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Keita Suzuki facts for kids

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For the Japanese basketball player, see Keita Suzuki (basketball).
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Keita Suzuki
鈴木 啓太
Personal information
Full name Keita Suzuki
Date of birth (1981-07-08) 8 July 1981 (age 42)
Place of birth Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1997–1999 Tokai University Shoyo High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2015 Urawa Reds 379 (10)
National team
2006–2008 Japan 28 (0)
Honours
Urawa Reds
Winner AFC Champions League 2007
Winner J1 League 2006
Runner-up J1 League 2004
Runner-up J1 League 2005
Runner-up J1 League 2007
Runner-up J1 League 2014
Winner J.League Cup 2003
Runner-up J.League Cup 2002
Runner-up J.League Cup 2004
Runner-up J.League Cup 2011
Runner-up J.League Cup 2013
Winner Emperor's Cup 2005
Winner Emperor's Cup 2006
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2015
Representing  Japan
Asian Games
Silver 2002 Busan Team
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Keita Suzuki (鈴木 啓太, Suzuki Keita, born 8 July 1981) is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

He is a cousin of Koki Mizuno. His wife is Japanese actress Hiroko Hatano.

Club career

After graduating from Tokai University Shoyo High School, he joined J2 League side Urawa Reds in 2000. His first professional appearance came in an Emperor's Cup match against Honda Lock SC on 3 December 2000. He broke into Urawa's first team in 2001 and became a mainstay in midfielder. He contributed to the club winning the J1 League championship in 2006 and was chosen as one of the 2006 J.League Best XI. In 2007, the club won the champions AFC Champions League and the 3rd place Club World Cup. He was also elected Japanese Footballer of the Year award. Although he played many matches every seasons, he lost opportunity to play in 2015. In October, he announced that he would be leaving his only club at the end of that season. After the last game of 2015 regular season in November, he announced his retirement from football.

National team career

Suzuki was captain for Japan U-23 national team throughout the 2004 Summer Olympics Qualifiers. However, he was not included in the final squad for the 2004 Summer Olympics as manager Masakuni Yamamoto favoured overage player Shinji Ono.

Japan national team manager Ivica Osim rated Suzuki highly and handed him his first senior cap on 9 August 2006, in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago. He was the only player who started all 20 matches under Osim's reign. Osim once referred to him as the Japanese answer to Claude Makélélé. He played 28 games for Japan until 2008.

Club statistics

Club Season League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Champions League Other1 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Urawa Reds 2000 0 0 2 1 0 0 - - 2 1
2001 15 1 4 0 2 0 - - 21 1
2002 26 1 1 0 4 1 - - 31 2
2003 29 1 1 0 10 1 - - 40 2
2004 25 0 4 0 8 0 - 2 0 39 0
2005 29 0 4 0 6 2 - - 39 2
2006 31 1 5 0 6 0 - 1 0 43 1
2007 33 1 1 0 0 0 12 0 5 0 51 1
2008 23 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 - 27 0
2009 32 1 1 0 7 0 - - 40 1
2010 17 0 3 0 5 0 - - 25 0
2011 26 1 2 0 6 0 - - 34 1
2012 31 2 3 0 2 0 - - 36 2
2013 30 0 0 0 4 0 4 0 - 38 0
2014 28 1 1 1 3 0 - - 32 2
2015 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 10 0
Career total 379 10 34 2 64 4 22 0 9 0 508 16

1Includes J.League Championship, Japanese Super Cup, A3 Champions Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

National team statistics

National team Year Apps Goals
Japan U-23
2002 6 1
2003 8 0
2004 12 1
Total 26 2
Japan
2006 7 0
2007 13 0
2008 8 0
Total 28 0

Appearances in major competitions

Team Competition Category Appearances Goals Team Record
Start Sub
Japan U-23 2004 Summer Olympics Qualifiers U-22~23 6 1 1 Qualified
Japan 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification Senior 5 0 0 Qualified
Japan 2007 AFC Asian Cup Senior 6 0 0 4th place
Japan 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Senior 2 0 0 Qualified

International goals

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.

Under-23

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 10 October 2002 Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan, South Korea  Thailand
2–0
3–0
 2002 Asian Games
2. 3 March 2004 Al Jazira Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE  Lebanon
2–0
4–0
 2004 Summer Olympics Qualifiers

Honours

Japan

  • Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 1
2007

Club

Urawa Red Diamonds
2006
2015
2005, 2006
2003
2007
  • Japanese Super Cup: 1
2006

Individual

  • Japanese Footballer of the Year: 1
2007
  • J.League Best XI: 2
2006, 2007
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