NAKAMURA Shunsuke, a former member of Japan's national football team, played in his final match as a player of J2 and Yokohama FC.

44-year-old Nakamura won the MVP award twice in the J. I have announced my retirement from active duty.



On the 23rd, just after 2:00 pm, he made his first start of the season in the final round of the league match against Roasso Kumamoto in Kumamoto City.



Nakamura entered an attacking position and started the offense with his characteristic left-footed accurate passes from the beginning of the match.



He also excited the audience with his signature free kicks, creating chances by kicking the ball in front of the goal with his left foot from near the touchline on the right side in the 23rd minute and in the 37th minute from near the center of the opposing team.

When Nakamura played until the 15th minute of the second half and retired to the bench, the audience of more than 21,000 gave a big round of applause, and Nakamura raised his hand to respond to the cheering of the fans.



At one point, the team was in a tough situation with a 1-3 lead, but in the second half they scored 3 goals to turn the game around and win 4-3, adding flowers to Nakamura's retirement match.

After the match, Nakamura was tossed up three times by his teammates after taking pictures with the fans in the stands.



Finally, he waved to his fans and said goodbye to his 26 years as a professional soccer player.

Shunsuke Nakamura “To be a leader is to give back”

Looking back on the match, NAKAMURA Shunsuke said, “Normally, I would not be able to play in the starting line-up, but thanks to the kindness of all my teammates, I was kind enough to let them play in the match.



Regarding the reason why he decided to retire, he said, "My ankle is not good, and I thought it was about time." I was talking to



Regarding his 26-year career as a professional player, he said, "I feel lucky to have been supported by many people. I was blessed with people around me. I was talking about



Regarding the future, he said, "I'm interested in being a leader. I want to play the role of someone who helped me. I think that being a leader is a way to give back to those people." was talking