# Masami Ihara

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Japanese football manager (born 1967)

Masami Ihara 井原 正巳 Personal information Date of birth (1967-09-18) September 18, 1967 (age 58) Place of birth Koka, Shiga, Japan Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Position Defender Youth career 1983–1985 Moriyama High School College career Years Team Apps (Gls) 1986–1989 University of Tsukuba Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1990–1999 Yokohama F. Marinos 267 (5) 2000 Júbilo Iwata 20 (1) 2001–2002 Urawa Reds 54 (1) Total 341 (7) International career 1988–1999 Japan 122 (5) Managerial career 2006–2008 Japan U-23 (assistant) 2009–2014 Kashiwa Reysol (assistant) 2015–2018 Avispa Fukuoka 2019–2023 Kashiwa Reysol (assistant) 2023–2024 Kashiwa Reysol Medal record Nissan Motors / Yokohama Marinos / Yokohama F. Marinos Runner-up Japan Soccer League 1990/91 Runner-up Japan Soccer League 1991/92 Winner J1 League 1995 Winner JSL Cup 1990 Winner Emperor's Cup 1991 Winner Emperor's Cup 1992 Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1990 Urawa Reds Runner-up J.League Cup 2002 Representing Japan AFC Asian Cup 1992 Japan * Club domestic league appearances and goals

**Masami Ihara** (井原 正巳, *Ihara Masami*; born September 18, 1967) is a Japanese former [footballer](/source/Association_football) and manager. He was most recently the manager of [J1 League](/source/J1_League) club [Kashiwa Reysol](/source/Kashiwa_Reysol).

A [defender](/source/Defender_(association_football)), Ihara was captain of the [Japan national team](/source/Japan_national_football_team) for more than a decade in the 1990s, together with striker [Kazuyoshi Miura](/source/Kazuyoshi_Miura) and Brazilian-born midfielder [Ruy Ramos](/source/Ruy_Ramos). Ihara's long standing record of [122 national team appearances](/source/List_of_men's_footballers_with_100_or_more_international_caps) was surpassed by [Yasuhito Endo](/source/Yasuhito_Endo) on October 16, 2012.[1][2]

## Club career

Ihara was rarely out of the spotlight in the emerging [J1 League](/source/J1_League) throughout the 1990s. After graduating from [University of Tsukuba](/source/University_of_Tsukuba), he joined [Nissan Motors](/source/Yokohama_F._Marinos) (later *Yokohama Marinos*) and rapidly rose through the Marinos youth ranks to become a key player. The long-serving Ihara was so important to his club that he was nicknamed *Mister Marinos* by many Japanese fans.[3] He formed the backbone of the club and also helped to bring on talented youngsters like [Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi](/source/Yoshikatsu_Kawaguchi) and [Shunsuke Nakamura](/source/Shunsuke_Nakamura).

After leaving Marinos, Ihara also spent a season with [Júbilo Iwata](/source/J%C3%BAbilo_Iwata) (2000) and his last two seasons with [Urawa Reds](/source/Urawa_Reds) (2001–2002). He retired in 2002. He played 341 games and scored 7 goals in the league. He was selected Best Eleven for six years in a row ([1991–92](/source/1991%E2%80%9392_Japan_Soccer_League) to [1997](/source/1997_J.League)). He also was selected as part of the 30th Anniversary J.League Best Eleven.

