was a Japanese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played for and later managed the Japan national team.

Club career

Suzuki was born in

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...

on October 13, 1902. He was a founding member of the football team at Waseda University High School in 1921, and a founding member of the

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

football team in 1924. At Waseda, he played with many Japan national team players including

Haruo Arima was a Japanese football player. He played for the Japanese national team. Club career Arima played for Waseda WMW was consisted of his alma mater Waseda University players and graduates. At the club, he played with many Japan national team pla ...

Misao Tamai was a Japanese football player. Club career Tamai was born in Hyogo Prefecture on December 16, 1903. He played for Waseda WMW was consisted of his alma mater Waseda University players and graduates. At the club, he played with many Japan nati ...

Tamotsu Asakura was a Japanese football player. He played for the Japanese national team. National team career In August 1927, when Asakura was a Waseda University student, he was selected Japan national team for 1927 Far Eastern Championship Games in Shangh ...

, Shigeru Takahashi, Shojiro Sugimura, Nagayasu Honda, Ko Takamoro and

Michiyo Taki was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. National team career In August 1927, when Taki was a Waseda University High School student, he was selected Japan national team for 1927 Far Eastern Championship Games in Sha ...

National team career

In August 1927, Suzuki was selected Japan national team at the 1927 Far Eastern Championship Games in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. At this competition, on August 27, he debuted as captain against the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. On August 29, he also played and scored a goal against the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and Japan won this match, its first victory in an

International A Match Association football (more commonly known as football) was first codified in 1863 in England, although games that involved the kicking of a ball were evident considerably earlier.

. Suzuki played 2 games and scored 1 goal for Japan in 1927.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref>

Coaching career

In 1930, Suzuki became manager for Japan national team for

1930 Far Eastern Championship Games The 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games was the ninth edition of the regional multi-sport event and was held from 24 to 27 May 1930 in Tokyo, Empire of Japan. A total of eight sports were contested over the course of the five-day event.Bell, Dani ...

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 ...

. He led Japan to the champions. In 1936, he became manager for Japan again and managed at

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Japan completed a come-from-behind victory against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The first victory in Olympics for the Japan and the historic victory over one of the powerhouses became later known as "Miracle of Berlin" ( ベルリンの奇跡) in Japan. In 2016, this team was selected to the

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 ...

. After World War II, Suzuki became an executive in the insurance industry. He died on December 20, 1971 at the age of 69. In 2007, he was selected to the

National team statistics

References

External links

*
Japan National Football Team Database
at

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions. History The organisat ...

Japan Football Hall of Fame
(Japan team at 1936 Olympics) at

1902 births 1971 deaths Waseda University alumni Association football people from Fukushima Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan international footballers Japanese football managers Japan national football team managers Association football forwards {{Japan-footy-forward-stub