 Nakajima-Farran in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Issey Morgan Nakajima-Farran | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-05-16)16 May 1984 (age 41)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger,forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–1994 | Verdy Kawasaki | ||
| 1995–1997 | Crystal Palace | ||
| 2000–2002 | Tokyo Verdy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2006 | Albirex Niigata | 0 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | →Albirex Niigata (S) (loan) | 45 | (26) |
| 2006–2007 | Vejle | 44 | (16) |
| 2007–2009 | Nordsjælland | 46 | (13) |
| 2009–2011 | Horsens | 55 | (11) |
| 2011–2012 | Brisbane Roar | 23 | (4) |
| 2012–2013 | AEK Larnaca | 10 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | →Alki Larnaca (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2014 | Toronto FC | 5 | (2) |
| 2014 | Montreal Impact | 13 | (0) |
| 2015 | Suburense | 2 | (2) |
| 2015–2017 | Terengganu | 61 | (32) |
| 2018 | Pahang | 10 | (6) |
| 2019 | Pacific FC | 17 | (1) |
| 2021 | UE Tàrrega | 12 | (3) |
| 2021–2023 | Cubelles | 39 | (24) |
| Total | 397 | (144) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005 | Singapore U21 | 1 | (1) |
| 2006–2016 | Canada | 38 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Issey Morgan Nakajima-Farran (Japanese:中島ファラン一生; born 16 May 1984) is a Canadian former professionalsoccer player who played as awinger orforward.
Nakajima-Farran has played professionally in Japan, Singapore, Denmark, Australia, Cyprus, Canada, Malaysia, and Spain and represented Singapore at youth international level and Canada at senior international level.
Nakajima-Farran was born inCalgary in Canada, to an English-Canadian father who was born inRhodesia, and a Japanese mother.[3][1] He moved with his family from Calgary toTokyo, Japan at age three, and then from Tokyo to London, England at age ten.[1][4]
Nakajima-Farran began playing at youth level withVerdy Kawasaki.[5] After moving to England, he joined theCrystal Palace Academy.[4] At age 16, he returned to Japan and signed a youth contract withTokyo Verdy (which re-branded from Verdy Kawasaki, his former youth club).[3]
In 2003, Nakajima-Farran began his professional soccer career after signing withJ2 League'sAlbirex Niigata.[6]
In 2004, he was loaned to their Singaporean satellite clubAlbirex Niigata Singapore in theS.League, playing for two seasons.[5][6] In 2005, he was named the S.League Young Player of the Year.[5]
In the winter transfer window of 2006, Nakajima-Farran had trials with English sidesMillwall[citation needed],Portsmouth for a month andReading for a couple of days.[6]
In the spring of 2006, he signed withDanish First Division teamVejle Boldklub.[citation needed] He helped the club win the championship and gain promotion to the top league in theDanish football system, theSuperliga.[7] In February 2007, he extended his contract until the summer of 2009.[7]
In July 2007, he signed with Danish Superliga sideFC Nordsjælland on a four-year contract.[8] On 17 July 2007, he made his debut for the club and scored his first goal in a 1-0 victory overFC Copenhagen.[9]
In the summer of 2009, Nakajima-Frarran went on a trial withEredivisie teamDe Graafschap.[10] In September 2009, he signed with second tier sideAC Horsens.[10] In his first season, he helped the club earn promotion to the first tier.[citation needed] In August 2011, he agreed to a mutual termination of the remainder of his contract.[11][12]
In late August 2011, Nakajima-Farran signed a one-year contract withA-League clubBrisbane Roar.[13] He scored his first goal for Brisbane and set up another a 7–1 victory overAdelaide United on 28 October 2011.[14] In November 2011, he scored two goals in a 4-0 victory overPerth Glory, earning Man of the Match honours, with the victory setting set a new Australian sports team record of 36 unbeaten games, which dated back to the previous season.[15]
In July 2012, Nakajima-Farran signed a two-year deal withCypriot First Division sideAEK Larnaca.[16]In January 2013, he was loaned toAlki Larnaca for the remainder of the 2012-13 season.[citation needed]
In January 2014, Nakajima-Farran went on trial with Canadian clubToronto FC ofMajor League Soccer.[17] On 28 March 2014, he officially signed a contract with the club.[18] He scored his first goal for Toronto FC on 5 April against theColumbus Crew, in a 2–0 away victory.[19]
On 16 May 2014, Nakajima-Farran was traded to theMontreal Impact along withallocation money in exchange forCollen Warner.[20] At the end of the 2014 season, he was waived and released by the club.[21][22]
Following his release from MLS, Nakajima-Farran joinedCF Suburense in theSegona Catalana, the sixth tier of theSpanish football league system to stay fit and be close to his family.[citation needed]
In April 2015, he signed withMalaysia Super League clubTerengganu.[23] After his first season, the club was relegated to the second tierMalaysia Premier League and the club was planning to release him, but he chose to remain with the club and helped them to secure promotion back to the first tier with a second place finish in 2017.[24] In November 2017, he chose to depart the club.[24]
