Motoo Tatsuhara

Motoo Tatsuhara
Personal information
Full name	Motoo Tatsuhara
Date of birth	January 14, 1913
Place of birth	Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1933–1936	Waseda University
Senior career*
Years	Team
	Waseda WMW
National team
1934–1936	Japan
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Motoo Tatsuhara (立原元夫, Tatsuhara Motoo, January 14, 1913 – ?) was a Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography[change | change source]

Tatsuhara was born in Shinagawa, Tokyo on January 14, 1913. He played for Waseda WMW which was consisted of his alma mater Waseda University players and graduates. At the club, he played with many Japan national team players Taizo Kawamoto, Tadao Horie, Yasuo Suzuki, Kunitaka Sueoka, Takashi Kano and so on. He won the 2nd place at 1940 Emperor's Cup. This tournament was the last Emperor's Cup before the war because Emperor's Cup was suspended for World War II from 1941 to 1945.

In May 1934, when Tatsuhara was a Waseda University student, he was selected the Japan national team for Far Eastern Championship Games in Manila. At this competition, on May 13, he debuted against Dutch East Indies. In 1936, he was also selected Japan for 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Japan completed a come-from-behind victory first game 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. He played 4 games for Japan until 1936.