KAWASAKI — If Japanese soccer has been on a journey since the J. League began in 1993, no one has racked up more miles than Junichi Inamoto.
Inamoto emerged as one of the leading lights of a new generation in the late '90s, making his name as a dynamic midfielder with Gamba Osaka before forcing his way into the national team at 20 and blazing a trail with a move to Arsenal in 2001.
But if Inamoto's career began with a flash and a bang, it has long since become a slow-burner. The Kagoshima Prefecture native joined Fulham after just one fruitless season at Highbury, and barely stopped to unpack as he embarked on a wandering tour of Europe taking in seven clubs in four different countries.