Naoki Maeda

There's something poetic about a kid who grew up in Urawa — ground zero for Japanese soccer culture — eventually pulling on the red shirt of Urawa Red Diamonds. Naoki Maeda took the long scenic route to get there: Tokyo Verdy's youth academy, a stint at Matsumoto Yamaga, years at Yokohama F. Marinos, and a solid run at Nagoya Grampus where he picked up a J. League Cup winner's medal in 2021. Then in early 2022 he went all the way to the Dutch Eredivisie on loan at FC Utrecht, which honestly shows a curiosity and ambition you don't see from every J1 journeyman. Coming home to Urawa felt like the story snapping into place. A proper soccer city lad, and one who did it the hard way.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Naoki Maeda is a Japanese professional soccer player born on November 17, 1994, in Urawa Ward, Saitama Prefecture — one of Japan's most prominent soccer regions. Standing 175 cm tall, he represents a generation of players raised in the storied soccer culture of the greater Saitama area. Further details regarding his career history and club affiliations are not publicly disclosed.

Name (English)

Naoki Maeda

Name (Japanese)

前田直輝

Reading

まえだ なおき

Born

November 17, 1994 (age 31)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Dog

Origin

Urawa Ward, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Height

175cm

Occupation

Soccer player

• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/naoki112738/
• Xhttps://x.com/1117196911
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%89%8D%E7%94%B0%E7%9B%B4%E8%BC%9D
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q251506

Tags

• From Saitama Prefecture
• Soccer player

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.