Shinya Yoshihara

When Yoshihara was in junior high school, he received a recommendation from his former teacher to play football at Ibaraki Prefectural Hitachi Technical High School, one of the most competitive teams in the prefecture. He played as a regular member from his first year on the team and contributed to leading his school to the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament. In his second and third years, Yoshihara was selected as a Kanto region all-star member as well as an all-Japan member for the U-18 division. He played with Takayuki Suzuki, two years his senior. Following his graduation, Yoshihara began his professional career playing for Yokohama Marinos (later Yokohama F. Marinos), however, chances to play were scarce as Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was appointed the primary goalkeeper at the time. In 1999, Yoshihara was loaned to Albirex Niigata, a J2 League club, where he was called to the starting lineup in the season-opening match. His amazing saves led the team to seven consecutive winning matches. In 2000, Yoshihara made appearances as a spokesperson in advertisements for Join and Toyopet Niigata which gained him recognition as a popular public figure in Niigata. After Yoshihara returned to Yokohama F. Marinos in 2001, he made a permanent move to Kawasaki Frontale in midseason where he became the regular goalkeeper in 2003. He played in 44 full matches this season. The following year, he maintained a record of seven consecutive scoreless matches which greatly contributed to…