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Akinori Nishizawa was a talented but not particularly high-profile striker for Cerezo Osaka for several years, but never really gained that much attention. Then, he finally got a break and was called up for a match for the national team in mid-2000. To say that he "took good advantage" of the opportunity would be an enormous understatement. In truth, the rest of his football career ended up hinging on this one performance. In his first cap ever, on June 4, 2000, he took the field with Cerezo teammate Hiroaki Morishima in a contest against France, in the King Hassan Cup in Morocco. France were the current World Champions, and had named a nearly full-strength team for the match (though as is true of most such tournaments, it would be hard to claim that they were giving a "110% effort"). Morishima and Nishizawa used their boundless energy, fierce competitiveness, and their excellent knowledge of one other's moves to produce two goals -- one goal and one assist apiece -- in a dramatic upset that ended 2-2 (France advanced to the cup final, though, on penalties). Nishizawa's goal was the sort of strike that would feature on highlight reels for years -- he raced onto a long pass, watching the ball come down over his left shoulder and meeting it some 35 meters out from goal with a right-footed volley that flew like a bullet to the top corner of the net. This strike alone catapulted Nishizawa into the top group of strikers for the national team, and just a few months later, won him a contract to play for Espanyol, in Spain. Unfortunately, Nishizawa's abilities are hardly the sort that could win him playing time in La Liga. He certainly does have a powerful shot, and when compared to other Japanese strikers, his finishing is fairly good. This allowed his agent to compile a highlight reel that would surely catch the notice of any team. But he is extremely inconsistent, and the comparison with other Japanese strikers is certainly not an indication that he is suited to play first-team football in Europe. The more that a team learns about him, the less likely they will be to view him as a potential signing. His contract Espanyol was terminated after just one season, and a very breif loan transfer to Premier League club Bolton Wanderers, in mid-2001, didnt even last a full six months. He returned to Cerezo in at the end of 2001, and helped his recently relegated team return to the J.League top division. Since then he has not featured in the National Team, but has solidified his position as one of the most efficient Japanese strikers in the J.League. In recent years, Nishizawa's fading skills, have limited his contributions, but he still has the ability to create sudden offence on a given day. Nishizawa is tall and strong in the air, with a dangerous header that brings him many of his goals. He also is adept at running the post play or exchanging one-two passes at the top of the box. While he lacks either blazing speed or fancy dribbling moves to take on defenders one-on-one, he uses his shooting opportunities to good effect, and has passing skills that have earned him just as many assists as he has goals.
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