Masami Ihara
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Masami Ihara | ||
| Date of birth | September 18, 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Kōka, Shiga, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1989 | University of Tsukuba | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1999 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 267 | (5) |
| 2000 | Júbilo Iwata | 20 | (1) |
| 2001–2002 | Urawa Reds | 54 | (1) |
| Total | 341 | (7) | |
| National team | |||
| 1988–1999 | Japan | 122 | (5) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2006–2008 | Japan U-23 (assistant) | ||
| 2009–2014 | Kashiwa Reysol (assistant) | ||
| 2015– | Avispa Fukuoka | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
Masami Ihara (井原 正巳 Ihara Masami?, born September 18, 1967) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
The influential defender was captain of the Japan national football team for more than a decade in the 1990s, together with striker Kazuyoshi Miura and Brazilian-born midfielder Ruy Ramos. Ihara's long standing record of 122 national team appearances was bested by Yasuhito Endo on October 16, 2012 among male footballers. (Homare Sawa has surpassed that total among Japanese women).
Ihara was rarely out of the spotlight in the emerging J1 League throughout the 1990s. He spent most of his career with Yokohama Marinos and formed a key defensive partnership with the flamboyant Tsuyoshi Kitazawa at club level. After graduating from University of Tsukuba, Ihara joined Nissan Motors (now known as Yokohama F. Marinos) and rapidly rose through the Marinos youth ranks to become a key player. The long-serving Ihara was so important to his club that he was nicknamed Mister Marinos by many Japanese fans. He formed the backbone of the club and also helped to bring on talented youngsters like Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and Shunsuke Nakamura.
...
Wikipedia