Atsuto Uchida

Kashima Antlers

Born in Kannami, Shizuoka, Japan, Uchida was educated at and played for Shimizu Higashi High School. During his time there, he played mainly in the wing position, partly because of his speed. The school's director Kazuo Umeda switched Uchida's position to the right–back position, in which he played for the remainder of his career. In 2006, Uchida moved to Kashima Antlers with a high school diploma. On 5 March 2006, Uchida made his professional football career for Kashima Antlers at the age of 17 in the season-opener against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, since which he has remained a fixture in the starting eleven as a right–back. Uchida's first goal as a professional footballer came on 21 March 2006 when he scored against Ventforet Kofu. He then scored his second goal for the club, in a 4–2 win against FC Tokyo on 21 July 2006. However, Uchida was out on two separate occasions due to suspension and injury that saw him miss the J.League Cup final. At the end of the 2006 season, he went on to make forty–one appearances and scoring two times in all competitions. For his performance, Uchida was selected by popular vote to play in the 2006 J. League All-Star Soccer game. In the 2007 season, Uchida continued to regain his first team place for the side, playing in the right–back position and helped Kashima Antlers go on a nine-match winning streak between 2 May 2007 and 23 June 2007. After missing one match due to his commitment in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, he made…

Following his retirement from professional football, Uchida moved to coaching when he was appointed as a role model coach for Japan U19. However, Uchida previously ruled out being a manager, citing as leadership to be difficult. On 28 March 2021, Uchida was hired as a sportscaster for TV Asahi's "Hodo Station". His first day of the job took place on 31 March 2021. Uchida was appointed as Schalke's team ambassador and LIXIL ambassador. On 22 September 2022, he was appointed as a football committee for the J1 League. On May 18, 2026 Uchida was announced as the new head coach of Nadeshiko Japan.

Youth team

Uchida represented Japan at several underage levels. Uchida was part of the Japan team for the 2006 AFC Youth Championship finals hosted by India. He helped the Japan's defence with two clean sheets in the first two matches in the group stage, which saw the side through to the knockout stage. Uchida later helped Japan reach the finals of the AFC Youth Championship by beating South Korea and Saudi Arabia. However, Japan finished runners-up after losing to North Korea on penalties. Uchida also took part in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup finals hosted by Canada. He played his first match of the tournament and helped the side beat Scotland 2–1. This was followed up by helping Japan keep a clean sheet in the next two matches, which saw them go through to the knockout stage. However, the national side were eliminated by Czech Republic after losing on penalties. In July 2008, Uchida was called up to Japan U23 squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics. He played his first match of the tournament, starting the whole game, as Japan U23 lost 1–0 against United States. Uchida went on to make two appearances for the side in the tournament, as Japan were eliminated in the group stage.

Senior team

Uchida received an international call-up on two occasions for the Japan national team squad from national coach Ivica Osim between December 2007 and January 2008 but he did not play any game. Uchida finally made a full international debut for the Samurai Blue on 26 January…

Outside of football, Uchida is considered a massively popular figure in his native country of Japan. During a match against 1. FC Nürnberg on 26 February 2011, 90 women from Japan visited the Veltins-Arena to see Uchida play, and his popularity has led to him being referred to as a Japanese Beckham. Uchida's popularity during his time at Schalke 04 led to the club launching an official Japanese website and Twitter account. German newspaper Der Westen mentioned his popularity and that he could earn a cult following at Schalke 04. Outside of football, Uchida provided the voice for Uschi, who is named after him, in the Pokémon movie Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction. He does not drink alcohol, preferring to drink banana juice. Growing up, Uchida said his favourite manga was Captain Tsubasa and supported Júbilo Iwata. Since May 2015, Uchida has been married to Yuko Aoki, whom he has known since childhood, and together, the couple has three daughters. Earlier in his football career, Uchida said he was considering enrolling to university to obtain a teacher's license. In April 2016, Uchida and his teammate Yuya Osako opened a football training facility in Kashima. Three years later in June, the pair released an exercise book. During his Japan's career, teammate Maya Yoshida claimed that he is best friends with Uchida, yet a fellow competitor. In December 2008, Uchida affiliated himself with FIFA Players' Agent Tetsuro Kiyooka, in hopes of moving to Europe. It worked when he…