Ryuji Kawai (河合 竜二, Kawai Ryuji, born July 14, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.[1]

Ryuji Kawai
河合 竜二
Personal information
Full name Ryuji Kawai
Date of birth (1978-07-14) July 14, 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender, midfielder
Youth career
1994–1996 Seibudai High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2002 Urawa Reds 14 (0)
2003–2010 Yokohama F. Marinos 145 (9)
2011–2018 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 179 (2)
Total 338 (11)
Medal record
Urawa Reds
Runner-up J.League Cup 2002
Yokohama F. Marinos
Winner J1 League 2003
Winner J1 League 2004
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Kawai was born in Itabashi, Tokyo on July 14, 1978. After graduating from high school, he joined J1 League club Urawa Reds in 1997. However he could not play at all in the match until 1999 and the club was relegated to J2 League end of 1999 season. In 2000, he debuted in May and played many matches as defensive midfielder under manager Kazuo Saito. The club was also returned to J1 end of 2000 season. However Kawai could hardly play in the match under new manager from 2001. He was sacked end of 2002 season.

In 2003, Kawai signed with Yokohama F. Marinos which many Japan national team players played for the club. He could not play at all in the match until summer 2003.[2] However regular center-back Naoki Matsuda was injured summer and Kawai played many matches as center-back instead Matsuda[3] and Marinos won the champions in J1. In 2004, although his opportunity to play decreased, Marinos won the champions for 2 years in a row. In 2005, he became a regular left-back of three back defense with Naoki Matsuda and Yuji Nakazawa. In 2006, he played many matches as regular defensive midfielder with Yoshiharu Ueno. In 2007, he played all matches as defensive midfielder without one match for suspension.[4] In 2008, although he could not play for injury until summer, he played many matches from summer.[5] From 2009, his opportunity to play decreased and he resigned end of 2010 season.

In 2011, Kawai moved to J2 League club Consadole Sapporo (later Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo). In 2011 season, he played many matches as center-back with Tatsuya Yamashita until summer and defensive midfielder with Hiroki Miyazawa from summer. Consadole won the 3rd place and was promoted to J1. Although he played as defensive midfielder in 2012 season, Consadole finished at the bottom place and was relegated to J2. From 2014, he played many matches as center back. In 2016, although his opportunity to play decreased, Consadole won the champions in J2 and was promoted to J1. In 2018, he could not play at all in the match and retired end of 2018 season.[6] He was 40 years old.

Club statistics

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[7][8]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Japan League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup AFC Total
1997 Urawa Reds J1 League 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0
1998 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0
1999 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0
2000 J2 League 13 0 2 0 0 0 - 15 0
2001 J1 League 1 0 1 0 0 0 - 2 0
2002 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0
Total 14 0 3 0 0 0 - 17 0
2003 Yokohama F. Marinos J1 League 11 0 3 1 3 0 - 17 1
2004 9 0 1 0 3 0 3 1 16 1
2005 22 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 27 1
2006 25 1 3 0 9 0 - 37 1
2007 33 3 2 0 7 0 - 42 3
2008 20 3 3 0 5 0 - 28 3
2009 11 0 3 0 2 0 - 16 0
2010 14 1 1 0 3 0 - 18 1
Total 145 9 16 1 34 0 6 1 201 11
2011 Consadole Sapporo J2 League 37 1 0 0 - - 37 1
2012 J1 League 25 0 1 0 1 0 - 27 0
2013 J2 League 21 0 1 0 - - 22 0
2014 31 1 1 0 - - 32 1
2015 30 0 1 0 - - 31 0
2016 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo J2 League 15 0 2 0 - - 17 0
2017 J1 League 20 0 0 0 5 0 - 25 0
2018 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0
Total 179 2 6 0 6 0 - 191 2
Career total 338 11 25 1 40 0 6 1 409 13

J.League Firsts

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References

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  1. ^ Ryuji Kawai at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)  
  2. ^ J.League
  3. ^ J.League
  4. ^ J.League
  5. ^ J.League
  6. ^ Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Archived 2019-01-24 at the Wayback Machine(in Japanese)
  7. ^ Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Archived 2019-01-24 at the Wayback Machine(in Japanese)
  8. ^ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411529 (p. 88 out of 289)
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