Yasuhiko Okudera
Encyclopedia
is a former Japan
ese footballer
who is currently the president of J. League
Division 2 club Yokohama FC
and was formerly the president of English club Plymouth Argyle
. Okudera was the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, as well as being the first Asian football player to score in the European Cup, in the semi-final match against Nottingham Forest F.C.
and made 32 appearances – scoring 9 goals – with the Japanese national team
.
, the top flight league in Japan at the time. In the summer of 1977, during the team's trip to Germany
, he was spotted by Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln
manager Hennes Weisweiler
. 1. FC Köln made a contract offer. Okudera made his debut on October 5, 1977, becoming the first Japanese player to play top flight football in Europe, and Köln won the Bundesliga title that year.
After Weisweiler left Cologne during the 1980/81, Okudera joined second division Hertha BSC. Although Hertha missed promotion to the first division, he joined the newly promoted Werder Bremen, whose coach Otto Rehhagel
saw his play when the two sides met and offered a contract. Between 1981/82 and 1985/86, Bremen finished second in the league three times.
In the summer of 1986, Okudera returned to his old Japanese club, Furukuwa Electric and became one of the first recognized professional players in JSL. He ended his German career with 234 appearances and 26 goals. He retired as a player in 1988.
After the J. League
started play in 1993, he served as the president and manager of Furukawa, which had become JEF United Ichihara (now JEF United Ichihara Chiba
) with limited success. In 1998, he joined his Köln teammate Pierre Littbarski
and helped form Yokohama F.C.. With Okudera as president and Littbarski the manager, Yokohama climbed up the ranks from the lower-tier Japan Football League
and promoted to the J. League's first division in December 2006.
On December 5, 2003, Okudera and former South Korean star Cha Bum-Kun
were the Asian representatives at the preliminary draw, which determined the groupings for the qualifying matches
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
.
On June 20, 2008, Okudera was appointed President of the Football League Championship
side Plymouth Argyle
tasked with playing a global ambassador role and further strengthening the club's profile in Asia. Since this appointment Argyle have suffered a relegation and serious financial difficulties. Okudera was replaced in his role by former Fans Trust leader Chris Webb, who had played a key part in rescuing Argyle from liquidation.
|1970
||rowspan="8"|Furukawa Electric
||rowspan="8"|JSL Division 1
||7||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|1971
||9||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1972
||8||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1973
||18||6||||||||||||||||
|-
|1974
||18||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1975
||18||9||||||||||||||||
|-
|1976
||18||8||||||||||||||||
|-
|1977
||4||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1977–78||rowspan="4"|Köln
||rowspan="4"|Bundesliga
||20||4||4||2||||||||||24||6
|-
|1978–79||24||5||3||1||||||2||1||29||7
|-
|1979–80||30||6||8||1||||||||||38||7
|-
|1980–81||1||0||1||0||||||1||1||3||1
|-
|1980–81
||Hertha BSC||2. Bundesliga
||25||8||4||0||||||||||29||8
|-
|1981–82||rowspan="5"|Werder Bremen
||rowspan="5"|Bundesliga
||30||2||4||0||||||||||34||2
|-
|1982–83||34||4||2||0||||||6||1||42||5
|-
|1983–84||29||1||4||0||||||4||0||37||1
|-
|1984–85||33||3||4||0||||||2||0||39||3
|-
|1985–86||33||1||3||0||||||2||0||38||1
|-
|1986–87
||rowspan="2"|Furukawa Electric
||rowspan="2"|JSL Division 1
||21||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987–88
||22||1||||||||||||||||
143||39||||||||||||||||
259||34||37||4||||||17||3||313||41
402||73||||||||||||||||
|-
|1972||6||1
|-
|1973||0||0
|-
|1974||0||0
|-
|1975||5||0
|-
|1976||8||7
|-
|1977||4||0
|-
|1978||0||0
|-
|1979||0||0
|-
|1980||0||0
|-
|1981||0||0
|-
|1982||0||0
|-
|1983||0||0
|-
|1984||0||0
|-
|1985||0||0
|-
|1986||4||0
|-
|1987||5||1
|-
!Total||32||9
|}
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who is currently the president of J. League
J. League
The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...
Division 2 club Yokohama FC
Yokohama FC
are a Japanese football club based in the city of Yokohama.-History:The club was formed in 1999, following the merger of the city's two J. League clubs, Yokohama Flügels and Yokohama Marinos the previous year. Flügels supporters, whose club was essentially dissolved, rejected the suggestion that...
and was formerly the president of English club Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
. Okudera was the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, as well as being the first Asian football player to score in the European Cup, in the semi-final match against Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
and made 32 appearances – scoring 9 goals – with the Japanese national team
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
.
Playing career
Okudera began his playing career in 1970 as an employee of Furukawa Electric Co Ltd., whose soccer team played in the corporate Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
, the top flight league in Japan at the time. In the summer of 1977, during the team's trip to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, he was spotted by Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07....
manager Hennes Weisweiler
Hennes Weisweiler
Hans "Hennes" Weisweiler was a German football player and coach....
