| Intro | Japanese footballer |
| Is |
Sports official Athlete Football player Association football player Association football manager |
| From | Japan |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 18 September 1967, Kōka, Shiga Prefecture, Japan |
| Age: | 52 years |
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).
Career
Playing career
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.
During the 1998 World Cup in France, the veteran sweeper’s experience was crucial to Japan’s survival in their very first World Cup appearance, forming a flat back four defence with strong centre-back Yutaka Akita as well as speedy fullbacks Naoki Soma and Akira Narahashi (all from Kashima Antlers). Young Marinos goalkeeper, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was Japan’s first choice goalkeeper at the time.
After leaving Marinos, Ihara also spent a season with Júbilo Iwata and his last 2 seasons with Urawa Red Diamonds
Managing career
In 2006, Ihara became the assistant coach for the Japan U-23 national team and spent two years.
He then became the assistant coach for club Kashiwa Reysol in 2009, being the caretaker on two occasions.
After a horrible three years of being at the bottom half of the table in the J2 League, Avispa Fukuoka then hired Ihara as their coach, replacing the former Marijan Pušnik. Under Ihara, then club went on to win 24 games out of 42 and collected a total of 82 points, ending their regular season in third place. Avispa then went on to the playoffs, where they beat V-Varen Nagasaki 1-0, and then drew 1-1 against Cerezo Osaka. Avispa eventually ended up getting promoted to the J1 League as they were the higher-seeded team.
Ihara’s first match in charge of Avispa in the 2016 J1 League was a 2-1 away loss against Sagan Tosu. The first win in the league was on their eighth match in a 0-1 away win in Tokyo against FC Tokyo.
Club statistics
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Japan | League | Emperor’s Cup | J.League Cup | Total | ||||||
| 1990/91 | Nissan Motors | JSL Division 1 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | ||
| 1991/92 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||||
| 1992 | Yokohama Marinos | J1 League | – | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 1994 | 41 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 1 | ||
| 1995 | 47 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 49 | 1 | |||
| 1996 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 1997 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| 1998 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 1999 | Yokohama F. Marinos | J1 League | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 2000 | Júbilo Iwata | J1 League | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| 2001 | Urawa Reds | J1 League | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 1 |
| 2002 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 37 | 1 | ||
| Country | Japan | 341 | 7 | 23 | 0 | 54 | 1 | 418 | 8 | |
| Total | 341 | 7 | 23 | 0 | 54 | 1 | 418 | 8 | ||
National team statistics
| Japan national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1988 | 5 | 0 |
| 1989 | 11 | 0 |
| 1990 | 6 | 0 |
| 1991 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | 11 | 0 |
| 1993 | 15 | 2 |
| 1994 | 9 | 1 |
| 1995 | 16 | 1 |
| 1996 | 13 | 0 |
| 1997 | 21 | 1 |
| 1998 | 10 | 0 |
| 1999 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 122 | 5 |
Managerial statistics
Update; December 31, 2015
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Kashiwa Reysol | 2009 | 2009 | 7000200000000000000♠2 | 5000000000000000000♠0 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 7000100000000000000♠1 | 05000000000000000000♠0.00 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 2015 | Present | 7001420000000000000♠42 | 7001240000000000000♠24 | 7001100000000000000♠10 | 7000800000000000000♠8 | 7001571400000000000♠57.14 |
| Total | 7001440000000000000♠44 | 7001240000000000000♠24 | 7001110000000000000♠11 | 7000900000000000000♠9 | 7001545500000000000♠54.55 | ||
Honors and awards
- Asian Footballer of the Year: 1995
- J. League Best Eleven: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
- Emperor Cup: 1991, 1992
- J – League: 1995
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1992
- Japanese Super Cup: 2000
- AFC Century Award
National team
- 1992 Asian Cup (Champions)
- 1996 Asian Cup
- 1998 FIFA World Cup