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Kunishige Kamamoto

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Kunishige Kamamoto
釜本 邦茂
Kamamoto in 2014
Personal information
Full name Kunishige Kamamoto
Date of birth (1944-04-15) 15 April 1944 (age 80)
Place of birth Kyoto, Japan
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1960–1962 Yamashiro High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1963–1966 Waseda University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1967–1984 Yanmar Diesel 251 (202)
Total 251 (202)
International career
1964–1977 Japan 76[1] (75)
1964 Japan U23 10[2] (8)
Managerial career
1978–1984 Yanmar Diesel
1991–1994 Gamba Osaka
2009–2010 Fujieda MYFC
Medal record
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1968 Mexico City Team
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 1966 Bangkok Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kunishige Kamamoto (釜本 邦茂, Kamamoto Kunishige, born 15 April 1944) is a former Japanese football player, manager, and politician. He won the bronze medal with the Japan national team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals,[3] and is the all-time leading goalscorer for Japan.[4]

Kamamoto served as the Vice-President of the Japan Football Association from July 1998 to July 2008. In 2005, he was inducted in the Japan Football Hall of Fame.

He also served as a member of the House of Councillors between 1995 and 2001.

Early life

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Kamamoto was born in Kyoto on 15 April 1944. He grew up in Kyoto and attended Yamashiro High School. Then, he joined the Waseda University School of Commerce. For four years in a row, he was the top scorer in the Kanto university league. He won the 1963 and the 1966 Emperor's Cup while he was at Waseda University. This was the last time a university team won the Emperor's Cup. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in Commerce from Waseda University in 1966.

Club career

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After graduating, Kamamoto joined the Japan Soccer League club Yanmar Diesel in 1967 (currently known as Cerezo Osaka). He played all league games as from his first season. In 1968, he became the top scorer in the Japan Soccer League. Yanmar Diesel won their 1st title, the 1968 Emperor's Cup, with Kamamoto's winning goal in the final. The club also won the 1970 Emperor's Cup. In 1971, for the first time, the club became league champions and Kamamoto became the top scorer for a second time. Between 1974 and 1975, Yanmar Diesel won the league for two years in a row and also won the 1974 Emperor's Cup. In 1978, Kamamoto became a player manager. The club was league champions in 1980. In 1982, Kamamoto ruptured his Achilles tendon twice and, in 1984, when he was 40 years old, he retired. All in all, Kamamoto was top scorer seven times and was selected in the best eleven fourteen times. He was also selected as Japanese Footballer of the Year seven times.

National team career

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On 3 March 1964, when Kamamoto was a Waseda University student, he debuted and scored a goal for the Japan national team against the Singapore national football team.[5] In October, he was selected by Japan for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He played in all matches and scored one goal.

In 1968, Kamamoto was also selected by Japan for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where Japan won the Bronze Medal and Kamamoto was the top scorer. He played in all matches for his country and scored seven goals. In 2018, this team was inducted to the Japan Football Hall of Fame.[citation needed]

Kamamoto played at the Football at the 1966 Asian Games. In the 1970s, after many Olympic players left the national team, he continued being selected. He played at the 1970 and 1974 Asian Games. He retired from the national team in 1977, having played in 76 matches and having scored 75 goals.[6] Kamamoto, however, has been recognized with 80 goals in 84 appearances from the Japan Football Association,[1] and previously as well by FIFA,[7][8] but he isn't mentioned with this tally in their latest publications.[9]

Coaching career

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In 1978, Kamamoto was a player manager for Yanmar Diesel. He led the club to its first league championship in 1980. The club also won the 1983 and 1984 JSL Cup. In 1984, he retired from football and resigned as the manager of Yanmar Diesel. In 1991, he signed as manager with rivals Matsushita Electric (to be later known as Gamba Osaka). He resigned in 1994.

Other roles

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Kamamoto was selected as a member of the House of Councillors in July 1995 and served until July 2001.

Career statistics

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Club

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[10]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Japan League Emperor's Cup JSL Cup Total
1967 Yanmar Diesel JSL Division 1 14 14 3 7 — 17 21
1968 14 14 3 5 — 17 19
1969 12 10 3 7 — 15 17
1970 14 16 3 5 — 17 21
1971 14 11 3 5 — 17 16
1972 14 11 4 5 — 18 16
1973 16 17 2 0 — 18 17
1974 18 21 4 3 — 22 24
1975 17 9 3 2 — 20 11
1976 18 15 3 2 1 0 22 17
1977 18 20 4 4 3 2 25 26
1978 18 15 3 4 3 4 24 23
1979 18 7 3 2 2 1 22 11
1980 18 10 2 0 3 2 23 12
1981 18 11 2 0 0 0 20 11
1982 8 1 0 0 0 0 8 1
1983 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1984 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0
Total 251 202 48 51 12 9 311 262

International

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Main article: List of international goals scored by Kunishige Kamamoto
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 1964 2 1
1965 3 3
1966 7 6
1967 5 11
1968 4 7
1969 0 0
1970 6 3
1971 6 8
1972 8 15
1973 3 2
1974 5 5
1975 7 5
1976 16 9
1977 4 0
Total 76 75

Managerial

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[11]

Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Gamba Osaka 1993 1994 80 31 0 49 038.75
Fujieda MYFC 2009 2010 — − 0 − —
Total 80 31 0 49 038.75

Honours

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Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Japan National Football team players, results, & Japan football Association". 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Kunishige Kamamoto: The Greatest Japanese Soccer Player of All Time". 25 November 2015. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Flashback: Kunishige Kamamoto recalls Japan's 1968 Olympic bronze medal | AFC". cms.the-afc.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Top 10 Japanese Athletes". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Japan National Football Team Database". Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Kunishige Kamamoto – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  7. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: 80 days to go". FIFA.com. FIFA. 23 March 2014. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Ronaldo, Lewandowski & Lukaku: Europe's scoring sensations". FIFA.com. FIFA. 29 September 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  9. ^ "The Week in Stats". FIFA.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Kamamoto, Kunishige". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  11. ^ J.League Data Site Archived 15 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine(in Japanese)
  12. ^ "Asian tour for Asian All Stars after big festival here". Gov.sg. The Straits Times. 5 March 1967. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  13. ^ 서울선 6월26일亞洲올·스타蹴球팀 巡訪경기. Naver.com (in Korean). Kyunghyang. 22 February 1968. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Ramos, Balboa named to MasterCard CONCACAF 20th Century team". Soccer Times. 15 May 1998. Archived from the original on 21 February 1999. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  15. ^ "KAMAMOTO Kunishige". Japan Football Association. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
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