was a Japanese football player and manager. He played for Japan national team. He also managed Japan national team.

Club career

Watanabe was born in Hiroshima on January 11, 1936. After graduating from high school, he joined Yawata Steel (later ''Nippon Steel'') in 1954. In 1958, he left Yawata Steel and entered

Rikkyo University , also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. Rikkyo is known as one of the six leading universities in the field of sports in Tokyo (東京六大学 "Big Six" — Rikkyo University, University of ...

. After graduating from Rikkyo University, he joined Yawata Steel again in 1962. In 1965, Yawata Steel joined new league

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 ...

. He retired in 1971. He played 79 games and scored 19 goals in the league. He was selected Best Eleven in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

National team career

On December 25, 1958, when Watanabe was a

student, he debuted for Japan national team against

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. He played at 1964 Summer Olympics in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. At 1968 Summer Olympics, he played 5 games and scored 2 goals against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Japan also won Bronze Medal. In 2018, this team was selected

Japan Football Hall of Fame is housed at the Japan Football Museum ( :ja:日本サッカーミュージアム), in JFA House in Bunkyo, Tokyo. The Hall aims to celebrate the achievements of the all-time top Japanese football players, managers, and other persons who have been ...

. He also played at

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

and 1966 Asian Games. He played 39 games and scored 19 goals for Japan until 1969.

Coaching career

In 1969, when Watanabe played for Yawata Steel (later ''Nippon Steel''), he became a playing manager. He managed the club until 1975. In 1979, he became an assistant coach for Japan national team under manager

Yukio Shimomura is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for Japan national team. He also managed Japan national team. Club career Shimomura was born in Hiroshima on January 25, 1932. After graduating from Shudo High School, he joined his l ...

. At

1980 Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournaments __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab u ...

in April 1980, following Japan's failure to qualify for 1980 Summer Olympics, Shimomura resigned a manager. In May, Watanabe was promoted to manager as Shimomura successor. However, just before

1982 World Cup qualification __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 '' Ab ...

in December, he suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage and replaced to Saburo Kawabuchi. On December 7, 1995, Watanabe died of heart failure in Chiba at the age of 59. In 2006, he was selected

National team statistics

Awards and honors

Best Eleven:

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database

at Japan Football Association
Japan Football Hall of Fame
(Japan team at 1968 Olympics) at Japan Football Association * * 1936 births 1995 deaths Rikkyo University alumni Japanese men's footballers Japan men's international footballers Japan Soccer League players Nippon Steel Yawata SC players Japanese football managers Japan national football team managers Player-coaches Olympic footballers for Japan Olympic medalists in football Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Footballers at the 1962 Asian Games Footballers at the 1966 Asian Games Men's association football forwards Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games Association football people from Hiroshima {{Japan-footy-forward-stub