Name of Coach : OKADA Takeshi
Born in 1956. Former national team defender. Was promoted from a team coach to head coach in 1997 during qualification for the following year’s World Cup in France and led the team to qualification. In the end, they had 3 losses at that tournament.そFollowing that worked as coach at Consadole Sapporo and Yokohama F Marinos in the J-League/ In December 2007 he returned to coach the national team and performed well during South Africa World Cup qualifications to ensure his team will once more challenge for the World Cup.

As of July 2009

World class striker KAMAMOTO Kunishige was in the team that won a bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. After a long spell lost on the world stage the next time Japan reappeared was in the 90’s. At the 1992 AFC Asian Cup FW MIURA Kazuyoshi and MF RAMOS Ruy were crucial players in downing Sauid Arabia in the final to claim their first championship. The first professional league was to follow in 1993 and football’s development started to speed up resulting in their first ever qualification for a FIFA World Cup in 1998 (France tournament). early-mid 20s players such as DF NAKATA Hidetoshi, MF ONO Shinji and MF INAMOTO Jun-ichi starred for Japan at the co-hosted Japan Korea World Cup in 2002. They progressed to the knock out stage after securing their first ever World Cup win over Russia and finishing their group stage with 2 wins and 1 draw. They also won the 2000 and 2004 Asian Cups. They had become the best in Asia but they were eliminated from the 2006 World Cup without a win in their group and in 2007 their campaign for a 3rd straight Asian Cup victory ended in 4th place. In December 2007 OKADA Takeshi was reinstated as head coach after a 9 year absence, and under him Japan, who had grown quickly before, have preogressed through qualification for the 2010 South Africa World Cup and are currently preparing, according to Coach OKADA, to “beat the world”.

As of July 2009

• 
  ＞＞NAKAZAWA Yuji
  Position：DF
• 
  ＞＞NAKAMURA Shunsuke
  Position：MF
• 
  ＞＞HASEBE Makoto
  Position：MF

Name of Coach : SASAKI Norio
Born in 1958. After coaching at J-League club, Omiya Ardija he took a coaching position with the Japanese women’s team in January 2006 and in 2007 also worked as head coach of the U-19 national women’s team. In December 2007 he was appointed head coach of the full national women’s team. In the following year in February 2008 he led Japan to their first ever international tournament title by winning the East Asian Women’s Football Championship. That summer his team progressed to the semi-finals of the Beijing Olympics.

As of July 2009

Claimed their first international championship title over rivals DPR Korea, Korea Rep and China PR at the East Asian Women’s Championship Finals 2008. The Japan Women’s team, nicknamed “Nadeshiko”, made up of the internationally experienced MF SAWA Homare and FW ARAKAWA Eriko, rookie MF MIYAMA Aya and golden boot FW OHNO Shinobu have taken the first step on a new path. After deciding on the three Nadeshiko visions of “Football will become a major women’s sport” “Nadeshiko will become world class” “We will grow into one of the world’s standards” the world of Japanese women’s football designed a system of encouraging youth and growth in the sport’s popularity. The goal of “Finish in the final four at the World Cup and Olympics” was achieved faster than expected in August 2008. Japan qualifed for the Beijing Olympics and got through their pool with results of 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss before beating China PR 2-0 in the quarter-finals. They had made it to the semi-finals of a worldwide tournament. As coach SASAKI Norio continues his progress with the Nadeshiko team it’s hard to take your eyes off them.

As of July 2009

• 
  ＞＞SAWA Homare
  Position：MF
• 
  ＞＞ARAKAWA Eriko
  Position：FW
• 
  ＞＞MIYAMA Aya
  Position：MF