. 1. FC Köln made a contract offer. Okudera made his debut on October 5, 1977, becoming the first Japanese player to play top flight football in Europe, and Köln won the Bundesliga title that year.
After Weisweiler left Cologne during the 1980/81, Okudera joined second division Hertha BSC. Although Hertha missed promotion to the first division, he joined the newly promoted Werder Bremen, whose coach Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel is a German football coach and former football player. Along with Helmut Schön, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Udo Lattek and Hennes Weisweiler, he is considered one of the most successful German managers....
saw his play when the two sides met and offered a contract. Between 1981/82 and 1985/86, Bremen finished second in the league three times.
In the summer of 1986, Okudera returned to his old Japanese club, Furukuwa Electric and became one of the first recognized professional players in JSL. He ended his German career with 234 appearances and 26 goals. He retired as a player in 1988.
Off the pitch
Okudera's return home spurred the professionalization of the Japanese game, which had been stuck in amateur play for decades. He was the first native-born professional player in his home league, as before only foreigners (usually Brazilians) were paid strictly to play football by the companies.After the J. League
J. League
The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...
started play in 1993, he served as the president and manager of Furukawa, which had become JEF United Ichihara (now JEF United Ichihara Chiba
JEF United Ichihara Chiba
is a Japanese professional football club that plays in J. League Division 2. On February 1, 2005, the club changed its name from JEF United Ichihara to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as its hometown in 2003. The club name, JEF -taken from JR East and Furukawa Electric-...
) with limited success. In 1998, he joined his Köln teammate Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Michael Littbarski is a German football manager and former player. He was mainly a winger or attacking midfielder and is best known for his brilliant dribbling abilities. He was a FIFA World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990. He was also runner–up twice in 1982 and 1986 with West Germany...
and helped form Yokohama F.C.. With Okudera as president and Littbarski the manager, Yokohama climbed up the ranks from the lower-tier Japan Football League
Japan Football League
The is the 3rd tier of the Japanese association football league system, following J. League Division 1 and J. League Division 2. Also known as the JFL, it is generally considered as the top amateur league in Japan although in reality it is a semi-professional league as many full-time footballers...
and promoted to the J. League's first division in December 2006.
On December 5, 2003, Okudera and former South Korean star Cha Bum-Kun
Cha Bum-Kun
Cha Bum-Kun is a South Korean football manager and former player, nicknamed Tscha Bum in Germany because of his name and his thunderous ball striking ability. In South Korea, Cha is greatly respected for his accomplishments in the Bundesliga and the South Korean national team...
were the Asian representatives at the preliminary draw, which determined the groupings for the qualifying matches
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
.
On June 20, 2008, Okudera was appointed President of the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
side Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
tasked with playing a global ambassador role and further strengthening the club's profile in Asia. Since this appointment Argyle have suffered a relegation and serious financial difficulties. Okudera was replaced in his role by former Fans Trust leader Chris Webb, who had played a key part in rescuing Argyle from liquidation.
Career statistics
|-|1970
Japan Soccer League 1970
-Japan Soccer League:-Promotion/Relegation Series:No relegations.- Team of the Year :...
||rowspan="8"|Furukawa Electric
JEF United Ichihara Chiba
is a Japanese professional football club that plays in J. League Division 2. On February 1, 2005, the club changed its name from JEF United Ichihara to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as its hometown in 2003. The club name, JEF -taken from JR East and Furukawa Electric-...
||rowspan="8"|JSL Division 1
Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
||7||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|1971
Japan Soccer League 1971
- Japan Soccer League :- Promotion/Relegation Series :Nagoya Mutual Bank lost its place in the League for a second time, this time to Towa Real Estate, which would become one of the biggest names in Japanese football as Fujita Engineering and Bellmare Hiratsuka, currently known as Shonan...
||9||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1972
Japan Soccer League 1972
The 1972 season in Japanese football introduced a Second Division to the Japan Soccer League. 9 clubs were chosen from the Japanese Regional Leagues from the previous season, but as Nagoya Mutual Bank resigned from the League, a tenth club was chosen from the Kansai League.-JSL First Division:No...
||8||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1973
Japan Soccer League 1973
-JSL First Division:-JSL 1/2 Promotion/Relegation Series:Eidai promoted, Tanabe relegated.-JSL Second Division:-JSL Promotion/Relegation Series:...
||18||6||||||||||||||||
|-
|1974
Japan Soccer League 1974
- First Division :- Promotion/Relegation Series :No relegations.- Second Division :- JSL Promotion/Relegation Series :Honda promoted, Hitachi Ibaraki relegated.-All-Star Game:-References:...
||18||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1975
Japan Soccer League 1975
- First Division :Towa Real Estate was renamed Fujita Industries when the latter absorbed its subsidiary.- Promotion/Relegation Series :No relegations.-Second Division:- JSL Promotion/Relegation Series :...
