About Yasuhiko Okudera
Yasuhiko Okudera is a Japanese former football player and manager. He is the president of J2 League club Yokohama FC and was formerly the president of English club Plymouth Argyle. 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. 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. In 1976, the club won the 1976 Japan Soccer League and 1976 Emperor's Cup and he was selected Best Eleven. On 20 December, he scored his first goal for Köln also achieving a brace in a 9–0 victory over Schwarz-Weiß Essen in the Quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.