Yasuhiko Okudera (奥寺康彦, Okudera Yasuhiko^?, born March 12, 1952 in Kazuno, Akita Prefecture) is a former Japanese footballer who is currently the president of J. League Division 2 club Yokohama FC and was formerly the president of English club Plymouth Argyle. Okudera was the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe,^[1] as well as being the first Asian football player to score in the European Cup, in the semi-final match against Nottingham Forest F.C. and made 32 appearances – scoring 9 goals – with the Japanese national team.

Playing career[link]

Okudera began his playing career in 1970 as an employee of Furukawa Electric Co Ltd., whose soccer team played in the corporate Japan Soccer League, the top flight league in Japan at the time. In the summer of 1977, during the team's trip to Germany, he was spotted by Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln manager Hennes Weisweiler. 1. FC Köln made a contract offer. Okudera made his debut on October 5, 1977, becoming the first Japanese player to play top flight football in Europe, and Köln won the Bundesliga title that year.

After Weisweiler left Cologne during the 1980/81, Okudera joined second division Hertha BSC. Although Hertha missed promotion to the first division, he joined the newly promoted Werder Bremen, whose coach Otto Rehhagel saw his play when the two sides met and offered a contract. Between 1981/82 and 1985/86, Bremen finished second in the league three times.

In the summer of 1986, Okudera returned to his old Japanese club, Furukuwa Electric and became one of the first recognized professional players in JSL. He ended his German career with 234 appearances and 26 goals. He retired as a player in 1988.

Off the pitch[link]

Okudera's return home spurred the professionalization of the Japanese game, which had been stuck in amateur play for decades. He was the first native-born professional player in his home league, as before only foreigners (usually Brazilians) were paid strictly to play football by the companies.

After the J. League started play in 1993, he served as the president and manager of Furukawa, which had become JEF United Ichihara (now JEF United Ichihara Chiba) with limited success. In 1998, he joined his Köln teammate Pierre Littbarski and helped form Yokohama F.C.. With Okudera as president and Littbarski the manager, Yokohama climbed up the ranks from the lower-tier Japan Football League and promoted to the J. League's first division in December 2006.

On December 5, 2003, Okudera and former South Korean star Cha Bum-Kun were the Asian representatives at the preliminary draw, which determined the groupings for the qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On June 20, 2008, Okudera was appointed President of the Football League Championship side Plymouth Argyle tasked with playing a global ambassador role and further strengthening the club's profile in Asia. Since this appointment Argyle have suffered a relegation and serious financial difficulties. Okudera was replaced in his role by former Fans Trust leader Chris Webb, who had played a key part in rescuing Argyle from liquidation.^[2]

Career statistics[link]

Honors and awards[link]

Team Honors[link]

• Japan Soccer League Champions: 1976, 1985-86
• Emperor's Cup Champions: 1976
• Japanese Super Cup Champions: 1977
• Bundesliga Champions: 1977–78
• DFB-Pokal Champions: 1977–78
• UEFA Champions Cup Semi-finals: 1978–79
• Bundesliga Runners-up: 1982–83
• Bundesliga Runners-up: 1984–85
• Bundesliga Runners-up: 1985–86
• DFB-Pokal Runners-up: 1979–80
• Asian Club Championship Champions: 1986–87

Awards[link]

• Japan Soccer League Best Eleven: 1976, 1986-87

References[link]

External links[link]

• interview with Okudera on FIFA's official site.
• Celebrity presenters to assist in Preliminary Draw, December 5, 2003
• Yasuhiko Okudera – Fussballdaten

Pierre Littbarski

Personal information
Full name	Pierre Michael Littbarski
Date of birth	(1960-04-16) 16 April 1960 (age 52)
Place of birth	West Berlin, West Germany
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Winger, Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1967–1976	VfL Schöneberg
1976–1978	FC Hertha 03 Zehlendorf
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1978–1986	1. FC Köln	234	(89)
1986–1987	RC Paris	34	(4)
1987–1993	1. FC Köln	172	(27)
1993–1995	JEF United Chiba	63	(10)
1996–1997	Brummell Sendai	29	(5)
Total		532	(135)
National team
1979–1982	West Germany U-21	21	(18)
1980	West Germany B	1	(0)
1981–1990	West Germany	73	(18)
Teams managed
1999–2000	Yokohama F.C.
2001	Bayer Leverkusen (assistant)
2001–2002	MSV Duisburg
2003–2004	Yokohama F.C.
2005–2006	Sydney FC
2006–2008	Avispa Fukuoka
2008	Saipa
2008–2010	FC Vaduz
2010–2011	VfL Wolfsburg (assistant)
2011	VfL Wolfsburg (caretaker)
Honours 1. FC Köln Runner-up DFB-Pokal 1980 Winner DFB-Pokal 1983 Runner-up UEFA Cup 1986 Runner-up DFB-Pokal 1991  West Germany Runner-up UEFA U-21 Championship 1982 Runner-up FIFA World Cup 1982 Runner-up FIFA World Cup 1986 Winner FIFA World Cup 1990
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Pierre Michael Littbarski (born 16 April 1960 in Berlin) is a German football manager and former player. He was mainly a winger or attacking midfielder and is best known for his brilliant dribbling abilities. He was a FIFA World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990. He was also runner–up twice in 1982 and 1986 with West Germany. He was caretaker manager of VfL Wolfsburg after taking over from Steve McClaren from 7 February 2011 to 17 March 2011.

