 Okano in 1953 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shunichiro Okano | ||
| Date of birth | (1931-08-28)August 28, 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Taito,Tokyo,Empire of Japan | ||
| Date of death | February 2, 2017(2017-02-02) (aged 85) | ||
| Place of death | Tokyo, Japan | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1947–1949 | Koishikawa Secondary Education School | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1950–1957 | University of Tokyo | ||
| International career | |||
| 1955 | Japan | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1961 | Japan U-20 | ||
| 1970–1971 | Japan | ||
Shunichiro Okano (岡野 俊一郎,Okano Shunichiro; 28 August 1931 – 2 February 2017) was a Japanesefootball player and manager. He played forJapan national team as aforward. He also managed Japan's national team.
Okano coached theJapan national team from 1961 to 1971, becoming the manager for the 1970-1971 season.[1] From 1998 to 2002 he served as the president of theJapan Football Association. Okano was a member of theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1990 to 2012, becoming an honorary member in 2012.[2]
Okano was born inTaito, Tokyo on August 28, 1931.[2] His parents ran a well-established confectionery shop in Tokyo’sUeno district. During the war his family escaped from the American air raids toGunma Prefecture, but Okano stayed to attend a high school. In April 1949 he enrolled to theUniversity of Tokyo and joined a football club there.[3] In 1953 his team won the first national university championships. In 1955, he was selectedJapan national team. He played 2 games for Japan in 1955.[4]
In March 1957, Okano graduated in psychology from the Faculty of Letters, and in early 1961 spent three months in West Germany to train as a football coach. Upon return he was appointed as aJapan national team coach under managerKen Naganuma, he also served as an interpreter for German coachDettmar Cramer. In1968 Summer Olympics, Japan won the bronze medals. In 2018, this team was selectedJapan Football Hall of Fame. In 1970, he was promoted to the manager as successor Naganuma. He managed at1970 Asian Games. However, at1972 Summer Olympics qualification in 1971, following Japan's failure to qualify for1972 Summer Olympics, Okano resigned.
In October 1974 he joined theJapan Football Association (JFA). Soon after that he became executive director of theJapanese Olympic Committee (JOC); in 1977 he was appointed as its general secretary and in 1989 as its executive director. In September 1990 he became a member of the IOC, and in 1995 of the FIFA Olympic Tournaments' Organizing Committee.[5] He also served as 9th president of JFA (1998-2002) and 1st president ofEast Asian Football Federation (2004-2006).
In 2005, Okano was selectedJapan Football Hall of Fame. Okano died fromlung cancer on 2 February 2017 at aTokyo hospital. He was 85.[6]
| Japan national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1955 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
