About Yasuhiko Okudera
Yasuhiko Okudera (奥寺 康彦, Okudera Yasuhiko; born 12 March 1952) is a Japanese former football player and manager. A midfielder, Okudera was the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, as well as being the first Asian football player to score in the European Cup, while playing for 1. FC Köln in the 1979 semi-final match against Nottingham Forest and made 32 appearances – scoring nine goals – with the Japan national team. == Club career == Okudera began his playing career in 1970 as an employee of Furukawa Electric, whose soccer team played in the corporate Japan Soccer League, the top flight league in Japan at the time. In 1976, the club won the 1976 Japan Soccer League and 1976 Emperor's Cup and he was selected Best Eleven. In May 1977, the club also won 1977 JSL Cup. In the summer of 1977, during the team's trip to Germany, he was spotted by coach Hennes Weisweiler of Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln. After being offered a contract by Köln he joined the club in July 1977. Okudera made his debut on 5 October 1977, becoming the first Japanese player to play top flight football in Europe, and Köln won the Bundesliga title that year.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.