17 Tsuneyasu Miyamoto Position: DF Born:07-Feb-1977 Height/Weight:176/72 Birthplace:Osaka Previous Teams:Kongou FC, Gamba Osaka Youth Appearances (J1/J2):265/0 Goals: 6/0 First Appearance: 24-Jun-1995 Gamba Osaka - vs - Kashiwa Reysol (at Kobe Universiade Stadium) First Goal :04-Oct-1997 Gamba Osaka - vs - JEF United (at "Banpaku" Stadium)

J.League Statistics Year Team Matches Goals 1995 Gamba Osaka 11 0 1996 Gamba Osaka 13 0 1997 Gamba Osaka 26 1 1998 Gamba Osaka 32 0 1999 Gamba Osaka 30 0 2000 Gamba Osaka 29 0 2001 Gamba Osaka 24 0 2002 Gamba Osaka 20 1 2003 Gamba Osaka 26 1 2004 Gamba Osaka 24 0 2005 Gamba Osaka 30 3 2005 Gamba Osaka 30 1 TOTAL 295 7 Austrian League -2007 Red Bull Salzburg -- - TOTAL -- --

Tsuneyasu Miyamoto's career has been marked by a series of ups and downs, which tend to leave casual fans unsure whether to view him as a star or a struggler, and close fans unsure about his consistency. Not a particularly large or powerful defender to begin with, Miyamoto depends on good reflexes, cretitable technique, solid ball control skills, and an excellent ability to size up his options quickly and distribute the ball from the back line to teammates downfield.

Unfortunately, he is also occasionally guilty of howlingly bad performances, when his reflexes and ball control seem to desert him. There have been several occasions in the past when he has been singled out for harsh criticism following handling errors in the back line that cost his team victories. Perhaps the deepest slump of all came in early 2003, when he scored three own-goals in just over a month. Each time it looks like he is on his way into obscurity, however, Miyamoto seems to fight his way back with a combative attitude and a hard-working dedication that has served him well both for Gamba Osaka and for the national team, over the years. The highlight of his career was no doubt his performance at the 2002 World Cup, where he wore the captain's armband and gained wide noteriety for the protective "Batman" mask he wore to protect a broken nose, as well as for his aggressive play at the center of the Japanese defence. Following this performance, Miyamoto was briefly the target of trade rumours involving several European clubs, including West Ham United. However, nothing came of this, and as we have already mentioned, he fell into a slump shortly thereafter which saw him drop out of the NT lineup. But as he has always done before, Miyamoto battled back, and won back his starting spot for Zico Japan, reclaiming the captain's armband by the end of 2003.

This marked the beginning of another spell of solid performances for Miyamoto, which probably should be viewed as the pinnacle of his playing career. His dauntless air of self-assurance and stability even when unter the most intense pressure was one of the key factors that heped carry the Japan national team to the title at the 2004 Asian Cup, in China. Despite an extremely hostile atmosphere -- Japan was greeted at every stop by capacity crowds which booed the team from the moment they stepped on the pitch until the final whistle (and reserved their loudest catcalls for the playing of the National Anthem), Miyamoto set a perfect example of grace under pressure. At one post-match interview a local journalist tried to provoke a controversy, asking: "what do you think about when 40,000 people all boo you?"

"Did they?" asked Miyamoto, with genuine surprise in his voice. "When Im playing football I dont pay attention to anything else. I really didnt notice anything out of the ordinary."

Miyamoto followed up this national team success by leading his club team, Gamba Osaka, to their first-ever J.League title in the very next season. By the end of 2005, Miyamoto had accomplised just about everything you could ask for in the domestic arena, and set his sights on the World Cup. Unfortunately, both player and team had another downturn in 2006, and a year after his crowning moment -- lifting the J.League trophy -- Miyamoto was again tasting defeat and adversity.

Considering all that he has accomplished in Japan, it was no surprise at all to hear that Miyamoto was planning to move overseas, to see if he could make the grade in Europe, as well. THough he is startingto show signs of age, Miyamoto is still just 30 (as of January 2007), and will have a few more years left at reasonably top-notch condition before time takes its toll. What better moment to explore new horizons? In December 2006 Miyamoto reached terms with the Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg, and will join the team from January 2007. We look forward to seeing how well he can perform on the European stage. Knowing his compative character, we are certain that he will make a full effort, and regardless of whether he meets with success or failure, he will come through as a true competitor, with head held high.

