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FIFA: Men's & Youth: Yasuhiko Okudera: I learnt by playing abroad

/noticias.info/ A new page was written in the history of Japanese football on 22 October 1977. On that day, Yasuhiko Okudera made his first-team debut for FC Cologne in Germany's Bundesliga and, in doing so, blazed a trail for future generations of Japanese footballers. Today, almost three decades on, Okudera took time out from his work as managing director of J-League club Yokohama FC to reflect on his achievements as Japanese football's first notable export.

Making his mark
Back in 1970, when thoughts of a professional football league in Japan were not even a pipe dream, Okudera graduated from high school and joined Furukawa Electric Co Ltd. They were a leading team in Japan's corporate football league and before long he was a key player in the national team. So far so usual for a Japanese footballer of that era, but a trip to Germany in summer 1977 would change everything.

On that tour Hiroshi Ninomiya's Japan players were farmed out to different Bundesliga clubs and it was while training with Cologne that Okudera caught the eye of coach Hennes Weisweiler. He had a reputation for unearthing fresh new talent and liked what he saw in Okudera. The invitation to join Cologne followed but it was not a decision the player could take alone. His family were concerned about him quitting his job, while his employers at Furukawa Electric were troubled by the prospect of losing their best player.

"Japanese football was in a slump," Okudera recalls. "My generation, those around 24 to 26, were considered to be lacking in promise compared to other generations." Eventually, however, the Japan Football Association and Furukawa Electric decided that sending Okudera abroad was in the best interests of the Japanese game and his employers even kept his old job open in case he failed to make the grade in Germany.

Less than three weeks after arriving on German soil, on 5 October 1977 Japan's first professional footballer made his debut in an away game against MSV Duisburg. Cologne did not start well, with Duisburg winning a penalty in the first minute. "I don't remember much about that game but I do remember Harald Schumacher saving that penalty-kick," Okudera reminisces. "I settled down a bit after that."

The same Harald Schumacher, on a visit to Japan in November, recalled his team-mate's subsequent contribution. "I was at Cologne for 16 years but the three years that 'Oku' was with us were the most successful from the team's point of view. He played a big part in us winning the league title and although he wasn't the most technically gifted, his honesty and reliability set him apart as a player."

Harmonising influence
Those virtues were also appreciated by Weisweiler. Okudera remembers: "I was surprised at first at how assertive my team-mates were. I think the coach expected me to bring a harmonising influence, something that would gel a group of self-willed individuals into a team with a strong sense of unity and a common purpose."

For his own part, Okudera had to learn the mentality of the European professional. "The instant I got the ball my team-mates would cry out for a pass and I would always oblige. However, sometimes you need to take it on yourself to show your true worth as a player. That is one of the things I learnt under Weisweiler - you have to look out for number one because no-one else will do it for you." Happily, Okudera was a fast learner. Operating in midfield, he played a significant role as Cologne collected the German league and cup double at the end of his first season.

After the departure of his mentor Weisweiler to New York Cosmos, in 1980 Okudera dropped down a division to join promotion-chasing Hertha BSC Berlin. They missed out on the Bundesliga after losing a vital match to rivals Werder Bremen, but Okudera was more fortunate. Bremen coach Otto Rehhagel had liked what he saw in Okudera when the sides met and duly signed him.

At Bremen, Okudera operated largely on the right side of defence, but Rehhagel, recognising the player's attacking abilities, allowed him ample opportunities to get forward. In five seasons there from 1981/82, Bremen finished second three times and missed out on the title by a whisker in 1985/86. Okudera barely missed a minute of that, his last season, but was denied a championship medal as Bayern Munich pipped Bremen to the title on goal difference.

Bye to the Bundesliga
In summer 1986, fearing that his first-team opportunities would be limited the following campaign, and with concerns over his children's upbringing, Okudera decided it was time to return home. "In hindsight, I often wonder what would have happened if I had stayed one more year, and maybe gone into coaching. But at the time I thought that I was going to have to go home sometime so why not now?" So, after nine years in Germany, he bade the Bundesliga goodbye.

Back in Japan he returned to his roots and Furukawa Electric. But adjusting back to the amateur game was not easy. "I was not a playmaker type, I was the kind of player that needed the players around me to play well in order for me to raise my game. When my team-mates were amateur level I was never able to fulfill my potential on the pitch." By 1988 he was retired.

Following the advent of the J-League, Okudera served as both general manager and head coach at JEF United before accepting the invitation from Pierre Littbarski, his former Cologne team-mate and then coach at Yokohama, to become the club's general manager. According to Okudera, the central concern for Japanese football today is developing young talents. "There are plenty of kids with good all-round technical ability, but the number with a specific talent that just knocks you for six are thin on the ground. It is often said that Japan lack a top-class striker but it is the job of the coaching staff to look at each player, determine their strengths and concentrate on improving those strengths."

As for Japan's prospects at Germany 2006, Okudera is hopeful of good things - and is looking to the team's star names to shine. "The current squad is based around the foreign-based players like (Hidetoshi) Nakata and (Shinji) Ono. The domestic game is still very different; there are many lessons that can only be learned by playing abroad." Okudera, Japanese football's first pioneer, would know this as well as anyone. notas_de_prensa_archivo