en Kazuo Imanishi

Kazuo Imanishi
今西和男
Personal information
Full name	Kazuo Imanishi
Date of birth	January 12, 1941 (age 84)
Place of birth	Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Empire of Japan
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1956–1958	Hiroshima Funairi High School
College career
Years	Team
1959–1962	Tokyo University of Education
Senior career*
Years	Team
1963–1969	Toyo Industries
Total
International career
1966	Japan
Managerial career
1984–1987	Mazda
1988–1992	Mazda
Medal record
Toyo Industries
Representing Japan
Asian Games
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kazuo Imanishi (今西和男, Imanishi Kazuo, born January 12, 1941) is a Japanese former footballer and manager. He played for the Japan national team.

Club career

Imanishi was born in Hiroshima on January 12, 1941. After graduating from Tokyo University of Education, he joined his local club Toyo Industries (later Mazda) in 1963. In 1965, Toyo Industries joined new league Japan Soccer League. The club won the champions for 4 years in a row (1965–1968). The club also won 1965, 1967 and 1969 Emperor's Cup. He retired in 1969. He played 42 games in the league. He was named as part of the Best Eleven in 1966.

National team career

In December 1966, Imanishi was selected for the Japan national team prior to the 1966 Asian Games. On December 10, he debuted against India. He played 3 games for Japan.^[1]

Coaching career

After retirement, Imanishi became a manager for Mazda as Teruo Nimura's successor in 1984. This season was the first season the club was relegated to Division 2. He promoted the club to Division 1 in 1986. In 1987, he resigned as manager and was succeeded by Hans Ooft. However, the club was relegated to Division 2 again in 1988, and Imanishi returned to the club. Imanishi promoted the club to Division 1 in 1991 and he resigned in 1992. From 1994, he worked for the Japan Football Association until 2002. He also served as president at FC Gifu from 2008 to 2012.