mikami tatsuo

Kanji Mikami Shin'ya Nationality: Japanese Personal information: Former goalkeeper of the Japanese national team, Genzo Wakabayashi's coach, All Japan Jr. Youth's coach First appearance in Captain Tsubasa: Chapter 1 Former goalkeeper of the Japanese national team. He is the personal coach of Wakabayashi. Mikami was the first to uncover Roberto's true identity. He subjected Wakabayashi to intense training before his match against Nankatsu and Tsubasa. After Wakabayashi became dejected following a conceded goal, Mikami slapped him and declared he would cease coaching him. This action spurred Wakabayashi to return to the field with renewed calm. During most of the national tournament when Wakabayashi could not play, Mikami tended to his injuries to ensure he could participate in the final match. Driven by a desire to elevate Japanese soccer, Mikami was dispatched by the Japanese soccer organization to West Germany after the tournament. Before leaving, he invited Wakabayashi to join him, and Wakabayashi accepted. Mikami returned to Japan alone after three years, attending the middle school national tournament. His goal was to assemble the best players to form the All Japan Jr. Youth team for the International Jr. Youth Tournament in France. Mikami listened closely to the players' aspirations, followed Misugi's tactical advice, and respected some players' decisions not to let Tsubasa play. He asked his former pupil Wakabayashi to act as the antagonist, so the team could understand the strength of other countries. His tactical choices were effective in the first two matches, keeping Misaki and Misugi as hidden assets which turned the tide of these games. However, he erred by listening to Misugi and the Tachibana twins during the match against France, leading to no substitutions left, only ten players on the field, and five injured in extra time. Despite this, they won through sheer determination. Mikami's final decision was to have Wakabayashi play the final match against West Germany, which significantly impacted the game positively. Starting as All Japan Youth's coach in the World Youth series, Mikami had to inform Wakashimazu that Wakabayashi would be the regular keeper, resulting in Wakashimazu leaving the team. With the emergence of R.J.7, Mikami underwent surgery for appendicitis complicated by peritonitis, temporarily handing over his coaching duties to Gamo. This decision was driven more by Gamo's passion than by Mikami's health condition. At the end of the Asian preliminaries, Wakashimazu rejoined the team, apologizing to Mikami. Both acknowledged their stubbornness, likely stemming from their single-minded goalkeeper personalities. In Road to 2002, Mikami coached Japan Youth, composed of the next generation of players led by Sawada. The team successfully advanced through the Asian preliminaries after a tight final match against Korea.