# Naoki Yamada

Naoki Yamada (山田 直輝, Yamada Naoki), born 4 July 1990 is a Japanese footballer who plays for Shonan Bellmare.

## Early life

Yamada’s father is a former football player who played for Mazda SC and the Japan U-20 national team.

## Youth career

Yamada played for the Urawa Red Diamonds youth team from 2003-2008.

## Professional career

Yamada continued to play for the Urawa Red Diamonds in the senior squad from 2008-2019. He was part of the Urawa teams which finished second in the 2011 and 2013 J.League Cups, and in the 2014 J1 League. He was also part of the team which won the Emperor’s Cup in 2018.
Yamada played on loan to Shonan Bellmare from 2015-2017, and again in 2019, before transferring permanently to the club in 2020.

## National team career

In August 2007, Yamada was selected for the Japan U-17 national team competing at the 2007 U-17 World Cup. He wore the number 10 shirt for Japan and played the entire 90 minutes in all 3 matches.
Yamada made his senior national team debut on 27 May 2009, in a friendly match against Chile at Nagai Stadium in Osaka and assisted on a goal by Keisuke Honda.

## Frequent injuries

Yamada has suffered from frequent injuries that kept him out for several matches.
On 6 January 2010 during the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification match between Yemen and Japan, Yamada was forced to go out after 21 minutes after his right leg was exposed to a violent break after a challenge from Yemeni defender Ahmed Sadeq. This injury caused him to miss matches for a period of 3 months.
On 20 March 2012, Yamada suffered yet another injury with a break in the anterior cruciate ligament in a match between the Urawa Reds and Vegalta Sendai in the 2012 J. League Cup. The Urawa Reds announced his absence from matches for a period of 6 months. This injury also deprived him of the chance to play for Japan in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

## Career statistics
### Club

Updated to 20 February 2019.
| Club | Season | League | League | Emperor's Cup | Emperor's Cup | J. League Cup | J. League Cup | ACL | ACL | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2008 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2009 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | - | - | 26 | 3 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2010 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 4 | 0 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2011 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | - | 28 | 1 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2013 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2014 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 5 | 0 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 2015 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 23 | 3 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 2016 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 16 | 4 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 2017 | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 40 | 5 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2018 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 8 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 120 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 160 | 17 |

### International

    As of 10 August 2011
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Japan U17 | 2005 | 2 | 0 |
| Japan U17 | 2006 | 6 | 1 |
| Japan U17 | 2007 | 3 | 0 |
| Japan U17 | Total | 11 | 1 |
| Japan U20 | 2009 | 1 | 2 |
| Japan U20 | Total | 1 | 2 |
| Japan U23 | 2011 | 2 | 1 |
| Japan U23 | Total | 2 | 1 |
| Japan | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| Japan | 2010 | 1 | 0 |
| Japan | Total | 2 | 0 |
International appearances and goals :
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Goal | Competition |
| 2005 |||||||
| | 15 November | Paju National Football Center, Paju | Macau U15 | 26–0 | 0 | 2006 AFC U-17 Championship qualification / Japan U15 |
| | 17 November | Paju National Football Center, Paju | South Korea U15 | 1–1 | 0 | 2006 AFC U-17 Championship qualification / Japan U15 |
| 2006 |||||||
| | 3 September | Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar | Nepal U16 | 6–0 | 1 | 2006 AFC U-17 Championship / Japan U16 |
| | 5 September | Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar | Singapore U16 | 1–1 | 0 | 2006 AFC U-17 Championship / Japan U16 |
| | 7 September | Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar | South Korea U16 | 3–2 | 0 | 2006 AFC U-17 Championship / Japan U16 |
| | 11 September | Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar | Iran U16 | 1–1 | 0 | 2006 AFC U-17 Championship / Japan U16 |
| | 14 September | Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar | Syria U16 | 2–0 | 0 | 2006 AFC U-17 Championship / Japan U16 |
| | 17 September | Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar | North Korea U16 | 4–2 | 0 | 2006 AFC U-17 Championship / Japan U16 |
| 2007 |||||||
| | 19 August | Gwangyang Football Stadium, Gwangyang | Haiti U17 | 3–1 | 0 | 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup / Japan U17 |
| | 22 August | Gwangyang Football Stadium, Gwangyang | Nigeria U17 | 0–3 | 0 | 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup / Japan U17 |
| | 25 August | Goyang Stadium, Goyang | France U17 | 1–2 | 0 | 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup / Japan U17 |
| 2009 |||||||
| 1. | 27 May | Nagai Stadium, Osaka | Chile | 4–0 | 0 | 2009 Kirin Cup |
| | 19 December | Changwon Football Center, Changwon | South Korea U20 | 2–1 | 2 | Friendly / Japan U20 |
| 2010 |||||||
| 2. | 6 January | Ali Muhesen Stadium, Sana'a | Yemen | 3–2 | 0 | 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 2011 |||||||
| | 29 March | JAR Stadium, Tashkent | Uzbekistan U22 | 2–1 | 0 | Friendly / Japan U22 |
| | 10 August | Sapporo Dome, Sapporo | Egypt U22 | 2–1 | 1 | Friendly / Japan U22 |

## Honours
### Japan

* AFC U-17 Championship: 2006
* Kirin Cup: 2009