Off The Pitch
Okudera's return home spurred the professionalization of the Japanese game, which had been stuck in amateur 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 the J. League started play in 1993, he served as the president and manager of Furukawa, which had become JEF United Ichihara (now JEF United Ichihara Chiba) with limited success. In 1998, he joined his Köln teammate Pierre Littbarski and helped form Yokohama F.C.. With Okudera as president and Littbarski the manager, Yokohama climbed up the ranks from the lower-tier Japan Football League and promoted to the J. League's first division in December 2006.
On 5 December 2003, Okudera and former South Korean star Cha Bum-Kun were the Asian representatives at the preliminary draw, which determined the groupings for the qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
On 20 June 2008, Okudera was appointed President of the Football League Championship side Plymouth 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.
Read more about this topic: Yasuhiko Okudera
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