Yasuto Honda

Position: MF
Born: 25-Jun-1969
Height/Weight: 166/64
Birthplace: Fukuoka
Previous Teams: Teikyo HS, Honda FC, Kashima Antlers
Appearances (J1/J2):328/0 Goals: 4/0
First Appearance: 16-May-1993 Kashima Antlers - vs - Nagoya Grampus (at Kashima Stadium)
First Goal : 12-Jul-1995 Kashima Antlers - vs - Jubilo Iwata (at Kashima Stadium)

Bio

Yasuto Honda is one of several Kashima Antlers players who joined the team from Honda Giken Football Club when the J.League was founded. Honda had been a powerhouse in the former JSL, but chose not to turn into a professional club and enter the J.League. Most of the team's top players left the team at that point, and many of them ended up playing for the Antlers. The last one to retire from active duty was Honda, who owes his longevity as much to his effectiveness as a respected leader in the locker room as he did to his footballing skills.

Honda's career included over 80 matches in the JSL, taking his total number of appearances past the 400 level and putting him in the company of only a handful of other J.League players

Though his technical skills were always somewhat questionable, Honda was always able to make up for his shortcomings with tremendous hustle, and even saw a lot of action with the national team in his earlier days. He received his first NT cap in 1994, not long after the disastrous "Agony at Doha", and at a time that Japan was trying to rebuild its NT. He continued to play a role until just before the 1998 World Cup, and collected a total of 34 NT caps, with one goal.

Most important, however, was Honda's contribution in the locker room. He was always viewed as one of the most inspirational players in the Antlers, which is saying quite a bit. During the glory years, when Kashima was winning many of its titles, Honda frequently wore the captain's armband, particularly when Yutaka Akita was out of the lineup. His good nature and intense competitiveness made him extremely popular with his teammates, and when he was brought on as a substitute in the final regular season match of his career, to take a penalty kick, players on both teams joined the crowd to applaud his curtain call -- a performance which netted only the fourth goal of his playing career. Though that statistic shows that he was not much of a scorer, he relished his reputation as a combative defensive midfielder, and was happy to leave the "glory" to others.

Perhaps the best reflection of Honda's status as one of the League's original "hard men" was a TV commercial that appeared in the late 90s, along with teammates like Akita and Naoki Soma. Honda's contribution was the following, unforgettable tag line: "I want to become the J.League's most disliked player." Certainly that is an accurate and fitting tribute to his J.League career.

 


 

 

Photo Year Team Uniform # League Matches Cup Matches
Caps Goals Caps Goals
- 1993 Kashima Antlers 35 0 11 0
- 1994 Kashima Antlers 43 0 2 0
- 1995 Kashima Antlers 49 3 4 0
- 1996 Kashima Antlers 29 0 16 0
- 1997 Kashima Antlers 21 0 7 0
- 1998 Kashima Antlers 21 0 9 1
1999 Kashima Antlers 17 0 4 0
2000 Kashima Antlers 29 0 10 0
2001 Kashima Antlers 24 0 7 0
2002 Kashima Antlers 22 0 13 1
2003 Kashima Antlers 19 0 9 0
2004 Kashima Antlers 7 0 5 0
2005 Kashima Antlers 4 1 - 0
2006 Kashima Antlers 0 0 3 0
- TOTAL 328 4 97 2