Playing Career
Okudera began his playing career in 1970 as an employee of Furukawa Electric Co Ltd., whose soccer team played in the corporate Japan Soccer League, the top flight league in Japan at the time. In the summer of 1977, during the team's trip to Germany, he was spotted by Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln manager Hennes Weisweiler. 1. FC Köln made a contract offer. 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.
After Weisweiler left Cologne during the 1980–81, Okudera joined second division Hertha BSC. Although Hertha missed promotion to the first division, he joined the newly promoted Werder Bremen, whose coach Otto Rehhagel saw his play when the two sides met and offered a contract. Between 1981–82 and 1985–86, Bremen finished second in the league three times.
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. He ended his German career with 234 appearances and 26 goals. He retired as a player in 1988.
Read more about this topic: Yasuhiko Okudera
Famous quotes containing the words playing and/or career:
“A normal adolescent is so restless and twitchy and awkward that he can mange to injure his knee—not playing soccer, not playing football—but by falling off his chair in the middle of French class.”
—Judith Viorst (20th century)
“They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)