## International career

On January 27, 1988, when Ihara was a [University of Tsukuba](/source/University_of_Tsukuba) student, he debuted for [Japan national team](/source/Japan_national_football_team) against [United Arab Emirates](/source/United_Arab_Emirates_national_football_team). After his debut, he became a regular player playing the [1990 FIFA World Cup qualification](/source/1990_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(AFC)) and at the [1990 Asian Games](/source/Football_at_the_1990_Asian_Games). In 1992, Japan won the [AFC Asian Cup](/source/AFC_Asian_Cup) for the first time. However, at [1994 FIFA World Cup qualification](/source/1994_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(AFC)), Japan failed to won for qualify to [1994 FIFA World Cup](/source/1994_FIFA_World_Cup). After that, Ihara became a captain for Japan and played at [1995 King Fahd Cup](/source/1995_King_Fahd_Cup) and [1996 AFC Asian Cup](/source/1996_AFC_Asian_Cup). In 1997, at [1998 World Cup qualification](/source/1998_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(AFC)), Japan achieved qualification for the [1998 FIFA World Cup](/source/1998_FIFA_World_Cup) for the first time. During the 1998 World Cup in France, the veteran sweeper's experience was crucial to Japan's survival in their first World Cup appearance, forming a flat back three defence with strong centre-back [Yutaka Akita](/source/Yutaka_Akita) as well as speedy fullbacks [Eisuke Nakanishi](/source/Eisuke_Nakanishi) (or strong centre-back [Norio Omura](/source/Norio_Omura)). Young Marinos [goalkeeper](/source/Goalkeeper_(association_football)), [Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi](/source/Yoshikatsu_Kawaguchi) was Japan's first choice goalkeeper at the time. After 1998 World Cup, he played at [1999 Copa América](/source/1999_Copa_Am%C3%A9rica). This competition was his last game for Japan. He played 122 games and scored 5 goals for Japan until 1999.[4]

## Coaching career

In 2006, Ihara became the assistant coach for the [Japan U-23 national team](/source/Japan_national_under-23_football_team) and spent two years.

He then became the assistant coach for club [Kashiwa Reysol](/source/Kashiwa_Reysol) in 2009, being the caretaker on two occasions.

After a horrible three years of being at the bottom half of the table in the [J2 League](/source/J2_League), [Avispa Fukuoka](/source/Avispa_Fukuoka) then hired Ihara as their coach, replacing the former [Marijan Pušnik](/source/Marijan_Pu%C5%A1nik). Under Ihara, then club went on to win 24 games out of 42 and collected a total of 82 points, ending their regular season in third place. Avispa then went on to the playoffs, where they beat [V-Varen Nagasaki](/source/V-Varen_Nagasaki) 1–0, and then drew 1–1 against [Cerezo Osaka](/source/Cerezo_Osaka). Avispa eventually ended up getting promoted to the [J1 League](/source/J1_League) as they were the higher-seeded team.

Ihara's first match in charge of Avispa in the 2016 J1 League was a 2–1 away loss against [Sagan Tosu](/source/Sagan_Tosu). The first win in the league was on their eighth match in a 1–0 away win in Tokyo against [FC Tokyo](/source/FC_Tokyo). He resigned at the end of the 2018 season.[5]

## Career statistics

### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition Club Season League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Yokohama F. Marinos[a] 1990–91 JSL Division 1 22 2 4 0 26 2 1991–92 22 0 3 0 25 0 1992 J1 League — 5 0 8 0 13 0 1993 32 0 1 0 0 0 33 0 1994 41 1 4 0 2 0 47 1 1995 47 1 2 0 — 49 1 1996 29 1 1 0 13 0 43 1 1997 22 0 2 0 0 0 24 0 1998 27 0 1 0 0 0 28 0 1999 J1 League 25 0 3 0 6 0 34 0 Total 267 5 19 0 36 0 322 5 Júbilo Iwata 2000 J1 League 20 1 0 0 3 0 23 1 Urawa Reds 2001 J1 League 26 1 4 0 6 0 36 1 2002 28 0 0 0 9 1 37 1 Total 54 1 4 0 15 1 73 2 Career total 341 7 23 0 54 1 418 8

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[4] National team Year Apps Goals Japan 1988 5 0 1989 11 0 1990 6 0 1991 2 0 1992 11 0 1993 15 2 1994 9 1 1995 16 1 1996 13 0 1997 21 1 1998 10 0 1999 3 0 Total 122 5

