is a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player. He is currently manager of

Japan Football League The , also known as simply the JFL, is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League 100 Year Plan club sta ...

club,

Briobecca Urayasu is a Japanese football (soccer) club based in Urayasu, Chiba. They currently play in Japan Football League, the fourth tier of Japanese football. History Founded in 1989 as ''Urayasu Junior Football Club'', the team was established in Chi ...

. He last played for Japan national team until 1995.

Club career

Tsunami was a product of Yomiuri (later ''Verdy Kawasaki'') youth system. He joined

Japan Soccer League ; JSL) was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL Cup, JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professi ...

side Yomiuri in 1980. The club won the champions in

5 times,

JSL Cup was the original league cup for clubs in the Japan Soccer League, the top level of Japanese football before the creation of the J. League and its cup. The cup was first played in 1973, but only become an annual tournament in 1976. The JSL Cup ...

3 times and

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

3 times. This was golden era in club history. He was also selected Best Eleven 3 times (

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

). In 1992, Japan Soccer League was folded and founded new league

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

. However he lost opportunity to play after that. Toward the end of his career, he played for

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club based in Hakata, Fukuoka. They currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. History Earlier years in Fujieda The club were originally based in Fujieda, Shizu ...

(1996–1997) and

Bellmare Hiratsuka is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuk ...

(1997–1998). He retired in 1998. He played 267 games and scored 5 goals in the league.

National team career

Tsunami was capped 78 times and scored 2 goals for the Japan national team between 1980 and 1995.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref> He made his first international appearance on 22 December 1980 in a

1982 World Cup qualification __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 fo ...

against

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in Hong Kong. He scored his first international goal on 20 September 1986 in an

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

match against

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Daejeon Daejeon (; ) is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million. Located in a central lowland valley between the Sobaek Mountains and the Geum River, the city is known both as a ...

, South Korea. After 1988 Summer Olympics qualification in 1987, he ceased to be selected Japan. In May 1992, Tsunami was selected Japan for the first time in 5 years. He was a member of the Japan team that won the 1992 Asian Cup. He played all the Japan games except one for which he wasn't eligible due to suspension. He was such a key player that national coach

Hans Ooft Marius Johan "Hans" Ooft (born 1947) is a Dutch former football (soccer), football player and manager who became the first foreigner to head the Japanese national football team, Japanese football team. Under Ooft, Japan national football team, J ...

named him a member of the Japan squad for the

1994 World Cup qualification The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitting ...

stage for the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

in spite of his injury. However, he could not play any game in the competition that was centrally held in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

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as his recovery wasn't as good as Ooft had wished it to be. Japan's hope to qualify for the finals was dashed by a stoppage time Iraqi equaliser in the last qualifying match. The Japanese fans now refer to this match as the Agony of Doha, and his absence was one of the main reasons why Japan's campaign ended up unsuccessful.

Coaching career

After finishing his playing career, Tsunami worked as a pundit on television and as a coach at

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club currently competes in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2023. History Founded as Yomiuri Football Club in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the mo ...

's youth setup. He acquired the S-Class Coaching License that was a prerequisite to manage a J.League club in 2004. In 2005, he was appointed the manager of

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

side

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Sendai, Miyagi, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Elect ...

. Vegalta finished fourth and failed to gain the promotion. Tsunami was dismissed after one season. In 2006, he became an assistant coach to new manager

Ruy Ramos is a Brazilian-born Japanese former football manager and player. He is currently active as a television personality and '' tarento'', represented by Irving. Club career Ramos was one of the first foreign players in Japanese professional f ...

at another J2 side Tokyo Verdy. Again the team failed to move up and he was sacked after one season. In 2007, he became the manager of newly relegated J2 side

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osak ...

but was dismissed in May after a bad start. In 2008, he was appointed as the manager of J2 League club

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club was formed by fans of Yokohama Flügels as a protest against Flügels' merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999, becoming th ...

but was fired at the end of the 2008 season. On 20 November 2018, Tsunami announcement officially manager of

starting from 2019. He return as football manager after 11 years absence.

Personal life

His son, Yuta Tsunami is also a footballer and currently play in

Nara Club is a Japanese football (soccer) club based in the Nara city, capital of Nara Prefecture. They currently play in J3 League, the third tier professional in the Japanese football. History The club was originally established in Nara in 1991 ...

Club statistics

National team statistics

Managerial statistics

.J.League Data Site
/ref>

Honours and awards

Team honours

* 1992 Asian Cup (Champions)

Manager

;Briobecca Urayasu *

Shakaijin Cup The , officially called the All Japan Adults Football Tournament, is a football (soccer) cup competition in Japan. It is run by the Japan Football Association. As it only involves non-league teams (teams not affiliated to either J.League or the ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Japanese Regional Football Champions League The Japanese Regional Champions League (, ''Zenkoku Chiiki Sakkā Championzu Rīgu''), known before 2016 as Japan Regional Football League Competition, is a nationwide play-off tournament meant as a transition for Japanese football clubs competin ...

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsunami, Satoshi 1961 births Living people Association football people from Tokyo Japanese men's footballers Japan Soccer League players J1 League players Tokyo Verdy players Avispa Fukuoka players Shonan Bellmare players Japan men's international footballers 1992 AFC Asian Cup players 1995 King Fahd Cup players AFC Asian Cup–winning players Japanese football managers J2 League managers Vegalta Sendai managers Cerezo Osaka managers Yokohama FC managers Footballers at the 1982 Asian Games Footballers at the 1986 Asian Games Men's association football defenders Asian Games footballers for Japan 20th-century Japanese sportsmen