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Saburō Kawabuchi

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Japanese footballer and manager
Saburo Kawabuchi
川淵 三郎
Kawabuchi in 1964
Personal information
Full name Saburo Kawabuchi
Date of birth (1936-12-03) December 3, 1936 (age 88)
Place of birth Takaishi, Osaka, Japan
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1952–1954 Mikunigaoka High School
1957–1960 Waseda University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961–1970 Furukawa Electric 68 (10)
Total 68 (10)
International career
1958–1965 Japan 26 (8)
Managerial career
1973–1975 Furukawa Electric
1980–1981 Japan
Medal record
Furukawa Electric
Runner-up Japan Soccer League 1967
Winner Emperor's Cup 1961
Winner Emperor's Cup 1964
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 1962
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Saburo Kawabuchi (川淵 三郎, Kawabuchi Saburō, born December 3, 1936) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for and managed the Japan national team. He is the founder and honorary chairman of the J.League. Between 2002 and 2008, he served as president of the Japan Football Association.

Early life

Kawabuchi was born in Takaishi on December 3, 1936. At first, when he was in Takaishi elementary school and Takaishi Junior high school, he played baseball. He was on to Mikunigaoka High School, Osaka and became a member of football team at the high school. He graduated from Mikunigaoka High School, Osaka in 1955. He went on to Waseda University School of commerce in 1957. He played for the Waseda University football team. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in commerce from Waseda University.

Club career

After graduating from Waseda University, Kawabuchi played for Furukawa Electric, in the early days of the Japan Soccer League. In the initial league season, he was the first player to score a hat-trick, against Nagoya Mutual Bank. He retired in 1970, having played 68 games and scored 10 goals in the league.

National team career

On December 25, 1958, when Kawabuchi was a Waseda University student, he debuted and scored 2 goals for Japan national team against Hong Kong. In 1962, he played at 1962 Asian Games. In 1964, he was selected Japan for 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. At 1964 Summer Olympics, he scored a goal in first match against Argentina. He also played at 1962 Asian Games. He played 26 games and scored 8 goals for Japan until 1965.

Coaching career

After retirement, Kawabuchi became a coach for Furukawa Electric in 1970. In 1973, he became a manager and managed until 1975. Just before 1982 World Cup qualification in December 1980, he was named manager for the Japan national team and replaced Masashi Watanabe, who suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Kawabuchi managed Japan at the 1982 World Cup qualification and managed until March 1981.

In 1991, he was named the inaugural chairman of the J.League, as the first professional league in Japan. In 1991, he also became the first chairman of the J.League. In 2002, he resigned as chairman of the J.League and became the 10th president of the Japan Football Association as Shunichiro Okano's successor. Kawabuchi served until 2008. He also served as president of the Japan Basketball Association from May 2015 to June 2016.

In 2006, he received the FIFA Order of Merit. In 2008, he was also selected for the Japan Football Hall of Fame.

Later years

Kawabuchi serves as a councilor on the organizing committee for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. He had been requested by former Prime Minister Yoshirō Mori to succeed him as committee chairperson in February 2021, but Kawabuchi later said that he would not accept the request.

Club statistics

Club performance League
Season Club League Apps Goals
Japan League
1965 Furukawa Electric JSL Division 1 14 3
1966 14 4
1967 14 1
1968 14 1
1969 12 1
1970 0 0
Total 68 10

National team statistics

Japan national team
Year Apps Goals
1958 2 2
1959 9 3
1960 1 0
1961 6 1
1962 6 2
1963 0 0
1964 0 0
1965 2 0
Total 26 8

Awards and honours

Books

  • J's career – With Japan football, Nihon Keizai Shimbun Shuppan, 2009

References

  1. ^ Saburo Kawabuchi. sports-reference.com
  2. Japan Soccer League 1965 Archived 2015-09-11 at the Wayback Machine. Homepage1.nifty.com. Retrieved on May 30, 2015.
  3. ^ Japan National Football Team Database
  4. "Tokyo Olympics head quits over sexism row with no successor in sight". Kyodo News. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  5. ^ "KAWABUCHI Saburo". Japan Football Association. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  6. "川淵三郎最高顧問が2015年度の文化功労者に顕彰". JFA. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  7. "塩野七生さんら7人文化勲章＝功労者に北大路欣也さんら". Jiji Press. Retrieved October 21, 2023.

External links

Japan football squad – 1964 Summer Olympics
Japan
Japan national football team – managers
(c) = caretaker manager
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