Ryuichi Sugiyama

is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography
Sugiyama was born in Shizuoka on July 4, 1941. After graduating from Meiji University, he joined Japan Soccer League club Mitsubishi Motors in 1966. The club won the champion in 1969 and 1973. The club also won 1971 and 1973 Emperor's Cup. He retired in 1973. In his 8 seasons, he played all matches except 1 game in 1970 season and he was selected Best Eleven in all seasons. He was also selected "Japanese Footballer of the Year" 3 times (1964, 1969 and 1973).

On May 28, 1961, during Rōnin for university, Sugiyama debuted for the Japan national team against Malaya. He played at 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. At 1964 Summer Olympics, he played 3 games and scored 2 goals against Argentina and Ghana. At 1968 Summer Olympics, he played 6 matches and assisted 5 goals and Japan won bronze medal. In 2018, 1968 Olympics team was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame. He also played at 1962, 1966 and 1970 Asian Games. At 1972 Summer Olympics qualification in 1971, Japan's failure to qualify for 1972 Summer Olympics. This qualification was his last game for Japan. He played 56 games and scored 15 goals for Japan until 1971.

After retirement, Sugiyama became a manager for Yamaha Motors in 1974. He led the club to the Japan Soccer League Division 1. He is their longest-serving manager, having led the club from 1974 to 1987.

In 2005, Sugiyama was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame.

Statistics

|-
|1966||rowspan="8"|Mitsubishi Motors||rowspan="8"|JSL Division 1||14||11
|-
|1967||14||8
|-
|1968||14||4
|-
|1969||14||1
|-
|1970||13||4
|-
|1971||14||4
|-
|1972||14||3
|-
|1973||18||6
115||41
115||41
|}
Japan National Football Team Database

|-
|1961||3||0
|-
|1962||6||0
|-
|1963||5||1
|-
|1964||2||1
|-
|1965||4||3
|-
|1966||6||2
|-
|1967||5||4
|-
|1968||4||1
|-
|1969||4||0
|-
|1970||11||1
|-
|1971||6||2
|-
!Total||56||15
|}

References

Other websites

Japan Football Hall of Fame at Japan Football Association
Japan Football Hall of Fame (Japan team at 1968 Olympics) at Japan Football Association

Category:1941 births
Category:Living people
Category:Footballers from Shizuoka Prefecture
Category:Japan international footballers
Category:Japan Soccer League players
Category:Urawa Red Diamonds players
Category:Footballers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Category:Footballers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic medalists in football
Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Japan
Category:Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics