1. Overview
Akishige Kaneda (兼田 亜季重Kaneda AkishigeJapanese, born February 26, 1990) is a former Japanese football player who primarily played as a goalkeeper. A product of Sanfrecce Hiroshima's youth system, Kaneda embarked on a professional career spanning several J.League clubs, including Ehime FC, Montedio Yamagata, Avispa Fukuoka, and Oita Trinita. Throughout his professional tenure, he largely served as a reserve goalkeeper, making a limited number of appearances. He retired from professional football in 2019 after failing to secure a new club following his departure from Oita Trinita. Post-retirement, Kaneda was involved in a notable incident concerning a drunk driving arrest.
2. Personal Information
Kaneda's personal details include his birth, origin, and physical attributes.
2.1. Birth and Background
Akishige Kaneda was born on February 26, 1990, in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. He is 72 in (184 cm) (6 ft 0 in) tall and weighs 157 lb (71 kg) (157 lb). He played as a goalkeeper and was right-footed.
3. Youth Career
Kaneda's foundational football development occurred within the esteemed youth system of Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
3.1. Youth Clubs and Activities
Kaneda joined the Sanfrecce Hiroshima junior youth team in 2002 after playing for Nishifukatsu SC. During his time with the junior youth team, he was teammates with players like Tsubasa Yokotake. In 2003, he contributed to his team's victory in the Nike Premier Cup Japan, notably saving one penalty kick in the final shootout. This triumph earned the team a spot in the Manchester United Premier Cup, where Kaneda played in one match, which was a position-determining game.
In 2005, Kaneda was promoted to the Sanfrecce Hiroshima youth team. His teammates during this period included Sho Yokotake, Kenta Uchida, Sei Shinohara, and Yuta Nakano. In 2006, during his second year of high school, he became the regular goalkeeper after the first-choice goalkeeper, Hayaki Kanayama, a year older than him, was sidelined due to injury. Kaneda played a crucial role in the team's victory in the J.League Youth Championship that year. Despite serving as captain in his third year of high school in 2007, he lost his starting goalkeeper position to Yutaro Hara, who was one year his junior.
4. Professional Career
Kaneda's professional journey began in 2008 and spanned several clubs in the J.League until his retirement in 2019.
4.1. Ehime FC
In 2008, Kaneda signed his first professional contract with Ehime FC, a club in the J2 League. During his five-year tenure with Ehime FC, which lasted until 2013, he initially trained under goalkeeper coach Akira Yamanaka, who had been his mentor during his junior youth days at Hiroshima. Yamanaka was later replaced by former goalkeeper Yoshimi Sasahara. Throughout this period, Kaneda largely served as a reserve goalkeeper behind Yusuke Kawakita and Yota Akimoto, making a total of only three official appearances across all competitions.
4.2. Montedio Yamagata
Kaneda completed a permanent transfer to Montedio Yamagata in 2014, where he spent two years until 2015. At Montedio Yamagata, he reunited with coach Yoshimi Sasahara. He was generally considered the third-choice goalkeeper, behind Kenta Shimizu and Satoshi Tonozawa. However, following an injury to Shimizu, Kaneda often found himself on the bench as the backup to Norihiro Yamagishi, who had joined from Urawa Red Diamonds. He made three appearances during his time with the club.
4.3. Avispa Fukuoka
At the start of the 2016 season, Kaneda moved to Avispa Fukuoka, a team that had just been promoted to the J1 League. Similar to his previous clubs, he primarily served as a substitute, behind Lee Bum-young and Ryuichi Kamiyama, often not even making the bench for most matches. However, in the final match of the season against Kashiwa Reysol, after Fukuoka's relegation back to J2 had already been confirmed, Kaneda made his debut for the club, marking his first J1 League appearance in his ninth year as a professional.
In 2017, following Fukuoka's relegation, Kaneda played in the J2 League again for the first time in three years. During the middle of the season, he managed to secure the starting position from Rikihito Sugiyama, achieving a career-high of 15 official appearances. However, he returned to a reserve role towards the end of the season, and his contract with Avispa Fukuoka expired after the 2017 season.
4.4. Oita Trinita
In 2018, Kaneda transferred to Oita Trinita. Despite the move, he did not make any official appearances or bench appearances for the club throughout the year. At the end of the 2018 season, his name was placed on the Japan Football Association's transfer list.
4.5. Retirement
On December 12, 2018, Kaneda participated in the J.League joint tryout held at Fukuda Denshi Arena in an attempt to find a new club. However, he was unable to secure a transfer. Consequently, on February 15, 2019, Oita Trinita announced Kaneda's retirement from professional football.
5. Career Statistics
This section provides a comprehensive overview of Akishige Kaneda's professional club appearance and goal records.
5.1. Club Appearance and Goal Records
The following table details Akishige Kaneda's club performance in league, cup, and league cup competitions.
Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
Japan | League | Emperor's Cup | J. League Cup | Total | ||||||
2008 | Ehime FC | J2 League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |
2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |||
2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |||
2011 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | |||
2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |||
2013 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | |||
2014 | Montedio Yamagata | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | ||
2015 | J1 League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
2016 | Avispa Fukuoka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
2017 | J2 League | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 15 | 0 | ||
2018 | Oita Trinita | J2 League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |
Total J1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Total J2 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 23 | 0 | |||
Total | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
6. National Team Career
Kaneda had limited involvement with Japan's age-specific national teams during his youth.
6.1. Age-Specific National Teams
Kaneda was a candidate for the U-16 Japan national team in 2005 and for the U-18 Japan national team in 2007.
7. Awards
Kaneda received several team accolades during his youth career.
7.1. Club Awards
- Nike Premier Cup Japan: 2003
- J.League Youth Championship: 2006
8. Incidents
After his retirement from professional football, Kaneda was involved in a legal incident.
8.1. Drunk Driving Arrest
On July 10, 2024, at approximately 4:30 AM, Akishige Kaneda was arrested in a tunnel in Hitsujigaoka, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, on suspicion of drunk driving.
9. Related Information
This section lists individuals and entities closely connected to Akishige Kaneda's football career and background.
9.1. Related People and Topics
- Hiroshima Prefecture
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C.'s youth organization
- List of Ehime FC players
- List of Montedio Yamagata players
- List of Avispa Fukuoka players
- List of Oita Trinita players