The blue and red team, celebrating its 25th anniversary, has had 13 captains, starting with former manager Kiyoshi OKUMA (currently General Manager of Shimizu S-Pulse) and including the current manager Peter CKLAMOVSKI.
Each has tried to color the team vibrantly. The current team still retains some of that color. There are players who have been involved with each of the commanders, and those players have retired and continued to be involved with the club as coaches.
Among them, there is an unwavering passion that has been passed down. It is the five pillars that we have cherished under the banner of "Aiming to be a strong and beloved team."
1. Never give up until the end, always give your best effort
2. Quick transitions, team defense and team offense soccer
3. Promotion of fair play
4. Promotion of fan service
5. Improvement of humanity
This is the team concept that has been upheld since the Tokyo Gas Soccer Club era. The father who should be called the founder of this club, former Director of Development Tokuhiko SUZUKI (currently the representative director of Fagiano Okayama), articulated this fundamental philosophy about 15 years ago with these thoughts.
I believe that what brings emotion is not the result of the match, but the attitude towards it. It is a soccer style where everyone on the team fights together with full effort. Maintaining a fair mindset both on and off the pitch is essential. We can play soccer thanks to the support of many people, and we must always hold a sense of gratitude. Additionally, I think it is very important to learn various things through soccer and to enhance our humanity. Top-class players are invariably full of charm not only as players but also as individuals.
Our club shares this philosophy even in our youth academy.
It is still too early to use the word tradition for Tokyo, but what we want to cherish above all is the team color that has naturally formed based on this team concept. This is not about good or bad. It is not something that can be defined as complete. It cannot be expressed in words. However, we want to be a team, staff, and players that you can feel the 'Tokyo-ness' from your perspective.
Furthermore, it continues like this.
To acquire the 'heart', 'skill', and 'body' that connect to the world, and to fight with the 'pride and responsibility' of being a member of Tokyo. I believe it is necessary during the developmental age to build a foundation that does not waver even when facing headwinds, both as a team and as individual players.
Based on the J.League's philosophy of community engagement, it is ideal for players from Tokyo to grow up in Tokyo and succeed as professionals. To achieve this, it is essential to become an attractive club that makes children want to play in Tokyo and encourages coaches to want to have talented individuals play in Tokyo. Therefore, the coaching staff, from the top team to youth development and promotion, must enhance their quality and build trust in what it means to be 'FC Tokyo'.
Players raised in FC Tokyo, hailing from Tokyo, will thrive in the top team, represent Japan, and soar into the world. To realize this dream, all staff will continue to make tireless efforts to create a 'strong and beloved team.'
No matter what kind of captain, when this initial spirit fades, the team will follow a downward trend. The 2019 season, which was a fierce competition for the championship, was truly a team that embodied this sentiment. The feelings that flow at the foundation of the club are, before we know it, becoming something that should be called tradition after a quarter of a century. It was the ideal that the warm-hearted and sentimental predecessors loved, and it is something that should not be forgotten about Tokyo.
Text by Kohei Baba (Freelance Writer)
[25 Years of Journey] Special Column Here
25 Years of Journey vol.1 Things Not to Be Forgotten
25 Years of Journey vol.2 The Road to the First Title
25 Years of Journey vol.3 Blue Tokyo
25 Years of Journey vol.4 What Was Gained from Relegation and Promotion
25 Years of Journey vol.5 Strike While the Iron is Hot
25 Years of Journey vol.6 The Path to Follow
