Former Japan coach and Brazil midfielder Zico has been elected to Japanese soccer's Hall of Fame along with Japan's 1936 Berlin Olympic team, the Japan Football Association announced Monday.
An induction ceremony will be held at the Japan Football Museum at the JFA's headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 10.
The 63-year-old Zico, who won 72 caps for Brazil, scoring 52 goals and playing in three World Cups, coached the Japan national team for four years.
He won the 2004 Asian Cup amid the backdrop of anti-Japanese sentiment in China and qualified the Blue Samurai for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
One of the pioneers of modern professional soccer in Japan, his experience with the country extends back to 1991, when he joined Kashima Antlers (then Sumitomo) and went on to become one of the star players of the newly formed J. League.
At the 1936 Games, Japan came from behind to beat Sweden in their Olympic debut in Berlin in a match known in Japan as "The Miracle of Berlin."