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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1952-03-12)12 March 1952 (age 73)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kazuno, Akita, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | 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[2] | Japan | 32 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | JEF United Ichihara | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Yokohama FC | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Yasuhiko Okudera (奥寺 康彦,Okudera Yasuhiko; born 12 March 1952) is a Japanese formerfootball player and manager. He is the president ofJ2 League clubYokohama FC and was formerly the president of English clubPlymouth Argyle. Amidfielder, Okudera was the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe,[3] as well as being the first Asian football player to score in theEuropean Cup, while playing for1. FC Köln in the 1979 semi-final match againstNottingham Forest and made 32 appearances – scoring nine goals – with theJapan national team.
Okudera began his playing career in 1970 as an employee ofFurukawa Electric, whose soccer team played in the corporateJapan Soccer League, the top flight league in Japan at the time.[4] In 1976, the club won the1976 Japan Soccer League and1976 Emperor's Cup and he was selected Best Eleven. In May 1977, the club also won1977 JSL Cup.
In the summer of 1977, during the team's trip to Germany, he was spotted by coachHennes Weisweiler ofBundesliga club1. FC Köln.[4] After being offered a contract by Köln[4] he joined the club in July 1977.[5] Okudera made his debut on 5 October 1977, becoming the first Japanese player to play top flight football in Europe, and Köln won the Bundesliga title that year.[4] On 20 December, he scored his first goal for Köln also achieving a brace in a 9–0 victory overSchwarz-Weiß Essen in the Quarter-final of theDFB-Pokal.[6] On 8 April 1978, he scored his first goal in the Bundesliga in a 2–0 win against1. FC Kaiserslautern.[7] On 11 April 1979, Okudera scored a goal in a 3–3 draw againstNottingham Forest F.C. in the first leg of the semi-finals of theEuropean Cup and he became the first Asian player to score in a European Cup match.[8]
After Weisweiler left Cologne during the 1980–81 season, Okudera joined second divisionHertha BSC. Hertha missed promotion to the first division losing a decisive match againstWerder Bremen.[4] He then joined the newly promotedWerder Bremen, whose coachOtto Rehhagel saw his play when the two sides met and offered a contract.[4] Under Rehhagel, he started playing as an attackingfull-back instead of as awinger and finished second in the league three times between 1981–82 and 1985–86 with Bremen.[4][5]
In the summer of 1986, Okudera returned to his old Japanese club,Furukuwa Electric and became one of the first recognized professional players in JSL. On 26 December 1986, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–3 win overAl Hilal in the final round of theAsian Club Championship.[9] He ended his German career with 234 appearances and 26 goals. He retired as a player in 1988.
On 12 July 1972, Okudera debuted forJapan national team againstKhmer. He played at1976 Asian Cup qualification and1978 World Cup qualification until 1977. While he played in Germany, he was not selected Japan national team from 1977 to 1986. In September 1986, when he was 34 years old, he returned to Japan and was selected Japan for1986 Asian Games. In 1987, he also played at1988 Summer Olympics qualification. This qualification was his last game for Japan. He played 32 games and scored 9 goals for Japan until 1987.[10]
Okudera's return home spurred the professionalization of the Japanese game, which had been stuck inamateur play for decades. He was the first native-born professional player in his home league, as before only foreigners (usually Brazilians) were paid strictly to play football by the companies.
After theJ1 League started play in 1993, he served as the president and manager of Furukawa, which had becomeJEF United Ichihara with limited success. In 1998, he joined his Köln teammatePierre Littbarski and helped formYokohama FC. With Okudera as president and Littbarski the manager, Yokohama climbed up the ranks from the lower-tierJapan Football League and promoted to theJ1 League in December 2006.
On 5 December 2003, Okudera and former South Korean starCha Bum-kun were the Asian representatives at the preliminary draw, which determined the groupings for thequalifying matches for the2006 World Cup.
On 20 June 2008, Okudera was appointed President of theFootball League Championship sidePlymouth Argyle tasked with playing a global ambassador role and further strengthening the club's profile in Asia. Since this appointment Argyle have suffered a relegation and serious financial difficulties. Okudera was replaced in his role by former Fans Trust leader Chris Webb, who had played a key part in rescuing Argyle from liquidation.[11]
Okudera was selectedJapan Football Hall of Fame in 2012 andAsian Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
In October 2017,Yokohama FC managerHitoshi Nakata was sacked, Okudera managed the club as caretaker.
| 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 | ||||||||||
| 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 | |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| JEF United Ichihara | 1996 | 1996 | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 043.33 |
| Yokohama FC | 2017 | 2017 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 000.00 |
| Total | 31 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 041.94 | ||
Furukawa Electric
1. FC Köln
Werder Bremen
Japan
Individual
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
