Visit of Monchengradbach
The West German team, Borussia Monchengladbach visited Japan in June and played four matches against the Japanese All-Stars. They won three games and drew one in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Osaka.
The Japanese team was handicapped by the absence of their star centre-forward,Kunishige Kamamoto, who is presently suffering from hepatitis.
Asian Coaching School
Under the leadership of Mr. Dettmar Cramer, who is being sent from FIFA to the Asian Football Confederation, the first FIFA Coaching School for Asian coaches will be held from July 15th to October 14 that the Tokyo University Sports Centre, Kemigawa, near Tokyo. Each national association affiliated to the AFC will send two or three national coaches to the school.
Japan Soccer League
The Japan Soccer League ended the first half of its 1969 season on June 6th. Mitsubishi F. C. of Tokyo is presently leading by three points over Toyo Kogyo of Hiroshima, who have won the Championship four times in succession since the foundation of the League.
The standings at the half-way mark are:
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts. |
| Mitsubishi FC of Tokyo |
7 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
12 |
4 |
13 |
| Toyo Kogyo FC of Hiroshima |
7 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
17 |
4 |
10 |
| Yanmar Diesel of Osaka |
7 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
17 |
8 |
9 |
| Furukawa FC of Tokyo |
7 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
| Yawata Steel of Kita-Kyushu |
7 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
| Nihon Kokan of Yokohama |
7 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
11 |
19 |
6 |
| Nagoya Sogo Bank of Nagoya |
7 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
8 |
15 |
4 |
| Hitachi FC of Tokyo |
7 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
15 |
2 |
|
Aritatsu Ogi, the strong linkman.
"If possible, we would like to take Ogi home with us to Germany", said Mr. Weisweiler, coach of the West German team Borussia Monchengladbach, after four friendly matches in Japan recently. "Ogi is one of the strongest linkmen in the world. He has the ability to play first-class football, and would be a very useful player in the Bundes Liga (West German National League)".
Aritatsu Ogi, age 26, is the key player of Japan League Champions Toyo Kogyo of Hiroshima, and of the Japan national team. He played as the linkman of the Japanese All-Stars against Borussia Monchengladbach and effectively marked Gunter Netzer, the West German international player. He is the third Japanese player in whom foreign clubs have shown interest in recent years. Ryuichi Sugiyama was offered a position in Argentina after the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964, and centre-forward Kunishige Kamamoto has been very much in the news of late.
Aritatsu Ogi was born in Hiroshima on December 10th 1942. He was a tall but skinny player in his high school and college life. He received the Emperor's Cup in1962 as the captain of the National Champion Chuo University team, when Cramer, then coaching the Japanese national team, first discovered his talents. Cramar first taught him the basic fundamentals and techniques of ball control, and then advised muscle training one year before the Olympics in 1964. The tall skinny lad slowly became a player of strong build. He was a strong midfield defender when the Japanese Olympic team beat Argentina in the Tokyo Olympics. He also competed in the Mexico Olympics in 1968, receiving a bronze medal. As a member of Toyo Kogyo of Hiroshima, he has contributed much to the team's four successive league championships and to their winning the Emperor's Cup in 1965 and 1967. He was selected as Footballer of the Year in 1965.
Ogi is known for his long throw-ins. He is able to throw a ball well over 35 yards, and in one of the games against Monchengladbach one of these long throws, landing right in the German goalmouth, led directly to a goal. Ogi will undoubtedly be one of Japan's key defenders in their forth coming World Cup Qualifying matches, due to take place in Seoul, South Korea in October. |
