Naoki Matsuda, Japanese footballer, died from a suspected heart attack he was , 34.

Naoki Matsuda  was a Japanese footballer who played as a central defender.

(14 March 1977 – 4 August 2011)

Football career

Born in Kiryū, Gunma, Matsuda represented the Yokohama F. Marinos for the vast majority of his career, being promoted to the first team in 1995, at the age of 18. He scored his first goal for the club on September 30 of that year, at Mitsuzawa Stadium, and went on to appear in more than 500 official games for the Yokohama side, helping it to three J. League Division 1 titles.
Internationally, he represented Japan at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, both played on home soil, and also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics.^[1]

Death

In 2011, Matsuda signed with Matsumoto Yamaga FC, in the Japan Football League.
On 2 August, he collapsed during training due to a cardiac arrest after finishing a 15-minute warmup run, and doctors diagnosed his condition as "extremely severe".^[2] Two days later, he died at the age of 34.^[3]

Statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Japan			League		Emperor's Cup		J. League Cup		Asia		Total
1995	Yokohama Marinos/ Yokohama F. Marinos	J. League 1	33	1	1	0	-		-		34	1
1996			16	0	1	0	11	2	-		28	2
1997			31	2	2	0	6	0	-		39	2
1998			12	0	1	0	4	1	-		17	1
1999			27	0	3	0	2	0	-		32	0
2000			24	2	2	1	3	0	-		29	3
2001			29	0	1	0	9	0	-		39	0
2002			25	2	1	0	0	0	-		26	2
2003			20	0	0	0	5	0	-		25	0
2004			24	1	1	0	4	0	4	0	33	1
2005			27	1	1	0	4	1	4	0	36	2
2006			29	4	0	0	9	3	-		38	7
2007			8	1	2	0	5	0	-		15	1
2008			30	1	3	0	7	0	-		40	1
2009			31	1	3	0	10	2	-		44	3
2010			19	1	2	0	3	0	-		24	1
2011	Matsumoto Yamaga	JFL	15	1	-		-		-		15	1
Country	Japan		400	18	24	1	82	9	8	0	506	28
Total			400	18	24	1	82	9	8	0	506	28

National team

Japan national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2000	14	0
2001	10	0
2002	12	0
2003	0	0
2004	3	0
2005	1	1
Total	40	1

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	29 January 2005	Yokohama, Japan	Kazakhstan	4–0	Win	Friendly

Honors

Club

• J. League Division 1: 1995, 2003, 2004
• J. League Cup: 2001

Country

• FIFA Confederations Cup: Runner-up 2001
• AFC Asian Cup: 2000, 2004

Individual

• J. League Division 1: Best Eleven 2000, 2002

 

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