Welcome to the battle for the starting position!
"Ambition shown by the fighting man"
DF 3 Masato MORISHIGE
Special content introducing the all-blue-red warriors who will challenge the 2024 season. What are the players, who are facing the opening, thinking and what kind of determination are they approaching the year with? The players' stories, hidden in their love for the club, their thirst for titles, their desire to perform, and the roles they must fulfill──. Masato MORISHIGE, who will turn 37 this season. While players of the same age are choosing new careers one after another, he continues to show an unwavering presence. And in the 2024 season, he welcomes the intensifying competition for the center-back position and is determined to continue to be a fighting man.
How many times have I gone around──. I have survived the winter by biting my back teeth and welcomed the spring again. I have kicked the ball as if I were breathing. I have spent more than half of my life as a professional soccer player. While my peers are taking off their spikes one after another, I am still chasing the ball in blue and red.
Every morning, I come to the clubhouse early and stay until the end. I have been living this way for many years. I don't consider it a hardship, but rather something that I am incredibly grateful for.
"I think I'm happy again at this age. What I thought in my late 20s and what I think now are a little different. In my 20s, playing soccer was natural, and I couldn't see the end. But after turning 30, I started to become aware of the end. When that happens, I realize how grateful I am. I understand it in my head, but when it actually happens, various emotions start to arise."
37 years old this year. It's been a long time since I've been called a veteran. Still, I played in 29 matches in last season's Meiji Yasuda J1 League. It's all thanks to my stoic daily efforts... That's what I told myself, but then I realized.
"They say, 'It's amazing that they're playing in the game at 36 years old.' But, I wonder if they were satisfied within that framework. But, this is where it starts!"
And with that, he began to turn the screw again and said, "Maybe I should train again." That's just his nature. He has always enjoyed taking on challenges. It's what he's been walking towards, as shown by the path he's taken so far.
"The times are already moving on to the next generation."
The expression he said with his mouth didn't seem lonely at all. This season, he will be fiercely competing for a regular position from the start. Along with Yasuki KIMOTO and Henrique TREVISAN, he happily welcomed the rise of young players and laughed with joy.
How many times has it been now? But every time I stand at that entrance, I am reminded of the excitement and depth of soccer. I have been able to immerse myself this far because of the intense competition. Masato MORISHIGE, who has fought wearing blue and red more than anyone else, is still here this season. Deepening the hollows of his cheeks, his freshly picked ambition is released like this.
"Sitting cross-legged is not interesting. I still want to be a fighting man. That's the answer that came out after going around in circles."
Text by Tadashi BABA (Freelance Writer)
