1 year of hard work and dedication
The second act of the story is finally beginning.
Kuryu MATSUKI dominated the high school soccer world at Aomori Yamada High School and made his debut on the professional stage. In his rookie year last season, he secured a starting position with his energetic play and became a key player. In the end, he played in 32 J1 league matches and scored 2 goals.
Behind the brilliant debut, he had been building up his skills day by day. After every team practice, he continued to work on the basics of "stopping and kicking" throughout the year, and if he had any doubts, he would turn to his seniors or coaches for advice. What drove him was an insatiable desire to improve.
It was the last match of last season. Yojiro TAKAHAGI, who sought a place to shine at Tochigi SC last summer, was visiting the game. After the match, Matsuki saw TAKAHAGI chatting with his teammates and asked for advice, saying, "How was my play?" TAKAHAGI replied, "Don't ask me," and although he was a little confused, he said, "I was watching from above, so I talked about it not being like this or that. I was impressed by Matsuki's drive for improvement."
Lessons from Yuto NAGATOMO
Because he is a highly sensitive player, there must have been a continuous learning and realization. It was "big" to spend time with Yuto NAGATOMO, who had been saying "I want to hear your story" even before turning pro, and he continues, "It was big."
"An amazing person even from the sidelines. The past year of being able to see them up close has been significant for me. It was a valuable year where I was able to learn not only from their high level of consciousness during play, but also outside of play."
After such a fulfilling year, he said, "Both as a team and as an individual, I have grown in this past year. Although I haven't been able to produce visible results, I have truly felt the importance of this season and it has been a great experience."
That glare doesn't know how to settle down at all. In my second year as a pro, I have to teach my juniors a lot since the start of the season. The seniors who have been leading the team have all gone to different clubs, so I hope I can lead the team this season as I had a lot of playing time last season. I want to be in a more intense condition and mindset than the new players.
With such enthusiasm, the camp before the opening of the season began to exude an air of dignity. Standing at the forefront of the younger players who reminded him of himself a year ago, he has been leading the team with the words, "Follow me." On his back, he wears the number 7 for this season.
"Wearing a young number also creates a sense of responsibility. Being entrusted with a single digit means that you have to be a key player. That also serves as motivation for me. (Aomori) When Yamada wore the number 7, he was in good shape, so I personally requested to wear the number 7. If I think too much about the pressure of wearing the number 7, it won't go well, so I want to choose my own number."
Expectations for oneself: "I'm already on the rise."
The progress never stops. Since last season, he has been entrusted with the role of set-piece kicker and has been working hard in extra practice sessions with Coach Yukihiko SATO. The results are starting to show clearly. He may attract attention as a new weapon for the team this season.
It seems like he's only looking up, but he can still focus on his feet. That's why he can draw a steadily rising growth curve. Even coach Albert Puig Ortoneda doesn't hesitate to praise him, saying "He will eventually be called up to the Japan national team."
The lump of ambition said to himself, "I must continue to strive for improvement."
"I definitely don't want to lose, and I think that individual improvement is necessary to make Tokyo a better team. I want to contribute to that as well. I want to spend each day firmly without breaking my competitive mentality."
And when asked about the team and expectations for this season, he laughed and said, "I'm already on the rise."
When Nagatomo asked me, "We promised to go to the next World Cup together, right? Kuse is definitely going, so it's up to me, right?" I replied with a simple "Yes. Let's go together."
In Tokyo, in the J-League, this man may be the one to ignite the next Japan national team.
Text by Yohhei Baba (Freelance Writer)
