Takaji Mori, who helped Japan win the bronze medal in men's soccer at the 1968 Summer Olympics and was the inaugural manager of the Urawa Reds in the J-league, died Sunday of renal pelvic cancer, his family said. He was 67.
Mori played mainly as a midfielder and appeared for Japan in both the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the Mexico Games four years later, where he played in every match to assist in Japan winning the bronze.
Mori managed the national team from 1981-85 and almost led Japan into its first World Cup in Mexico with a strong showing in the final Asian qualifiers.
He was named manager of Urawa when the J-league club was established in 1992.
From 2001 to 2006, Mori was the general manager for Urawa and contributed to the club's winning consecutive Emperor's Cup titles. He was inducted into the soccer Hall of Fame in 2006.