Playing career[link]

Littbarski spent most of his playing career at 1. FC Köln, winning the DFB-Pokal once, in 1983, and was three times runner up in the Bundesliga (1982, 1989 and 1990). He has also played for Racing Club de Paris in Ligue 1 as well as for JEF United and Brummel Sendai in Japan. In his career, he was initially used as a deep-lying striker before being utilised as an attacking midfielder. "Litti", as he was nicknamed by German fans, was widely known for his excellent dribbling abilities and humorous attitude, being one of the fan favourites in German Bundesliga during this decade. In 1985 his goal versus Werder Bremen was elected "Goal of the Year".

International career[link]

Littbarski had a prolific but short career as part of the West German Under-21 side. He was a part of the squad that got to the 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship final. The team lost to England 5–4 after a two-leg final (losing 1–3 away and winning 3–2 at home). Littbarski scored a hattrick against the English in Germany, but ultimately they lost the tie.

Littbarski earned his first cap for West Germany on 14 October 1981 in the 1982 World Cup qualification against Austria. West Germany manager Jupp Derwall started him in a three-man front line alongside Klaus Fischer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Littbarski's international career got off to a promising start, as he scored both the opening and the second goals in that game. His third international goal came at the 1982 World Cup, in the second round match against Spain, a 2–1 victory. Against France in the semi-final, Littbarski scored the opening goal and, later, on a penalty kick in the deciding post-overtime shoot-out. The now legendary match ended in a 3–3 draw, with the Germans eventually winning 5–4 on penalties. Littbarski was also involved in the dramatic equalizer, crossing to Horst Hrubesch, who headed to Fischer, who in turn scored with an overhead bicycle kick. West Germany lost 3–1 to Italy in the final. Littbarski played the whole match, receiving a yellow card in the 88th minute.

At the UEFA Euro 1984, West Germany, with Littbarski, were eliminated in the group stage after a string of poor performances. The 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, while successful for West Germany, proved less so for Littbarski personally. He was benched by manager Franz Beckenbauer, and had to watch the semi–finals and the finals from the bench. Eventually, West Germany finished again as runners–up, this time losing 3–2 to Argentina. In 1987, he played in a notable match against England and scored two goals, one directly from a corner, as the Germans won 3–1.

The German players had high hopes for the UEFA Euro 1988 on their home soil. However, the hosts lost 2–1 to the Netherlands in the semi–finals. Littbarski did not score any goals in the tournament. In 1990, Littbarski enjoyed a successful final appearance at the FIFA World Cup, as West Germany won their third title, defeating Argentina 1–0 in the final in Rome. Littbarski scored his only goal in the group stage against Colombia but started three of the four games at the knockout stage, including the final.

Managerial career[link]

In 1999 he started his coaching career with Yokohama FC of Japan Football League and he led the club to the promotion to J. League Division 2. He has also been the manager of Yokohama FC (twice), as well as assistant manager of Bayer 04 Leverkusen and manager of MSV Duisburg.

Sydney FC[link]

He was manager of Australian A-League side Sydney FC between 2005 and 2006, and led them to the FIFA Club World Championship in 2005, and a win in the inaugural A-League Championship.

He was famous amongst Sydney FC supporters and the media for his stylish brown suits. Sydney under Littbarski were criticised for boring football, but the results could seldom be argued with and Sydney FC went on to claim the inaugural A-League Championship under his reign. Littbarski and Sydney FC severed ties on Wednesday, 5 May 2006, with Littbarski announcing he would not re-sign for the club following disputes over a cut-price contract offer.^[1]

Avispa Fukuoka[link]

In December 2006, Littbarski was appointed the manager of Avispa Fukuoka, a J-League side that was newly demoted to the second division after the 2006 season. In July 2008, he left the club and was replaced by Yoshiyuki Shinoda.^[2]

Saipa FC[link]

On 26 July 2008 it was announced that he became the new manager of Iranian side Saipa F.C.^[3] His contract was terminated on 8 October 2008 after nine games.

