Play as a top attacking midfielder
Give everything for Tokyo
MF 10 Keigo HIGASHI
Special content introducing the all-blue and red warriors who will challenge the 2024 season. What are the players who are approaching the opening game thinking and what kind of determination are they facing for the year? The players' stories, hidden in their hearts, of club love, thirst for titles, aspirations for success, and the roles they must fulfill. Entering his 12th season and supporting the team as a multi-role player, Keigo HIGASHI. After experiencing various things, he holds a strong feeling of "for Tokyo". In order to balance history and innovation, he will challenge the new season as a top attacking midfielder.
"I have grown a lot as a player and as a person in this club. I want to play this season with gratitude."
After finishing the pre-season camp, Keigo HIGASHI said this. This year marks his 12th season in Tokyo. As the "blue and red man", he has witnessed the changes of the zodiac. Players, staff, and coaches he has fought with are being replaced. In recent years, he has been asked to play multiple roles and has played almost every position except for goalkeeper, supporting the team while struggling with the changes.
In the 2021 season, in the away game against Yokohama F.Marinos, which ended in a crushing 0-8 defeat, Rio OMORI entered the center of the 3-back formation to support the scramble appearance of the rookie. In the second half of the 2022 season, where he had been increasingly left out of the starting lineup, he was entrusted with the role of anchoring the 4-1-2-3 formation, which had become vacant. He always responded to the demands of the bench and has been able to handle the situation despite being inexperienced. Overcoming such experiences has led him to reach a state where he feels "it's fun to go around in circles". The only thing that exists there is the feeling of "for Tokyo".
"There is a history from Tokyo Gas Soccer Club, and the parent company became MIXI, and the emblem changed. There were difficult times, but I think the club becomes stronger through such processes. It's not right to forget the past and start everything anew, and I think we are here now because of various experiences. The team is taking on new challenges, but as someone who has known them since 12 years ago, I want to continue to inherit the history firmly while challenging new things."
This season, Keigo HIGASHI will be playing as a top midfielder for the first time in a while since the team started. Other players unanimously praise his skill as "excellent". This position is perfect for him to demonstrate his natural abilities. He has a fierce determination and unwavering beliefs, but at the same time, he has also gained a sense of composure as he has grown older. "If I can use that as my strength, it would be great." He has continued to meet the expectations placed on him, and on the pitch, he will show a balance between his fierce determination and composure, and demonstrate his exceptional skills.
Text by Katsu Goto (Freelance Writer)
