Shusaku Nishikawa

Personal information
Full name	Shusaku Nishikawa
Date of birth	(1986-06-18) June 18, 1986 (age 26)
Place of birth	Usa, Ōita, Japan
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Number	1
Youth career
2002–2004	Oita Trinita
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2009	Oita Trinita	118	(0)
2010–	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	35	(0)
National team‡
2004–2005	Japan U-20	4	(0)
2007–2008	Japan U-23	8	(0)
2009–	Japan	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 March 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 January 2011

Shusaku Nishikawa (西川 周作, Nishikawa Shūsaku^?, born June 18, 1986 in Usa, Ōita) is a Japanese football player currently playing for Sanfrecce Hiroshima.^[1]

Career[link]

Club[link]

Nishikawa is a product of Oita's youth system and was promoted to the top team in 2005. Nishikawa made his J-League debut on July 2, 2005 in a match against Yokohama F. Marinos. He became a regular in the 2006 season. After the relegation of Oita Trinita signed on 30 December 2009 for J-League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima.^[2]

International[link]

Nishikawa was a member of the Japan team for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship finals. He was also a member of the Japan team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[3]

He made his full international debut for Japan on October 8, 2009 in a 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong.

Career statistics[link]

As of March 5, 2011

Club[link]

¹Includes other competitive competitions, including the Pan-Pacific Championship and Suruga Bank Championship.

International[link]

Appearances in major competitions[link]

Team	Competition	Category	Appearances		Goals	Team Record
			Start	Sub
Japan	2004 AFC Youth Championship	U-19				Third place
Japan	2005 FIFA World Youth Championship	U-20	4	0	0	Round of 16
Japan	2008 Summer Olympics qualification	U-22	5	0	0	Qualified
Japan	2008 Summer Olympics	U-23	3	0	0	Round 1
Japan	2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification	Senior	1	0	0	Qualified
Japan	2011 AFC Asian Cup	Senior	1	1	0	Champions

Awards and honours[link]

Japan[link]

• AFC Asian Cup: 1

2011

• Kirin Cup: 1

2007

Club[link]

Oita Trinita

• J. League Cup: 1

2008

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shusaku Nishikawa

• Shusaku Nishikawa – FIFA competition record
• Shusaku Nishikawa at National-Football-Teams.com
• Shusaku Nishikawa – Sanfrecce Hiroshima official site (Japanese)
• Shusaku Nishikawa – Yahoo! Japan competition record (Japanese)
• Shusaku Nishikawa on Twitter

Japan Squad v t e Japan squad – 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship 1 Matsui 2 Mizumoto 3 Yoshihiro 4 Kobayashi 5 Masushima 6 Inoha 7 Kajiyama 8 Nakamura 9 Hirayama 10 Hyodo 11 Cullen 12 Mizuno 13 Honda 14 Funatani 15 Aoyama 16 Nagira 17 Ienaga 18 Yamamoto 19 Maeda 20 Morimoto 21 Nishikawa Coach: Okuma v t e Japan squad – 2008 Summer Olympics 1 Nishikawa 2 Hosogai 3 Yoshida 4 Mizumoto 5 Nagatomo 6 Morishige 7 Uchida 8 K. Honda 9 Toyoda 10 Kajiyama 11 Okazaki 12 Taniguchi 13 Yasuda 14 Kagawa 15 Morimoto 16 T. Honda 17 Lee 18 Yamamoto Coach: Sorimachi v t e Japan squad – 2011 AFC Asian Cup Champions (4th Title) 1 Kawashima 2 Inoha 3 Iwamasa 4 Konno 5 Nagatomo 6 Uchida 7 Endō 8 Matsui 9 Okazaki 10 Kagawa 11 Maeda 12 Moriwaki 13 Hosogai 14 Fujimoto 15 T. Honda 16 Kashiwagi 17 Hasebe (c) 18 K. Honda 19 Lee 20 Nagata 21 Nishikawa 22 Yoshida 23 Gonda Coach: Zaccheroni

This biographical article related to a Japanese association football goalkeeper is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Hiroshi Kiyotake (清武 弘嗣, Kiyotake Hiroshi^?, born 12 November 1989) is a Japanese football player who plays for Cerezo Osaka.^[1]

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

Statistics accurate as of match played 11 June 2011^[2][3]

¹Includes Pan-Pacific Championship.

