Atsuto Uchida

Football player infobox
playername = Atsuto Uchida


fullname = Atsuto Uchida
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1988|3|27
cityofbirth = Kannami, Shizuoka
countryofbirth = Japan
height = height|m=1.76
currentclub = Kashima Antlers
youthyears = 2003-2006
youthclubs = Shimizu Higashi High School
position = Defender
years = 2006-
clubs = Kashima Antlers
caps(goals) = 066 00(2)
nationalyears = 2005-2007 2007-2008 2008-
nationalteam = Japan U-20 Japan U-23 Japan
nationalcaps(goals) = 012 00(0) 008 00(0) 011 00(1)
pcupdate = 00:35, 24 June 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 11:30, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

nihongo|Atsuto Uchida|内田篤人|Uchida Atsuto|born March 27, 1988 in Kannami, Shizuoka, Japan is a Japanese footballer. He is a right full back. Uchida currently plays for J. League Division 1 side Kashima Antlers.

Club career

He was educated at and played for Shimizu Higashi High School. After the graduation in 2006, he joined J. League side Kashima Antlers. He started the opening game of the season and immediately became a regular in the team. He was chosen for the 2006 J. League All-Star Soccer by fan voting and became the youngest ever player who participated in the competition. In the 2007 season, he played 31 league games and contributed to the club winning the J. League championship.

International career

He represented Japan at several underage levels. He was part of the Japan team for the AFC Youth Championship 2006 finals hosted by India and Japan finished runners-up. He also took part in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup finals hosted by Canada.

In 2006, he received an international call-up from national coach Ivica Osim but did not play any game. He finally made a full international debut for Japan on January 26, 2008 in a friendly against Chile at National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. This was the first match under the reign of new manager Takeshi Okada. On February 6, 2008 he played 90 minutes for Japan in a 4-1 win against Thailand and became the first teenaged Japanese footballer to play FIFA World Cup qualification after the the establishment of the J. League in 1993. On June 22, 2008 he scored the winner in a 1-0 win against Bahrain. It was his first international goal and he became the youngest Japanese goalscorer in FIFA World Cup qualification at age 20 years and 87 days, beating an 11-year-old record that was held by Hidetoshi Nakata.

He is a member of the Japan team for the 2008 Summer Olympics finals.

Club career stats

Last update: 5 December March 2007