Toshio Iwatani

Toshio Iwatani
岩谷 俊夫

Personal information
Full name	Toshio Iwatani
Date of birth	(1925-10-24)October 24, 1925
Place of birth	Kobe, Hyogo, Empire of Japan
Date of death	March 1, 1970(1970-03-01) (aged 44)
Place of death	Chuo, Tokyo, Japan
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Kobe Daiichi High School
1943–1947	Waseda University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Osaka SC
International career
1951–1956	Japan	8	(4)
Medal record Representing Japan Asian Games 1951 New Delhi Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Toshio Iwatani (岩谷 俊夫, Iwatani Toshio, October 24, 1925 – March 1, 1970) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.

Club career

Iwatani was born in Kobe on October 24, 1925. After graduating from Waseda University, he played for Osaka SC. Osaka SC won second place at the Emperor's Cup three times, in 1951, 1952, and in 1953.

National team career

In March 1951, Iwatani was selected by the Japan national team for its first game after World War II, the 1951 Asian Games. He debuted at this competition on March 7 against Iran. On March 9, he scored two goals against Afghanistan during the match for third place and Japan won 2-0. He also played in the 1954 Asian Games. He played as captain in June 1956 at the 1956 Summer Olympics qualification against South Korea. Japan finished with one win and one defeat. After the qualifiers, the team drew lots for captain, and he was selected. The team won the qualification for the 1956 Summer Olympics. However, in November, he was not selected by the Japan team for the Olympics. He played eight games and scored four goals for Japan until 1956.

On March 1, 1970, Iwatani died of a brain tumor in Chuo, Tokyo at the age of 44. In 2006, he was inducted into the Japan Football Hall of Fame.

National team statistics

Japan national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1951	3	2
1952	0	0
1953	0	0
1954	2	2
1955	2	0
1956	1	0
Total	8	4

Honours

Japan

• Asian Games Bronze medal: 1951
• Japan Football Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2006

External links

• Toshio Iwatani at National-Football-Teams.com
• Japan National Football Team Database
• Japan Football Hall of Fame at Japan Football Association