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25 Daisuke Ichikawa
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| Position: MF
| | Born:14-May-1980
| | Height/Weight:181/68
| | Birthplace:Shizuoka |
| Previous Teams:Shimizu FC, Shimizu S-Pulse Jr.Youth, Shimizu S-Pulse Youth, Shimizu S-Pulse |
| Matches (J1/J2):252/0 | Goals: 11/0 |
| First Appearance: 21-Mar-1998 Shimizu S-Pulse - vs - Consadole Sapporo (at Nihondaira Stadium) |
| First Goal : 14-Nov-1998 Shimizu S-Pulse - vs - JEF United (at Nihondaira Stadium) |
| Year | Team | Appearances | Goals |
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| 1998 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 20 | 1 |
| 1999 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 22 | 0 |
| 2000 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 26 | 2 |
| 2001 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 30 | 2 |
| 2002 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 30 | 1 |
| 2003 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 23 | 0 |
| 2004 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 3 | 0 |
| 2005 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 0 |
| 2006 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 31 | 10 |
| 2007 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 33 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 252 | 11 |
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Daisuke Ichikawa is a player whose career resembles an M. Night Shyalaman movie. Strange subplots seem to pop up everywhere, and just when you think you know what is going on and where the plot is headed, something happens to completely change your expectations and assumptions. Certainly he has a fine pedigree, having grown up in the area of Shizuoka that has always been the nation's football-obsessed heartland. His promise as a teenager captured the attention of pro teams even before any of the local high schools -- all renowned football powerhouses -- could snap him up. By 16 he was being groomed by S-Pulse youth coaches and at age 17 he was named to the 1998 World Cup squad.
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Yet Ichikawa's career failed to hit the heights that his early promise suggested. Injuries and wild swings in form have made NT coaches wary of calling him, yet even though he has only nine NT caps in TOTAL, Phillippe Troussier had a late change of heart and named him to the World Cup squad in 2002, as well, making him one of just a handful of players to have featured in two World Cups for Japan. This sort of incongruous data exemplifies his career at the club level, as well. For example, he has a weak reputation as a goal scorer, with only seven league goals to his credit. Yet he scored in BOTH legs of the Asian Cup-Winners Cup in 1999-00, carrying his team to a continental title.
The biggest plot twist for Ichikawa came in 2003, just as he seemed to be regaining the form that he showed as a teenager. A horrendous knee injury put him out of action for the better part of a year, and for a while, there were signs that he might never recover to the point of being able to play at the J1 level again. But just as Shimizu S-Pulse fans were beginning to wonder if his marauding touchline runs had been banished to the realm of fond memory, he seemed to find a fountain of youth with the return of his old mentor, Kenta Hasegawa, as coach of S-Pulse. After being almost inconsequential for two years, he suddenly rebounded to play all 34 league matches in 2005. Since then he has been one of the club's most effective players. |
THose who recall his contributions in the late 1990s are often astonised to note that he is still just 26, and very much in the prime of his career. Just two years ago it seemed like his contributions to Japanese football had all been consigned to history, yet suddenly it appears that the brightest years of his career may still be ahead of him. Ichikawa reads the game well, has pace and vision and is a constant menace in attack. He is not the strongest player in the air, making him vulnerable on setpieces, and his crossing ability could be improved. Nevertheless, he has regained his position as a key man in the S-Pulse team. Considering the many plot twists that he has been through over the past decade, there is no telling what the next year may bring. But certainly, S-Pulse fans will be hoping that his scenes of struggle and setback are now in the past. With luck, the next act will be the one in which he attains the success that many envisioned for him when he was still a teenager.
National Team Data & History |
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NT Caps: 9 | 
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| NT Goals: 0 |
Tournaments:
World Cup France (2002), World Cup Korea/Japan (2006) |
| | Date | Vs. | Score | Location | Status | Min. | G |
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| 3-21-2002 | Ukraine | 1-0 | Nagai Stadium | Start | 79 | 0 |
| 3-27-2002 | Poland | 1-0 | Lodz, Poland | Start | 71 | 0 |
| 4-17-2002 | Costa Rica | 1-1 | Yokohama Int'l | Start | 45 | 0 |
| 5-2-2002 | Honduras | 3-3 | Nat'l Stadium | Sub | 45 | 0 |
| 5-14-2002 | Norway | 0-3 | Oslo, Norway | Start | 45 | 0 |
| 5-25-2002 | Sweden | 1-1 | Nat'l Stadium | Sub | 3 | 0 |
| 6-4-2002 | Belgium | 2-2 | Saitama Stadium | Start | 71 | 0 |
| 6-14-2002 | Tunisia | 2-0 | Nagai Stadium | Sub | 45 | 0 |
| 6-18-2002 | Turkey | 0-1 | Miyagi Stadium | Sub | 45 | 0 |
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