| At the age of 18, Shinji Ono began his professional career with Urawa Red Diamonds and in his first season he beat many established names to be voted Japanese Footballer of the Year and the J League Rookie of the Year. After that meteoric rise, Ono continued to improve the following year in 1998 and the midfielder’s ability to distribute, finish and defend earned him the coveted title of Asian Player of the Year. In each of those first two seasons he scored eleven goals and was instrumental in setting up his team-mates on countless occasions. Shortly after making his J League debut, Ono received a national team call-up against Korea Republic in Seoul. After being a substitute for Japan at the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ in France, the teenager captained Japan as they finished runners-up at the FIFA World Youth Championship Nigeria 1999. Ono suffered the first major setback of his professional career during a qualification game for the 2000 Olympic football tournament as he picked up a serious knee injury which was to keep him out of the Sydney Games. When he returned to action with his struggling club, it was too late to save the Reds from relegation to the second division. Dutch transfer
Ono remained loyal to the Reds, staying at the club despite other offers from Japan and Europe, not leaving until Urawa regained J League status a year later. Only after that did he decide to try his luck in the Netherlands with Feyenoord. In 2002, Ono set up goals for Takayuki Suzuki and Junichi Inamoto as Japan reached the second round of the FIFA World Cup on home soil. He also helped Feyenoord win the UEFA Cup, making him the second Asian player to lift a major European trophy after Korean star Cha Bum-kun. As he battled with injury, Ono missed out on selection for Japan at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany. Despite being linked with a move to join Hidetoshi Nakata at Bolton, Ono went back to Urawa Reds in January 2006 when his deal with Feyenoord came to an end. The 26-year-old international keeps working hard to rediscover his form and he claimed Japan’s 100th goal under head coach Zico when he opened the scoring in a 6-0 defeat of India in their first 2007 Asian Cup qualifier.
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