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Kazuo Echigo
越後 和男
Personal information
Full name Kazuo Echigo
Date of birth (1965-12-28) December 28, 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Mie District, Mie, Japan
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7+12 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1981–1983 Yokkaichi Chuo Technical High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1995 JEF United Ichihara 174 (27)
1996–1999 Vegalta Sendai 84 (13)
Total 258 (40)
National team
1986–1987 Japan 6 (1)
Teams managed
2017–2018 Mynavi Vegalta Sendai Ladies
2019–2022 Chinese Taipei Women
Honours
JEF United Ichihara
Winner Japan Soccer League 1985/86
Winner JSL Cup 1986
Runner-up JSL Cup 1990
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1984
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Kazuo Echigo (越後 和男, Echigo Kazuo, born December 28, 1965) is a Japanese football legend. He used to play and coach football. He even played for Japan's national team!

Playing for Clubs

Kazuo Echigo was born in Mie, Japan, on December 28, 1965. After high school, he joined a football club called Furukawa Electric in 1984. This club later became known as JEF United Ichihara.

His team won the Japan Soccer League in the 1985–86 season. They also won the JSL Cup in 1986. Even better, they won the Asian Club Championship in 1986! This was a huge deal because they were the first Japanese team to ever win this big Asian tournament.

In 1995, Kazuo moved to another team called Brummell Sendai. This team also changed its name later to Vegalta Sendai. He played there until 1999, when he decided to stop playing professional football.

Playing for Japan's National Team

Kazuo Echigo made his first appearance for the Japan national football team on July 25, 1986. This was in a game against Syria. He also played for Japan at the 1986 Asian Games, which is a big sports event for countries in Asia.

In 1987, he was chosen to play for Japan in the games that would decide who went to the 1988 Summer Olympics. Overall, he played 6 games for Japan's national team and scored 1 goal.

Becoming a Coach

After he stopped playing football, Kazuo Echigo started a new career as a coach. In 2000, he began coaching at Vegalta Sendai, one of his old clubs. He worked there as a coach until 2004.

In 2007, he joined JEF United Chiba, another former club. There, he became the manager for their reserve team. This means he coached the players who were not on the main team but were still developing their skills.

In 2011, he went back to Vegalta Sendai. This time, he coached their youth team, helping young players learn and grow.

Later, in 2017, he became the manager for the Mynavi Vegalta Sendai Ladies, a women's football team. In his first year, the team finished in 4th place. However, in 2018, the team had a tough season. They won only one game out of nine, and he decided to leave in June.

On January 19, 2019, Kazuo Echigo was chosen to manage the Chinese Taipei women's national football team. He almost led them to qualify for the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, which would have been their first time in the World Cup since 1991.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Kazuo Echigo para niños

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