Shoji Jo

Shoji Jo
城 彰二

Personal information
Full name	Shoji Jo
Date of birth	(1975-06-17) June 17, 1975
Place of birth	Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1996	JEF United Ichihara	99	(35)
1997–2001	Yokohama F. Marinos	106	(59)
1999–2000	→Real Valladolid (loan)	15	(2)
2002	Vissel Kobe	25	(1)
2003–2006	Yokohama FC	151	(44)
Total		396	(141)
National team
1996	Japan U-23	3	(0)
1995–2001	Japan	35	(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Shoji Jo (城 彰二, Jō Shōji, born June 17, 1975) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.

Club career

He was born on the island of Hokkaido and began his footballing career with JEF United Ichihara in 1994. He quickly established himself, scoring twelve goals in his first season; he scored his first goal on his debut against Gamba Osaka on 12 March.

After three seasons with JEF United Ichihara, Jo moved to the Yokohama Marinos (later Yokohama F. Marinos) in 1997. His performances in the 1998-99 season led to a loan move to the Spanish Primera División team Real Valladolid. He failed to make an impact with the club, making just 15 appearances and scoring two goals before sustaining a knee injury. After his return to Japan, Jo struggled to reestablish himself as a regular goal scorer with the Marinos and Vissel Kobe, with whom he joined in 2002. He joined Yokohama FC in 2003, where he scored 12 goals in his first season with them. He helped his club to become J2 Champions in 2006 gained and promotion to J1, but he retired from playing after that season.

National team career

On September 20, 1995, Jo debuted for Japan national team against Paraguay.

He made his first appearance in an international competition with the Japan U-23 national team in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

In October 1996, he played for Japan senior team for the first time in a year. He also played at 1996 Asian Cup in December. At 1998 World Cup qualification in 1997, Japan won the qualify for 1998 World Cup first time Japan's history. He played at 1998 World Cup and 1999 Copa América. He played all matches both competitions. He played 35 games and scored 7 goals for Japan until 2001.^[1]

Club statistics

National team statistics

^[1]

• 1996 Asian Cup
• 1998 FIFA World Cup

References

External links

• Shoji Jo – FIFA competition record (archive)
• Shoji Jo at National-Football-Teams.com
• Japan National Football Team Database
• Shoji Jo at J.League (in Japanese)
• Soccer in Japan, Retrieved 11 October 2005
• FootballDatabase, Retrieved 11 October 2005