Masami Ihara
Masami Ihara (井 原 正 巳jap, Masami Ihara; born September 18, 1967 in Minakuchi, today Kōka, Shiga ) is a former Japanese football player. With 122 missions he was Japanese most-capped player. He was replaced by Yasuhito Endō on October 16, 2012 as the record holder.
Life
Ihara went to his university degree at the University of Tsukuba in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture for Nissan Motor FC, now known as the Yokohama Marinos, and fought his way through the youth teams, until he became the key player of the team. For his club he was such an important player that he was called by many fans Mister Marinos. He formed the backbone of the team and helped in addition many young talents in the team to integrate, such as Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and Shunsuke Nakamura.
Career
Masami Ihara belonged in the 1990s to the best Japanese football players and was about a decade, captain of the Japanese national team. The defender made together with the striker Kazuyoshi Miura and Brazilian-born midfielder Ruy Ramos the axis of the national team. With 122 missions in the years 1988 to 1999 the national team he is Japanese most-capped player, but he scored five goals. With the Football World Cup 1998 Iharas experience in Japan's first World Cup participation was crucial. Together with his fellow players Yutaka Akita, Naoki Soma and Akira Narahashi he was the backbone of the team. Although he was not the fastest, but his strengths were somewhere else. His physical condition and the ability to read the game, the Japanese team brought great benefits. He was also strong in the air and a great guide players and therefore was highly praised by the Japanese Football Association. After he left the Yokohama Marinos, he played one season at Júbilo Iwata and then changed hands for two more years to the Urawa Reds, before he finally ended his career and coaches was.
Achievements
- Ihara was honored in 1995 as Asia's player of the year
- In the five years between 1993 and 1997 he was continuously elected to the Japanese team of the year