Matsubara was born in Hamamatsu on August 19, 1974. After graduating from Tokai University Daiichi High School, he moved Uruguay and played for Peñarol in 1993. In 1994, he returned to Japan and joined Júbilo Iwata. He played many matches as substitute forward. He also played for Shimizu S-Pulse in 1996 and JEF United Ichihara in 1997 on loan. After that, he played many clubs in Croatia, Switzerland, Japan and Uruguay.