National Team Data & History
NT Caps: 71 NT Goals: 3 Tournaments: Asia Cup (2000) Confederations Cup (2001) World Cup Korea/Japan (2002) Confederations Cup (2003) Asian Cup (2004) Confederations Cup (2005) FIFA World Cup Germany (2006)
Date	Vs.	Score	Location	Status	Min.	G
6-18-2000	Bolivia	2-0	Yokohama Int'l	Sub	45	0
8-16-2000	UAE	3-0	Hiroshima"Big Arch"	Start	90	0
7-4-2001	Yugoslavia	1-0	Oita "Big Eye"	Sub	22	0
10-4-2001	Nigeria	2-2	Southampton, England	Start	90	0
11-7-2001	Italy	1-1	Saitama Stadium	Start	90	0
3-21-2002	Ukraine	1-0	Nagai Stadium	Start	90	0
3-27-2002	Poland	1-0	Lodz, Poland	Start	90	0
4-17-2002	Costa Rica	1-1	Yokohama Int'l	Start	82	0
4-29-2002	Slovakia	1-0	Nat'l Stadium	Start	90	0
5-2-2002	Honduras	3-3	Nat'l Stadium	Start	90	0
5-14-2002	Norway	0-3	Oslo, Norway	Start	90	0
5-25-2002	Sweden	1-1	Nat'l Stadium	Sub	45	0
6-4-2002	Belgium	2-2	Saitama Stadium	Sub	17	0
6-9-2002	Russia	1-0	Yokohama Int'l	Start	90	0
6-14-2002	Tunisia	2-0	Nagai Stadium	Start	90	0
6-18-2002	Turkey	0-1	Miyagi Stadium	Start	90	0
6-11-2003	Paraguay	0-0	Saitama Stadium	Start	90	0
6-18-2003	New Zealand	3-0	St.Denis,France	Start	90	0
6-20-2003	France	1-2	St.Etienne,France	Start	90	0
6-22-2003	Colombia	0-1	St.Etienne,France	Start	90	0
8-20-2003	Nigeria	3-0	Nat'l Stadium	Start	90	0
9-10-2003	Senegal	0-1	Niigata Stadium	U.R.	--	--
10-8-2003	Tunisia	1-0	Tunis, Tunisia	U.R.	--	--
10-11-2003	Romania	1-1	Bucharest, Romania	U.R.	--	--
11-19-2003	Cameroon	0-0	Oita Stadium	Start	90	0
12-4-2003	China	2-0	Nat'l Stadium	Start	90	0
12-7-2003	Hong Kong	1-0	Saitama Stadium,	Start	90	0
12-10-2003	Korea	0-0	Yokohama Int'l St.	Start	90	0
2-8-2004	Malaysia	4-0	Nat'l Stadium	Start	63	1
2-12-2004	Iraq	2-0	Shizuoka Stadium	Start	90	0
2-18-2004	Oman	1-0	Shizuoka Stadium	Start	90	0
3-31-2004	Singapore	2-0	Jalan Besar Stadium	Start	90	0
5-30-2004	Iceland	3-2	Manchester, England	Start	90	0
6-01-2004	England	1-1	Manchester, England	Start	90	0
6-09-2004	India	7-0	Saitama Stadium, Japan	Start	90	0
7-10-2004	Slovakia	3-1	Oita Stadium, Japan	Start	90	0
7-13-2004	Serbia	1-0	Yokohama Int'l Stadium	Start	90	0
7-20-2004	Oman	1-0	Chongqing, China	Start	90	0
7-25-2004	Thailand	4-1	Chongqing, China	Start	90	0
7-28-2004	Iran	0-0	Chongqing, China	Start	90	0
7-31-2004	Jordan	1-1 (PK4-3)	Chongqing, China	Start	90	0
8-04-2004	Bahrain	4-3 (OT)	Chengdu, China	Start	90	0
8-07-2004	China	3-1	Beijing, China	Start	90	0
8-18-2004	Argentina	1-2	Shizuoka Stadium, Japan	Start	90	0
9-8-2004	India	4-0	Calcutta, India	Start	90	1
10-13-2004	Oman	1-0	Oman	Start	90	0
11-17-2004	Singapore	1-0	Saitama Stadium, Japan	Start	90	0
2-2-2005	Syria	3-0	Saitama Stadium	Start	81	1
2-9-2005	North Korea	2-1	Saitama Stadium	Start	90	0
3-25-2005	Iran	1-2	Azadi Stadium, Iran	Start	90	0
3-30-2005	Bahrain	1-0	Saitama Stadium	Start	90	0
5-22-2005	Peru	0-1	Niigata Stadium	Start	90	0
5-27-2005	UAE	0-1	National Std. Tokyo	Start	90	0
6-4-2005	Bahrain	1-0	Manama, Bahrain	Start	90	0
6-8-2005	North Korea	2-0	Bangkok Thailand	Start	90	0
6-15-2005	Mexico	1-2	Hannover, Germany	Start	90	0
6-19-2005	Greece	1-0	Frankfurt, Germany	Start	90	0
6-22-2005	Brazil	2-2	Koln, Germany	Start	90	0
7-31-2005	North Korea	0-1	Daejon, Korea	Start	90	0
8-17-2005	Iran	2-1	Yokohama Stadium	Start	90	0
9-07-2005	Honduras	5-4	Miyagi Stadium	Start	90	0
11-12-2005	Angola	1-0	Natl Stadium, Tokyo	Start	90	0
2-10-2006	USA	2-3	San Francisco	Start	90	0
2-18-2006	<Finland	2-0	Shizuoka Stadium	Start	90	0
2-22-2006	<India	6-0	Yokohama Stadium	Start	71	0
2-28-2006	<Bosnia	2-2	Westfahren Std.(Germany)	Start	90	0
3-30-2006	<Ecuador	1-0	Oita "Big Eye" Std	Start	90	0
5-09-2006	<Bulgaria	1-2	Nagai Std., Osaka	Start	90	0
5-13-2006	<Scotland	0-0	Nagai Std., Osaka	Start	90	0
6-3-2006	Germany	2-2	Kaiserslautern, Germany	Start	90	0
6-6-2006	Malta	1-0	Frankenstadion, Germany	Start	90	0
6-11-2006	Australia	1-3	Kaiserslautern, Germany	Start	90	0
6-18-2006	Croatia	0-0	Frankfurt, Germany	Start	90	0