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Yuki Abe
	Yuki Abe
Personal information
Full name	Yuki Abe
Date of birth	September 6, 1981 (age 28)
Place of birth	Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder; Central Defender; Full back
Club information
Current club	Urawa Red Diamonds
Number	22
Youth career
1988-1993; 1994-1996; 1997-1999	Ichikawa FC; JEF United Ichihara Junior Youth; JEF United Ichihara Youth
Senior career1
National team2
	1 Senior club appearances and goals; counted for the domestic league only and; correct as of 8 December 2009.; 2 National team caps and goals correct; as of 8 December 2009.; * Appearances (Goals)

Yuki Abe (阿部勇樹, Abe Yūki^?, born September 6, 1981 in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese footballer, a midfielder for the Urawa Red Diamonds of the J. League and the Japanese national team.

[edit] Career

On August 5, 1998, Abe, then a member of the JEF United Ichihara (now JEF United Ichihara Chiba) youth side, made his debut with the senior club at the age of 16 years and 333 days, at the time a record for the youngest Japanese professional player and J-League. He went on to become JEF United's captain, and led the club to the 2005 and 2006 J. League Cup titles while being named to the league's Best Eleven during the span.

Abe made his senior national team debut on January 29, 2005, in a friendly match against Kazakhstan and scored his first national team goal on September 6, 2006 against Yemen in a 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification match. He was not selected to Japan's 2006 FIFA World Cup team, but he has become a regular under his former JEF United coach Ivica Osim, who took over as the national team head coach after the World Cup. He had previously represented Japan at the Under-20 and Under-23 levels, appearing in all three first round matches at the 2004 Olympics and scoring a goal against Italy.

On January 22, 2007, Abe joined Urawa, the defending J. League and Emperor's Cup champions, for a transfer fee of around ¥360 million (around $3 million), a record amount for a Japanese player in a domestic deal.^[1]

Abe helped Urawa to win the AFC Champions League 2007 titled by scoring a goal in the second leg of the final against Iran's Sepahan F.C..^[2] Abe participated in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, and fought against three team such as A.C. Milan. Urawa left the record of 3rd place.

[edit] Career Statistics

Last update: 8 December 2009

Club performance			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 Chiba	J. League Division 1	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			33	12	1	0	10	5	-		44	17
2006			33	11	1	0	8	2	-		42	13
2007	Urawa Red Diamonds		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
Career Total			314	47	17	2	41	8	16	3	388	60

[edit] National Team Career Statistics

Last update: 9 September, 2009

[edit] Appearances in major competitions

Team	Competition	Category	Appearances		Goals	Team Record
Team	Competition	Category	Start	Sub	Goals	Team Record
Japan	2004 Summer Olympics qualification	U-22 to U-23	4	1	2	Qualified
Japan	2004 Summer Olympics	U-23	3	0	1	Round 1
Japan	East Asian Football Championship 2005	Senior	2	0	0	2nd place
Japan	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification	Senior	5	0	1	Qualified
Japan	2007 AFC Asian Cup	Senior	6	0	1	4th place
Japan	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification	Senior	6	1	0	Qualified

[edit] Goals for Japan National Team

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 August 2006	Niigata Stadium, Niigata, Japan	Yemen	2-0	Won	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2.	25 July 2007	My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	Saudi Arabia	2-3	Lost	2007 AFC Asian Cup Semifinals
3.	27 May 2009	Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan	Chile	4-0	Won	Kirin Cup 2009