Naohiro Takahara

Who is Naohiro Takahara?

Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese footballer. He currently plays for SC Sagamihara as a striker.

Takahara was born in Mishima, Shizuoka. He has previously played for Júbilo Iwata in Japan, Boca Juniors in Argentina, Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany. On December 3, 2006, he scored his first hat-trick in the German Bundesliga in a league game against Alemannia Aachen. In January 2008 he moved to Urawa Red Diamonds for a transfer fee of around ¥180 million.

Takahara had played for Japan in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney but missed the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by his home country and South Korea, because of lung disease. He was a member of the Japan team for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup and played in all the six games involving Japan. He scored four goals and was a joint top scorer of the tournament.