Kazuyoshi Miura

Early career

In 1982, Miura left the Shizuoka Gakuen High School after less than a year, and travelled alone to Brazil at the age of fifteen to become a professional footballer there. He signed with the youth squad of São Paulo side Juventus, and in 1986, Miura signed his first professional contract with Santos. He played for several other Brazilian clubs, including Palmeiras and Coritiba, until his return to Japan in 1990.

Verdy Kawasaki

His time in Brazil elevated him to star status and on his return to Japan, he joined the Japan Soccer League (JSL) side Yomiuri SC, which later spun off from its parent company Yomiuri Shimbun and became Verdy Kawasaki with the launch of the J1 League in 1993. With Yomiuri/Kawasaki, Miura won four consecutive league titles playing alongside fellow Japanese national team regulars Ruy Ramos and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa. Yomiuri won the last two JSL titles in 1991 and 1992, and Verdy Kawasaki won the first two J1 League titles in 1993 and 1994. He was named the first J.League Most Valuable Player in 1993.

Loan to Genoa

Miura became the first East Asian footballer to play in Serie A, joining the Italian club Genoa in the 1994–95 Serie A season. In his Italian stint, he made 21 appearances for the club and scored one goal, during the Genoa derby against Sampdoria. On 15 January 1995, Miura assisted Antonio Manicone's match-winning goal against Padova.

Return to Verdy Kawasaki

He returned to Verdy Kawasaki for…

Football

In September 1990, Miura was named as part of the Japan squad for the 1990 Asian Games. At this competition, on 26 September, he debuted against Bangladesh. After his debut, he played as a forward until 1997. In 1992, he played at the 1992 Asian Cup, in which he scored the winner in a group stage 1–0 win against Iran. Japan went on to win the tournament, Miura being named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. In 1993, in the 1994 World Cup qualification, he played thirteen games and scored thirteen goals. However, Japan failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. He also played at the 1994 Asian Games, and the 1995 King Fahd Cup.Miura also played in the 1996 Asian Cup, and he scored one goal, the second goal in a group stage 4–0 win against Uzbekistan. In 1997, Miura scored fourteen times for Japan during qualification for the 1998 World Cup, leading the Samurai Blue to their first ever World Cup appearance. Despite this, Miura was controversially left out of the squad by coach Takeshi Okada. In February 2000, Miura played for Japan for the first time in two years. He played his last national team match later that year and finished with the second-most career goals in Japanese national team history with 55 goals in 89 matches. He is one of only three men for Japan to score more than 50 goals for the teams, along with Kunishige Kamamoto and Shinji Okazaki.

Futsal

In 2012, and at the age of 45, Miura made his debut for the Japan futsal team in a 3–3…

Club

As of match played 19 August 2026

Total appearances including known games in Brazil: 1,046+ (as of 15 February 2024)

International

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

Since 1993, he has been married to former actress and model Risako Shitara. They have two children, Ryota Miura (born 1997) and Kota Miura.