Father of Japan's Soccer Died at 90
Few Japanese may remember Dettmar Cramer today but to those associated with soccer in one or another, a mention of his name brings back vivid memories of Japanese soccer in its cradle days. The Japanese soccer world has good reasons to mourn the passing of Dettmar Cramer on Thursday at 90.
The Tokyo Olympics four years ahead, he came to Japan in 1960 as a coach to strengthen Japan's national team.
Mr. Cramer is known for having "discovered" Kunishige Kamamoto, Japan's ace striker who helped win the bronze medal in the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. Cramer said he saw markings of a superstar in Kamamoto the moment he saw him. "In those days Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were watching Kamamoto", he confided. Another striker Ryuichi Sugiyama saw in Cramer not a superb trainer alone but a disciple in Yamato damashii, the Japanese spirit. "Before the bronze medal, show me your Yamato damashii, he told us", confided Sugiyama as Cramer saying.
Dettmar Cramer was born in Dortmund and played in club teams in Germany. He injured his knee and retired and turned to coaching.
Cramer was instrumental in establishing the Japan League in 1965. Later in 2005, he was inducted into Japan's Soccer Hall of Fame.
Cramer led Bayern Munich to European Cups twice in a row in the 1970s and once International Cup. He coached in Greece, Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, China and South Korea. The German Football Federation said Cramer had worked in 90 countries.
Though little known, Cramer became the lead editor for sports for German television station ZDF worked for while in that capacity. But, Cramer decided to quit after only six months on the job.Then he was sent by the DFB to Japan to work as a football coach.
