The Telkom Charity Cup was very entertaining yesterday as four teams, voted by their fans, battled it out in a very very wet Royal Bafokeng Stadium. The teams that partook in the competition were regulars such as Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns. The new face to the charity event was Rustenburg based club, Platinum Stars.
Platinum Stars, who went on to loose in the finals to Orlando Pirates, had in their bag of surprises, a Japanese player, yes, the first Japanese to ever play for a South African club. In the past seasons we’ve noticed a number of Brazilian players signing for our local teams and while some of them failed to impress, some such as Eduardo Ferreira who was Ajax’s best defender last season, really proved their worth. In fact, word has it that Ferreira will be playing for Sundowns next season. To that, I say good luck to him.
Anyway, the idea of having a Japanese player on our shores, regardless of who he plays for, really excites me, it gives me reason to believe that our domestic league has built a really good reputation abroad. We are finally attracting talent from all over the world. Today it’s Norikazu Murakami, tomorrow it might be Nakamura, who knows?
When I first saw Norikazu Murakami, apart from the excitement, a couple of question sprung to my head, I wanted to know who this Japanese chap was, where he was born, who he’s played for, etc.
For this reason, I decided to do a little digging about his background, and this is what it entails, according to wikipedia.
Personal Information:
| Full name: | Norikazu Murakami | |
| Date of birth: | October 16, 1981 | |
| Place of birth: |
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |
| Height: | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |
| Playing position: | Forward | |
CAREER
Murakami have played in youth level for Yokohama Flugels and Yokohama F Marinos as well as Meiji University. He had also played for regional league side Yokohama Sports ＆Culture Club and futsal with Predator Urayasu Futsal Club.
He entered professional football in Singapore’s S League when he joined Albirex Niigata FC (Singapore) mid-way through the 2004 season. He joined Balestier Khalsa FC in 2006 and then Singapore Armed Forces FC in 2007.
In 2008, Murakami was the 2nd top scorer for Singapore Armed Forces FC. However he was released at the end of the season.
In 2009, he signed for his current club Home United FC.
HONOURS
Club
Singapore Armed Forces
- S.League: 2007,2008
- Singapore Cup: 2007,2008
RELATED VIDEO
March 31st, 2010 at 7:09 pm
I really can’t believe it. I hope Rooney is healed for the cup!