Nozomu Kato

Nozomu Kato (加藤 望, Katō Nozomu, born October 7, 1969) is a former Japanese football player and manager.

Kato was born in Miyagi Prefecture on October 7, 1969. After graduating from Tokai University, he joined Japan Football League club Hitachi (later Kashiwa Reysol) in 1992. He became a regular player as offensive midfielder from 1994. He also played as forward not only midfielder. The club also won the 2nd place in 1994 and was promoted to J1 League from 1995. The club won the champions 1999 J.League Cup. Although he played as regular player for a long time, his opportunity to play decreased from 2002. In 2005, he moved to J2 League club Shonan Bellmare. He played as regular player in 4 seasons and retired end of 2008 season at the age of 39.

After retirement, Kato started coaching career at Shonan Bellmare in 2009. He served as coach for top team (2009–10) and manager for youth team (2011–12). In 2013, he became a manager for Sanno Institute of Management and managed until 2017. In 2018, he moved to Kashiwa Reysol which he first played. He became a coach under the manager Takahiro Shimotaira who Kato's teammate when Kato played for Reysol. However Shimotaira was sacked for poor results in May and Kato became a new manager. However Kato could not rise the club and he was sacked in November.