Norihiro Yamagishi, better known as “Gishi” or “The Guardian”, has been a goalkeeper for the Urawa Red Diamonds for his entire career beginning in 2001 where he continues to play today. He has received six awards and honors with the Urawa Red Diamonds with the last being received in 2007.
Yamagishi was born in Saitama, Japan in 1978. His youth career in soccer began at Kumagaya High School in 1994. In 1997, he began playing for Chukyo University before finally joining the Urawa Reds in 2001 at age 23. However, his debut appearance was nearly a year later on March 16th, 2002 against the Shimizu S-Pulse. That year, the Urawa Reds were the runners-up in the Junior League Cup, otherwise known as the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, and were 11th in the league. In 2003, the Urawa Reds won the Junior League Cup 4-0 and rose to 6th in the league. This was the first Junior League Cup the Reds had won.
2005 was a very successful season for the Urawa Red Diamonds. They finished the season second in the league, followed by their their winning the Emperor’s Cup and being accepted to the Asian Champion League. Yamagishi made three appearances during the Emperor’s Cup and only one appearance during the Junior League Cup. In 2006 another victory in the Emperor’s Cup brought the Reds to first in the league, although Yamagishi, along with several other key players, was not present for this victory. He did however play in the 2006 Junior League Cup, and the Urawa Reds came away from this competition as champions.
In 2007, the Urawa Reds won the AFC Championship against Iran’s Sepahan club. However, Yamagishi did not play during this competition. He played during the 2008 AFC Championship, where the Urawa Reds were the defending champions. The Urawa Reds made it to the semi-finals, but lost to Gamba Osaka, the team which went on to win the AFC Championship.
Ten years after joining the Urawa Red Diamonds, Norihiro Yamagishi is the oldest of the three goalkeepers playing for the Urawa Reds and is the second-eldest player on the squad. Yamagishi is generally the choice goalkeeper for the first half of a match, and his career has been much more active during the past few years, with 34 league appearances in 2010. Yamagishi has been part of the Urawa Reds during some of their peak years and continues to be a valuable goalkeeper for the team.