With the experience gained from four years of rigorous training, he challenges to secure his regular position wearing number 15, returning to his roots.
DF 15 Rio OMORI
Introducing all the Blue-Red warriors participating in the Meiji Yasuda J1 Century Vision League 2026 season in 'PLAYERS FILE 2026.' What kind of thoughts do the players hold, and with what determination are they preparing to face the special half-season tournament and the year ahead?
Rio OMORI returned to Tokyo after a training journey spanning four seasons with four different clubs. He steadily gained experience and achievements in each place, growing significantly, and received an offer to rejoin from the Red and Blue. This reveals the feelings behind it and what he gained during the four seasons he spent moving around.
From the expression and words of the man who put on the blue and red uniform for the first time in five years, a strong determination to take on a new team, rather than a sense of relief at returning, was conveyed.
Leaving Tokyo behind, the four years spent with four clubs in the Meiji Yasuda J2 League were an incredibly intense period for Rio OMORI. At FC Ryukyu, his first new team in the 2022 season, he increased his playing time but was unable to fully support the struggling team. The following season at RB Omiya Ardija, he was unable to secure a regular spot. However, the training during those two years led to success in the next step. At his third club, Iwaki FC, he played as a key member of the back line in 35 matches, gaining invaluable match experience. Then, in the 2025 season playing for FC Imabari, he earned a starting spot from the opening match, appeared in 36 games, and experienced the J1 League promotion playoff battle. Through games in thrilling situations, he grew significantly both mentally and physically.
"There were difficult seasons where neither I nor the team could achieve results, but looking at the last two seasons, I was able to play for very hungry and energetic teams like Iwaki.G, in their second year after promotion to the J2 League, and Imabari, who just moved up to the J2 League. Gaining solid match experience was very significant. There were many games where promotion or relegation was at stake, and although the category is different from FC Tokyo, I believe I gained very valuable experience in terms of competitiveness and match sense."
Five years ago, an 18-year-old rookie who had just been promoted from FC Tokyo U-18 and knew nothing about the professional world, has grown into a reliable 23-year-old center back through a training period on loan. Of course, the club could not ignore him. Receiving a "love call" for his return from FC Tokyo, he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"Being needed by the club. That it was FC Tokyo, where I grew up, makes me even happier. However, just coming back is meaningless. I believe what this club lacks is a league title, so both personally and as a team, I want to fight with a focus on results. I understand that the competition for center back in Tokyo is fierce, and I want to climb up from the very bottom and definitely take the position."
The number chosen for the first year back was 15, the number he wore when he first started playing soccer. Changing from the number 34, which he wore in his first professional year in Tokyo, as well as at Omiya and Imabari, was a way to symbolize a return to his roots. Wearing a number he is attached to and carrying the confidence gained over four seasons, Rio OMORI throws himself into the fierce competition for the center-back position that awaits him here.
(Honorifics omitted in the text)
Text by Daisuke Suga
