Striker who left his name in club history
announced his retirement
People, players, and stories. Introducing the 2024 PLAYER'S REVIEW, featuring all the blue and red warriors who fought through the 2024 season. What were their thoughts and feelings during the season? Confidence, progress, challenges, joy, and regret... Each player will reflect on their battles this season in their own words.
It was truly a bolt from the blue. Diego OLIVEIRA, who has led the blue and red team with his strong physical and mental strength, suddenly announced his retirement. Although he suffered from an injury in the early part of this season, he has shown his presence by sacrificing his body for post plays, making key passes to his teammates, and even defending from the front line. He has marked 4 consecutive goals in the league matches and has set a new record for the most goals in the history of J1 clubs, demonstrating his unwavering presence. The man who has always fought for the team has made a big decision as a professional football player.
Tokyo became Diego Oliveira's last club. "There aren't many players who have served as the ace striker for such a long time at one club," says Keigo Higashi. It's because they have been together for a long time, with the same number 10, that they understand each other's greatness.
He fought as a center forward for a long time. It's not easy to find a replacement for him. Naturally, the opponents have become familiar with him and focus their marking on him. He often falls down after being tackled by opponents while trying to become a target to receive the ball. In a practice match during the Miyazaki camp before the start of this season, he faced tough marking in the rain and it left a strong impression. Naturally, even after the start of the season, he is highly guarded and has fewer opportunities to play freely. However, his stance remains unchanged.
"Especially when facing a defensive team, there will be a lot of defense, and it's inevitable that I will be marked tightly. The opponent has also studied my playing style, and this season our team's style has been focused on attacking from the wings, so it's expected that the marking will be concentrated there. I did my best, but still couldn't achieve good results."
85 goals in the 2023 season, for a total of 85 goals in the J1 League. If I score 15 more goals, I will reach the milestone of 100 goals in the J1 League, but unfortunately I did not keep up with last season's pace.
"It was a difficult season. It was a very disappointing year where we couldn't win the title and couldn't even compete for it. In football, results are everything. I think that's all there is to it. I've always wanted to win the J-League championship, so it's frustrating that we couldn't achieve that."
In the past, he boasted the highest number of appearances among foreign players who were based in Tokyo, and he also updated the most goals in the club J1 league history, surpassing Lucas. And by retiring in Tokyo, Diego truly became a blue and red man, leaving his name in the club's history.
"I don't think scoring goals is the only thing I do. There are many things like keeping the ball, carrying it, and of course defending. I'm not satisfied with the number of goals I scored this season, but I did my best in other aspects. There are seasons where I scored a lot of goals, and seasons where I couldn't score like this season. It wasn't always good, but I am very happy to have been able to play in Tokyo."
Thank you for everything, Diego. Your name will be passed down for 100 years.
Text by Katsu Goto (Freelance Writer)
