Win with good soccer. Reverse calculation from victory and goal.
The 2025 season is finally starting. Tokyo will fight the new season with new coach Rikizo MATSUHASHI. In this first interview, he talks passionately about his career path, his experiences as a player, his pride as a coach, his personality, and his soccer style that he aims for with the blue and red team. He was born in Chofu City, which can be called the hometown of Ajinomoto Stadium, and is a new coach who is natural and full of humanity. As the start of the new team approaches, the future image of "Rikizo Tokyo" is slowly becoming visible with various keywords.
Born in Chofu
──Congratulations on your appointment as coach. What made you decide?
It was a truly grateful story, and half of it was a feeling of "impossible". I don't have a long career as a coach, and even if I say achievements, of course, it was the power of everyone I worked with, not just myself, that we were promoted to the J1 League. So when it comes to the evaluation of those around me, I actually felt a little unbalanced when I compared it to what I imagined and the growth rate of my coaching career. Still, I was very happy to be evaluated and to be able to receive an offer at an early timing.
──By the way, it is said that Coach Matsubashi was born in Chofu City, where Ajinomoto Stadium is located.
I am often asked, but my birthplace is Chofu City, and I grew up in Chiba Prefecture.
──However, I will return to my birthplace as a coach. I think it's the beginning of a wonderful story.
Yes, I think so too. I feel like this is also a "connection". When I was appointed as the coach in Tokyo, my mother contacted me and said, "It's fate, isn't it?" It's interesting, isn't it? I wonder if there's something behind it, and I really want to make it something meaningful.
──What would you like to be called by the fans and supporters who walk with such a locally born coach?
There is no specific nickname, but I am often called "Riki-san". The player who I thought was good when they called me "Pawa-kura-san". Only "power" in English (laughs). Teruhito NAKAGAWA, who I have worked with at Yokohama F.Marinos, was called "Pawa-san" for short. You think about it a lot, right? (laughs).
Value Communication
──When looking back at Coach Matsubashi's career, he played for Nissan Motor, Yokohama Marinos (at the time), Kyoto Purple Sanga (at the time), and Jatco before becoming a coach.
It's a big deal to be able to interact with many great players and coaches. I've been able to grow thanks to various clubs giving me opportunities, little by little. It's still a work in progress, but I've been able to create myself while looking at soccer from various angles. Among them, my experience as a Yokohama FM academy staff was significant. The interactions with coaches and colleagues have been truly beneficial. We've talked day and night about how to approach soccer sincerely and how to move players to the next stage. This also applies to conversations and efforts with staff from various clubs. I believe that this time has laid the foundation for me. Of course, there were also clashes. But that's what made it a place where I was able to grow amidst the waves.
──As a character, he is known as "serious and passionate". In the season when Albirex Niigata achieved promotion to the J1 League, it was impressive that all the players were earnestly claiming "MVP is Muriqui". I think it is the best proof that the passion of the coach became the foundation of the team.
Passion is necessary, but I also think it's not a methodology. My thoughts and words are exactly what I'm thinking. How to be as a person is important in moving things forward, but if you make it like a "decoration", it becomes a lie. I am myself, and I don't create it to show that part, I say I don't understand. I ask for things I want to be taught. It's natural to ask for advice from leaders and colleagues around me when there are things that are not perfect. I learn from players as well. It's important to communicate well, but it's not about my own special way, I just want to face the players firmly.
──The "words" that express those feelings are very impressive. During your time in Niigata, you shared many words that resonated with people, such as "the enemy in front of you is the strongest enemy" and "we won't change our principles, but we will change our methods." The most impressive of these was "peeling with technique." Instead of running away when the opponent comes at you with a high press, you showed a positive and powerful policy of using your strengths to overcome and win. It seems that you have a strong attachment to words.
I believe that there are words that have been ingrained in my heart by being stimulated by various things including reading. I used to take notes of good words, but recently I haven't been actively doing that. I started to think, "Isn't that superficial?" The words that come out of my mouth when they have a big impact on me and match the scenery in front of me are truly ingrained in my heart. So I think it's important to leave important words until they are firmly established in my heart and let them naturally come out when needed.
──Serious and passionate. On the other hand, he is also lightly teased by the players, for example, being called "Rikizo MATSUHASHI, handsome!" by both players and supporters, showing a lovable side to his character.
