サッカー元もと日本にっぽん代表だいひょう 釜本かまもと邦茂くにしげさん死去しきょ 81はちじゅういち歳さい 男子だんし歴代れきだい最多さいた得点とくてん

Kunishige Kamamoto, a former member of the Japan national soccer team who holds the record for most goals scored by a male player and contributed to winning the bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, passed away from pneumonia at a hospital in Osaka Prefecture on the 10th.

He was 81 years old.

Mr. Kamamoto is from Kyoto Prefecture.

During his playing days, he was an active forward known for his high-level skills and powerful shots, performing well at Waseda University and with Yanmar in the Japan Soccer League. For the Japan national team, he played in 76 matches and scored 75 goals, the most ever by a male player.

Among them, at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, he scored seven goals to become the tournaments top scorer and led Japan to a bronze medal.

This is the only medal that the Japan national soccer team has won at the Olympics, and as a striker who could compete with the world, he made his name known thirty years before Japans first appearance in the World Cup in 1998.

Also, when the J.League was launched in 1993, he led the team as the manager of Gamba Osaka and helped energize the early days of the J.League.

Afterwards, he was involved in national politics as a member of the House of Councillors, and also served as a director of the Japanese organizing committee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, contributing to the success of the tournament.

Mr. Kamamoto, who had been recuperating from illness, passed away from pneumonia at a hospital in Osaka Prefecture shortly after 4 a.m. on the 10th.

He was 81 years old.

At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, where he won the bronze medal, he led the team as Japan’s ace, scoring seven goals to become the top scorer and making a significant contribution to Japan’s bronze medal victory.

In 1978, while still an active player, he became the manager of Yanmar, the predecessor of Cerezo Osaka, and continued to play an active role as both player and manager until his retirement in 1984.

After that, he was also involved in national politics as a member of the House of Councillors, and contributed to the success of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan by serving as a board member of the Japanese organizing committee.

In 2005, he was inducted into the Japan Football Hall of Fame, which honors those who have made long-standing contributions to Japanese soccer, and in 2014, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

In the 2011 FIFA Womens World Cup, when Homare Sawa broke Mr. Kamamotos record to become the top scorer for the Japan national team across both men and women, he happily spoke about Sawas achievement, saying, Records are meant to be broken, so Im glad.

At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, he served as a torchbearer in his hometown of Kyoto and spoke about his feelings toward the Olympics, where he set numerous records, saying, I hope this flame continues to burn and is carried on to the next Paris Games and beyond.

The talent with an exceptional scoring ability blossomed upon meeting Dettmar Cramer, who is known as the father of Japanese soccer and laid the foundation for strengthening the national team.

Mr. Kamamoto first met Mr. Cramer in 1961, when he was a second-year student at Yamashiro High School in Kyoto.

For the purpose of strengthening the team for the Tokyo Olympics three years later, Mr. Cramer was invited from what was then West Germany and served as an advisor to the Japan national team.

With the arrangement of the association, Kamamoto, as the youngest participant, took part in a one-week seminar held for working adults and university students in the Kansai region.

Through meeting Mr. Cramer, Mr. Kamamoto said, In an era without theory or tactics, everything about Mr. Cramers coaching was new and refreshing.

If I do as this person says, I might be able to participate in the Olympics, he recalls, saying that he began to train with a clear awareness of the world stage.

After that, Kamamoto entered the prestigious Waseda University and was called up to the Japan national team from his second year. While receiving direct coaching from advisor Mr. Cramer, he gained experience in international tournaments such as the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and developed his talent as a world-class striker.

At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, as the undisputed ace of the Japanese national team, he led Japan to a bronze medal with an outstanding performance, scoring 7 goals to become the tournaments top scorer.

The goal he scored in the third-place match against local team Mexico was a well-timed mid-range shot that perfectly embodied Mr. Cramers teachings, born from precise ball control.

In an interview later in his life, when asked about his most proud achievement, Mr. Cramer said that it was not the title of being number one in Europe that he won as the manager of a top club team, but rather Japan winning the bronze medal at the Mexico Olympics.

Mr. Kamamoto said, If I hadnt met Mr. Cramer, I might not have achieved what I did afterwards.

I was truly fortunate, he said, reflecting deeply on the importance of a single encounter.

A woman in her 70s said, He has been leading the soccer world all by himself, and I think Japanese soccer became popular because Mr. Kamamoto worked so hard.

He said, Thats unfortunate.

A man in his 30s said, I had heard from my father and others that he was an amazing player.

I remember that what left an impression on me was that he was the manager of Gamba Osaka when the J.League started, he said.

A man in his thirties who works as a soccer coach said, I was surprised because I had watched footage from the past and felt that he was a great person.

I think the current Japan national team is getting stronger, and the people of this new era are carrying on the traditions from back then, he said.