International[link]

As of 10 August 2011

National team Year Apps Goals Japan U20 2009 5 1 Total 5 1 Japan U23 2011 5 1 Total 5 1 Japan 2011 3 0 Total 3 0

International appearances and goals # Date Venue Opponent Result Goal Competition 2009 11 January Qatar SC Stadium, Doha Syria U20 0–1 0 2009 Qatar International Friendship Tournament / Japan U20 13 January Qatar SC Stadium, Doha United Arab Emirates U20 1–1 0 2009 Qatar International Friendship Tournament / Japan U20 15 January Qatar SC Stadium, Doha Serbia U20 3–2 0 2009 Qatar International Friendship Tournament / Japan U20 18 January Qatar SC Stadium, Doha Uzbekistan U20 2–3 1 2009 Qatar International Friendship Tournament / Japan U20 20 January Qatar SC Stadium, Doha Qatar U20 3–1 0 2009 Qatar International Friendship Tournament / Japan U20 2011 26 March Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium, Tashkent Uzbekistan U22 0–1 0 Friendly[4] / Japan U22 29 March JAR Stadium, Tashkent Uzbekistan U22 2–1 0 Friendly[5] / Japan U22 1 June Niigata Stadium, Niigata Australia U22 3–1 0 Friendly[6] / Japan U22 19 June Toyota Stadium, Toyota Kuwait U22 3–1 1 2012 Summer Olympics qualification / Japan U22 23 June Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium, Hawalli Kuwait U22 1–2 0 2012 Summer Olympics qualification / Japan U22 10 August Sapporo Dome, Sapporo South Korea 3–0 0 Friendly

Awards and honours[link]

Individual[link]

• J. League Best Eleven – 2011

Team[link]

Cerezo Osaka

J. League Cup – 2008

References[link]

External links[link]

• Hiroshi Kiyotake at Cerezo Osaka official site (Japanese)
• Hiroshi Kiyotake at Yahoo! Japan sports (Japanese)

This biographical article related to a Japanese association football midfielder born in the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Bartłomiej Pawłowski (born November 13, 1992 in Zgierz) is a Polish footballer who currently plays for Jarota Jarocin, on loan from Jagiellonia Białystok.

Career[link]

Club[link]

In June 2010, he joined Jagiellonia Białystok on three year contract.^[1]

In July 2011, he was loaned to GKS Katowice on one-year deal.^[2]

International[link]

He is a part of Poland national under-19 football team.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bartłomiej Pawłowski at 90minut.pl (Polish) (Polish)
• Profile at Transfermarkt (English)

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Olivier Giroud

Giroud playing for Tours in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Olivier Giroud
Date of birth	(1986-09-30) 30 September 1986 (age 25)
Place of birth	Chambéry, France
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Montpellier
Number	17
Youth career
1994–1999	Froges
1999–2005	Grenoble
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2008	Grenoble	23	(2)
2007–2008	→ Istres (loan)	33	(14)
2008–2010	Tours	44	(24)
2010–	Montpellier	71	(33)
2010	→ Tours (loan)	17	(6)
National team‡
2011–	France	5	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 April 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 May 2012

Olivier Giroud (born 30 September 1986 in Chambéry) is a French footballer who plays for French club Montpellier in Ligue 1. He plays as a striker and is known for his size, physical style of play, and heading ability.^[1] After starring for several clubs in the lower divisions, Giroud secured a move to his current club in August 2010. His performances over two seasons with the club culminated into a call-up to the senior national team. Giroud made his international debut on 11 November 2011 in a match against Belgium.

