Shinji Ono

Shinji Ono (小野 伸二, Ono Shinji, born 27 September 1979) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for J1 League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.[2]

Shinji Ono
小野 伸二

Ono playing for Western Sydney Wanderers in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Shinji Ono
Date of birth	27 September 1979
Place of birth	Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Imazawa Boys SC[1]
1992–1994	Imazawa Junior High School[1]
1995–1997	Shimizu Commercial High School[1]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2001	Urawa Reds	79	(20)
2001–2005	Feyenoord	112	(19)
2006–2007	Urawa Reds	53	(8)
2008–2009	VfL Bochum	29	(0)
2010–2012	Shimizu S-Pulse	70	(8)
2012–2014	Western Sydney Wanderers	51	(10)
2014–2019	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	62	(2)
2019–2020	FC Ryukyu	9	(0)
2021–	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	0	(0)
National team
1995	Japan U-17	3	(0)
1999	Japan U-20	6	(2)
2004	Japan U-23	3	(2)
1998–2008	Japan	56	(6)
Honours Representing  Japan Men's football FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up 2001 Japan–South Korea AFC Asian Cup Winner 2000 Lebanon FIFA U-20 World Cup Runner-up 1999 Nigeria AFC U-19 Championship Runner-up 1998 Thailand AFC U-16 Championship Winner 1994 Qatar
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:16, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

Career

Urawa Reds

Ono grew up in the Shizuoka Prefecture and began his professional career with Urawa Reds in the J1 League in 1998. The same year, he became the youngest Japanese player to play at 1998 World Cup, at age 18.[3] He caught the attention of foreign clubs with his performance at the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria, where he captained the Japanese Under-20 side that reached the final. But later that year, he suffered a severe knee injury in a qualification match for the 2000 Olympics with Japan's Under-23 side, forcing him to miss the rest of the season and Olympic qualifying.[4]

Feyenoord

After a strong performance at the 2001 Confederations Cup, Ono moved to Feyenoord of the Dutch Eredivisie in 2001. In his first season, he helped Feyenoord win the 2002 UEFA Cup, making him the first Japanese and Asian player in history to win a European trophy. However, a string of injuries kept him sidelined for long periods. After he missed the majority of 2004–05, the club sold him.[5] His stint at the Rotterdam based club is highly rated and Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder said "Shinji Ono is the toughest opponent I've ever faced".[6]

Urawa Reds return

On 13 January 2006, Ono returned to the J1 League, signing a three-year deal with his former club Urawa Reds.[7]

Bochum

In the 2008 January transfer window, Ono returned to Europe, signing with Bundesliga's Bochum. On 3 February 2008, Ono made his Bundesliga debut in an away game against Werder Bremen, and he had two assists that helped Bochum with their first ever win over Bremen at Weserstadion. Ono suffered injuries in the following two years in Bochum, and could only play 34 matches in which he gave four assists for the club. In the winter break of 2009–10, Ono requested a return to Japan for personal reasons. Different Japanese clubs were interested in the midfielder. Bochum allowed him to leave under the condition that they could find a successor.[8]

Shimizu S-Pulse

Shinji Ono playing for Shimizu S-Pulse in 2012.

On 9 January 2010, Ono returned to his native Shizuoka Prefecture by signing for Shimizu S-Pulse.[9] The transfer fee were rumored to be €300,000 for the midfielder whose contract in Bochum expired in the summer of 2010. In an interview he declared that the main reason for his transfer was his wish to reunite with his wife and children, who were still living in Japan.[10]

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 28 September 2012, it was announced that Shinji Ono had signed with new A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers on a two-year deal as the club's marquee player. The Wanderers were offered former German international Michael Ballack [11] but preferred to sign Ono.[12] He made his debut for the Wanderers on 6 October, in a scoreless draw against Central Coast Mariners, in the first game of the season.

