Atsushi Yanagisawa

Atsushi Yanagisawa
柳沢敦
Personal information
Full name	Atsushi Yanagisawa
Date of birth	May 27, 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth	Imizu, Toyama, Japan
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1993–1995	Toyama Daiichi High School
Senior career*
Years	Team
1996–2003	Kashima Antlers
2003–2004	Sampdoria
2004–2006	Messina
2006–2007	Kashima Antlers
2008–2010	Kyoto Sanga FC
2011–2014	Vegalta Sendai
Total
International career
1997	Japan U-20
2000	Japan U-23
1998–2006	Japan
Medal record
Kashima Antlers
Vegalta Sendai
Representing Japan
AFC Asian Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Atsushi Yanagisawa (柳沢敦, Yanagisawa Atsushi, born May 27, 1977) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for Japan national team.

He is best known for playing the majority of his career at Kashima Antlers, in addition to his spells with Italian sides Sampdoria and Messina.

Yanagisawa earned 58 caps for the Japan national team, and represented them at two World Cups, the 2000 Olympics and the 2000 Asian Cup.^[2]

Club career

Yanagisawa was born in Imizu on May 27, 1977. After graduating from high school, he joined Kashima Antlers in 1996. He debuted in May 1996. In 1997, he became a regular player and was selected Rookie of the Year awards. In 1990s, the club won the champions at 1996, 1998 J1 League, 1997 J.League Cup and 1997 Emperor's Cup. In Asia, the club won 3rd place at 1998–99 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000, the club won all three major title in Japan; J1 League, J.League Cup and Emperor's Cup. In 2001, the club won J1 League for two consecutive seasons and he was selected Japanese Footballer of the Year awards. In 2002, the club won J.League Cup.

In June 2003, Yanagisawa moved to Italian Serie A club Sampdoria. He moved to Messina in 2004.

In March 2006, Yanagisawa returned to Kashima Antlers. In 2007, the club won J1 League and Emperor's Cup. However his opportunity to play decreased behind young player Yuzo Tashiro and Shinzo Koroki. He moved to Kyoto Sanga FC in 2008. He scored 14 goals which is top score in Japanese player in the league. However he could not scored many goals from 2009. He moved to Vegalta Sendai in 2011. In March 2011, 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurred in wide area including Sendai. Although he did not play many matches, the club won the 4th place in 2011 and second place in 2012. He retired end of 2014 season.

International career

In June 1997, Yanagisawa was selected Japan U20 national team for 1997 World Youth Championship. At this competition, he wore the number 10 shirt for Japan and played all five matches and scored four goals.

On February 15, 1998, Yanagisawa debuted for Japan national team against Australia. From 1999, he was selected Japan well by manager Philippe Troussier.

In September 2000, he also was selected Japan U23 national team for 2000 Summer Olympics. He played in all four matches and scored a goal against United States in Quarterfinal.

In October, he also played at 2000 AFC Asian Cup and Japan won the champions. In 2002, he was selected Japan for 2002 FIFA World Cup. He played as forward with club teammate Takayuki Suzuki in three games. He also played at 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played 58 games and scored 17 goals for Japan until 2006.^[3]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[4]^[5]
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Kashima Antlers	1996	J1 League	8	5	1	0	6	1	15	6
	1997		25	8	5	2	9	2	39	12
	1998		32	22	1	0	5	0	38	22
	1999		26	9	2	0	3	1	31	10
	2000		26	6	3	1	3	0	32	7
	2001		26	12	1	1	5	2	32	15
	2002		27	7	5	1	3	0	35	8
	2003		8	2	0	0	0	0	8	2
	Total		178	71	18	5	34	6	230	82
Sampdoria	2003–04	Serie A	15	0	3	0	–		18	0
Messina	2004–05	Serie A	22	0	4	1	–		26	1
	2005–06	Serie A	7	0	0	0	–		7	0
	Total		29	0	4	1	–		33	1
Kashima Antlers	2006	J1 League	23	4	2	1	3	1	28	6
	2007	J1 League	19	5	5	2	6	2	30	9
	Total		42	9	7	3	9	3	58	15
Kyoto Sanga FC	2008	J1 League	32	14	2	0	6	1	40	15
	2009		22	4	2	1	5	1	29	6
	2010		31	3	2	0	5	3	38	6
	Total		85	21	6	1	16	5	107	27
Vegalta Sendai	2011	J1 League	17	1	0	0	1	0	18	1
	2012		16	2	2	0	4	0	22	2
	2013		20	3	1	0	0	0	21	3
	2014		13	1	1	1	0	0	14	2
	Total		66	7	4	1	5	0	75	8
Career total			415	108	36	11	64	14	521	133

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[3]
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Japan	1998	2	0
	1999	4	0
	2000	10	4
	2001	6	5
	2002	9	0
	2003	5	2
	2004	8	2
	2005	10	4
	2006	4	0
Total		58	17

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

List of international goals scored by Atsushi Yanagisawa
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	June 6, 2000	Rabat, Morocco	Jamaica	4–0	Hassan II International Cup
2	June 18, 2000	Yokohama, Japan	Bolivia	2–0	2000 Kirin Cup
3	June 18, 2000	Yokohama, Japan	Bolivia	2–0	2000 Kirin Cup
4	October 14, 2000	Sidon, Lebanon	Saudi Arabia	4–1	2000 AFC Asian Cup
5	August 15, 2001	Fukuroi, Shizuoka, Japan	Australia	3–0	Friendly
6	July 1, 2001	Sapporo, Japan	Paraguay	2–0	2001 Kirin Cup
7	July 1, 2001	Sapporo, Japan	Paraguay	2–0	2001 Kirin Cup
8	October 7, 2001	Southampton, England	Nigeria	2–2	Friendly
9	November 7, 2001	Saitama, Japan	Italy	1–1	Friendly
10	October 8, 2003	Tunis, Tunisia	Tunisia	1–0	Friendly
11	October 11, 2003	Bucharest, Romania	Romania	1–1	Friendly
12	February 12, 2004	Fukuroi, Shizuoka, Japan	Iraq	2–0	Friendly
13	July 9, 2004	Ōita, Japan	Slovakia	3–1	2004 Kirin Cup
14	June 8, 2005	Bangkok, Thailand	North Korea	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
15	June 16, 2005	Hanover, Germany	Mexico	1–2	2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
16	September 7, 2005	Rifu, Miyagi, Japan	Honduras	5–4	Friendly
17	September 7, 2005	Rifu, Miyagi, Japan	Honduras	5–4	Friendly