Kenichi Uemura (上村 健一, Uemura Kenichi, born April 22, 1974) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for the Japan national team.

Kenichi Uemura
上村 健一
Personal information
Full name Kenichi Uemura
Date of birth (1974-04-22) April 22, 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1990–1992 Matsunaga High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–2003 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 251 (23)
2004 Cerezo Osaka 15 (0)
2005–2006 Tokyo Verdy 19 (0)
2006 YSCC Yokohama 0 (0)
2007–2008 Roasso Kumamoto 58 (3)
Total 343 (26)
International career
1996 Japan U-23 2 (1)
2001 Japan 4 (0)
Managerial career
2019 Kamatamare Sanuki
2024– China U-17
Medal record
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Runner-up J1 League 1994
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1995
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1996
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1999
Representing  Japan
FIFA Confederations Cup
Silver medal – second place 2001 Korea-Japan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Uemura was born in Yatsushiro on April 22, 1974. After graduating from Matsunaga High School, he joined J1 League side Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 1993. He broke into the first team in the first season. His first league appearance came on July 4, 1993 against Verdy Kawasaki at Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium. He scored his first professional goal on July 24, 1993 against Urawa Reds at Hiroshima Stadium. He played in many matches as defender from his first season, except at times when he was injured.

After 11 year's long service at Sanfrecce Hiroshima, he moved to Cerezo Osaka in 2004, then Tokyo Verdy (2005–2006). After a brief spell at YSCC Yokohama, he joined Rosso Kumamoto (later Roasso Kumamoto) in 2007. He damaged his knee ligaments three times and experienced seven operations. These injuries have affected his form. Uemura retired from professional football after the 2008 season.

National team career

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He represented the Japan U-23 national team at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He played in 2 matches. He scored a goal in a group stage match against Hungary. Although Japan won 2 matches, Japan exited in the first round. Japan beat Brazil in their first game. It was known as the "Miracle of Miami" (マイアミの奇跡) in Japan.

In April 2001, Uemura was selected by the Japan national team. National team manager Philippe Troussier gave him his first full international cap on April 25 in a friendly against Spain in Córdoba. He was a member of the Japan team for the 2001 Confederations Cup. He played three games and Japan won second place. He played 4 games for Japan in 2001.[1]

Coaching career

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After the retirement, Uemura started coaching career at J2 League club Roasso Kumamoto in 2009. In 2013, he moved to J2 club Kamatamare Sanuki and served as coach under manager Makoto Kitano. However the club was relegated to J3 League end of 2018 season. In 2019, Uemura became a manager as Kitano successor.[2]

Club statistics

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Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Japan League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Total
1993 Sanfrecce Hiroshima J1 League 17 1 2 0 6 0 25 1
1994 26 0 2 0 1 0 29 0
1995 46 4 4 0 - 50 4
1996 12 2 0 0 7 0 19 2
1997 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
1998 17 0 3 0 0 0 20 0
1999 29 7 5 1 4 1 38 9
2000 28 6 2 0 3 0 33 6
2001 25 2 2 0 5 0 32 2
2002 10 1 4 0 0 0 14 1
2003 J2 League 38 0 4 0 - 42 0
2004 Cerezo Osaka J1 League 15 0 0 0 6 0 21 0
2005 Tokyo Verdy J1 League 18 0 1 0 4 0 23 0
2006 J2 League 1 0 0 0 - 1 0
2006 YSCC Yokohama Regional Leagues 0 0 - - 0 0
2007 Rosso Kumamoto Football League 30 3 1 0 - 31 3
2008 Roasso Kumamoto J2 League 28 0 0 0 - 28 0
Total 343 26 30 1 36 1 409 28

National team statistics

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[1]

Japan national team
Year Apps Goals
2001 4 0
Total 4 0

Managerial statistics

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Update; December 31, 2018[3]

Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Kamatamare Sanuki 2019 present
Total 0 0 0 0 !

Honors and awards

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Team Honors

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References

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