Club career[link]

Early career[link]

Giroud was born in the commune of Chambéry in the Rhône-Alpes region, but was raised in the nearby town of Froges.^[2] As a youth, he grew an attraction to football through former players Zinedine Zidane and Marco van Basten.^[3] Giroud began his football career playing for his hometown club Olympique Club de Froges. He spent five years training at the club before joining professional club Grenoble at the age of 13.^[2]

Grenoble[link]

Giroud spent six years developing in Grenoble's youth academy before signing his first professional contract at the age of 19. He later admitted that signing his first contract was an important part in his development as a player stating "It took me signing my first professional contract to become aware of my abilities. If you (a club) trusted me, it must know that I have some qualities".^[4] Ahead of the 2005–06 season, he was promoted to the club's reserve team, which was playing in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth level of French football. Giroud quickly became an important player in the team scoring 15 goals in 15 matches.^[4] His performances over seven months with the reserve team resulted in the player being called up to the senior team in March 2006 by manager Thierry Goudet. Giroud made his professional debut on 24 March appearing as a late-match substitute in a 1–1 draw with Gueugnon in Ligue 2.^[5] He remained a part of the senior team for the rest of the campaign making five more substitute appearances.

Giroud was promoted to the senior team permanently for the 2006–07 season by new manager Yvon Pouliquen and was assigned the number 22 shirt. After appearing as a substitute in the team's first league match of the campaign, he made his first professional start in a 2–1 defeat away to Niort playing the entire match.^[6] On 26 February 2007, Giroud scored his first professional goal netting the injury time winner against Le Havre.^[7] He described the goal as "a fantastic memory. I could not dream better for a first pro goal". A month later, Giroud made his third start of the campaign against Gueugnon. In the match, which ended 0–0, Giroud incurred his first professional red card.^[8] He finished the campaign with 18 total appearances and two goals as Grenoble finished in fifth place.

Loan to Istres

In an attempt to earn some playing time, Giroud spent the 2007–08 season on loan at Istres in the Championnat National, the third level of football in France.^[4] Under the tutelage of manager Frédéric Arpinon, he continued his development as a striker and, in his second match with the club, scored his first goal in a 2–1 win over Laval.^[9] Two weeks later, Giroud scored goals in back-to-back matches against Vannes and Créteil.^[10][11] He scored his first double of the season in a 2–0 win against Arles-Avignon.^[12] A fortnight later, Giroud converted two goals again, this time in a 3–2 win over Pau.^[13] After going through the months of November and December without scoring a league goal, Giroud returned to form in January scoring goals in a 3–2 defeat to Vannes and a 2–0 win over Beauvais.^[14][15] He finished the campaign by scoring goals in April league fixtures against Paris and Martigues, which brought his total goal tally with Istres to 14.^[16][17] Of the 14 goals, Giroud only scored four at the Stade Parsemain, Istres' home stadium.^[18]

After a successful loan stint, Giroud returned to Grenoble with hopes of receiving some significant playing time as the club was now playing in Ligue 1. However, club manager Mehmed Baždarević, who was hired while Giroud was on his loan stint at Istres, deemed the player surplus to requirements and, subsequently, listed him for transfer. According to reports, Baždarević had declared that Giroud "did not have the level to play among the elite".^[4] In 2011, Giroud reevaluated his departure from Grenoble stating "I am neither resentful nor vengeful. I am just disappointed with what happened to Grenoble when there was great potential".^[4]

Tours[link]

On 28 May 2008, it was reported that Giroud had agreed to a three-year deal with Ligue 2 club Tours. The striker was lured to the club by sporting director Max Marty who had previously served as the chief executive officer of Grenoble, Giroud's former club.^[4] Giroud was also fond of Tours' manager Daniel Sanchez stating "It's always a plus to have a former striker as a coach. His advice to me really helped a lot. With him, I progressed in my positioning and also in front of goal".^[4] Giroud was given the number 12 shirt and, due to injury, made his club debut on 3 September 2008 in a 2–1 defeat to Boulogne in the Coupe de la Ligue.^[19] He made his league debut a week later playing the entire match in a 1–0 win over Nîmes.^[20] A month later, Giroud scored his first goal for the club converting the opener in a league match against Lens. In the second half, he scored another goal to cap a 3–1 win.^[21] Two weeks later, Giroud scored his third goal for the club in a victory over Ajaccio.^[22]

