Go Kuroda

Go Kuroda (黒田 剛) is a Japanese professional football manager who is the manager of club Machida Zelvia.

After graduating Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, in 1994 he was hired as an employee of Aomori Yamada High School and coached the school's football team.

The following year, aged 25, he became manager of the team.

Being based in the snowy north of the country, with poor training facilities and having no managerial experience, Kuroda was faced with many challenges at the start of his career.

However, it wasn't too long before he was able to improve the school's team and going forward they appeared in every National High School Soccer Championship since 1997.

In 2000, they advanced to the top four in the high school championships and became the first team from Aomori Prefecture to play at the National Stadium.

In 2005, Kuroda won his first trophy when Aomori Yamada won the National High School Comprehensive Athletic Tournament Soccer Tournament.

Kuroda obtained his JFA certified S-Class coaching license in 2006, allowing him to coach in the J.League.

He continued to build Aomori Yamada into one of the best high school football teams in the country.

In 2009, they finished runners-up in the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, with Kuroda coaching future Japan national team player Gaku Shibasaki.

In 2011 they became part of the reformed Prince Takamado Cup competition, competing alongside the best J.League U-18 teams.

They won the competition in 2016, beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima U-18s in the final on penalties.

They also won the 2016 All Japan High School Soccer Tournament in a convincing 5–0 victory in the final against Maebashi Ikuei.

Their success continued with Kuroda at the helm – they appeared in four of the next five All Japan High School Soccer Tournament finals, winning in both 2018 and 2021.

They also won the Prince Takamodo Cup in 2019 and 2022.

In 2022, after winning the Aomori High School Championship and qualifying for the national tournament for 26 consecutive years, it was announced that Kuroda would be stepping down as manager of the high school team and joining J2 League club FC Machida Zelvia for the 2023 season.

He would be replacing Ranko Popović who finished 15th with the club in the 2022 season.

The season started incredibly well for Kuroda and his new club, winning six and drawing one of his first seven games in charge and taking Machida straight to the top of the league table.

For this, Kuroda won the first J2 Manager of the Month award.

By the end of May, Machida Zelvia were cemented at the top of the table, eight points clear of their nearest challengers and for a month of four wins and two draws, Kuroda was once again awarded the Manager of the Month award.

As well as their dominant league form, they also managed an Emperor's Cup upset, defeating defending J1 League champions Yokohama F. Marinos in a 4–1 third-round match.

In October, the club clinched promotion with a win over Roasso Kumamoto and confirmed their status as league champions in the following week.

Kuroda had won the league in his first season as a professional football manager and would be managing at the highest level in Japanese football in 2024.

Of the club's promotion, Kuroda said "There were many who worried that this team couldn’t win in my first pro year. They took the words of a first-year manager to heart ... and stuck with me without a single complaint. I have nothing but gratitude for the players."

Following promotion, in October 2023 Kuroda renewed his contract with Machida Zelvia for another season.