Yuki Abe

Yuki Abe
	Abe playing for Leicester City in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Yuki Abe
Date of birth	September 6, 1981 (age 41)
Place of birth	Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Urawa Reds
Youth career
1997–1998	JEF United Ichihara
Senior career*
Years	Team
1998–2006	JEF United Chiba
2007–2010	Urawa Reds
2010–2012	Leicester City
2012–	Urawa Reds
National team
2004	Japan U-23
2005–2011	Japan
Honours
JEF United Chiba
Urawa Reds
Representing Japan
Asian Games
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of end of the 2020 season

Yuki Abe (Japanese: 阿部勇樹, Abe Yuki, born September 6, 1981) is a Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography[change | change source]

Abe was born in Ichikawa on September 6, 1981. He joined J1 League club JEF United Ichihara (later JEF United Chiba) from their youth team in 1998. He made his debut at the age of 16 years and 333 days on August 5, 1998, at the time a record for the youngest player and J1 League. The club won the champions in the 2005 and 2006 J.League Cup. In 2007, he moved to Urawa Reds. The club won the champions in the 2007 AFC Champions League. In August 2010, he moved to English EFL Championship club Leicester City. In January 2012, he returned to Urawa. The club won the champions in the 2017 AFC Champions League.

In 2004, Abe was selected the Japan U-23 national team for 2004 Summer Olympics. He played all 3 matches and scored 1 goal. On January 29, 2005, he debuted for the Japan national team against Kazakhstan. However he was not selected the Japan for the 2006 World Cup. After the 2006 World Cup, he played many matches under new manager Ivica Osim. He played at 2007 Asian Cup. Although his opportunity to play decreased under manager Takeshi Okada from 2008, Abe was selected the Japan for the 2010 World Cup. He played all 4 matches as defensive midfielder. He played 53 games and scored 3 goals for Japan until 2011.

Statistics[change | change source]

^[1]^[2]

Club statistics			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Japan			League		Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		Asia		Total
1998	JEF United Ichihara	J1 League	1	0	0	0	0	0	-		1	0
1999			30	1	1	0	2	0	-		33	1
2000			25	0	3	2	3	0	-		31	2
2001			17	3	2	0	2	0	-		21	3
2002			24	1	2	0	3	0	-		29	1
2003			27	3	4	0	3	0	-		34	3
2004			24	5	1	0	5	1	-		30	6
2005	JEF United Chiba	J1 League	33	12	1	0	10	5	-		44	17
2006	JEF United Chiba	J1 League	33	11	1	0	8	2	-		42	13
2007	Urawa Reds	J1 League	33	3	1	0	0	0	12	3	46	6
2008			33	6	1	0	1	0	4	0	39	6
2009			34	2	0	0	4	0	-		38	2
2010			20	3	0	0	2	1	-		22	4
England			League		FA Cup		Football League Cup		Europe		Total
2010/11	Leicester City	Championship	36	1	2	0	2	0	-		40	1
2011/12	Leicester City	Championship	16	1	1	0	2	0	-		19	1
Japan			League		Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		Asia		Total
2012	Urawa Reds	J1 League	34	4	3	0	4	0	-		41	4
2013			33	6	0	0	5	0	6	1	44	7
2014			34	4	1	1	7	1	-		42	6
2015			34	3	4	1	2	2	5	0	45	6
2016			34	1	1	0	4	1	6	0	45	2
2017			33	3	0	0	1	0	11	0	45	3
2018			27	1	5	0	5	0	-		37	1
2019			11	0	3	0	1	0	6	0	21	0
2020			3	0	-		0	0	-		3	0
2021
Country	Japan		577	72	34	4	72	13	50	4	733	93
Country	England		52	2	3	0	4	0	-		59	2
Total			629	74	37	4	76	13	50	4	792	95