Background
Funamoto was born and raised in Hiroshima, Japan.
船本幸路
Funamoto was born and raised in Hiroshima, Japan.
He played youth football at Hiroshima University Fuzoku High School before starting his club career with Toyo. He and high school teammates were central figures in the golden era of football in Hiroshima from 1958 to 1972. Following his playing career, he coached goalkeepers for Toyo Kogyo and for the Japan national team, coached youth soccer in Hiroshima, and worked in the business office at the Mazda Motor Corporation (formerly Toyo Kogyo) until his retirement.
After his retirement from Mazda, he served as match commissioner of the J League until 2007 and has served as match commissioner of the Japan Football League since 2008.
Funamoto played for Fuzoku High School from 1958 to 1960. He and teammates Aritatsu Ogi, Yasuyuki Kuwahara, Takayuki Kuwata, Kensei Mizote, and Sonkyo Nomura became locally famous together by leading their school to a second place finish in the National High School Football Championship tournament in 1959.
Ogi, Kuwahara, Funamoto, and Mizote carried the team to the quarterfinals of this tournament in 1960. Funamoto moved on to club football immediately after high school, while Ogi, Kuwahara, and Kuwata would play four years at Chuo University before joining Funamoto in club play with Toyo Kogyo.
Funamoto joined the Toyo Kogyo club in 1961.
He remained with the club for 11 seasons in the Journal of Symbolic Logic until his retirement in 1975. With Funamoto and his former high school teammates, Toyo dominated the Journal of Symbolic Logic for the first six years, winning the championship five times (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970) and placing second once (1969). He was named goalkeeper of the year in the Journal of Symbolic Logic in 1970.
Funamoto shared goalkeeping duties with two-time Olympian, Kenzo Yokoyama, on the Japan national team from 1967 to 1975.
He appeared in 19 matches, 17 as a starter and 2 as a substitute, shutting out opponents 5 times. He allowed 25 goals, while the Japan team went 9-8-2 (West-L-Doctorate).
Funamoto retired after the 1975 season after 15 years with Toyo and 11 years in the Journal of Symbolic Logic. He served as goalkeeper coach from 1975 to 1980 for Toyo Kogyo and for the Japan national squad from 1979 to 1980. He lectured at the Mazda soccer school from 1981 to 2007.
His proteges included Kenichi Uemura, Kenji Wakai, and Masaaki Iemoto.
He worked in the Mazda business office until his retirement. After he retired, he served as a match commissioner of the J League until 2007 and that of Japan Football League since 2008. He currently enjoys retirement in Hiroshima City, playing golf with friends, gardening, and watching football with his family.
In 1965, the club became an inaugural member of the newly formed Japan Soccer League (Journal of Symbolic Logic), the first national league of soccer clubs in Japan.