Takuya Takagi

Takagi was educated at and played for Kunimi High School and Osaka University of Commerce. After finishing the university in 1990, he joined Japan Soccer League side Fujita Industries (current Shonan Bellmare). He moved to Mazda (current Sanfrecce Hiroshima) in 1991 and was awarded the JSL Young Player of the Year in 1992. His partnership with Czech Ivan Hašek up front was so successful that Hiroshima won the second stage of J1 League in 1994. Due to financial difficulties, Hiroshima was forced to release their key players including Takagi in 1998. He moved to Verdy Kawasaki. He was then transferred to J2 League side Consadole Sapporo in 2000 and retired there at the end of the season.

Takagi was capped 44 times and scored 27 goals for the Japan national team. He made his international debut in a friendly against Argentina on May 31, 1992 at the Tokyo National Stadium, the first match under Hans Ooft's reign. He scored his first international goal in a Dynasty Cup match against China on August 24, 1992 in Beijing. He became the ace striker for Ooft's Japan national team. He was a member of the Japan team that won the 1992 AFC Asian Cup. He scored the lone goal in the final against Saudi Arabia and even though he is said to be awarded the Most Valuable Player of the competition, this is not true. The honor went to his team mate Kazuyoshi Miura. Takagi wasn't even elected into the Tournament Best Eleven. He was also a member of the Japan squad who participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He was suspended for the crucial last match that the Japanese fans now refer to as the Agony of Doha, and watched from the bench a late Iraqi equaliser dashed Japan's hope to qualify for the finals in the USA. He also took part in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup hosted by UAE. He played three games and scored one goal against Syria in the competition.

Until 2004

After finishing his playing career, he worked as a soccer commentator on television. He also acquired the S-Class Coaching License that was a prerequisite to manage a J.League club in 2004.

Yokohama FC

At the beginning of 2006, he was appointed an assistant coach at Yokohama FC. He was unexpectedly promoted to the manager of the club to replace Yusuke Adachi who was sacked only after the team lost to Ehime FC in the opening match of the season. Takagi's lack of coaching experience and untimely dismissal of Adachi worried the fans who decided in protest to watch the second match of the season (the first match under Takagi) in silence. However, Takagi quickly convinced the supporters as he guided the club unbeaten for the first fifteen matches under his reign. This was the record unbeaten run since appointment of a new manager in J.League. The club made another J.League record when they did not concede any goal for 770 consecutive minutes by breaking Shimizu S-Pulse's 731 minutes recorded in 1993. They kept 7 consecutive clean sheets which was also a tied J2 League record. Yokohama FC, who had been languishing in the bottom half of the standing previous 5 seasons since their accession to J2, won the title and gained the first-ever promotion to J1 League. The club made a drastic change in their squad before the beginning of the 2007 season in preparation for the fight in the top-flight. Eleven players left while another eleven joined the club. Those…

Club

International