- *Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ihara goal.*

List of international goals scored by Masami Ihara No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 5 May 1993 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Sri Lanka 2–0 6–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification 2 3–0 3 11 October 1994 Hiroshima, Japan South Korea 2–2 2–3 1994 Asian Games 4 3 June 1995 London, England England 1–1 1–2 Umbro Cup 5 8 November 1997 Tokyo, Japan Kazakhstan 4–0 5–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

## Managerial statistics

[6]

Team From To Record G W D L Win % Kashiwa Reysol 2009 2009 2 0 1 1 000.00 Avispa Fukuoka 2015 2018 181 77 47 57 042.54 Kashiwa Reysol 2023 2024 78 21 25 32 026.92 Total 261 98 73 90 037.55

## Honours

**Nissan Motors / Yokohama F - Marinos**

- [Emperor's Cup](/source/Emperor's_Cup): [1991](/source/1991_Emperor's_Cup), [1992](/source/1992_Emperor's_Cup)

- [J1 League](/source/J1_League): [1995](/source/1995_J.League)

- [Asian Cup Winners' Cup](/source/Asian_Cup_Winners'_Cup): [1991–92](/source/1991%E2%80%9392_Asian_Cup_Winners'_Cup), [1992–93](/source/1992%E2%80%9393_Asian_Cup_Winners'_Cup)

**Júbilo Iwata**

- [Japanese Super Cup](/source/Japanese_Super_Cup): [2000](/source/2000_Japanese_Super_Cup)

**Japan**

- [AFC Asian Cup](/source/AFC_Asian_Cup): [1992](/source/1992_AFC_Asian_Cup)

**Individual**

- [Asian Footballer of the Year](/source/Asian_Footballer_of_the_Year): 1995

- [J.League Best XI](/source/J.League_Best_XI): [1993](/source/1993_J.League), [1994](/source/1994_J.League), [1995](/source/1995_J.League), [1996](/source/1996_J.League), [1997](/source/1997_J.League)

- [MasterCard Asian/Oceanian Team of the 20th Century](/source/World_Team_of_the_20th_Century): 1998[7]

- [J.League 20th Anniversary Team](/source/J.League_Best_XI#J.League_20th_Anniversary_Team)

- [J.League 30th Anniversary Team](/source/J.League_Best_XI#J.League_30th_Anniversary_Team)[8]

## See also

- [List of footballers with 100 or more caps](/source/List_of_men's_footballers_with_100_or_more_international_caps)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** "Nissan Motors" until 1992, "Yokohama Marinos" until 1999

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nationalteam_1-0)** ["IHARA Masami"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130922175226/http://www.japannationalfootballteam.com/en/players/ihara_masami.html). Japan National Football Team Database. Archived from [the original](http://www.japannationalfootballteam.com/en/players/ihara_masami.html) on 2013-09-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["SOCCER/ Endo's Japan record ruined by Brazil thumping"](http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201210170253.html). [Asahi Shimbun](/source/Asahi_Shimbun). 18 October 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Jleaguehalloffame_3-0)** ["Masami Ihara"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070322195129/http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/fame/ihara.html). J-League Hall of Fame. Archived from [the original](http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/fame/ihara.html) on 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-09-07.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-JNFTD_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-JNFTD_4-1) [Japan National Football Team Database](http://www.jfootball-db.com/en/players/ihara_masami.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Avispa Fukuoka](https://www.avispa.co.jp/news/post-21411)(in Japanese)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [J.League Data Site](https://data.j-league.or.jp/SFIX07/?staff_id=3402)(in Japanese)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Ramos, Balboa named to MasterCard CONCACAF 20th Century team"](https://web.archive.org/web/19990221145250/http://www.soccertimes.com/international/1998/may15.htm). *Soccer Times*. 15 May 1998. Archived from [the original](http://www.soccertimes.com/international/1998/may15.htm) on 21 February 1999. Retrieved 1 April 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Yasuhito Endo named J-League 30-year MVP, Kazuyoshi Miura, Shunsuke Nakamura in best XI"](https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230515/p2g/00m/0sp/051000c). *Mainichi Shimbun*. Retrieved May 16, 2023.