FC Vaduz[link]

On 4 November 2008 he signed a contract as head coach and team manager of FC Vaduz.^[4] On 12 April 2010 he was dismissed due to lack of success.^[5][6]

VfL Wolfsburg[link]

On 9 June 2010 Littbarski signed a two years contract as assistant coach by VfL Wolfsburg.^[7] After Steve McClaren was sacked on 7 February 2011, Littbarski was appointed caretaker manager of VfL Wolfsburg. Felix Magath was subsequently made head coach in March 2011.

Career statistics[link]

^[8]

International goals[link]

Score and results list West Germany's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	14 October 1981	Praterstadion, Vienna	Austria	1–1	3–1	1982 World Cup qualifier
2.				3–1
3.	18 November 1981	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund	Albania	6–0	8–0	1982 World Cup qualifier
4.	14 April 1982	Müngersdorferstadion, Cologne	Czechoslovakia	1–0	2–1	Friendly
5.	12 May 1982	Oslo	Norway	2–1	4–2	Friendly
6.				3–1
7.	2 July 1982	Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid	Spain	1–0	2–1	1982 World Cup
8.	8 July 1982	Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville	France	1–0	3–3	1982 World Cup
9.	24 February 1985	Estádio Nacional, Lisbon	Portugal	1–0	2–1	1986 World Cup qualifier
10.	27 March 1985	Ludwigsparkstadion, Saarbrücken	Malta	4–0	6–0	1986 World Cup qualifier
11.	17 April 1985	Rosenaustadion, Augsburg	Bulgaria	3–1	4–1	Friendly
12.	30 April 1985	Strahov Stadium, Prague	Bulgaria	2–0	5–1	1986 World Cup qualifier
13.	9 September 1987	Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf	England	1–0	3–1	Friendly
14.				2–0
15.	13 October 1987	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen	Sweden	1–0	2–2	Friendly
16.	22 March 1989	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia	Bulgaria	2–1	2–1	Friendly
17.	4 October 1989	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund	Finland	2–0	6–1	1990 World Cup qualifier
18.	19 June 1990	San Siro, Milan	Colombia	1–0	1–1	1990 World Cup

Honours[link]

• FIFA World Cup Winner: 1990
• FIFA World Cup Runner-up: 1982, 1986
• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1985–86

References[link]

External links[link]

• League matches of Pierre Littbarski season by season at RSSSF
• TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen's Who's Who

v t e West Germany squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup Runners-Up 1 Schumacher 2 Briegel 3 Breitner 4 K. Förster 5 B. Förster 6 Dremmler 7 Littbarski 8 Fischer 9 Hrubesch 10 Müller 11 Rummenigge (c) 12 Hannes 13 Reinders 14 Magath 15 Stielike 16 T. Allofs 17 Engels 18 Matthäus 19 Hieronymus 20 Kaltz 21 Franke 22 Immel Coach: Derwall

v t e West Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1984 1 Schumacher 2 Briegel 3 Strack 4 K. Förster 5 B. Förster 6 Rolff 7 Brehme 8 K. Allofs 9 Völler 10 Meier 11 Rummenigge (c) 12 Burdenski 13 Matthäus 14 Falkenmayer 15 Stielike 16 Bruns 17 Littbarski 18 Buchwald 19 Bommer 20 Roleder Coach: Derwall

v t e West Germany squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup Runners-Up 1 Schumacher (c) 2 Briegel 3 Brehme 4 Förster 5 Herget 6 Eder 7 Littbarski 8 Matthäus 9 Völler 10 Magath 11 Rummenigge 12 Stein 13 Allgöwer 14 Berthold 15 Augenthaler 16 Thon 17 Jakobs 18 Rahn 19 K. Allofs 20 Hoeneß 21 Rolff 22 Immel Coach: Beckenbauer

v t e West Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1988 semi-finalists 1 Immel 2 Buchwald 3 Brehme 4 Kohler 5 Herget 6 Borowka 7 Littbarski 8 Matthäus (c) 9 Völler 10 Thon 11 Mill 12 Illgner 13 Wuttke 14 Berthold 15 Pflügler 16 Eckstein 17 Dorfner 18 Klinsmann 19 Sauer 20 Rolff Coach: Beckenbauer

v t e West Germany squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup Winners (3rd Title) 1 Illgner 2 Reuter 3 Brehme 4 Kohler 5 Augenthaler 6 Buchwald 7 Littbarski 8 Häßler 9 Völler 10 Matthäus (c) 11 Mill 12 Aumann 13 Riedle 14 Berthold 15 Bein 16 Steiner 17 Möller 18 Klinsmann 19 Pflügler 20 Thon 21 Hermann 22 Köpke Coach: Beckenbauer