Enduring hardships
With the determination of the Japanese flag and the frustration of the blue and red in my heart
MF 23 Ryunosuke SATO
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.
Ryunosuke SATO, who gathers high expectations with outstanding attacking sense and clever analytical skills. As the commander of the U-19 Japan national team, he showed his presence and was selected as a support member for the pre-Olympic camp. Coach Go OIWA called him "Japan's treasure" and he was the only one besides the main team to play in a friendly match against the U-23 France national team. However, in Tokyo, he has been unable to increase his playing time as he wishes, and continues to accumulate frustration. Truly a "bitter experience". What will this year be like for "Ryu", who continues to work diligently with a strong determination in the blue and red?
1 game in the Emperor's Cup, 1 game in the J.League YBC Levain Cup. It was a season of great frustration for Ryunosuke SATO, who had only a few chances to play in the league and was determined to make a leap forward.
"I feel like I've been playing better and better, and my condition has been good. I was able to consistently perform well without getting injured, but I was frustrated that I couldn't contribute to the game."
However, the feeling of "being able to use time effectively for my own growth" remained. Although he had a reputation for being physically strong since his FC Tokyo U-18 days, at the start of the season he had a self-evaluation of "being weak in the professional league". He improved his mobility and intensity in his movements through training with the top team, and also added personal training to adapt to the demands of being a professional.
It was a daily back and forth with the U-19 Japan national team, but even there I was able to experience the level of the J1 league.
"Honestly, even overseas, the intensity of the same age group in Asia is low. J1 is higher. This season, I had the feeling that I could compete against various countries and age groups, and I could also play there."
The training in Odaira was a solid source of nourishment. In the national team, he mainly plays as an attacking midfielder, but this season in Tokyo, he has also played as a defensive midfielder. In practice matches, he played in both positions, and in the 35th round against Shonan Bellmare, Ryunosuke SATO made his official debut as a defensive midfielder. His developed versatility and commanding presence that moves the entire team earned high praise. However, his ambition does not stop there.
"I want to be involved in scoring whether I play as a defensive midfielder or as an attacking midfielder. That feeling doesn't change no matter what position I play. I was able to try to play by thinking about how to take the team to the goal. In that sense, I think it was good to be able to play as a defensive midfielder, but ultimately I want to play as an attacking midfielder. I think that playing as a defensive midfielder is one way to improve the quality as an attacking midfielder. I was able to play positively in both positions, but ultimately I want to compete as an attacking midfielder."
It goes without saying that the team's performance was unsatisfactory, but there was not enough time in the game to try out the results of individual efforts, and there is dissatisfaction with not being able to fully express oneself on the pitch. However, the strong determination to change the current situation by oneself has not been broken. "It's just indigestion. But I have to raise myself and make up for it." It was a year of continuously igniting oneself in order to turn adversity into motivation.
Text by Katsu Goto (Freelance Writer)