## External links

- [Masami Ihara](https://web.archive.org/web/20150905/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/players-coaches/people=51196/index.html) – [FIFA](/source/FIFA) competition record (archived)

- [Masami Ihara](https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/13812.html) at National-Football-Teams.com

- [Japan National Football Team Database](http://www.jfootball-db.com/en/players/ihara_masami.html)

- [Player statistics](https://data.j-league.or.jp/SFIX04/?player_id=157) at [J.League](/source/J.League) ([archive](https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://data.j-league.or.jp/SFIX04/?player_id=157)) (in Japanese)

- [Manager statistics manager profile](https://data.j-league.or.jp/SFIX07/?staff_id=3402) at [J.League](/source/J.League) ([archive](https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://data.j-league.or.jp/SFIX07/?staff_id=3402)) (in Japanese)

- [Official website](http://www.iharamasami.com/)

- [Hall of Fame](http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/fame/ihara.html)

Awards for Masami Ihara v t e 1991–92 Japan Soccer League Team of the Year Shigetatsu Matsunaga Masami Ihara Tetsuji Hashiratani Takumi Horiike Hisashi Kato Ruy Ramos Jorginho Tsuyoshi Kitazawa Toninho Kazuyoshi Miura Masashi Nakayama v t e 1993 J.League Team of the Year GK: Matsunaga DF: Ono DF: Hashiratani DF: Pereira DF: Ihara DF: Horiike MF: Santos MF: Honda MF: Ramos FW: Miura FW: Díaz v t e 1994 J.League Team of the Year GK: Kikuchi DF: Pereira DF: Ihara DF: Natsuka MF: Hashiratani MF: Kitazawa MF: Ramos MF: Bismarck MF: Betinho FW: Takeda FW: Takagi v t e 1995 J.League Team of the Year GK: Kikuchi DF: Soma DF: Ihara DF: Suzuki DF: Buchwald MF: Hashiratani MF: Bismarck FW: Fukuda FW: Miura FW: Stojković FW: Morishima v t e 1996 J.League Team of the Year GK: Narazaki DF: Soma DF: Ihara DF: Buchwald MF: Jorginho MF: Maezono MF: Yamaguchi MF: Nanami FW: Miura FW: Stojković FW: Okano v t e 1997 J.League Team of the Year GK: Ōgami DF: Soma DF: Ihara DF: Akita MF: Bismarck MF: Nakata MF: Yamaguchi MF: Nanami MF: Dunga FW: Nakayama FW: M'Boma v t e Asian Footballer of the Year IFFHS award 1988: Radhi 1989: Kim Joo-sung 1990: Kim Joo-sung 1991: Kim Joo-sung 1992: Miura 1993–2019: Not awarded 2020: Son Heung-min 2021: Son Heung-min 2022: Son Heung-min AFC award 1994: Al-Owairan 1995: Ihara 1996: Azizi 1997: Nakata 1998: Nakata 1999: Daei 2000: Al-Temyat 2001: Fan Zhiyi 2002: Ono 2003: Mahdavikia 2004: Karimi 2005: Al-Montashari 2006: Ibrahim 2007: Al-Qahtani 2008: Djeparov 2009: Endō 2010: Ognenovski 2011: Djeparov 2012: Lee Keun-ho 2013: Zheng Zhi 2014: Al-Shamrani 2015: Khalil 2016: Abdulrahman 2017: Kh'rbin 2018: Hassan 2019: Afif 2020–2021: Not awarded 2022: Al-Dawsari 2023: Afif 2024: Not awarded 2025: Al-Dawsari AFC award (international) 2012: Kagawa 2013: Nagatomo 2014: Jedinak 2015: Son Heung-min 2016: Okazaki 2017: Son Heung-min 2018: Hasebe 2019: Son Heung-min 2020–2021: Not awarded 2022: Kim Min-jae 2023: Son Heung-min 2024: Not awarded 2025: Lee Kang-in

