Masakiyo Maezono

is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

## Biography

Maezono was born in Satsumasendai on October 29, 1973. After graduating from Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School, he joined J1 League club Yokohama Flügels in 1992. He debuted in June 1993 and he became a regular player after his debut. The club won the 1993 Emperor's Cup, their first major title. In Asia, the club also won the 1994–95 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, their first Asian title. In 1997, he moved to Verdy Kawasaki (later _Tokyo Verdy_). In October 1998, he moved to Brazil and played for Santos (1998) and Goiás (1999). In 2000, he returned to Japan and joined J2 League club Shonan Bellmare. In 2001, he returned to Tokyo Verdy. In 2003, he moved to South Korea and played for Anyang LG Cheetahs (2003) and Incheon United (2004). He announced his retirement in May 2005.

On May 22, 1994, Maezono debuted for the Japan national team against Australia. He also played at the 1994 Asian Games.

From 1995, Maezono prioritized the Japan U-23 national team. He played as captain for U-23 Japan. In the 1996 Summer Olympics Qualifiers, Japan qualified for the 1996 Summer Olympics for the first time in 28 years since the 1968 Summer Olympics where Japan won the bronze medal. At the 1996 Olympics, although Japan won 2 matches, they exited in the first round. At the Olympics Japan beat Brazil in the first game. It was known as the "Miracle of Miami" (マイアミの奇跡) in Japan. He played 3 games at the Olympics and scored 2 goals against Hungary.

After the 1996 Summer Olympics, in August 1996, Maezono was selected by the Japan senior team for the first time in years. On August 25, he played and scored a goal against Uruguay. This goal was his first goal for Japan. In December, he played at the 1996 Asian Cup. He played 19 games and scored 4 goals for Japan until 1997.

## Statistics

|-
|1992||rowspan="5"|Yokohama Flügels||rowspan="5"|J1 League||colspan="2"|-||||||0||0||0||0
|-
|1993||24||2||5||1||5||0||34||3
|-
|1994||38||8||2||0||2||0||42||8
|-
|1995||40||7||2||0||colspan="2"|-||42||7
|-
|1996||26||8||2||0||11||7||39||15
|-
|1997||rowspan="2"|Verdy Kawasaki||rowspan="2"|J1 League||28||5||2||0||0||0||30||5
|-
|1998||22||3||0||0||2||1||24||4

|-
|1998||Santos||Série A||5||1||||||||||5||1
|-
|1999||Goiás||Série B||0||0||||||||||0||0

|-
|2000||Shonan Bellmare||J2 League||38||11||3||2||2||0||43||13
|-
|2001||rowspan="2"|Tokyo Verdy||rowspan="2"|J1 League||13||1||0||0||2||0||15||1
|-
|2002||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0

|-
|2003||Anyang LG Cheetahs||K-League||16||0||||||||||16||0
|-
|2004||Incheon United||K-League||13||1||||||||||13||1
229||45||16||3||24||8||269||56
5||1||||||||||5||1
29||1||||||||||29||1
263||47||16||3||24||8||303||58
|}

|-
|1994||6||0
|-
|1995||4||0
|-
|1996||7||4
|-
|1997||2||0
|-
!Total||19||4
|}

## Infobox (football biography)

- **name**: Masakiyo Maezono
- **image**: Masakiyo Maezono in Okinawa, 2012.jpg
- **image size**: 200
- **caption**: Maezono in 2012
- **fullname**: Masakiyo Maezono
- **birth place**: Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kagoshima, Japan
- **position**: Forward, Midfielder
- **youthyears1**: 1989–1991
- **youthclubs1**: Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School
- **years1**: 1992–1996
- **clubs1**: Yokohama Flügels
- **caps1**: 128
- **goals1**: 25
- **years2**: 1997–1998
- **clubs2**: Tokyo Verdy
- **caps2**: 63
- **goals2**: 9
- **years3**: 1998
- **clubs3**: →Santos FC, Santos (loan)
- **caps3**: 5
- **goals3**: 1
- **years4**: 1999
- **clubs4**: →Goiás EC, Goiás (loan)
- **caps4**: 0
- **goals4**: 0
- **years5**: 2000
- **clubs5**: →Shonan Bellmare (loan)
- **caps5**: 38
- **goals5**: 11
- **years6**: 2003
- **clubs6**: FC Seoul, Anyang LG Cheetahs
- **caps6**: 16
- **goals6**: 0
- **years7**: 2004
- **clubs7**: Incheon United FC, Incheon United
- **caps7**: 13
- **goals7**: 1
- **totalcaps**: 263
- **totalgoals**: 47
- **nationalyears1**: 1996
- **nationalteam1**: Japan national under-23 football team, Japan U-23
- **nationalcaps1**: 3
- **nationalgoals1**: 2
- **nationalyears2**: 1994–1997
- **nationalteam2**: Japan national football team, Japan
- **nationalcaps2**: 19
- **nationalgoals2**: 4