Shoya Nakajima

I've always had a soft spot for Shoya Nakajima. He's a little guy by football standards, barely 167cm out of Hachioji, but the second he gets the ball at his feet you forget all that, because he plays with this loose, almost playful freedom that you just don't see much anymore. There's something gloriously stubborn about him, the way he trusts his own feel for the game instead of doing the safe, tidy thing everyone expects. He's bounced around plenty, Portugal, the Middle East, all sorts of dressing rooms, which tells me he's got grit under that artsy exterior. By 2024 he's hit thirty, right in that sweet spot, and honestly these slightly oddball, march-to-their-own-drum players are always the ones who stick in my memory. Quietly love him.

Shoya Nakajima is a Japanese professional footballer born on August 23, 1994, in Hachioji, Tokyo. Standing at 167 cm, he is noted for his technical skill and distinctive dribbling style. He has competed at club level across multiple countries, gaining experience in Europe and the Middle East. As of 2024, he remains an active player in his prime years.

Name (English)

Shoya Nakajima

Name (Japanese)

中島翔哉

Reading

なかじま しょうや

Born

August 23, 1994 (age 31)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Virgo / Dog

Origin

Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan

Height

167 cm

Occupation

Footballer

Motto

Private

• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/shoya_nakajima_22/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%B3%B6%E7%BF%94%E5%93%89

Tags

• From Tokyo
• Footballer

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.