||18||9||||||||||||||||
|-
|1976
Japan Soccer League 1976
- First Division :- Promotion/Relegation Series :No relegations. As Eidai Sangyo dissolved the club and withdrew from the league in March 1977, Fujitsu was promoted anyway.- Second Division :- JSL Promotion/Relegation Series :...
||18||8||||||||||||||||
|-
|1977
Japan Soccer League 1977
Statistics of Japan Soccer League in season 1977. This was the inaugural season of the Regional Promotion Series, which replaced the Senior Cup as the source of the clubs promoted from the regional Japanese football leagues.-First Division:...
||4||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1977–78||rowspan="4"|Köln
1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07....
||rowspan="4"|Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
||20||4||4||2||||||||||24||6
|-
|1978–79||24||5||3||1||||||2||1||29||7
|-
|1979–80||30||6||8||1||||||||||38||7
|-
|1980–81||1||0||1||0||||||1||1||3||1
|-
|1980–81
Second Fußball-Bundesliga 1980-81
This was the final season of the original two region 2.Bundesliga, as the DFB sought to integrate the North and South divisions into a single division for the next campaign. This meant 22 teams faced the drop to the Oberliga...
||Hertha BSC||2. Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
||25||8||4||0||||||||||29||8
|-
|1981–82||rowspan="5"|Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
||rowspan="5"|Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
||30||2||4||0||||||||||34||2
|-
|1982–83||34||4||2||0||||||6||1||42||5
|-
|1983–84||29||1||4||0||||||4||0||37||1
|-
|1984–85||33||3||4||0||||||2||0||39||3
|-
|1985–86||33||1||3||0||||||2||0||38||1
|-
|1986–87
Japan Soccer League 1986-87
-First Division:Despite moving to Kashiwa, Chiba and a soccer-specific stadium of their own, Hitachi did not adjust well and were relegated in bottom place, the first drop for the former champions...
||rowspan="2"|Furukawa Electric
JEF United Ichihara Chiba
is a Japanese professional football club that plays in J. League Division 2. On February 1, 2005, the club changed its name from JEF United Ichihara to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as its hometown in 2003. The club name, JEF -taken from JR East and Furukawa Electric-...
||rowspan="2"|JSL Division 1
Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
||21||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987–88
Japan Soccer League 1987-88
-First Division:-East:-West:-Promotion Group:-East:-West:-9th-16th Places Playoff:-References:*...
||22||1||||||||||||||||
143||39||||||||||||||||
259||34||37||4||||||17||3||313||41
402||73||||||||||||||||
|-
|1972||6||1
|-
|1973||0||0
|-
|1974||0||0
|-
|1975||5||0
|-
|1976||8||7
|-
|1977||4||0
|-
|1978||0||0
|-
|1979||0||0
|-
|1980||0||0
|-
|1981||0||0
|-
|1982||0||0
|-
|1983||0||0
|-
|1984||0||0
|-
|1985||0||0
|-
|1986||4||0
|-
|1987||5||1
|-
!Total||32||9
|}
Team Honors
- Japan Soccer LeagueJapan Soccer League, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
Champions: 1976, 1985-86 - Emperor's CupEmperor's Cup, commonly known as or , is a Japanese association football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J. League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, Japan Soccer League...
Champions: 1976 - Japanese Super CupJapanese Super CupThe Japanese Super Cup or is an annual one-match football competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association . This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the J. League Champions and the Emperor's Cup Winners of the previous season...
Champions: 1977 - BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
Champions: 1977–78Fußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga... - DFB-PokalDFB-PokalThe DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
Champions: 1977–78 - UEFA Champions CupUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
Semi-finals: 1978–79 - BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
Runners-up: 1982–83Fußball-Bundesliga 1982/83-League table:-Relegation/Promotion play-off:FC Schalke 04 and third-placed 2. Bundesliga team Bayer 05 Uerdingen had to compete in a two-legged relegation/promotion play-off... - BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
Runners-up: 1984–85Fußball-Bundesliga 1984/85Waldhof Mannheim played their matches in nearby Ludwigshafen because their own ground did not fulfil Bundesliga requirements.-League table:-Relegation/Promotion play-off:... - BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
Runners-up: 1985–86Fußball-Bundesliga 1985/86Waldhof Mannheim played their matches in nearby Ludwigshafen because their own ground did not fulfil Bundesliga requirements.-League table:-Relegation/Promotion play-off:... - DFB-PokalDFB-PokalThe DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
Runners-up: 1979–80 - Asian Club ChampionshipAFC Champions LeagueThe AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
Champions: 1986–87Asian Club Championship 1986-87The Asian Club Championship 1986-87 was the 6th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation. Several Asian clubs started the qualifying round in Fall of 1986...
External links
- interview with Okudera on FIFAFIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
's official site. - Celebrity presenters to assist in Preliminary Draw, December 5, 2003
- Yasuhiko Okudera – Fussballdaten