Sergio Escudero (footballer, born 1988)

Sergio Escudero (エスクデロ 競飛王, Esukudero Seruhio; Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo eskuˈðeɾo]; born 1 September 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or striker for Victoria Premier League 1 club North Geelong Warriors FC.

Sergio Escudero
エスクデロ 競飛王
Personal information
Full name Sergio Ariel Escudero
Date of birth (1988-09-01) 1 September 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Granada, Spain
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, striker
Team information
Current team
North Geelong Warriors FC
Youth career
1996–2000 Vélez Sársfield
2001–2002 Kashiwa Reysol
2004–2005 Urawa Red Diamonds
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2012 Urawa Red Diamonds 81 (7)
2012FC Seoul (loan) 20 (4)
2013–2015 FC Seoul 86 (14)
2015 Jiangsu Sainty 29 (6)
2016–2019 Kyoto Sanga 87 (5)
2018Ulsan Hyundai (loan) 14 (3)
2020–2021 Tochigi SC 30 (0)
2021–2022 Chiangmai United 22 (0)
2022–2023 Atlético Marte 9 (0)
2023 Banyule City SC
2024-Present North Geelong Warriors FC
International career
2008 Japan U23 5 (1)
Medal record
Urawa Reds
Winner AFC Champions League 2007
Winner J1 League 2006
Runner-up J1 League 2005
Runner-up J1 League 2007
Runner-up J.League Cup 2011
Winner Emperor's Cup 2005
Winner Emperor's Cup 2006
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 January 2023

Born in Spain, he has represented the Japan U23 national team internationally. He is the son of Argentine-Japanese footballer Sergio Ariel Escudero.

Career

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When Escudero was three years old, he moved to Japan because of his father's work and joined the local club team. After living in Japan for five years, he moved to Argentina and Escudero began his career with the Vélez Sársfield youth team, where his father, also named Sergio Ariel Escudero and uncle Osvaldo Salvador Escudero have played. Then he was called up to the U-15 Argentina national team training camp.

In 2001, Escudero returned to Japan and joined Kashiwa Reysol junior youth team in Chiba and later moved to Urawa Red Diamonds junior youth team in Saitama.[1] He scored many goals in youth level league matches and contracted with Urawa Reds in 2005. Playing as a forward, Escudero made his debut as a professional on 15 April 2005, against Albirex Niigata at the age of 16 years, 8 months and 21 days and he became the second youngest J. League Division 1 player after Takayuki Morimoto. In 2006, German outfit VfB Stuttgart were interested in him but Urawa refused to release him.[2]

On 11 June 2007, he obtained his Japanese citizenship and therefore he had a chance to play for the Japan U-20 team at 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. However he failed to make it to the tournament since the squad was submitted before he became a Japanese citizen. In May 2008, he joined the U-23 national team which played at the 2008 Toulon Tournament and scored a goal against Ivory Coast.[3][4]

On 17 July 2012, Escudero joined South Korean outfit FC Seoul on a six-month loan deal. He received number 26 and scored his debut goal on 21 July. He scored four goals and provided three assists in the end of the season. His loan was made permanent in December.[5] He scored the opening goal and assisted Dejan Damjanovic's 2–2 equalizer in the 2013 AFC Champions League Final match against China powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande on 26 October 2013. His impressive performance made him Man of the Match.[6]

On 25 February 2015, Escudero signed a two-year contract with Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Guoxin-Sainty.[7]

On 1 August 2022, Escudero joined a Primera División club C.D. Atlético Marte.

Personal life

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The son of former Argentine-Japanese footballer of the same name, he was born to Argentine parents of Spanish descent in Spain, and thus held dual Argentine and Spanish citizenship.[citation needed] In 2007, he acquired Japanese citizenship automatically as a result of his father's naturalization. Escudero is a cousin of Damián Escudero and nephew of Osvaldo Escudero.

Career statistics

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As of end of 2018 season[8][9]

Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup ACL Super Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Urawa Red Diamonds 2005 J1 League 5 0 0 0 2 0 7 0
2006 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 4 1
2007 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2008 13 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 17 1
2009 23 3 0 0 7 1 30 4
2010 17 3 2 1 3 0 22 4
2011 20 1 0 0 6 1 26 2
2012 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 81 7 4 2 22 3 1 0 0 0 108 12
FC Seoul 2012 K League 1 20 4 0 0 20 4
2013 34 4 3 0 12 2 49 6
2014 32 6 5 1 11 2 48 9
2015 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
Total 86 14 8 1 24 5 118 20
Jiangsu Sainty 2015 Chinese Super League 29 6 5 0 34 6
Kyoto Sanga 2016 J2 League 38 5 2 1 40 6
2017 21 0 1 0 22 0
2018 15 0 0 0 15 0
Total 74 5 3 1 77 6
Career total 270 32 20 4 22 3 25 5 0 0 337 44

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan U23 2008 5 1
Total 5 1
Scores and results list Japan U23's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Escudero goal.
List of international goals scored by Sergio Escudero
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 30 May 2008 Stade Mayol, Toulon, France   Ivory Coast 1–1 2–2 2008 Toulon Tournament

Honours

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Urawa Red Diamonds

FC Seoul

Jiangsu Guoxin-Sainty

References

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  1. ^ (in Japanese) チームプロフィル|浦和レッドダイヤモンズ公式サイト|URAWA RED DIAMONDS OFFICIAL WEBSITE Archived 18 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ (in German) Escudero: Stuttgart zeigt Interesse Archived 26 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ (in Japanese) 森本、エスクデロらU23代表に平山は落選
  4. ^ (in German) U-21 Ivory Coast - U-21 Japan 4:3 - FOOTIESTATS.NET
  5. ^ (in German) "Tokyo Transfer Market: Official: Escudero joins FC Seoul on permanent deal". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  6. ^ (in German) [1]
  7. ^ (in Chinese)舜天官方宣布签约首尔FC前卫
  8. ^ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411529 (p. 199 out of 289)
  9. ^ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)", 8 February 2017, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411420 (p. 171 out of 289)
  10. ^ "足协杯-萨米尔加时绝杀 舜天客场1-0申花首夺冠". Sports.sina.com.cn. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
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