The fiery fullback finally returns
Showing gratitude on the pitch!
DF 2 Hotaka NAKAMURA
A special content introducing all the blue and red warriors challenging the 2024 season. What are the players, who are about to start the season, thinking and what kind of determination are they bringing into the year? The stories of the players, who hold in their hearts their love for the club, their thirst for titles, their aspirations for performance, and the roles they must fulfill──. After the tumultuous 2023 season, Hotaka NAKAMURA is finally returning to the pitch. What he strongly felt on the road to recovery, which forced him to run alongside hardship, was none other than gratitude towards those around him. To repay that gratitude and to express his true self once again, he seeks results with a passionate heart.
Lacing up the blue and red shoelaces on the spikes, pouring in fresh passion. The right back, who carries a flame in his heart, is finally coming back.
Last season, he expressed his strong desire to reclaim his starting position, which was taken by Yuto NAGATOMO before the season began.
"I want to shed the lack of confidence and negative thoughts in my heart and put my feelings out there. If I don't start in the lineup, even if it means pushing Yuto aside, nothing will begin. You need that level of determination to keep going. I'm not that strong. But I don't care at all about the voices from the outside. I will give it my all, and no matter what is said about the results, I won't care; I need to have that level of confidence."
The words that burst from his mouth seemed to be steaming. With a display of raw fighting spirit, he pushed himself to his limits and actually secured a regular spot. He pursued a style of play that only Hotaka NAKAMURA could achieve. It was beginning to take shape little by little. His overflowing desire for growth showed no signs of stopping, and there was even a momentum that suggested he would soon rise to the Japan national team.
That's why I can't help but regret that "injury." It was just before the end of the match against Albirex Niigata in the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company J1 League Sec. 10. After receiving the pass and stopping the ball, the moment my right foot touched the ground, I collapsed on the spot with a look of agony.
Right Achilles tendon rupture, full recovery in 6 months──.
"It was the toughest time I've ever experienced in my life. My feelings for the season were truly strong, and I approached it with determination, and the start wasn't bad. I was thinking about continuing to perform well and even representing the Japan national team. It was so difficult that I even started to wonder if everything I had done up until then was wrong. It was that painful."
During the difficult rehabilitation, I was helped many times by the small kindness and consideration of those around me. Using these as emotional support, I motivated myself to face my injury. Even my impatience and anxiety became fuel, and I have been running down the road to recovery step by step.
"I can't say anything particularly cool. I want to grab the opportunity and show my performance on the pitch. That's the only place where a football player can truly express themselves. No matter how much I say with words, if I don't perform on the pitch, it means nothing. I hope that by watching my play, people can feel something. That's all I want."
Gazing into the abyss, rising up from the depths. A story that cannot be overlooked is woven from here. Hodaka confronts with 100 percent pure, untainted feelings. That place is the pitch at Ajinomoto, where the blue-red singers await.
Text by Kohei Baba (Freelance Writer)
