Moriyasu has been coach of the Japanese national team since 2018, leading the team to the2019 AFC Asian Cup Final before losing to Qatar. He then achieved a round of 16 appearance at the2022 FIFA World Cup and a quarter-final loss in the2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Moriyasu was educated at and played for Nagasaki Nihon University High School. After finishing his school, he joinedJapan Soccer League sideMazda in 1987. New managerHans Ooft rated him highly and established him as an anchoring midfielder in the team. In April 1990, Moriyasu had a trial atManchester United. When Japan's first ever professional league,J.League, started in 1993, Mazda was transformed toSanfrecce Hiroshima for whom he continued to play. Together withYahiro Kazama, he controlled Hiroshima's midfield and contributed to the club winning the second stage of the 1994 J1 League season.
In 1998, Ooft became the manager ofKyoto Purple Sanga and recruited Moriyasu on a loan deal. The deal was initially meant to be a permanent one but infuriated Hiroshima supporters collected signatures against the deal, which forced the clubs to settle for a loan. He was the linchpin of Kyoto for the 1998 season.
Moriyasu came back to Hiroshima for the 1999 season but find his opportunities to play gradually decreasing mainly because of youngKazuyuki Morisaki's challenge for the place.
He was offered a coaching position at Hiroshima in 2002 but turned it down to continue to play. He moved toVegalta Sendai and retired there at the end of the 2003 season.
Ooft became the national coach ofJapan national team in 1992. Ooft called up and played Moriyasu for his first match in charge againstArgentina held on 31 May 1992 at theTokyo National Stadium. Moriyasu was still a low-profile player at that time and many international teammates did not know how to pronounce his name. What Ooft asked him to do throughout his reign was a simple task, to "win the ball and pass it to playmakerRuy Ramos".
He was a member of the Japan team that won the1992 Asian Cup and played all of Japan's games except the final againstSaudi Arabia for which he was ineligible due to suspension.
Under Ooft, Japan progressed to the1994 World Cup qualification for the1994 World Cup. Moriyasu was on the pitch when Japan's hopes to play in the finals were dashed by an injury-time Iraqi equaliser in the last qualifier, the match that the Japanese fans now refer to as theAgony of Doha.[1]
He was capped 35 times between 1992 and 1996.[2] He scored one goal for his country, in a friendly againstAustralia on 10 February 1996.
It was confirmed on 8 December 2011 that Moriyasu would return to Sanfrecce Hiroshima as manager for the2012 season.[3] He won the J1 league title for both the 2012 season and the 2013 season. He left the club in July 2017 after poor results in the league campaign.[4]
Moriyasu was the coach of theunder-23 national team preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He will stay on even as his duties were broadened by his new appointment.
Moriyasu assisted coachAkira Nishino in the last 16 in the recentWorld Cup finals in Russia. On 26 July 2018, with the current coach stepping down, the Japan Football Association appointed Hajime Moriyasu as the new coach of the men's national team, with an eye to the World Cup in 2022.[5] He led Japan to the2019 AFC Asian Cup Final after defeatedIran 3–0 at semi-finals, but was defeated at the final 3–1 toQatar to mark Japan's first defeat at a continental final.[6]
In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Moriyasu coached Japan to historic upsets against two of the tournament favorites, Germany and Spain, defeating both by 2–1. In the Round of 16, Japan faced Croatia, eventually losing in a penalty shootout (1–3) after a 1–1 draw in normal time.[7]
^森保一 新監督就任のお知らせ (in Japanese). Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Official Web Site. 8 December 2011. Archived fromthe original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved8 December 2011.
