Former Japan defender Naoki Matsuda died on Thursday in hospital after collapsing on the pitch during training two days earlier, his club Matsumoto Yamaga said dpa reported
The club said in a statement on their website that Matsuda died in the early afternoon.
Matsuda, 34, collapsed after a warm-up training run on Tuesday from a suspected heart attack. He did not respond to artificial respiration efforts on the training ground and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in hospital did also not save him.
The right back Matsauda earned 40 Japan caps 2000-2005 highlighted by the home World Cup (co-hosted with South Korea) in 2002. He won three J-league titles with the Yokohama F. Marinos before leaving the club earlier this year after 15 seasons for lower-tier Yamaga