Ono scored his first goal for the club with a penalty in round 10 against Brisbane Roar.[13] Ono scored two stunning goals to help the Wanderers beat Melbourne Victory 2–1 in round 14 on 1 January 2013.[14] On 16 January 2014, the club announced that Ono would return to Japan at the end of the A-League season. Ono will link up with J2 League club Consadole Sapporo to play out the remainder of the season in Japan as the club chases promotion to the J1 League.[15] On 4 May 2014, Ono played his last A-League game for the Wanderers, in a 2–1 Grand Final loss to Brisbane Roar, in what was to be the Wanderers' second successive Grand Final defeat.[16]

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

Following the expiration of his contract and his desire to see his family, Ono joined Consadole Sapporo (later Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) in May 2014.[15]

FC Ryukyu

On 5 August 2019, Ono signed with J2 League club FC Ryukyu.[17] In December 2020, he left Ryuku after failing to reach a contract extension agreement.[18]

International career

When fit, Ono was an ever-present member of the Japanese national team. He made his full international debut on 1 April 1998 against South Korea in a friendly.[19] After his appearance in the 1998 World Cup, he was a key member of the Japanese squad in the 2002 World Cup. He has represented Japan at every age level starting with the U-16 team, and was one of three overage selections at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Injuries limited Ono to just one appearance in the final round of the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup and missed the Confederations Cup in 2003 and 2005. He played in his third World Cup finals in Germany.[20]

Style of play

Known as Tensai[21][22] (天才, Japanese for Genius), Ono is one of the biggest stars in Asian football, known for his vision, technique and superb passing.[23] Although his primary position is attacking midfielder, he can play anywhere in the midfield, including defensive midfield and either wing.

Career statistics

Club

As of 6 August 2019[24]

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other^1		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Urawa Reds	1998	27	9	2	0	0	0	–		–		29	9
	1999	14	2	2	0	0	0	–		–		16	2
	2000	24	7	2	1	–		–		–		26	8
	2001	14	2	0	0	4	3	–		–		18	5
Total		79	20	6	1	4	3	–		–		89	24
Feyenoord	2001–02	30	3	2	1	–		12	2	–		44	6
	2002–03	29	7	2	0	—		5	0	3	2	39	9
	2003–04	24	2	1	0	—		4	0	—		29	2
	2004–05	25	7	2	0	—		7	1	—		34	8
	2005–06	4	0	0	0	—		1	0	—		5	0
Total		112	19	7	1	—		29	1	3	2	151	23
Urawa Reds	2006	28	5	4	3	1	1	–		1	0	34	9
	2007	25	3	0	0	2	1	8	2	2	0	37	6
Total		53	8	4	3	3	2	8	2	3	0	71	15
Bochum	2007–08	12	0	–		–		–		–		12	0
	2008–09	8	0	2	0	—		–		—		10	0
	2009–10	9	0	1	0	—		–		—		10	0
Total		29	0	3	0	—		—		—		32	0
Shimizu S-Pulse	2010	30	2	5	1	6	1	–		–		41	4
	2011	26	6	2	1	2	1	–		–		30	8
	2012	14	0	0	0	0	0	–		–		14	0
Total		70	8	7	2	8	2	—		—		85	12
Western Sydney Wanderers	2012-13	24	7	–		–		–		2	1	26	8
	2013-14	23	2	–		–		6	1	2	0	31	3
Total		47	9	—		—		6	1	4	1	57	11
Consadole Sapporo	2014	7	0	0	0	—		—		—		7	0
	2015	17	2	2	0	—		—		—		19	2
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	2016	15	0	2	0	—		—		—		17	0
	2017	16	0	1	0	7	1	—		—		24	1
	2018	7	0	2	0	3	0	—		—		12	0
	2019	0	0	0	0	2	0	—		—		2	0
Total		62	2	7	0	12	1	—		—		81	3
FC Ryukyu	2019					—		—		—
Total
Career total		452	66	34	7	27	8	43	6	10	3	566	90

¹Includes UEFA Champions League preliminary rounds, UEFA Super Cup, Japanese Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and A-League Finals Series.