In the Coupe de France, Giroud scored five goals in two matches. In the eighth round of the competition, he scored the team's only goal in a 1–0 win over semi-professional club Pacy Vallée-d'Eure.^[23] In the ensuing round against Réunionais club Jeanne d'Arc, Giroud scored four goals in a 7–1 win.^[24][25] Tours would later be eliminated in the next round by Lorient.^[26] After his four-goal display against Jeanne d'Arc, Giroud followed up the performance by scoring goals in back-to-back league matches against Montpellier and Metz.^[27][28] After a double against Nîmes on 20 February 2009^[29], the striker suffered an injury, which forced him to miss three league matches. After making two substitute appearances on his return, in his first start since the injury on 3 April against Angers, Giroud scored the team's opening goal in a 3–1 win.^[30] Giroud later re-aggravated the previous injury in training, which led to him missing the entire month of April as Tours were contesting a promotion battle with several clubs. Despite losing Giroud, the club went unbeaten in the four league matches he missed. On his return against Boulogne on 8 May, Giroud scored his final goal of the season in a victory.^[31] In Tours' final three league matches of the campaign, the club failed to achieved a win, which resulted in the club failing to earn promotion to Ligue 1. Giroud finished the season with 27 total appearances and 14 goals.

In the 2009–10 season, Giroud was promoted to the lead striker role following the departure of Tenema N'Diaye to Nantes. The promotion immediately paid off as Giroud scored two goals in the team's opening match of the season; a 2–1 win over Le Havre in the Coupe de la Ligue.^[32] On 18 August 2009, he scored his first league goal against the same opposition in another win.^[33] Following another league goal in a win over Guingamp^[34], on 18 September, Giroud scored all four of Tours' goals in a 4–2 win over Arles-Avignon.^[35][36] It was his second career four-goal match at the professional level and his third overall having had one at amateur level while playing with the Grenoble reserve team.^[37] In the team's next 15 matches in all competitions, Giroud remained on form scoring ten goals. During that span, the striker scored in consecutive matches on three occasions. Giroud finished the fall campaign with 16 goals, 13 of which came in league play.^[37]

On 26 January 2010, it was reported that Ligue 1 club Montpellier had signed Giroud from Tours on a three and a half year deal.^[38] The transfer fee was priced at €2 million and it was also announced that Montpellier would loan Giroud back to Tours until the end of the 2009–10 season.^[38][39] The striker admitted the move to Montpellier would benefit him the most stating "I feel that here (Montpellier), the coach and staff will be able to help me make real progress. The environment is ideal, the training center is good, the group is healthy, and there's a beautiful stadium with an audience that responds to this".^[40] Following the transfer, Giroud went three weeks without scoring a goal before converting one on 19 February 2010 in a win over Arles-Avignon.^[41] Two weeks later, he scored the team's only goal in a 2–1 defeat to Nantes.^[42] On 19 March, Giroud scored two goals in a shutout win against Châteauroux.^[43] A week later, he scored in another shutout victory over Strasbourg.^[44] After the goal against Strasbourg, Giroud went seven matches without scoring before netting on the final matchday of the season against Nîmes.^[45] He finished the season with 42 appearances and 24 goals. Giroud scored 21 in the league and was named the league's top goalscorer. After the season, he was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 2 Player of the Year. Giroud was also named to the league's Team of the Year.^[46]

Montpellier[link]