It's really grateful, isn't it? There is also the thought that being too serious might not be good, and it's not like I'm "too serious" either, so I'm just appropriate. I always think that it's always going to be like this, and I've also said to the players, "I don't understand, so I'm counting on you" (laughs). If everything is too serious, I really can't rely on it. A little unconventional idea won't come out if you're too serious, so it's okay to relax and relax. I know both the good and bad sides of my emotions, so when I feel the ups and downs of my emotions, I try to be "neutral in any situation" and "keep my center of gravity in the middle" very consciously.
"Good soccer" is tired of hearing
──How have you been viewing the team and club known as Tokyo up until now?
I saw that we were steadily growing into a big club. Tokyo is the capital of Japan and a really big city that everyone in the world knows. I think the club is also moving towards becoming a "big place" like that.
──What kind of persuasion did you have when you became the coach?
It was the first team that gave me a talk, or rather, a pick-up line, and they explained to me why they chose me, including the club's vision.
──What was their vision and project like?
As a club, I have been entrusted with a big role in the process of establishing a style of soccer. I am thinking about how to incorporate my own strengths into the team's current strengths, and I believe there are areas that align with what I have in mind. In Niigata, we focused on building up carefully and were known for having the highest ball possession rate, but that is not our goal. The players in Niigata also understood this well. So I told them, "It's nice to be recognized for playing good soccer, but we're tired of hearing that. Our goal is not just to play good soccer, but to win with good soccer." Therefore, it is obvious that we must work backwards from victory and goals. In Tokyo, we have players with speed in the front line, and our fast attacks are not limited to counterattacks. We can attack without taking too many shots, and we have players who can make individual plays. It's just a matter of how we can utilize these strengths.
──How was that way of thinking cultivated?
I think this idea is most influenced by my career as a Nissan player. Rather than blindly playing, I was asked for a little play or technical things by my seniors, and I was trained from various angles. That's why the phrase "let go of the technique" came up. There is a commitment there, right? By receiving pressure from the opponent, instead of just pulling the ball back, a lot of goals and chances are created by accumulating things like trying out the opponent and breaking the arrow. If that happens, it becomes a prerequisite to hold the ball, and it is also important to attack quickly, and for that, how to defend becomes important. First of all, I want to do it with the players and determine what is the best or better. I try not to become too headstrong and not to have preconceptions.
──"Technology" seems to be a big keyword after all. The episode requested by Kazushi KIMURA, who was a superstar during the Nissan era, is well known.
This is already ingrained, isn't it? Mr. Kazushi says, "Soccer is always about pursuit!" And when he says it, it's definitely true. At that time, everyone at Nissan was like that too. When my pass was a misjudgment, instead of saying "That's not it," they would say, "Ah, that's it, I see." It's like being laughed at for not having enough skill, and it stabs at your heart. But if you can't keep up with that level, you can't play in the game. That's why you have to keep seeking for skills. I think that's a very important point.
──In order to understand and enjoy Coach Matsubashi's soccer, what perspective should fans and supporters take?
We will continue to focus on the technical aspects. We always want our players to play lively and fully demonstrate their abilities. Rather than fitting into a specific mold, we want to make decisions while progressing with team building.
──The name of Nakagawa player was mentioned earlier, but there are also players in Tokyo who have worked together before.
Nakagawa and Keita Endo experienced winning the league together at Yokohama F.Marinos. I have been watching Endo since his academy days, and Kei Koizumi was a member of Yokohama F.Marinos' primary (elementary school) and junior youth teams. I did not directly coach them, but I always saw their presence. Recently, I was with Takahiro KO at Niigata.
──It may also be a joy as a leader to join forces with them again, as there is a bond between us.
It's true. It's been a long time, but it's very meaningful to be able to meet again here, whether it's fate or a chance encounter. I'm very happy about this and I want to make it something meaningful.
──I heard that you visited the MIXI office in Shibuya for a meeting with the club. I'm sure you were able to see Tokyo from the high floors.
I was speechless as soon as I entered the room and took a lot of photos of the amazing view. I'm not usually the type to take photos, but it was really incredible.
──That huge city will become the hometown of the team led by Manager Matsubashi. Have you ever had a chance to feel about "Tokyo" again?
I thought I had come to a very difficult club (laughs). Of course, that was a joke, but when I looked around, I felt the greatness of the city of Tokyo and the power of this place. It made me feel more determined.
──In the release of the appointment announcement, it expressed its determination as "to be enveloped in the vortex of excitement at the stadium." Along with the stadium, we expect Coach Matsubashi to bring a soccer that will excite the entire city of Tokyo.
This is what this club aims for, and we want to involve many people. The potential is tremendous, and we want to take on that responsibility and work towards big goals together with our fans and supporters.
