13 November 2022, Nakayama returned to J3 League club Azul Claro, where he was appointed manager.

Personal life

Nakayama married actress Tomoko Ikuta in 1996, and together they have a daughter. Ikuta did the voice-over for lead actress Lee Young-ae in the Japanese version of the popular South Korean TV series Jewel in the Palace.

Nakayama portrayed himself on television, performing voice work for a guest role on the anime Hungry Heart: Wild Striker; a fictionalized version of himself also appeared in the manga version of its sister series, Captain Tsubasa. He also portrayed himself in episode 19 of HappinessCharge PreCure!. This episode corresponded with the opening of the World Cup. He appeared on the front cover of the Japanese releases of Konami's Winning Eleven video game series (World Soccer: Winning Eleven 6 and World Soccer: Winning Eleven 6 - Final Evolution) in 2002 and 2003.

Career statistics Club Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, (p. 251 out of 289)Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)", 8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 273 out of 289)

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueEmperor's CupJ.League CupAFCTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsJúbilo Iwata1990–91JSL Division 113421—1551991–92181510—19151992Football League1613——1613199318181000—19181994J1 League1230000—1231995451800——4518199627900137—40161997271842116—4226199827363400—304019992361211—259200029203241—3623200130161084—3920200229163273—392120031235021—1942004193415041325200529620201034620061311031—17220071512051—22220081612131—2132009101010—30Consadole Sapporo2010J2 League12010——13020110000——002012J1 League100000—10Azul Claro Numazu2015Football League00———00201600———002017J3 League0000——0020180000——002019——2020——Career total4322073412682751539247

International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsJapan1990101991001992631993841994001995411996001997221998104199910200076200181200230200330Total5321

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nakayama goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Masashi NakayamaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 29 August 1992 Beijing, China 1–1 2–2 1992 Dynasty Cup2 1 November 1992 Hiroshima, Japan 1–1 1–1 1992 AFC Asian Cup3 6 November 1992 3–2 3–2 4 5 May 1993 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 6–0 6–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification5 18 October 1993 Doha, Qatar 1–2 1–2 6 21 October 1993 2–0 3–07 28 October 1993 2–1 2–2 8 28 May 1995 Tokyo, Japan 1–0 3–0 1995 Kirin Cup9 8 November 1997 3–0 5–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification10 16 November 1997 Johor Bahru, Malaysia 1–0 3–211 1 March 1998 Yokohama, Japan 1–0 2–1 1998 Dynasty Cup12 1 April 1998 Seoul, South Korea 1–1 1–2 Friendly13 26 June 1998 Lyon, France 1–2 1–2 1998 FIFA World Cup14 28 October 1998 Osaka, Japan 1–0 1–0 Friendly15 13 February 2000 Macau 2–0 3–0 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification16 16 February 2000 1–0 9–017 2–018 3–019 20 February 2000 1–0 3–020 3–021 15 August 2001 Fukuroi, Japan 3–0 3–0 2001 AFC–OFC Challenge Cup

Managerial statistics Update; as of 16 April 2023 Team From To RecordGWDLWin %Azul Claro Numazu13 November 2022 presentTotal

Honours Júbilo Iwata AFC Champions League: 1998–99 Asian Super Cup: 1999 J1 League: 1997, 1999, 2002 Emperor's Cup: 2003 Japanese Super Cup: 2000, 2003, 2004

Japan AFC Asian Cup: 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2001

Individual J.League Most Valuable Player: 1998 J.League Top Scorer: 1998, 2000 J.League Best XI: 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 J.League 20th Anniversary Team Japanese Footballer of the Year: 1998 AFC Player of the Month: April 1998 Selected to AFC All Star Team: 1999

Notes

References

External links

Japan National Football Team Database