Giroud officially joined Montpellier on 1 July 2010. He simultaneously made his club and European debut on 29 July in the first leg of Montpellier's UEFA Europa League third qualifying round with Hungarian club Győri ETO. In the match, Giroud scored his first goal for the club in the first half.^[47] Montpellier won the match courtesy of Giroud's goal, but were defeated on aggregate after losing on penalties in the second leg.^[48] Giroud made his league debut in the team's first match of the campaign; a 1–0 win over Bordeaux.^[49] On 28 August, he scored his first league goal in a 1–0 away win against Valenciennes.^[50] On 25 September, Giroud scored two goals in a home victory over Arles-Avignon.^[51] The double brought his career goal tally to nine against the Bouches-du-Rhône-based club. A week later, he scored Montpellier's lone goal in a 3–1 loss to Lille.^[52] In November 2010, Giroud scored game-winning goals in consecutive weeks against Toulouse and Nice.^[53][54]

In the Coupe de la Ligue, Montpellier surprisingly reached the final of the competition.^[55][56] In the semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain, Giroud played the entire match, which went into extra time. In the 117th minute, he scored the match-winning goal to send Montpellier to its first major final since the 1993–94 season when the club reached the final of the Coupe de France.^[57][58] In the 2011 Coupe de la Ligue Final, Montpellier faced Marseille and were defeated 1–0 courtesy of a goal by Taye Taiwo.^[59][60] Giroud played the entire match.^[61] Following his goal against Paris Saint-Germain, Giroud went scoreless for nearly two months before converting both club goals against the same opposition in a 2–2 draw at the Parc des Princes.^[62] Towards the end of the league season, Giroud scored goals against title contenders Marseille and Lyon. However, Montpellier lost both matches.^[63][64] After finishing the season as the club's top scorer, on 31 May 2011, Giroud signed a contract extension with Montpellier until 2014.^[65]

Giroud began the 2011–12 campaign on form scoring in the team's first two league matches of the season against Auxerre and the defending champions Lille.^[66][67] Montpellier won both matches. After scoring a double in a 2–2 draw with Brest^[68], French newspaper Le Parisien affectionately dubbed him le buteur de charme (English: the charm striker).^[3] The nickname paid tribute to his goalscoring ability, as well as personality and looks and was, subsequently, used by several other media outlets in France to describe the player.^[25][69] In the team's next 18 matches in all competitions, Giroud lived up to the nickname by scoring 13 goals. The impressive output consisted of hat-tricks against Dijon and Sochaux^[70][71], match-winning goals against Nancy, Lyon, and Nice, and a goal each in the Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France.^{[72][73][74][75][76]}

As a result of Giroud's performance and the team as a whole, Montpellier topped the league table in November 2011.^[77] In January 2012, Giroud was linked with a transfer to several clubs. Montpellier's owner Louis Nicollin responded to the rumours on French radio station RTL and surprised many by deeming one club "not big enough" for Giroud, while also declaring that the striker would cost "at least €50 or €60 million".^[78]

International career[link]

Prior to representing the senior national team, Giroud did not earn any caps with the national youth teams. In 2001, he was called up to the under-16 team alongside the likes of Yoann Gourcuff, Yohan Cabaye, and Sylvain Marveaux by coach Pierre Mankowski to participate in a training camp held at the Clairefontaine academy.^[79] After the camp, Giroud was not called up for the duration of the 2001–2002 under-16 campaign.

On 3 November 2011, in a effort to reward Giroud for his performances domestically with Montpellier, national team coach Laurent Blanc named the striker to the squad to play in friendly matches against the United States and Belgium on 11 and 15 November 2011, respectively.^[80][81] Giroud described the call up as "a childhood dream come true", while also stating it is "immensely satisfying and a privilege" to represent the national team.^[82] He made his international debut in the match against the United States appearing as a substitute. France won the match 1–0.^[83] Against Belgium, Giroud earned another cap appearing as a substitute as the match ended 0–0.^[84] Giroud scored his first career international goal in a 2–1 friendly victory over Germany on 29 February 2012.

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of 21 May 2012