Akihiro Nishimura

Akihiro Nishimura
Personal information
Full name	Akihiro Nishimura
Date of birth	August 8, 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth	Osaka, Japan
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1974–1976	Hokuyo High School
1977–1980	Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences
Senior career*
Years	Team
1981–1991	Yammer Diesel
Total
National team
1980–1988	Japan
Teams managed
1999–2001	Japan U-20
2001–2003	Cerezo Osaka
2004	Kyoto Purple Sanga
Honours
Yanmar Diesel
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Akihiro Nishimura (西村昭宏, Nishimura Akihiro, born August 8, 1958) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography

Nishimura was born in Osaka Prefecture on August 8, 1958. After graduating from Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, he joined his local club Yammer Diesel in 1981. The club won 1983 and 1984 JSL Cup. He retired in 1991. He played 148 games and scored 3 goals in the league. He was selected Best Eleven in 1982.

On June 18, 1980, when Nishimura was an Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences student, he debuted for the Japan national team against Hong Kong. He played at 1984 Summer Olympics qualification, 1986 World Cup qualification, 1982 Asian Games and 1988 Summer Olympics qualification. He played 49 games and scored 2 goals for Japan until 1988.

After retirement, Nishimura started coaching career at Matsushita Electric (later Gamba Osaka) in 1991. In 1999, he became a manager for the Japan U-20 national team. He managed U-20 Japan at the 2001 World Youth Championship in Argentina. In September 2001, he signed with Cerezo Osaka and became an assistant coach. In December, he became a manager as João Carlos successor and he led the club to won the 2nd place in 2001 Emperor's Cup. In October 2003, he was sacked. In 2004, he signed with Kyoto Purple Sanga. He was sacked in June.

Statistics

^[1]

Club statistics			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Japan			League
1981	Yammer Diesel	JSL Division 1	18	0
1982			14	1
1983			12	0
1984			17	0
1985/86			21	1
1986/87			21	0
1987/88			5	0
1988/89			10	0
1989/90			15	1
1990/91			15	0
Country	Japan		148	3
Total			148	3