Yasuhiko Okudera facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 12 March 1952 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kazuno, Akita, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1969 | Sagami Institute of Technology High School | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1970–1977 | Furukawa Electric | 100 | (36) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1980 | 1. FC Köln | 75 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1981 | Hertha BSC | 25 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1986 | Werder Bremen | 159 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Furukawa Electric | 43 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 402 | (73) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1972–1987 | Japan | 32 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | JEF United Ichihara | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Yokohama FC | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||
Yasuhiko Okudera (奥寺 康彦, Okudera Yasuhiko, born 12 March 1952) is a famous Japanese football player and manager. He was a midfielder, a player who helps both attack and defense. Okudera made history as the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe. He was also the first Asian player to score a goal in the European Cup. This happened while he was playing for 1. FC Köln in 1979. He played 32 games for the Japan national team and scored nine goals. Today, he is the president of the J2 League club Yokohama FC. He used to be the president of the English club Plymouth Argyle.
Contents
Playing Career: Yasuhiko Okudera's Journey
Yasuhiko Okudera started his football career in 1970. He played for Furukawa Electric, a team in Japan's top league at the time. In 1976, his team won the 1976 Japan Soccer League and the 1976 Emperor's Cup. Okudera was chosen as one of the best players in the league that year. In May 1977, his team also won the 1977 JSL Cup.
Playing in Germany: A European Pioneer
In the summer of 1977, Okudera's team visited Germany. There, a coach named Hennes Weisweiler from the German club 1. FC Köln noticed his talent. Okudera was offered a contract and joined Köln in July 1977. On October 5, 1977, he played his first game, becoming the first Japanese player to play in a top European football league. That year, Köln won the Bundesliga title, which is Germany's top league.
Okudera scored his first goal for Köln on December 20, 1977. He scored two goals in a big 9–0 win in a cup match. On April 8, 1978, he scored his first goal in the Bundesliga. A very important moment came on April 11, 1979. Okudera scored a goal in a European Cup semi-final match. This made him the first Asian player ever to score in a European Cup game.
Moving to Other German Clubs
After his coach left Köln, Okudera moved to Hertha BSC, a team in Germany's second division. Hertha BSC almost got promoted to the top league but lost a key game against Werder Bremen. Okudera then joined Werder Bremen, who had just been promoted. Their coach, Otto Rehhagel, was impressed by Okudera's skills.
At Werder Bremen, Okudera started playing a new role as an attacking full-back. He helped Bremen finish second in the Bundesliga three times between 1981 and 1986.
Return to Japan and Retirement
In the summer of 1986, Okudera went back to his old club, Furukawa Electric, in Japan. He became one of the first officially professional players in the Japanese league. On December 26, 1986, he scored three goals in a big win in the 1986 Asian Club Championship. He played 234 games and scored 26 goals during his time in Germany. Okudera stopped playing football in 1988.
International Matches for Japan
Yasuhiko Okudera first played for the Japan national team on July 12, 1972. He played in important games like the 1976 Asian Cup qualification and 1978 World Cup qualification until 1977. While he was playing in Germany, he was not chosen for the Japan national team for many years.
In September 1986, when he was 34, he returned to Japan and played for the national team again in the 1986 Asian Games. His last game for Japan was in 1987 during the 1988 Summer Olympics qualification. Overall, he played 32 games for Japan and scored 9 goals.
After Playing: A Leader in Japanese Football
Okudera's return to Japan helped football in his home country become more professional. Before him, most players in Japan were amateurs, meaning they weren't paid just to play football. Only foreign players were usually paid professionals. Okudera was the first Japanese-born professional player in his league.
After the J1 League, Japan's new professional league, started in 1993, Okudera became the president and manager of Furukawa. The club changed its name to JEF United Ichihara. In 1998, he worked with his former Köln teammate Pierre Littbarski to create a new club called Yokohama FC. With Okudera as president, Yokohama FC climbed up from lower leagues. They were promoted to the J1 League in December 2006.
In 2003, Okudera helped with the draw for the qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In 2008, he was made president of the English club Plymouth Argyle. He aimed to help the club become more known around the world, especially in Asia.
Okudera has been recognized for his amazing career. He was chosen for the Japan Football Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2014, he was also inducted into the Asian Football Hall of Fame. In October 2017, he briefly managed Yokohama FC as a caretaker.
Career Statistics: A Look at the Numbers
These tables show how many games Yasuhiko Okudera played and how many goals he scored for different clubs and for his national team.
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Furukawa Electric | 1970 | 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 | ||||||||||
| Total | 100 | 36 | ||||||||||
| 1. FC Köln | 1977–78 | 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 | ||||
| Total | 75 | 15 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 94 | 21 | ||||
| Hertha BSC | 1980–81 | 2. Bundesliga | 25 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 8 | ||||
| Werder Bremen | 1981–82 | 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 | ||||
| Total | 159 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 190 | 12 | ||||
| Furukawa Electric | 1986–87 | JSL Division 1 | 21 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1987–88 | 22 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Total | 43 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Career total | 402 | 73 | ||||||||||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 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 | |
Managerial Statistics
This table shows the teams Yasuhiko Okudera managed, how many games they played, and their wins, draws, and losses.
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| JEF United Ichihara | 1996 | 1996 | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 43.33 |
| Yokohama FC | 2017 | 2017 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Total | 31 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 41.94 | ||
Honors and Achievements
Yasuhiko Okudera won many awards and titles during his career.
Team Honors
Furukawa Electric
- Japan Soccer League: 1976
- Emperor's Cup: 1976
- Japanese Super Cup: 1977
- Asian Club Championship: 1986–87
1. FC Köln
- European Cup Semi-finals: 1978–79
- Bundesliga: 1977–78
- DFB-Pokal: 1977–78; runner-up: 1979–80
Werder Bremen
- Bundesliga runner-up: 1982–83, 1984–85, 1985–86
Japan National Team
- Pestabola Merdeka runner-up: 1976
Individual Awards
- Japan Soccer League Best Eleven: 1976, 1986–87
- Japan Football Hall of Fame: 2012
- Asian Football Hall of Fame: 2014
- IFFHS Asian Men's Team of All Time: 2021
See also
In Spanish: Yasuhiko Okudera para niños
