Q, how is your arrival in Okinawa?
A, I’m really excited right now.
Q, is it because you feel something different from before?
A, I truly have strong feelings about this year, and having meetings under the new coach, I’m really excited in many ways. I want to show what I can do quickly and enjoy playing soccer—that’s how I feel.
Q: This is the first season starting under a coach other than former coach Hasegawa. The desired style of play is also different. How do you feel about it so far?
A, Kenta HASEGAWA has his own way, and Albert PUIG ORTONEDA is a person with wonderful ideas. When it was under Kenta, I wanted to learn as much as possible from him and grow, and now that Albert PUIG ORTONEDA is the coach, I think there are some differences from before. However, those differences are also areas where I am lacking, so in the sense of challenging myself with new things beyond my current abilities, if I can keep learning actively, I believe I can grow even more as a soccer player.
Q, I think there are still many things that are not yet understood, but what will happen to Tokyo football in the 2022 season?
A, there are interview articles with Albert PUIG ORTONEDA as well, and I truly believe they reflect the reality. From the meetings, I felt that while various tactics and detailed aspects will be thoroughly implemented, ultimately, he is a coach who repeatedly emphasizes "to win." There will likely be a focus on refining different styles, but in the end, it’s all about connecting everything to victory. It’s a football style calculated backward from winning, where we control the ball and lead to victory. I think we can show an attacking and enjoyable style of football that is different in meaning from last year.
Q: Do you have any specific awareness when foreign coaches ask players for clear opinions and assertions?
A: It doesn't matter whether the coach is Japanese or foreign. I think for myself and to come up with answers, but I also believe that having a third-party perspective is absolutely necessary when playing soccer. Up until now, whenever I didn’t understand something after thinking it through myself, I have always made it a point to ask immediately. That hasn’t changed, and since we are trying new things, there will naturally be more things I don’t understand, can’t do, or am concerned about. So I intend to keep asking questions actively. I think that attitude of learning is very important, and although it’s meaningless if I can’t express it on the pitch in the end, I want to be more proactive about it.
Q: How do you perceive last season's injury?
A, It goes without saying that not getting injured is best, and although I have done rehabilitation and returned, I believe I will not follow the same growth curve as players who continued playing soccer. In other words, I have come back to zero, or rather, personally, I haven't even returned to zero yet. I think the only way to give meaning to last year's injury is through this year's results. In that sense, I can't really say much at this point, but I have to make it so that I can say it was ultimately a good thing, and I believe that depends on this year.
Q: Practice at the camp will begin tomorrow. Please share your enthusiasm for this season.
A: As I also mentioned in the contract renewal announcement, I want to be more hungry for results, or rather, I want to seek results as an individual. Of course, the team’s results are important, but first, I believe that if I properly achieve results myself, that will become the team’s greatest strength. I don’t have any specific numbers in mind, but I want to study, absorb, and learn various things... First and foremost, I want to keep playing in matches, because without that, I can’t see any future. I want to continue tackling each thing in front of me one by one without change.
[Video Comments]
