Kunishige Kamamoto

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]

Kunishige Kamamoto
釜本 邦茂
Kamamoto in 2014
Personal information
Full name Kunishige Kamamoto
Date of birth (1944-04-15) 15 April 1944
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
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 place1968 Mexico CityTeam
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place1966 BangkokTeam
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

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 fours 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

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

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.

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

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

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

Club statistics

[10]

Club performanceLeagueCupLeague CupTotal
SeasonClubLeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Japan League Emperor's Cup JSL Cup Total
1967Yanmar DieselJSL Division 1141437—1721
1968141435—1719
1969121037—1517
1970141635—1721
1971141135—1716
1972141145—1816
1973161720—1817
1974182143—2224
197517932—2011
1976181532102217
1977182044322526
1978181534342423
197918732212211
1980181020322312
1981181120002011
198281000081
198320000020
198400300030
Total 2512024851129311262

International goals
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.[6]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.3 March 1964Tokyo, Japan Singapore2–1WonFriendly
2.14 March 1965 Hong Kong2–1WonFriendly
3.
4.22 March 1965 Burma1–1DrawFriendly
5.11 December 1966Bangkok, Thailand Iran3–1Won1966 Asian Games
6.14 December 1966 Malaysia1–0Won
7.16 December 1966 Singapore5–1Won
8.
9.17 December 1966 Thailand5–1Won
10.19 December 1966 Singapore2–0Won
11.27 September 1967Tokyo, Japan Philippines15–0WonQualification 1968 Summer Olympics
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.30 September 1967 Taiwan4–0Won
18.
19.
20.3 October 1967 Lebanon3–1Won
21.7 October 1967 South Korea3–3Draw
22.30 March 1968 Australia2–2DrawFriendly
23.
24.4 April 1968 Australia3–1WonFriendly
25.
26.14 October 1968Puebla, Mexico Nigeria3–0Won1968 Summer Olympics
27.
28.
29.10 December 1970Bangkok, Thailand Malaysia1–0Won1970 Asian Games
30.16 December 1970 Indonesia2–1Won
31.
32.28 July 1971Copenhagen, Denmark Denmark2–3LostFriendly
33.
34.27 September 1971Bangkok, Thailand Philippines8–1WonQualification 1972 Summer Olympics
35.
36.
37.29 September 1971 Taiwan5–1Won
38.
39.
40.12 July 1972Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Khmer Republic4–1Won1972 Merdeka Tournament
41.
42.
43.
44.16 July 1972 Sri Lanka5–0Won
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.18 July 1972 Philippines5–1Won
50.22 July 1972 Malaysia1–3Lost
51.4 August 1972Bangkok, Thailand Philippines4–1WonPesta Sukan Tournament
52.
53.14 September 1972Tokyo, Japan South Korea2–2DrawJapan-Korea Annual Match
54.
55.20 May 1973Seoul, Korea Republic South Vietnam4–0WonQualification 1974 FIFA World Cup
56.
57.3 September 1974Tehran, Iran Philippines4–0Won1974 Asian Games
58.
59.
60.28 September 1974Tokyo, Japan South Korea4–1WonJapan-Korea Annual Match
61.
62.4 August 1975Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Bangladesh3–0WonMerdeka Tournament
63.
64.7 August 1975 Indonesia4–1Won
65.
66.14 August 1975 Burma2–0Won
67.25 January 1976Tokyo, Japan Bulgaria1–3LostAsahi International Soccer Tournament
68.27 March 1976Tehran, Iran South Korea2–2DrawQualification 1976 Summer Olympics
69.
70.8 August 1976Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia India5–1WonMerdeka Tournament
71.10 August 1976 Indonesia6–0Won
72.13 August 1976 Burma2–2Won
73.16 August 1976 Thailand2–2Won
74.
75.20 August 1976 Malaysia2–2Won
Japan national team
YearAppsGoals
196421
196533
196676
1967511
196847
196900
197063
197168
1972815
197332
197455
197575
1976169
197740
Total7675

Managerial statistics

[11]

Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Gamba Osaka 1993 1994 80 31 0 49 038.75
Fujieda MYFC 2009 2010 — − 0 − —
Total 80 31 0 49 038.75

Honours

Individual

See also

References
  1. "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)
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