On 6 June 2009, Japan players celebrate qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa with head coach Takeshi Okada after winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Final round Group 1 match between Uzbekistan 0-1 Japan at Pakhtakor Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
After retirement, Okada started his coaching career atFurukawa Electric (laterJEF United Ichihara) in 1990. In 1995, he became a coach for theJapan national team. During the1998 World Cup qualification Final round in October 1997, Japan's managerShu Kamo was sacked and Okada was named his successor. In November, Okada led Japan to qualify for the1998 World Cup for the first time in Japan's history. At the 1998 World Cup, Japan lost all 3 matches and he resigned after the World Cup.
In 1999, Okada signed withJ2 League clubConsadole Sapporo. In2000, he led the club to win the J2 League and promoted the club to theJ1 League. He resigned at the end of the 2001 season. In 2003, he signed withYokohama F. Marinos. The club won the league title and he was also awarded Best Manager for 2 years in a row in2003 and2004. From 2005, the club performance was sluggish and he resigned in August 2006.
In November 2007,Japan national team managerIvica Osim suffered acerebral infarction. In December, Okada was named a new manager for Japan. In 2008, he selected numerous new young players, includingAtsuto Uchida,Shinji Kagawa,Yuto Nagatomo,Keisuke Honda,Shinji Okazaki and many others. In 2009, Japan qualified for the2010 World Cup. Okada gained worldwide attention for leading Japan to ninth-place finish in the 2010 World Cup. He was commended for turning his Japanese team of young, inexperienced players into a slick passing, talented squad of youngsters.[2] He resigned after the2010 World Cup. In November, he was awarded AFC Coach of the Year.[citation needed]
Okada signed a contract withChinese Super League sideHangzhou Greentown on 14 December 2011.[3] He extended his contract for two years in the end of 2012 season. However, he resigned from Hangzhou on 5 November 2013.[4]
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