The 14th National Senior (O-60) Football Championship and the Senior (O-70) Football Festival both opened in Fujieda, Shizuoka as the first sec matches of the group round took place on the first day of the events.

This event is to determine the best team of this generation in the country. Participating players are all highly motivated. 西村博治 of Osaka Senior 60 (Osaka) who used to play together with Kamamoto Kunishige for Yanmar and also on the national team said “We have worked with other teams around Osaka in real-game-like practices, and worked on how we play together.” Meanwhile 三谷淳一　of Tokushima Kabarosu Senior 60 (Tokushima) said “Our over-60 players and over-70 players have got together every Sunday, and we have done many practices.” Each team seems to be very well-prepared.

In the group A, the match between Shizuoka Selection (Shizuoka), a home-town club, and Kochi Syowa OB Club (Kochi) ended up with a draw, which gave one point to both teams. Miyagi Fenix SC (Miyagi) defeated Chiba Shijugara SC (Chiba) 1-0 and started off as the only team that got three points to lead the group.

Osaka Senior 60 which are looking to win the second consecutive championships took on Fukuoka Rokujyugara Football Club (Fukuoka) in a group B match. Osaka won it 2-0 as 西村 and 永井利明 each scored a goal apiece. Tokushima Kabarosu Senior 60 now follow Osaka Senior 60 only by goal differences after edging Senior Okayama FC (Okayama) with defending the lone goal scored by both teams in the match and getting three points.

The Group C had Hamamatsu Kaido Club (Shizuoka) and Tokyo Select (Lazos 27, Tokyo) start off with a 4-0 win against Iwate 60 and a 2-0 win against Kagoshima SFC O-60 respectively. Hamamatsu Kaido Club scored all four goals in the first half, which showed their offense was being very hot.

Looking at the group D lastly, SUPER GOAL 3 (Hokkaido) had a 1-1 tie match against Hiroshima Select 60 and both clubs got one point each. Therefore, Hyogo Senior 60 are now leading the rest of the group after beating Shinshu Wakuwaku Football Club (Nagano) 2-1.

Today as the second day of the championship, the second sec and the third sec matches will take place. Which clubs will come out of the each group as winners?

Comments

SUZUKI, Fukuoka Rokujyugara Football Club
We couldn’t possess the ball, we couldn’t pick up loose balls, so we couldn’t have many shots. In the second half, we started putting early pressure on their ball, but still we couldn’t take it until we shot it. Still, it’s just fun to play football at this stage of my life. Football is a very difficult sport, but that’s why it’s so much fun. When I started playing, all I cared was “me getting better” individually. Now it’s fun to work with my teammates for a win. Hopefully I will keep my energy and playing football until the last moment of my life.

IMAMURA, Osaka Senior 60
It’s good that we won this match. As for the first goal, 的場伸二’s cross ball was fantastic. All I had to do was touch the ball. Even during practices, we keep our spirit high, higher than opponents, and we could play together with the same mindset today, too, so that’s why we won. A tournament like this is so nice. I meet long-time friends all over the country once again and we ask each other “Have you been doing all right?” When I was young, I played for Yanmar for 16 years, and still I play football like this now. It’s just wonderful. We are playing hard, so I want our national team to play hard in Brazil, too.

MITANI, Tokushima Kabarosu Senior 60
Early in the match, we focused on our defence, but the opponent’s defensive line was high, so I told our midfielders to attack the space behind it. That worked well, and I am glad that I helped my team to win that way. One of the interesting parts of playing football at this age is simply the more you practice, the better you can get. Talent and potential don’t matter very much anymore. As much as you practice it pays off. So I play three or four times a week. I don’t have much talent to kick the ball, but I can compete with my ability to keep running.

KASAHARA, Senior Okayama FC
You can say it’s just the result of our team’s level at this point. They were a better team, so we lost. Now we don’t care about the loss any more. It’s just fun to get together with teammates and represent our prefecture in a national tournament at this stage of our lives. We always have fun drinking, but today our drinks will taste even better. Then we will come out to play the next match. In football keeping playing is important. We play with a round ball, and anything is possible just like in our life. We don’t set a finish line by ourselves. We just keep running until the finishing moment comes by itself.

The 14th National Senior Football Tournament

From Saturday 31 May to Monday 2 June
Fujieda Sports Complex Park Soccer Stadium（natural grass）
Fujieda Sports Complex Park Athletic Field（natural grass）
Fujieda City Ground（natural grass）
Naigai Pharma Manufacturing Fujieda Ground（natural grass）

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