Koji Funamoto facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Koji Funamoto | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | August 12, 1942 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Empire of Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958–1960 | Hiroshima University High School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1961–1975 | Toyo Industries | 166 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 166 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1975 | Japan | 19 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Honours
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Koji Funamoto (船本 幸路, Funamoto Koji, born August 12, 1942) is a former Japanese football player. He was a talented goalkeeper who played for the Japan national team.
Contents
Early Football Days
Koji Funamoto was born in Hiroshima, Japan, on August 12, 1942. He started his football journey playing for Hiroshima University High School from 1958 to 1960. He was part of a famous group of players from his school.
In 1959, Koji and his teammates, including Aritatsu Ogi and Yasuyuki Kuwahara, helped their school team achieve second place in the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament. The next year, in 1960, they reached the quarterfinals of the same tournament. Koji went straight into club football after high school. Some of his teammates, like Ogi and Kuwahara, played college football before joining him later at the same club.
Playing for Toyo Industries
Koji Funamoto joined the Toyo Industries football club in 1961. Even before the main league started, Toyo Industries showed great promise. They won the football tournament at the National Sports Festival of Japan in 1962. They also reached the semifinals of the Emperor's Cup in 1961 and 1962. Koji was their goalkeeper during these successful years.
In 1965, a new national football league was created in Japan called the Japan Soccer League (JSL). Toyo Industries was one of the first clubs to join this league. Koji Funamoto stayed with the club for 11 seasons in the JSL. He played in every single league match, totaling 166 games, until he retired in 1975.
With Koji Funamoto and his former high school friends, Toyo Industries became a very strong team. They won the JSL championship five times in the first six years. These wins were in 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1970. They also finished second once in 1969.
The club also won the Emperor's Cup three times during this period (1965, 1967, 1969). In 1969, they finished third in the Asian Club Championship. As a goalkeeper, Koji was very important to Toyo's early success. He was named the best goalkeeper in the JSL in 1970.
Playing for Japan
In September 1967, Koji Funamoto was chosen to play for the Japan national football team. His first game was on September 27 against the Philippines. This was during the qualification matches for the 1968 Summer Olympics.
From 1967 to 1975, Koji shared goalkeeping duties with another famous player, Kenzo Yokoyama. Koji played in 19 matches for Japan. He started 17 of these games and came on as a substitute in two. He managed to prevent opponents from scoring in 5 of his games. During his time, the Japan team won 9 games, lost 8, and drew 2.
He played in several important international tournaments. These included the Pestabola Merdeka (in 1970, 1972, 1975) and the Asian Games (in 1970). He also played in qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup (1975), Olympic Games (1967), and FIFA World Cup (1969, 1973).
Life After Playing Football
Koji Funamoto stopped playing football after the 1975 season. He had played for Toyo Industries for 15 years. After retiring as a player, he became a goalkeeper coach for Toyo Industries from 1975 to 1980. He also coached the goalkeepers for the Japan national football team from 1979 to 1980.
Later, he taught at the Mazda soccer school for many years, from 1981 to 2007. Some of the players he coached became successful, like Kenichi Uemura. Koji also worked in the business office at Mazda until he fully retired.
After his full retirement, he continued to be involved in football. He worked as a match commissioner for the J.League until 2007. From 2008, he became a commissioner for the Japan Football League. Today, Koji Funamoto enjoys his retirement in Hiroshima City. He likes playing golf with friends, gardening, and watching football with his family.
Awards
- Japan Soccer League Best Eleven: 1970
See also
In Spanish: Koji Funamoto para niños
