Naohiro Takahara

Takahara was born in Mishima on 4 June 1979. After graduating from high school, he joined Júbilo Iwata in 1998. In 1998, the club won J.League Cup and he was selected New Hero awards. In 1999, the club won J1 League and Asian Club Championship. The club also reached second place at the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 Asian Club Championships. In August 2001, he moved to Boca Juniors on loan. He became the first Japanese player to play in the Argentine Primera División. In 2002, he returned to Júbilo Iwata. The club went on to win the 2002 J.League Division 1, while Takahara became the top scorer and was elected Most Valuable Player of the year. After the 2002 season, Takahara moved to Hamburger SV. He made his Bundesliga debut on in January 2003 in a 2–2 draw against Hannover 96, thereby becoming the third Japanese footballer to play in Bundesliga after Yasuhiko Okudera and Kazuo Ozaki. On 3 December 2006, he scored his first hat-trick in the Bundesliga in a match against Alemannia Aachen. In January 2008 he moved to Urawa Reds for a transfer fee of around ¥180 million (around $1.7 million). Due to a disagreement with the style of coach Volker Finke, who had taken over as coach of Urawa in 2009, Takahara was leased to Suwon Samsung Bluewings of the South Korean K League 1 in July of the following year. On 31 July 2010, he made his debut as a substitute for the 39th minute of the match against Gwangju FC. On 29 August, he scored a goal in the 39th minute of the second half of the game…

In August 1995, Takahara was selected by the Japan U17 national team for 1995 U-17 World Championship. He played all three matches and scored one goal. In April 1999, he was also selected Japan U-20 national team for 1999 World Youth Championship. He played all seven matches and scored three goals. Japan achieved second place. In February 2000, he was selected by the Japan national team for 2000 Asian Cup qualification. At this qualification, on 13 February, he debuted against Singapore. He played all three matches and three goals and Japan won the qualify for 2000 Asian Cup. In September, he was selected Japan U23 national team for 2000 Summer Olympics. He played all four matches and scored three goals in first match and quarterfinal. In October, he played at 2000 Asian Cup. He played five matches and scored five goals. Japan won the champions. However he missed the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by his home country and South Korea, because of lung disease (venous thrombosis). After 2002 World Cup, Takahara played at 2003 Confederations Cup. Although his convocation for Japan decreased due to the schedule, he played as regular player when he was elected Japan. In 2006, he was elected Japan for 2006 World Cup and he played all three matches. After 2006 World Cup, he played at 2007 Asian Cup. He played six matches and scored four goals, and became a top scorer. He played 57 games and scored 23 goals for Japan until 2008.

2007 Asian Cup

Takahara finished top scorer…

Club

As of 19 March 2023.

International

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Takahara goal.

Júbilo Iwata

AFC Champions League: 1998–99 Asian Super Cup: 1999 J.League Division 1: 1999, 2002 J.League Cup: 1998 Japanese Super Cup: 2000 Hamburger SV

DFB-Ligapokal: 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005 Okinawa SV (player-manager)

Kyushu Soccer League: 2019, 2021, 2022 Japanese Regional Football Champions League : 2022 (Runner-up) Japan U17

AFC U-17 Championship: 1994 Japan U20

FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 1999 Japan

AFC Asian Cup: 2000 Individual

AFC U-19 Championship top scorer: 1998 AFC Asian Cup Best Eleven: 2000 Selected to AFC All Star Team: 2000 J.League Most Valuable Player: 2002 J.League Top Scorer: 2002 J.League Best XI: 2002 AFC Asian Cup top scorer: 2007 (shared)