is a Japanese former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
. He made 17 appearances for the
Japan national team scoring three goals.
Club career
Ozaki was born in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
on March 7, 1960. After graduating from high school, he joined
Mitsubishi Motors
is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.[Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...](_blank)
,
JSL Cup
was the original league cup for clubs in the top levels of Japanese soccer before the creation of the J. League and its cup. The cup was first played in 1973, but did not become an annual tournament until 1976.
The JSL/JFL Cup included clubs fr ...
and
Emperor's Cup
, commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...
. The club also won
1980 Emperor's Cup
Statistics of Emperor's Cup in the 1980 season.
Overview
It was contested by 30 teams, and Mitsubishi Motors won the championship.
Results
1st round
*Kyushu Sangyo University 2–3 Teijin
*Fujitsu 2–2 (PK 8–9) Osaka University of Economics
...
,
1981 JSL Cup
Statistics of JSL Cup in the 1981 season.
Overview
It was contested by 20 teams, and Toshiba and Mitsubishi Motors won the championship.
Results 1st Round
*Honda 3-0 Tanabe Pharmaceuticals
*Toshiba 2-1 Sumitomo Metals
* Yomiuri 1-2 Nippon Kok ...
and
1982 Japan Soccer League. He was also selected Japanese Footballer of the Year awards in 1982.
In July 1983, Ozaki moved to Germany and joined
Arminia Bielefeld
DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of ...
. He was the second Japanese to play in the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
after
Yasuhiko Okudera
is a Japanese former football player and manager. He is the president of J2 League club Yokohama FC and was formerly the president of English club Plymouth Argyle. Okudera was the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, as we ...
. In 1985, Arminia Bielefeld was relegated to
2. Bundesliga. From 1988, he played at
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
(1988–89) and
TuRU Düsseldorf
Turu may refer to:
* Turu people, an ethnic and linguistic group in Tanzania who speak the bantu language Kinyaturu
* Turu language or Nyaturu language, a Bantu language
;Given name and surname
* Turu Flores or José Oscar Flores (born 1971), Arg ...
(1989–90).
In 1990, Ozaki returned to Japan and joined Mitsubishi Motors (later ''Urawa Reds''). He moved to
Verdy Kawasaki
is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country.
Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, wit ...
in 1993. He retired in 1994.
International career
In August 1979, Ozaki was selected
Japan U-20 national team for
1979 World Youth Championship. He played in three matches as captain. On February 8, 1981, he debuted for
Japan national team against
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. He played at
1982 Asian Games. He played 17 games and scored 3 goals for Japan until 1983.
[Japan National Football Team Database](_blank)
/ref> After he moved to Germany in 1983, he was not selected Japan.
Career statistics
Club
International
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
1960 births
Living people
Association football people from Tokyo
Japanese footballers
Association football forwards
Japan youth international footballers
Japan international footballers
Japan Soccer League players
J1 League players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
Urawa Red Diamonds players
Arminia Bielefeld players
FC St. Pauli players
TuRU Düsseldorf players
Tokyo Verdy players
Footballers at the 1982 Asian Games
Asian Games competitors for Japan
Japanese expatriate footballers
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Germany
{{Japan-footy-forward-stub