Young Talent Promoted :
Amongst the twenty-four players, who have been selected to represent All Japan against Southampton of England in June, there are ten newcomers who are undertwenty-three years of age. At the same time certain veterans, who competed in the Olympic Games in Tokyo and Mexico, have been omitted They are : Masashi Watanabe, Hiroshi Katayama, Ikuo Matsumoto and Yasuyuki Kuwahara. The youngest member of the group is Tatsuhiko Seta,goal-keeper of Hitachi F.C. who is eighteen years old. Mr Shun Okano, Manager of the National Team, explained that it was a trial of young talent in preparation for the preliminary touenament of the Olympics in Munich.
The Japanese Soccer League:
Hitachi F.C. of Tokyo is the big surpriseof the Japanese Soccer League this season. They finished in seventh place amongst the eight clubs last season but have more than recovered this year and are considered one of the favourites to win the Championship, following ?their away win against Toyo Kogyo 3 League leaders at the close of the first half of the season.
Hitachi's rapid progress can be attributed to the efforts of their new Manager, Hidetatsu Takahashi, who had been National Coach prior to his retirement in 1962. He came back last year as Manager of the club for which he played twenty years ago.
The standings at the end of the first half of the season (the second half opens on 20 September) are as follows :
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
Pts. |
F |
A |
| Toyo Kogyo FC,Hiroshima |
7 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
12 |
17 |
2 |
| Hitachi FC,Tokyo |
7 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
15 |
8 |
| Mitsubishi FC,Tokyo |
7 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
| Yanmar Diesel,Osaka |
7 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
11 |
7 |
| Shin-Nihon Steel, Kita-Kyushu |
7 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
18 |
16 |
| Furukawa FC, Tokyo |
7 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
12 |
| Nagoya Sogo Bank, Nagoya |
7 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
18 |
| Nihon Kokan,Yokohama |
7 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
21 |
|
The History of Japanese Football :
Association Football was first introduced into Japan by the officers of a British warship who were in Japan to give technical assistance to the Japanese Navy. Under the leadership of their Vice-Commander, a man named Douglas, they gave a series of exhibition games and, in March of 1919, the English Football Association donated a cup to be competed for by Japanese football teams.
This was, in fact, the start of the foundation of the Japanese Football Association. The first All Japan Campionship competition was held in November, 1921 at Hibiya Park in central Tokyo. The F.A.Cup was presented to the “Tokyo Kickers Club”，winners of the competition, by the British Ambassador in Tokyo. The Tokyo Kickers Club is still fully operative in the First Division of the Tokyo League. |
