Koji Tanaka facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Koji Tanaka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | November 2, 1955 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Saitama, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1973 | Saitama Urawa High School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1977 | Meiji University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1988 | NKK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1984 | Japan | 20 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Japan U-20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Shonan Bellmare | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Vegalta Sendai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2020 | Matsue City | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Koji Tanaka (田中 孝司, Tanaka Kōji, born November 2, 1955) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He was a talented Midfielder who played for the Japan national team. After his playing days, he became a successful coach for various teams.
Contents
Koji Tanaka: A Japanese Football Star
Koji Tanaka was born in Saitama, Japan, on November 2, 1955. He loved football from a young age. After finishing his studies at Meiji University, he joined a club called Nippon Kokan in 1978. This club later became known simply as NKK.
Playing for Clubs
During his time with NKK, Koji Tanaka helped his team win some big championships. They won the 1980 JSL Cup and the 1981 Emperor's Cup. These were important victories in Japanese football. From 1985 to 1987, NKK also finished in second place in the Japan Soccer League for three years in a row. They won the 1987 JSL Cup again, showing their strength. Koji Tanaka played for NKK until he retired as a player in 1988.
Representing Japan
Koji Tanaka also had the honor of playing for his country. On July 15, 1982, he played his first game for the Japan national team against Romania. He also played in the 1982 Asian Games. In 1983 and 1984, he took part in the qualifying games for the 1984 Summer Olympics. Overall, he played 20 games for Japan and scored 3 goals before 1984.
Becoming a Coach
After he stopped playing football, Koji Tanaka decided to become a coach. He started coaching at his old club, NKK, in 1989. His coaching career quickly grew.
Leading Young Talent
In 1993, Koji Tanaka became the manager for the Japan U-20 national team. This was a big role, as he was in charge of training young, promising players. He led the U-20 Japan team to the 1995 World Youth Championship. Under his guidance, the team did very well and reached the quarter-finals of the tournament. This was a great achievement for the young Japanese players.
After his success with the U-20 team, Koji Tanaka coached other professional clubs. In 1995, he joined Nagoya Grampus Eight as a coach. He later became their manager in November 1997. He managed the team until April 1999. In 2001, he took over as manager for J2 League club Shonan Bellmare, staying with them until 2002. Later, from 2003 to 2006, he managed Vegalta Sendai. His most recent coaching role was with Matsue City FC, where he was appointed manager in 2016 and stayed until 2020.
More About Koji Tanaka
You can find more information about Koji Tanaka through these links:
- Japan National Football Team Database
- Koji Tanaka at J.League Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
See also
In Spanish: Koji Tanaka para niños
