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Daijiro Takakuwa has spent his entire career struggling to remain in the starting lineup, and must be one of the unluckiest players in the J.League. For his entire career, he has been dogged by injury, and unusually bad timing. As a rookie at Yokohama Marinos, he played in the shadow of 1998 World Cup keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, and young Takakuwa seemed destined for a reserve role. However, his height, calm efficiency and skill in handling high balls impressed the Kashima Antlers, who signed him at the start of the 1999 season. After joining the Antlers, Takakuwa quickly won the starting keeper position, and was the top-rated goaltender in Japan during the 2000 season, with a 0.92 goals against average. Based on his strong performance, Takakuwa was tapped for occasional starts with the national team as well. However, Takakuwa was again eclipsed by a national team prospect, when young Hitoshi Sogahata emerged in 2001. Following an injury, Takakuwa lost his starting spot and was unable to reclaim it. However, he remains one of the top keepers in the league, and accordingly, he was transfered on a one-year loan to Verdy for the 2002 season. At first, Takakuwa provided a safe pair of hands for Verdy, but once again he was injured in mid-season and lost his spot to another talented rookie, Yoshinari Takagi. In 2003 Takakuwa took over at Vegalta Sendai, who badly needed a quality player in net. But once again, injuries forced Takakuwa from the lineup, and he lost his starting spot to Kiyomitsu Kobari. A backup role seemed to be the destiny for this ill-starred player, but in 2004, Takakuwa finally made it through a full season without injury, for the first time since his early days with the Antlers. Though he is a shade over 30, and injuries may cut his career short, one can only hope that Takakuwa maanges to get in at least another two or three useful seasons, considering how close he came to fame before cruel fate laid him low.
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