Naoaki Aoyama (青山 直晃, Aoyama Naoaki, born July 18, 1986) is a Japanese retired football player. His playing position is centre-back. He has previously played for Japanese sides Shimizu S-Pulse, Yokohama F. Marinos and Ventforet Kofu as well as Thailand's Muangthong United.[1][2]

Naoaki Aoyama
Personal information
Full name Naoaki Aoyama
Date of birth (1986-07-18) July 18, 1986 (age 37)
Place of birth Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11+12 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
2002–2004 Maebashi Ikuei High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2010 Shimizu S-Pulse 121 (5)
2011–2012 Yokohama F. Marinos 17 (0)
2013–2014 Ventforet Kofu 59 (4)
2015–2018 Muangthong United 108 (4)
2019 Gamba Osaka 0 (0)
2019 Gamba Osaka U-23 1 (0)
2020 Kagoshima United FC 18 (0)
Total 324 (13)
International career
2006 Japan U-23 11 (2)
Medal record
Shimizu S-Pulse
Runner-up J.League Cup 2008
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2005
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2010
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:40, 23 January 2021 (UTC)

Club career edit

After graduating from Maebashi Ikuei High School in 2004, Aoyama signed full professional terms with Shimizu S-Pulse the following year and went on to become a regular first team starting member, playing 121 league games in 6 seasons in Shizuoka.

He transferred to Yokohama F. Marinos ahead of the 2011 season, but struggled to establish himself in their top team, playing just 10 and 7 league games respectively in his 2 years at the Nissan Stadium. 2013 saw him move north to Yamanashi to start a 2-season spell with Ventforet Kofu where he scored 4 goals in 59 league appearances which saw them finish 15th in 2013 and 13th the following year.

His career took a very different turn in 2015 as he moved to Thailand to sign for Muangthong United. His spell with the Kirins was to prove to be highly successful, winning the Thai Premier League in 2016 and the League Cup in 2016 and 2017. He played more than 100 games in total in his 4 years in Thailand.[3]

Aoyama returned to Japan ahead of the 2019 season and joined Gamba Osaka.[4]

Club statistics edit

Last Updated:10 February 2019.[1]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2005 Shimizu S-Pulse J1 League 6 2 5 0 1 0 - - 12 2
2006 29 0 1 0 2 0 - - 32 0
2007 30 1 3 2 3 0 - - 36 3
2008 33 1 3 0 9 0 - - 45 1
2009 23 1 0 0 9 1 - - 32 2
2010 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
2011 Yokohama F. Marinos J1 League 10 0 0 0 4 1 - - 14 1
2012 7 0 0 0 4 0 - - 11 0
2013 Ventforet Kofu J1 League 29 2 1 0 0 0 - - 30 2
2014 30 2 0 0 5 0 - - 30 2
2015 Muangthong United Thai League 1 29 1 6 0 2 0 - - 37 1
2016 17 1 2 0 3 0 2 0 22 1
2017 28 2 0 0 0 0 8 0 36 2
2018 29 0 0 0 0 0 - - 29 0
2019 Gamba Osaka J1 League 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
2020 Kagoshima United FC J3 League 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
Career total 300 13 21 2 42 2 10 0 366 17

Honours edit

Muangthong United

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Naoaki Aoyama Soccerway Profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Naoaki Aoyama Gamba Osaka Player Profile". Gamba Osaka (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Stats Centre: Naoaki Aoyama Facts". Guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  4. ^ "Gamba Osaka News – Naoaki Aoyama signing". Gamba Osaka (in Japanese). 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.

External links edit