In May 2018, he signed withPahang.[25]
In March 2019, Nakajima-Farran signed withCanadian Premier League clubPacific FC, ahead of their inaugural season.[4] He made his debut on 28 April against theHFX Wanderers, in a substitute appearance.[26] He scored his first goal on 1 July againstCavalry FC on a free kick.[27]
In January 2020, he joined CCB LFC United of theVancouver Metro Soccer League club CCB LFC United at the senior amateur level.[28]
In March 2021, he signed for Spanish clubUE Tàrrega in the fifth tierPrimera Catalana.[29]
He joined CF Cubelles in the seventh tierSegona Catalana later in 2021, after finishing the 2020-21 season with Tàrrega.[30]In July 2022, he extended his contract for another season.[31]
In April 2023, he retired from playing professionally.[32]
In March 2024, he began playing in the seven-a-sideKings League with Rayo de Barcelona.[33]
Nakajima-Farran holds Canadian, Japanese, and British citizenship.[34] His father was born in the formerRhodesia and is English-Canadian, his mother was born in Japan.[3][35]
In 2005, Nakajima-Farran was invited to play a match with theSingapore U21 national team againstJapan U23, earning man of the match honours after scoring a goal and assisting another in a 2-2, before defeating Japan in penalty kicks, with Nakajima-Farran converting his kick.[3][6] He had hoped the performance could lead to a call-up to Japan, however, but the Japanese coach stated he was not interested in calling him up.[36] There was interest in him becoming a full international for Singapore, with him being eligible for a Singaporean passport after having played in the country for two years.[6][37]
In November 2006, Nakajima-Farran was called up toCanada for the first time ahead of a friendly againstHungary.[38] He made his debut in the match on 12 November 2016.[6] He scored his first international goal on 15 June 2008 in a World Cup qualification match againstSt. Vincent and the Grenadines.[39] He earned a total of 38 caps for Canada and played at three editions of theCONCACAF Gold Cup (2007, 2009, and 2013) and was named an alternate for the 2011 edition.[1]
He is the brother ofParis Nakajima-Farran, who was also a professional player.[34]
Nakajima-Farran is also an artist, having taken up painting at age 13 when he broke his ankle, and has sold over two dozen paintings.[34]
After his retirement from playing, he bought a yacht to live on inBarcelona, after also previously living on a boat inVancouver Island while playing forPacific FC in 2019.[35]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental[a] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nordsjælland | 2008–09[40] | Danish Superliga | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| Horsens | 2010–11[40] | Danish Superliga | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 4 |
| 2011–12[40] | Danish Superliga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 | ||
| Brisbane Roar | 2011–12[40] | A-League | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 4 |
| AEK | 2012–13[40] | Cypriot First Division | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Alki (loan) | 2012–13[40] | Cypriot First Division | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| Toronto FC | 2014[40] | Major League Soccer | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Montreal Impact | 2014[40] | Major League Soccer | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Terengganu | 2015 | Malaysia Super League | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | — | 19 | 13 | |
| 2016[40] | Malaysia Super League | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 7 | ||
| 2017 | Malaysia Premier League | 18 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | 26 | 11 | ||
| Total | 48 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 31 | ||
| Pahang | 2018[40] | Malaysia Super League | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 6 | |
| Pacific FC | 2019[40] | Canadian Premier League | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | |
| Tàrrega | 2020–21[41] | Primera Catalana | 12 | 3 | – | – | — | 12 | 3 | |||
| Cubelles | 2021–22[41] | Segona Catalana | 23 | 15 | – | – | — | 23 | 15 | |||
| 2022–23[41] | Segona Catalana | 16 | 9 | – | – | — | 16 | 9 | ||||
| Total | 39 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 24 | ||
| Career total | 240 | 74 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 268 | 81 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2006 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 38 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 June 2008 | Arnos Vale Stadium,Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Albirex Niigata
Vejle Boldklub
AC Horsens
Brisbane Roar
Montreal Impact
Individual
Canada squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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