Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi

Early career

Born in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, Kawaguchi studied at Shimizu Commercial High School and was a member of the football team there. After finishing high school, he joined the professional football team Yokohama Marinos (later Yokohama F. Marinos).

Portsmouth

Following impressive performances for both club and country, he moved to English club Portsmouth, signing for a club record £1.8m. However, he struggled to adapt to life in the English Football League, and struggled with the physical side of the First Division, notably in a 3–1 away defeat to Grimsby Town. Kawaguchi lost his place to veteran Dave Beasant after being held responsible for Portsmouth's 4–1 home defeat to underdogs Leyton Orient in the FA Cup. Despite his poor performances for Pompey he remained something of a cult hero with the fans, on account of his cheerful demeanour, and his insistence that he would work hard to regain his place. After a season of playing reserve team football, he made his final appearance for Portsmouth in the final game of the 2002–03 Football League First Division championship winning season, coming on at half time to a standing ovation in the 5–0 win against Bradford City.

Nordsjælland

Despite this brief reappearance, he realised that his future lay elsewhere, and moved on to Nordsjælland of the Danish league.

Júbilo Iwata

Prior to the 2005 Japanese football season, Kawaguchi returned to his home country when he signed with…

Early career (1996–2001)

Kawaguchi was called up to the Japan national team and played in the Atlanta Olympic games. He kept a clean sheet against Brazil in the first game. He played in Japan's first ever World Cup game in 1998 in a 1–0 defeat to Argentina, and throughout the tournament, his stellar performance prevented Japan from being scored more than one, with all three Japanese defeats were just one-goal margin. In 2001, Kawaguchi was Japan's first-choice goalkeeper as the team finished runner-up in the Confederations Cup.

Captain (2004–2006)

Kawaguchi is a noted penalty stopper, making two saves in the shootout against Jordan in the 2004 Asian Cup quarter-final and also saving from Croatia's Darijo Srna in the 2006 World Cup. During the 2007 Asian Cup he was instrumental in Japan's quarter-final win against Australia making two saves from Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill in the penalty shootout, thus making him the Man of the Match. In August 2006, it was revealed that he would wear the captain's armband, as new Japan manager Ivica Osim believed that former captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto was not getting enough playing time at his domestic club, Gamba Osaka.

Marginal role (2008–2010)

Kawaguchi is his country's most-capped goalkeeper and overall third most-capped player with 116 caps for Japan, six behind second-placed Masami Ihara with 122 caps, but an injury in 2008 had since sidelined him from action. Long-time rival Seigo Narazaki had since been…

Club

International

Yokohama F. Marinos

J1 League: 1995 Portsmouth

Football League First Division: 2002–03 Jubilo Iwata

J.League Cup: 2010 Japan

AFC Asian Cup: 2000, 2004 AFC-OFC Challenge Cup: 2001 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 2007 Individual

J.League Rookie of the Year: 1995 FIFA Confederations Cup All-Star Team: 2001 AFC Player of the Month: June 2001 AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2004 J1 League Best XI: 2006 J.League Fair Play Award: 2008 J.League 20th Anniversary Team: 2013 J.League 30th Anniversary Team: 2023