The JFA Mid-Term Plan for 2023-2026Japan Football Hall of Fame
JFA Hall of Fame Inductee
NOMURA Mutsuhiko
Inductees Recommended by the Committee (Special Selection)
- Born in Hiroshima on 10 February 1940
After graduating from Chuo University following Hiroshima Municipal Funairi High School, Nomura joined Hitach Ltd. in 1963. He was named one of the valuable players at the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament 1957. He has achieved the championship of, in the All Japan University Soccer Tournament (3 times), the Kanto University Football Association League (2 years in a row) and the Emperor’s Cup All Japan Soccer Tournament.
He proved himself as linkman (MF) with incessant mobility, participated in a series of away matches in Europe and then Soviet Union as a candidate for the Japan national team in 1960. He was superior in speedy accurate ball control and an ability to judge a opponent’s movement, being good at a play leading to attacks.
In the Hitachi FC, he played in 14 games in Japan Soccer League in 1965, becoming the league’s first top scorer with 15 goals. He played in doing “running soccer”, the slogan stated by then head coach of the club, TAKAHASHI Hidetoki, and led the team as main player in 1970’s. His great contribution provided Hitachi with two national titles in 1972, such as the one in JSL 1st as well as the first one in the Emperor’s Cup All Japan Soccer Tournament, which made Japan soccer get back soccer’s basics of “running. In the same year, Nomura won a football of the year award. His winning this award 7 years after becoming the JSL’s first scorer tells the fact that Nomura continued to play active role on the front line.
In his retirement lives, Nomura served Hitachi as a head coach of the team for three seasons following serving as an assistant coach. After professionalization of soccer league in Japan, he made a great effort to the development J. League and Japan Soccer over 20 years, e.g. by serving as a J. League match commissioner from 1992 and also as a chairman of J. League discipline commission as well as a discipline and fair play commissioner of the Japan Football Association from 2006.
He won a Japan Professional Sports Great Prize of the 46th Prime Minister Trophy.
