Batou Nakamura
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Not particularly tall and with a wiry build, Batou Nakamura was an unlikely sporting superstar, but the drive of his Han parentage combined with his love of Starblaydi football pushed him on to be one of his generation's most exciting players. Two-footed, with the ability to play anywhere across the front of midfield or even 'in the hole' behind the strikers, Batou also had a glorious ability to hit a set piece, with many a goal from free kicks on his highlight reel.
Player Career
Starting his career at Hallad Reavers, it was quickly assumed that the small Han would lose out in an overly-physical team who's style of play he simply couldn't hope to match. Instead it was the Reavers themselves who bent to Batou's will, as his innate leadership skills put him on the pitch in the centre of the action. Soon he was the captain of the side and leading them to their first Liga Starblaydia title in decades. He had already made his début in the national side in the qualifiers for World Cup 39, scoring in his second match, the second in a four-nil demolition of Minilla Island West.
He was crucial in Starblaydia's attempts at the Oriental Football Cup crown, eventually captaining the side in OFC6, the leadership of which propelled him into the captaincy of the full national side at World Cup 42.
In between, however, Batou was a key component of the AOCAF 23 and World Cup 41 winning sides, captaining the former. A record 9-0 victory over Kosovoe by the team, and personally a goal for every two games in West Starblaydia, including scoring in the Semi-Final Penalty Shoot-out against the hosts, sent Starblaydia into the final. Batou later lifted Starblaydia's sixth regional title, extending their extraordinary record. Just a year later his leadership took a back seat to that of Leandro Perheira. Starblaydia would not have won the Cup, however, without Namakura's performance in the Semi-Final, scoring two of the goals to claw back a Three-Three draw with World Champions and Best-in-the-world Valanora before going on to beat them in Extra Time.
His international career spanned sixteen years and four World Cup Finals, and with those he won more caps than any other player in Starblaydi history before him - a massive 105 - finishing off in the Quarter-Finals of World Cup 43, where he took the Captain's armband - and the Starblaydi shirt itself - off for the final time, aged 33.
Managerial Career
Following the appointment of Lii Chong-Sun to the helm of the Daehanjeiguk National Football Team, Nakamura was invited to manage his old club. He has since led Seoan Gukjei (now Seoan Cheonma) to 3 domestic cup titles.
| Preceded by: Leandro Perheira |
Starblaydia World Cup Captains World Cup 42 & 43 |
Succeeded by: Diamontii Di Bradini |
| Preceded by: Jae Chang-hwa |
Starblaydi Under-21 Captains 4th Di Bradini Cup |
Succeeded by: Wen Tze-shu |
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Starblaydia squad - World Cup 39 Quarter-Finalists |
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1 F. Rodriguez | 2 Chang-hwa | 3 Rivolli | 4 Jabir | 5 Bravo (c) | 6 L. Perheira | 7 Mora | 8 Canildo | 9 Di Angelo | 10 Fullbright | 11 J. Oscar | 12 Nikolaidis | 13 Bazraltek | 14 Brunner | 15 Stafador | 16 Gomes | 17 Karinha | 18 Hinkonnen | 19 van Agmark | 20 Kaneda | 21 Nakamura | 22 F. Bentley | 23 Lubii | Coach: Marrones | ||
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Starblaydia squad - World Cup 40 Host Nation |
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1 Nikolaidis | 2 Chang-hwa | 3 Rivolli | 4 J. Oscar | 5 Kaneda | 6 L. Perheira | 7 Gomes | 8 Di Angelo (c) | 9 Hinkonnen | 10 Lubii | 11 Nakamura | 12 F. Rodriguez | 13 V. Matranga | 14 Lima | 15 Stafador | 16 Karinha | 17 Chong-sun | 18 Rph. Torino | 19 Westwood | 20 C. Di Bradini | 21 Jabir | 22 Canildo | 23 F. Bentley | Coach: Marrones | ||
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Starblaydia squad - World Cup 41 Champions |
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1 Nikolaidis | 2 Chang-hwa | 3 C. Di Bradini | 4 Stafador | 5 Kuu | 6 L. Perheira (c) | 7 Nakamura | 8 Kaneda | 9 Callind | 10 Lubii | 11 F. Bentley | 12 Westwood | 13 V. Matranga | 14 Drakkiborgo | 15 Djibroné | 16 Di Angelo | 17 Debrier | 18 Rph. Torino | 19 van Agmark | 20 DiCampo | 21 Tze-shu | 22 Il-Ajun | 23 D. Di Bradini | Coach: Panarii | ||
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Starblaydia squad - World Cup 42 Last 16 |
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1 Westwood | 2 C. Di Bradini | 3 Drakkiborgo | 4 Tze-shu | 5 Kuu | 6 Kaneda | 7 Nakamura (c) | 8 Myung-Bo | 9 Callind | 10 D. Di Bradini | 11 England | 12 V. Matranga | 13 Seji | 14 Buckstone | 15 Movalinen | 16 Stafador | 17 Il-Ajun | 18 Lubii | 19 Wilson | 20 Samba | 21 Mus'haf | 22 F. Bentley | 23 Thayil | Coach: Panarii | ||
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Starblaydia squad - World Cup 43 Quarter-Finalists |
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1 Westwood | 2 Movalinen | 3 Drakkiborgo | 4 Tze-shu | 5 Kuu | 6 Buckstone | 7 England | 8 Nakamura (c) | 9 Callind | 10 D. Di Bradini | 11 Vegachenko | 12 Samba | 13 Seji | 14 C. Di Bradini | 15 Bekkinha | 16 Mus'haf | 17 Myung-Bo | 18 Oscar | 19 Wilson | 20 Logan | 21 Petropoulos | 22 Na-Me | 23 Kaii'n | Coach: Panarii | ||
