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Atsuhiro Miura has enjoyed a successful career in the J League since debuting in 1994 with the Yokohama Flugels, specializing in a wide midfield role but demonstrating good versatility including stints as a striker and as a wing back. He also won 25 caps and scored a goal for the National Team. The highlight of Miura's club career was his inspirational performance in the Emperor's Cup with the Flugels, leading the club to a title in the final match of that team's existence. Few who were there can ever forget the scenes of Miura, Taskayuki Yoshida, Cesar Sampaio and Motohiro Yamaguchi on the victory stand, their shouts of jubilation mingling with tears of frustration. In some ways, however, Miura has played in the shadow of that triumph ever since, and despite nearly a decade of successful play since the Flugels disbanded, his image and that of Fulie seem to be ienxtricably linked. Though Miura moved to the Marinos in 1999, as a result of the merger, he was never able to settle in with his career-long "rivals", and he gratefully accepted a move to Tokyo Verdy in 2001. His contributions in Tokyo were impressive enough to win him calls to the National Team, though he never managed to solidify a spot in the starting lineup. In 2005, as he began to move into the latter stages of his career, he moved to Vissel Kobe where his easygoing manner and vast experience quickly made him a team leader. After the squad was relegated to Division 2, in 2006, he was elected to fill the role of captain, and he helped lead the team back to the J1 in a single season. Though his role as the team captain and leader was never questioned, his abilities in that role have been scrutinized. A gentleman on and off the field, he lacks the size and strength for the physical aspect of the game, and this is one factor that may have limited his international career. Nevertheless, he is a crafty veteran whose free kicks are nearly as renowned in Japan as those of Shunsuke Nakamura.
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