In the J.League YBC Levain Cup, Kojiro YASUDA, who was promoted from the U-18 team this season, was appointed, and Yuki KAJIURA also scored a goal. In addition, Renta HIGASHI and Naoki KUMATA, who are registered as second-year players, have also gained playing opportunities, and the performance of academy graduates in the top team has become more prominent than ever before. This time, we asked Yasuda and Kajiura, who have been promoted from the academy and are experiencing their first season as professionals, about the changes after their first professional goal or appearance, and their thoughts on the club as academy graduates.
Interview with Kojiro YASUDA
"I am expected to play with high intensity while still showcasing my own style of play."
Q, I got a chance to play in the Levain Cup match against Iwata. Despite the limited time, did you notice any changes within yourself as a result of that?
A, I was happy to be able to participate in the game. It has been a long time since I played a game in a stadium with fans and supporters, so although the result was disappointing, I was able to play with joy.
Q: During the training camp, I think it was frustrating that I couldn't make it into the team despite putting in a lot of practice. Did you have any thoughts or feelings during that time?
Of course, the level is different from U-18, so during the camp, I was desperate to get used to the pace of play and keep up with everyone.
In the world of competition, it is important to not be fixated on the results. I was prepared to play in the game, so I am glad I was able to participate this time. That is why I wanted to achieve good results. After the game ended, I was a little disappointed, but I decided to switch my mindset and move on to the next one.
Q: Since it was your first year, did you have the intention to participate in the matches, even if you couldn't play?
A, there were parts where I felt the difference in both skill and experience, and while playing, I thought about how to fill that gap. I always played with the feeling that I had to do it. Of course, there are many days when things don't go well, but by continuing, I am gradually improving. I hope to reduce mistakes and continue to appeal myself more and more.
Q, did you have any expectations when you stood on the pitch side and entered the game as a substitute?
A, I thought this was a chance. It was a game in which I thought the chance had finally come, as there were injuries during the U-18 era, so I feel even more frustrated that we lost.
Q: Your teammate scored their first professional goal right in front of you. How did you feel watching it, considering the happiness of being a teammate and the frustration at the same time?
A, the feeling of frustration was greater than the feeling of joy. On the other hand, it also ignited a fire within myself, and I think it was good in terms of being able to elevate each other.
Q, I think it's a timing where you still have a lot to see and learn in your first year, but as a player from the academy, what kind of emotions and thoughts do you have about changing the future of the club?
A, I want to change it because academy players are not involved in the game at all now. In order to do that, it is important to maintain a good condition as preparation, and I also think that I am not yet mentally ready to play in the game. I am working on the challenges of the parts that are lacking after practice, but I want to fill the gap with the players who are playing in the game and ultimately take the starting position.
Q: Has the approach to practice changed by playing in games?
A, I was able to feel the parts where I was effective and the parts where I was not effective through the game, and what I couldn't do was, for example, I felt that I was particularly lacking in being able to score a shot. On the other hand, I was able to become a starting point and create the rhythm of the game by receiving the ball, so I want to improve in that area.
Q, do you also incorporate the style of soccer that is a little different from what you have been working on at the academy, into yourself with greed?
A, I have confidence in my ability to adapt. I think I am gradually understanding where the players are on the court and where I should move.
Q, the Levain Cup will end with the Fukuoka match, but there are also league matches and the Emperor's Cup. What do you think is required from here on in the season? How do you feel about both the playing aspect and the mental aspect?
I think the intensity of the play is completely insufficient. For example, players like Shuto ABE and Kuryu MATSUKI are expected to play with high intensity and also show their own play. In order to become a starter, I think we need to work on those aspects in our daily practice.
I think there will be ups and downs as there is no other way but to do it, but in the end, I want to cherish and be obsessed with every day because there is no other way but to stand on the pitch.
Interview with Yuki KAJIURA
"Academy graduates must become the face of FC Tokyo"
Q, I got a chance from the Fukuoka match in the Levain Cup Sec. 1, but did you have any change in your feelings before and after playing in the game as a rookie in your first year as a professional?
A, the change in feelings was significant. Personally, I had the desire to play in matches from my first year, but it's not such an easy world and I thought that I needed to grow more in my performance during the camp in order to be able to play in matches. Amongst that, being able to play in matches was a big plus for me.
Q, I think I was able to demonstrate my strengths and put my heart into it amidst various emotions such as the desire to play in the match and being in my first year.
A, I think chances are really rare, so I thought I had to show something even just one thing in a limited time. I think actively showing what the coach is asking for led to what I was able to do in that game.
Q, did you try to find gaps in the opponent's defense and move forward towards the goal during that time? I think it's one of your strengths, but were you trying to practice what the team expects from you?
Before entering the pitch, I was told to aim for this, so my thinking was to first do what the team requires before showing my strengths, and to expand my options. I played while being conscious of the team's concept.
Q, there I got a chance, and then in the subsequent Levain Cup I had several chances, and I scored a goal in the Iwata match. I played in the starting lineup for that game, but there may have been a change in my feelings, don't you think?
The Iwata match was played after a long time of not being able to do anything in the previous Shonan match, so there was frustration. Since it was my first appearance from the start, I thought that if I missed this opportunity, there wouldn't be another chance, so I was very motivated and had a different mindset from other matches, knowing that I had to produce results.
Q, it's a different story from the feeling of gaining game experience, but for example, have your approaches in practice changed through experiences such as participating in training matches during camps and preseason and scoring in the Levain Cup match against Iwata?
A, until then, I wasn't able to have that much confidence, but by playing for 90 minutes in the game and leaving results, I was able to gain various experiences and my own abilities and inabilities became clear, and I also gained confidence.
That also allowed me to talk more with the players around me, and my feelings have changed a lot. However, I think we need to first gain recognition, and only then can we finally start from the starting line.
Q, did you actively change yourself or did you change naturally?
A, the distance has become closer and I have become able to speak up on my own, so I have strengthened my awareness of taking the initiative. I have been particularly conscious of this during practice, and I have gradually been increasing opportunities to ask if there is something I don't understand and to express what I want.
Q, has it become not passive?
Until the Iwata match, there may have been a feeling of doing what was said. However, after the Iwata match, there was a change in consciousness during practice.
Q: Among the players who have come through the academy, when you look at the starting lineup for league matches, there are often players who have gained experience at other teams. How do you feel about that as an academy graduate?
I think academy players should play more matches and become the face of FC Tokyo. It's not so much pressure as it is something that must be done. I think we need to show that we can perform and inspire academy players to be promoted to the top team. There is still a lot that needs to be done.
I also want to play in the game and become the face of FC Tokyo, and I really hope to make FC Tokyo known to more people. If I, as an academy graduate, can contribute to that, I think it would be even better.
Q: Do you feel any difference between the experience you gained as the top scorer last season and your current sense as a professional player this season?
A, last season, because it was U-18, I thought that if I could just participate in practice without knowing the professional world and gain experience. In the recent game against Iwata, we lost in a game that we had to win, and I missed my chance as well. Through that, I felt that the responsibility as a professional is completely different from what I felt in U-18. We have to win, and it's not just my own feelings, but also the feelings of the fans and supporters, so it was a game where I felt that I had to carry all of that. Everything is desperately fought for, and each one is incomparable to U-18, so I finally felt that it is the world of professionals. I think we haven't reached that level yet, so it was a game where I felt even more harshness.
