Go Kuroda
黒田 剛
Personal information
Full name Go Kuroda
Date of birth (1970-05-26) 26 May 1970
Place of birth Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Team information
Current team
 Machida Zelvia (manager)
Youth career
Years Team
Noboribetsu Otani High School
Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences
Managerial career
1994–2022 Aomori Yamada High School
2023– Machida Zelvia

Go Kuroda (黒田 剛, Kuroda Go, born 26 May 1970) is a Japanese professional football manager who is the manager of J1 League club Machida Zelvia.[1]

Managerial career

Aomori Yamada High School

After graduating Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, in 1994 he was hired as an employee of Aomori Yamada High School and coached the school's football team.[2] The following year, aged 25, he became manager of the team. Being based in the snowy north of the country, with poor training facilities and having no managerial experience, Kuroda was faced with many challenges at the start of his career. However, it wasn't too long before he was able to improve the school's team and going forward they appeared in every National High School Soccer Championship since 1997.[3] In 2000, they advanced to the top four in the high school championships and became the first team from Aomori Prefecture to play at the National Stadium. In 2005, Kuroda won his first trophy when Aomori Yamada won the National High School Comprehensive Athletic Tournament Soccer Tournament. Kuroda obtained his JFA certified S-Class coaching license in 2006, allowing him to coach in the J.League.[4]

He continued to build Aomori Yamada into one of the best high school football teams in the country. In 2009, they finished runners-up in the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, with Kuroda coaching future Japan national team player Gaku Shibasaki. In 2011 they became part of the reformed Prince Takamado Cup competition, competing alongside the best J.League U-18 teams. They won the competition in 2016, beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima U-18s in the final on penalties.[5] They also won the 2016 All Japan High School Soccer Tournament in a convincing 5–0 victory in the final against Maebashi Ikuei.[6] Their success continued with Kuroda at the helm – they appeared in four of the next five All Japan High School Soccer Tournament finals, winning in both 2018 and 2021.[7][8] They also won the Prince Takamodo Cup in 2019 and 2022.[9]

Machida Zelvia

In 2022, after winning the Aomori High School Championship and qualifying for the national tournament for 26 consecutive years, it was announced that Kuroda would be stepping down as manager of the high school team and joining J2 League club FC Machida Zelvia for the 2023 season.[10][11] He would be replacing Ranko Popović who finished 15th with the club in the 2022 season.

The season started incredibly well for Kuroda and his new club, winning six and drawing one of his first seven games in charge and taking Machida straight to the top of the league table. For this, Kuroda won the first J2 Manager of the Month award.[12] By the end of May, Machida Zelvia were cemented at the top of the table, eight points clear of their nearest challengers and for a month of four wins and two draws, Kuroda was once again awarded the Manager of the Month award.[13] As well as their dominant league form, they also managed an Emperor's Cup upset, defeating defending J1 League champions Yokohama F. Marinos in a 4–1 third-round match.[14] In October, the club clinched promotion with a win over Roasso Kumamoto and confirmed their status as league champions in the following week.[15] Kuroda had won the league in his first season as a professional football manager and would be managing at the highest level in Japanese football in 2024.

Of the club's promotion, Kuroda said "There were many who worried that this team couldn’t win in my first pro year. They took the words of a first-year manager to heart ... and stuck with me without a single complaint. I have nothing but gratitude for the players."[16]

Following promotion, in October 2023 Kuroda renewed his contract with Machida Zelvia for another season.[17]

Honours

Youth

Aomori Yamada High School

Club

Machida Zelvia

Individual

Machida Zelvia
  • J2 League Manager of the Month award: February/March 2023,[12] May 2023[13]

References

  1. ↑ "黒田 剛". FC町田ゼルビア オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "青森山田高校【チーム紹介：青森県】 - サカスタU－１８". u-18soccer.com (in Japanese). 14 September 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "サッカー弱小高が全国2冠王者に育ったワケ". 東洋経済オンライン (in Japanese). 22 May 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "青森山田・黒田監督 来季J2町田の監督へ！J1昇格へサプライズ人事 - スポニチ Sponichi Annex サッカー". スポニチ Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). 12 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Aomori Yamada win their first Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League 2016 Championship on penalties". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "第95回全国高等学校サッカー選手権大会". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "第97回全国高等学校サッカー選手権大会". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "大津 vs 青森山田 試合情報｜第100回全国高校サッカー選手権大会｜JFA.jp". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Aomori Yamada showcase dominant performance against Yokohama FC to claim third Premier League EAST title - Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2021". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). 13 December 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "【高校サッカー】青森山田ひやり、野辺地西を延長戦の末に下す 26年連続全国切符 小湊決勝点 - サッカー : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "黒田剛 監督就任のお知らせ". FC町田ゼルビア オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). 24 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Takayuki Yoshida awarded Manager of the Month for leading Vissel Kobe to the top of J1 | News". J.LEAGUE. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Shuhei Yomoda wins Manager of the Month for Yokohama FC's massive May surge | News". J.LEAGUE. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "Machida upsets Marinos in third round of Emperor's Cup". The Japan Times. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Football: Machida clinch maiden J1 promotion with win over Kumamoto". nippon.com. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  16. ↑ Orlowitz, Dan (24 October 2023). "Go Kuroda's one-year revolution brings Zelvia to J1 promised land". The Japan Times. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  17. ↑ "「心から光栄」黒田剛監督がFC町田ゼルビアとの契約を24年まで更新「より勝負に拘り挑みます」 | サッカーダイジェストWeb". www.soccerdigestweb.com (in Japanese). 28 October 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
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