URAWA RED DIAMONDS

Appointment of Youth Team Captain Takafumi Hori to the top team’s team manager position  

Upon the contract termination of Team Manager Zeljko Petrovic, Urawa Reds appointed the club’s youth team manager Takafumi Hori to the top team’s team manager position. The youth team’s coach Amano Kenichi has also been appointed as the top team’s coach.

Team Manager Takafumi Hori
Date of birth: 10 September 1967 (44 years old)
Hori is from Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Kanagawa Prefectual Kamakura Senior High School – Meiji University – Toshiba – Urawa Reds – Bellmare Hiratsuka (currently Shonan Bellmare)


J1 overall score: played in 188 matches and scored 14 goals
J2 overall score: played in 65 matches and scored 4 goals
JSL overall score: played in 41 matches and scored 9 goals
Yamazaki Nabisco Cup: played in 39 matches and scored 4 goals
Emperor’s Cup: played in 25 matches and scored 3 goals.


2002 – 2003: Shonan Bellmare, Promotion and Training Coach, Junior Youth Team Coach
2004: Shonan Bellmare Coach
2005 – 2006: Urawa Reds Youth Team Coach
From 2007: Urawa Reds Youth Team’s Team Manager


New Team Manager Hori is from Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduated from Meiji University, he joined JSL Toshiba and played for two seasons. After that, he joined Urawa Reds in 1992 when Uwara Reds was to join the J League. He played in a forward position but later played as a right side back and a defensive mid-fielder player. Hori led the team with accurate positioning and an overflowing fighting spirit.
In 1999, he transferred to Bellmare Hiratsuka (currently known as Shonan Bellmare) and played for three seasons. He retired in 2001 and became the team’s second string teams’ coach from 2002. After he gained experiences as the club’s top team coach, he assumed the position of Urawa Reds team’s youth club coach from 2005 to 2006. He became a team manager of Urawa Reds’ Youth Team in 2007. In 2008, with then Youth Team players Naoki Yamada, Shunki Takahashi, Mizuki Hamada, Genki Haraguchi and Takuya Okamoto (who currently play in the club’s top team), the team won the title in the All Japan U-18 Youth Match for the first time under Hori’s steering.


Coach Kenichi Amano
Date of birth: 3 April 1975 (36 years old)
Amano is from Koga City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Koga Dai-ichi Senior High School – University of Tsukuba – Graduate School, University of Tsukuba

998 - 2000: University of Tsukuba Soccer Team Coach
2000 – 2003: FC Tokyo Promotion Team Coach
2003 – 2005: FC Tokyo Musashi U-15 Team Manager
2005 – 2006: FC Tokyo Musashi Coach
2006 -2007: FC Tokyo Promotion Team Coach
From 2008: Urawa Reds Youth Team Coach

* New coaching members for Youth Team will be announced soon after official appointment.