International

Source:[25]

Japan national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1998	3	0
1999	0	0
2000	12	1
2001	9	1
2002	8	1
2003	5	0
2004	7	2
2005	2	0
2006	9	1
2007	0	0
2008	1	0
Total	56	6

Goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	14 October 2000	Sidon, Lebanon	Saudi Arabia	4–0	4–1	2000 AFC Asian Cup
2.	31 May 2001	Niigata, Japan	Canada	1–0	3–0	2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
3.	16 October 2002	Tokyo, Japan	Jamaica	1–0	1–1	Friendly
4.	1 June 2004	Manchester, UK	England	1–1	1–1	2004 FA Summer Tournament
5.	8 September 2004	Kolkata, India	India	2–0	4–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.	22 February 2006	Yokohama, Japan		1–0	6–0	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Honours

Feyenoord

• UEFA Cup: 2001–02
• KNVB Cup: Runner-up 2002–03

Urawa Red Diamonds

• J.League Division 1: 2006
• Emperor's Cup: 2006
• Japanese Super Cup: 2006
• AFC Champions League: 2007

Western Sydney Wanderers

• A-League Premiership: 2012–13
• A-League Finals: Runner-up 2012–13

Japan

• AFC U-16 Championship: 1994
• AFC Asian Cup: 2000

Individual

• AFC Youth Championship: Most Valuable Player: 1998
• Asian Young Footballer of the Year: 1998
• J.League Rookie of the Year: 1998
• J.League Best Eleven: 1998
• FIFA World Youth Championship Best Eleven: 1999
• Asian Footballer of the Year: 2002

References

1. "Shinji Ono". kicker.de (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2019.
2. Shinji Ono at J.League (in Japanese)
3. "About Shinji Captain". Ono Shinji Official Web Site. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
4. "Shinji Ono". the-rising-sun-news.com. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
5. "Feyenoord midfielder Ono on his way home to join Urawa Reds". thestar.com.my. 15 January 2006. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
6. "Wes Sneijder: analysis of world class player". International Football News - World Cup Blog. 31 October 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
7. "Ono back to Japan from Feyenoord". ESPN Soccernet. 15 December 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
8. "Exklusiv: Wechsel von Shinji Ono hängt vom Nachfolger ab" (in German). goal.com. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
9. "Official press release" (in Japanese). s-pulse.co.jp. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010.
10. "Shinji Ono im exklusiven Abschiedsinterview: Wegen der Familie zurück nach Japan" (in German). goal.com. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
11. "Western Sydney Wanderers chairman Lyall Gorman says club is considering options with Michael Ballack". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
12. "Wanderers sign Shinji Ono". footballaustralia.com.au. 28 September 2012. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
13. "Ono off the mark as Wanderers beat Roar". Local Today. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
14. "Ono A-League double lifts Wanderers". smh.com.au. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
15. "Shinji Ono to return to Japan at season's end". Football Federation Australia. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
16. Bossi, Dominic (4 May 2014). "Brisbane Roar's extra-time victory breaks Western Sydney Wanderers' hearts". smh.com.au. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
17. "小野伸二 選手 FC琉球2019シーズン移籍加入のお知らせ" [Shinji Ono FC Ryukyu 2019 season transfer participation notice] (in Japanese). FC Ryukyu. 5 August 2019.
18. "小野伸二選手 退団のお知らせ" [Shinji Ono's departure notice] (in Japanese). FC Ryukyu. 25 December 2020.
19. Japan National Football Team Database
20. "Shinji ONO". FIFA.com. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
21. Monteverde, Marco (26 October 2012). "Shinji Ono laughs off comparisons with Alessandro Del Piero and Emile Heskey". news.com.au. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
22. Davutovic, David (12 April 2013). "Western Sydney Wanderers on verge of a fairytale title win in first season". adelaidenow. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
23. Hassett, Sebastian (22 September 2012). "Japan's genius ponders taking wander out west". smh.com.au. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
24. Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2016J1&J2&J3選手名鑑", 10 February 2016, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411338 (p. 196 out of 289)
25. Japan National Football Team Database

External links

• Shinji Ono – FIFA competition record
• Shinji Ono at National-Football-Teams.com
• Japan National Football Team Database
• Shinji Ono at J.League (in Japanese)
• Official website (in Japanese and English)