Shinji Okazaki

Okazaki is my kind of footballer: a striker who never had the physique or flair, yet outworked everyone to win a Premier League title with Leicester's miracle squad and bank 50 goals for Japan, third on the all-time list. What I admire most is his selflessness, the way he hunted rebounds and pressed relentlessly while flashier names took the spotlight. Now coaching in Germany at the grassroots level, he is quietly passing on that grinder's mentality. To me he embodies the idea that relentless effort, not natural gifts, is what truly endures in this sport.

Name (English)

Shinji Okazaki

Name (Japanese)

岡崎慎司

Reading

おかざき しんじ

Born

April 16, 1986 (age 40)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aries / Tiger

Origin

Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan

Height

174 cm

Occupation

association football player / association football coach

• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/shinjiokazaki_official/
• Xhttps://x.com/okazakiofficial
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinji%20Okazaki
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B2%A1%E5%B4%8E%E6%85%8E%E5%8F%B8
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q310612

Tags

• Hyōgo Prefecture
• association football player
• association football coach

Last updated

2026-06-21

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.