Seiichiro Maki (巻 誠一郎, Maki Seiichirō, born 7 August 1980) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward.[2] He played for the Japan national team.
Club career
Maki was a key player for Komazawa University in Tokyo along with Masaki Fukai. After graduating from Komazawa University in 2003, Maki joined JEF United Ichihara (later JEF United Chiba). He made his first professional appearance on 22 March 2003 against Tokyo Verdy. He scored his first professional goal on 2 August 2003 against Urawa Reds. For his first year at JEF, he was often used as a second-half substitute. However, in 2005 he became a starting forward for the team. JEF won the champions in 2005 and 2006 J.League Cup. However many players left the club and the club results were sluggish late 2000s. JEF finished at the bottom place in 2009 season and was relegated to J2 League first time in the club history. His opportunity to play decreased for generational change in 2010.
In July 2010, Maki moved to Russian Premier League club FC Amkar Perm. In March 2011, he moved to Chinese Super League club Shenzhen Ruby. However he could not play many matches in both clubs. In August 2011, he returned to Japan and signed with J2 League club Tokyo Verdy. He played many matches as mainly substitute forward in three seasons. In 2014, he moved to his local club Roasso Kumamoto.[3] He played more than 30 matches as mainly substitute forward every season. However his opportunity to play decreased in 2018 and Roasso was relegated to J3 League end of 2018 season. He retired end of 2018 season.[4]
International career
Maki represented Japan in the 2001 Summer Universiade in Beijing, contributing to their championship win by scoring 3 goals in the tournament.
In July 2005, Maki was selected Japan national team for 2005 East Asian Football Championship. At this tournament, he debuted against North Korea on 31 July.[5] In 2006, he was selected for Japan's World Cup squad and started a match against Brazil. He was a member of the Japan team for the 2007 Asian Cup finals and played four games. He scored two goals in the tournament, both against Vietnam. He played 38 games and scored 8 goals for Japan until 2009.[5]
Personal life
Maki married former actress Tomoko Kitagawa (ja) in June 2007. His younger brother Yuki is also a former footballer. His younger sister Karina is a former handball player.
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[4]
