The sky we looked up at that day was connected endlessly. It's an episode that makes you feel that way.
This is the story of two people who reunited in Japan after 26 years — Yukinori YAMAKAWA, affectionately known as "Yama-san," the kit man, and Ricardo RODRIGUEZ, the manager leading Kashiwa Reysol.
Yama-san saw a TV program featuring a kit man from Brazil during high school and thought, "I want to make this my job." However, at that time, those working behind the scenes at J-League clubs were people with experience as university soccer managers. After graduating from a junior college specializing in welfare, he worked part-time but could not give up on his dream of becoming a kit man.
At the age of 24 in 1999, he went alone to Spain chasing his dream. Desperate for support, he relied on a Japanese journalist he happened to meet while watching the 1998 FIFA World Cup France on site.
However, I met with several club officials introduced by a journalist, but the communication did not go well. I experienced loneliness alone in a hotel overseas. When I was at a loss, the journalist, worried about Yama-san during a business trip to Germany, came to check on him, and through his recommendation, I was allowed to observe the kit man work at Real Oviedo.
It was the first day of the visit. Donato Ayumentfeito, who served as the equipment manager for Oviedo, was elderly and had trouble walking, struggling even to carry luggage. Yama-san volunteered to carry the luggage himself, and the next day he was handed the team jersey.
A week later, a local TV station, intrigued by the fact that there was a Japanese person working unpaid in Oviedo, interviewed him. When the interview was broadcast, it quickly became a topic among Oviedo supporters, and through their efforts, he was allowed to accompany the team on away trips. From there, he deepened his friendship with players and staff, and for the three months until his tourist visa expired, he learned the skills and knowledge of a kit man under Mr. Donato. From his mentor, who was strict even with players, he received many loving words of wisdom.
One day, while I was busily working, I was told, "Don't run around so much and hurriedly pick up balls. Enjoy it more as if today were the last day of your life." Furthermore, on the night before returning to Japan, when I went out for a meal, I was taught the principles of being a kit man. Those words are something I still cherish today.
"Restaurants that cause food poisoning end up doing so because they deal with too many customers. But if you treat each one as if they were your own child, you shouldn't cause food poisoning. So, prepare for each of the many players as if they were your own children."
At the starting point of his career, he met an assistant coach called Richard, who had just begun his path as a coach at that time. They were close in age, and Richard was one of the people who often looked out for Yama-san, who couldn't speak the language very well.
"Richard was a staff member mainly for the young players in Segunda B. When there were injuries in the top team with 25 registered players, players were supplemented from Segunda B. Then, he would come along with the top team and play the role of an energizer, passionately encouraging the players in the locker room. Since he was close in age to one of the two kit managers, on nights when we went on trips, we often went out to drink tea called wine. I myself couldn't speak much at the time, so we didn't have very deep conversations, but he helped arrange things when going out somewhere, negotiated with the office staff, and we saw each other every day during regular practice."
He met during his training trip to Spain, where he went with dreams, said goodbye to the novice coach who was kind to him, and by chance became the kit manager for FC Tokyo starting from the 2000 season after returning to Japan.
Time passed, and in the 2017 season, Coach Rodriguez made his first visit to Japan and took on the role of head coach for Tokushima Vortis. Yama-san said, "I thought there were people in the world who looked similar." Five years later, he happened to read the profile of Coach Rodriguez, who had become the head coach of Urawa Reds, and realized that the 'Richard' he knew was actually 'Ricardo.'
"When I became the manager of Urawa, I saw in the profile that it said 'from Oviedo,' so I learned about it there. That was the last season he managed Urawa, and it was already after one match had finished. There was a chance in the next match as well, but he went to China before we could meet due to being busy, so I felt disappointed."
The reunion did not happen──. While regretting it, Mr. Rodriguez will take over as the manager of Kashiwa from the 2025 season. Yama-san was eagerly looking forward to the Kashiwa match, thinking, "This time, let's definitely talk."
On the other hand, it is said that a local Spanish reporter also contacted under Coach Rodriguez.
"I was contacted by a local reporter from Oviedo who said, 'I want to write an article tracing the club's history.' They mentioned that a Japanese kit man who used to be in Oviedo should have returned to Japan, and they asked if there was any way to get in touch with him."
Upon receiving the news, Coach Rodriguez contacted Joan MIRET, the goalkeeper coach who worked together at Urawa Reds, is also from Spain, and had worked in Japan longer than himself, saying, "At that time, there was a kit man who was a hot topic over there, and there is this story."
"I was told, 'That's FC Tokyo's kit man.' Because he was with FC Tokyo."
After the match held at Japan National Stadium in April 2025, the two met face to face for the first time in 26 years. When Mr. Yama was waiting in the players' area inside the stadium, Coach Rodriguez noticed him and approached with a smile, saying, "You were the kit man when I was 24, right? It's nostalgic." They rekindled their old friendship there. Mr. Yama then mentioned, "I didn't recognize you because I was reading your name in English."
Coach Rodriguez was also delighted to reunite with Mr. Yama.
"27 years ago, I was working as one of the coaching staff for Oviedo's satellite team. At that time, Yuki had come from Japan to learn the skills of a kit manager. Since my player days, I had been nicknamed 'Richard,' the English reading of 'Ricardo,' and Yuki remembered me as 'Richard,' so we couldn't connect the dots at first. We talked about it at the National Stadium and were able to reunite. I was really happy."
Yama said, "The world is small," reflecting on the mysterious connection nurtured in Spain.
"What I saw in Oviedo was really just the 'surface' part of the work. But later on, I realized there were many things Donato-san was doing, and my experience in Spain became valuable later. I am grateful to have been involved in what I love up to this point, and whenever players were in trouble, I wanted to do something to help. When I recall memories with Donato-san, I realize that just doing what I was told was not enough. I try to convey what needs to be said in my own way. Even though I was only involved with a single team in a distant country, there were several surprising reunions in my life where I met a few people other than Ricardo-san again. Nowadays, with social media, it might be an era where you can find and meet people if you trace back. But there really are mysterious connections."
They met at the starting point of their careers and, after chasing the rolling ball, reunited for the first time in 26 years.
The two who have an unforgettable sky are now looking up at the same sky again.
(Honorifics omitted in the text)
Text by Kohei Baba (Freelance Writer)
