Naomichi Ueda 植田 直通

Naomichi Ueda (植田 直通, Ueda Naomichi, born 24 October 1994) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 2 club Nimes and the Japan national team.

Club Career

Early career

Born in Uto, Kumamoto, Japan, Ueda began playing football when he was at third grade elementary school. Ueda then attended Uto City Sumiyoshi Junior High School and Kumamoto Prefectural Otsu High School. While at high school, he started in a forward but switched to a centre–back position. Ueda was impressed by Manager Kazunori Hiraoka, who described him as "a very rare material in Japan". Ueda, himself, spoke out about his development and playing in the centre–back position. He also became a captain for Kumamoto Prefectural Otsu High School.

His performance at high school attracted clubs from J. League clubs, such as, Urawa Red Diamonds, Yokohama F. Marinos, Kawasaki Frontale, FC Tokyo, Nagoya Grampus and Kashima Antlers. It was announced on 4 September 2012 that Shoji would be joining Kashima Antlers from 1 January 2013.

Kashima Antlers

Ueda made his first-team debut for Kashima Antlers in the J. League Cup on 23 March 2013 against F.C. Tokyo in which he started and played the whole 90 minutes as Kashima lost the match 4–2. Two months later on 22 May 2013, Ueda made another appearance for the side, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 loss against Cerezo Osaka. He later played a role against Sony Sendai in the second round of the Emperor's Cup on 7 September 2013, setting up the club's first goal of the game, in a 3–0 win. However, Ueda found his first team opportunities limited in his first season at Kashima Antlers and appeared as an unused substitute for most of the season. At the end of the 2013 season, he went on to make three appearances for the side in all competitions.

At the start of the 2014 season, Ueda made his league debut for the club, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute, in a 4–0 win against Ventforet Kofu in the opening g

This page also has a version in other languages :  Наомити Уэда (russian)