Japan squads v t e Japan squad – 1988 AFC Asian Cup 1 Tsuchida 2 Ueno 3 Horiike 4 Taguchi 5 Sakakura 6 Motoyoshi 7 Ihara 8 Otake 9 Shirasawa 10 Oenoki 11 Ikenoue 12 Nakayama 13 Kurosaki 14 Noda 15 Minoguchi 16 Maeda 17 Sukigara 18 Matsuyama 19 Sanada 20 Takagi Coach: Yokoyama v t e Japan squad – 1992 AFC Asian Cup winners (1st title) 1 Matsunaga 2 Otake 3 Katsuya 4 Horiike 5 Hashiratani 6 Tsunami 7 Ihara 8 Fukuda 9 Takeda 10 Ramos 11 Miura 12 Yamada 13 Sakakura 14 Kitazawa 15 Yoshida 16 Nakayama 17 Moriyasu 18 Jinno 19 Maekawa 20 Takagi Coach: Ooft v t e Japan squad – 1995 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Matsunaga 2 Natsuka 3 Tsunami 4 Ihara 5 Hashiratani 6 Moriyasu 7 Horiike 8 Kitazawa 9 T. Yamaguchi 10 Ramos 11 Miura 12 Kikuchi 13 Hasegawa 14 Isogai 15 M. Yamaguchi 16 Fukuda 17 Soma 18 Yanagimoto 19 Okano 20 Kojima Coach: Kamo v t e Japan squad – 1996 AFC Asian Cup 1 Kojima 2 Yanagimoto 3 Soma 4 Ihara 5 Omura 6 Yamaguchi 7 Honda 8 Maezono 9 Takagi 10 Nanami 11 Miura 12 Michiki 13 Hattori 14 Okano 15 Morishima 16 Saito 17 Akita 18 Jo 19 Shimokawa 20 Narazaki Coach: Kamo v t e Japan squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Kojima 2 Narahashi 3 Soma 4 Ihara (c) 5 Omura 6 Yamaguchi 7 Itō 8 Nakata 9 Nakayama 10 Nanami 11 Ono 12 Lopes 13 Hattori 14 Okano 15 Morishima 16 Saito 17 Akita 18 Jo 19 Nakanishi 20 Kawaguchi 21 Narazaki 22 Hirano Coach: Okada v t e Japan squad – 1999 Copa América 1 Kawaguchi 2 Saito 3 Soma 4 Ihara 5 Akita 6 Hattori 7 Itō 8 Mochizuki 9 Yoshihara 10 Nanami 11 Lopes 12 Jo 13 Fujita 14 Suzuki 15 Tasaka 16 Oku 17 Morioka 18 Ando 19 Miura 20 Narazaki 21 Okano 22 Fukunishi Coach: Troussier

Masami Ihara managerial positions v t e Kashiwa Reysol – managers Zé Sérgio (1995) Antoninho (1995) Nicanor (1996–97) Nishino (1998–01) Perryman (2001–02) Ikeya (2002) Marco Aurélio (2002–03) Ikeya (2004) Hayano (2004–05) Takemoto (2005) Ishizaki (2006–08) Takahashi (2009) Ihara (2009) Nelsinho (2009–14) Yoshida (2015) Mendes (2016) Shimotaira (2016–18) Kato (2018) Iwase (2018) Nelsinho (2019–23) Ihara (2023–24) Rodríguez (2025–) v t e Avispa Fukuoka – managers Shimizu (1996) Pachamé (1997) Mori (1998) Kikugawa (1999) Piccoli (2000–01) Imai (2002) Mochizuki (2002) Nakamura (2002) Matsuda (2003–06) Kawakatsu (2006) Okino (2006) Littbarski (2007–08) Shinoda (2008–11) Asano (2011) Maeda (2012) Ikeda (2012) Pušnik (2013–14) Ihara (2015–18) Pecchia (2019) Kudo (2019) Hasebe (2020–24) Kim M.H. (2025–26)

Authority control databases International VIAF National Japan

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Masami Ihara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masami_Ihara) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masami_Ihara?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.