From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Akira Matsunaga
松永 行
Personal information
Full name Akira Matsunaga
Date of birth (1914-09-21)21 September 1914
Place of birth Yaizu, Shizuoka, Empire of Japan
Date of death 20 January 1943(1943-01-20) (aged 28)
Place of death Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
0000 Shida High School
College career
Years Team Apps ( Gls)
1935–1937 Tokyo Liberal Arts and Science University
International career
1936 Japan 2 (1)

Akira Matsunaga (松永 行, Matsunaga Akira, 21 September 1914 – 20 January 1943) was a Japanese footballer. He played for the Japan national team. His brother Nobuo Matsunaga and Seki Matsunaga also played for the Japan national team.

National team career

Miracle of Berlin ( 1936 Olympics 1st round v Sweden on 4 August)

In 1936, when he was a Tokyo Liberal Arts and Science University student, he was selected Japan national team for 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. [1] At this competition, on 4 August, he debuted and scored a goal against Sweden. Japan completed a come-from-behind victory against Sweden. The first victory in Olympics for the Japan and the historic victory over one of the powerhouses became later known as "Miracle of Berlin" ( ベルリンの奇跡) in Japan. In 2016, this team was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame. On 7 August, he also played against Italy. He played 2 games and scored 1 goal for Japan in 1936. [2]

Death

In 1937, Matsunaga entered the Imperial Japanese Army and served in World War II with the 230th Infantry Regiment as a lieutenant. [3] [4] On 20 January 1943, he was killed in action during the Guadalcanal Campaign at the age of 28. [5]

National team statistics

[2]

Japan national team
Year Apps Goals
1936 2 1
Total 2 1

References

  1. ^ "Akira Matsunaga". Olympedia. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Japan National Football Team Database
  3. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20200417073130/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ma/akira-matsunaga-1.html Akira Matsunaga
  4. ^ "ガダルカナル奪回作戦・陸軍の部隊編成表". geocities.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.

External links

Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Akira_Matsunaga_(footballer,_born_1914)&oldid=1191465823"