Interviewers

MORISHIMA Hiroaki (Championship ambassador) x FUKUNAGA Yasushi (FC Aoyama over 40)

The 3rd All Japan Seniors (over 40) Football Tournament is to start on Saturday 14 November.

This article will introduce the first half of the interview between MORISHIMA Hiroaki, the Championship ambassador, and FUKUNAGA Yasushi from FC Aoyama over 40. Both of them, who used to play in the J.League at the same time, enjoyed a lively conversation.

Morishima – How did you assemble the team, FC Aoyama over 40?

Fukunaga – There were several over 40s players, who belonged to an open-category team in the Tokyo Football Division2. We decided that “it’s about time to assemble an older category team”, and created this team in January. The players are mainly graduates of Aoyama Gakuin University, including some, who used to play in the J.League. 

Morishima – Do you practice regularly? 

Fukunaga – We practice once a week. Having said that, we cannot come every week due to our business engagements, except when we play a match. We also hold practice games. 

Morishima – So you achieved a place in the national championship within a year of the team being assembled. It’s impressive, knowing that you cannot hold practice sessions that often. I expect this championship will be interesting, as you can see your old friends, with whom you used to play, for the first time in a while. Anyway, what brought you back to playing football?

Fukunaga – After retiring as a player due to injury, I seriously thought I had no place to play football anymore. I believed that I had to accepted the fact, even though I was gutted. Then I discovered there were various non-professional tournaments and players eager to improve their teams. I wanted to give it a go once more. I wasn’t sure what’d happen, but I just wanted to try.  

Morishima – It was a good timing, then.

Fukunaga – That’s right. Also, after becoming the coach, I worried that I may not be able to understand the players’ feelings on the pitch. I thought playing myself would benefit my coaching.

Morishima – Oh, you mean you returned to playing to learn even more? What a model over 40s player you are! You can take my place as an ambassador. All jokes aside, the national tournament is exciting, as even the players who came to have some fun gradually become more serious.

Fukunaga – Do you not feel like having a kick about?

Morishima – Of course I do, whenever I see the tournament. However, I could see myself being told off to run, if I were on the pitch. How do you feel playing seriously again after once retiring as a player? 

Fukunaga – I can picture how to play, and I think my skills are still good. However, my body takes longer to move onto the next movement than I expect, which is getting worse every year. Sometimes the opponent reaches the ball at the same time or even earlier, when I think I can definitely get there first. When I face a player who plays aggressively and has a strong spirit, I find it difficult to compete with him. I almost think: “let’s stay away from him, as I cannot have a stronger spirit!” I tend to think how to display my strength in an effective way.

Morishima  – Every team is eager to improve itself. It will be the third national football tournament for over 40s, and I expect the level will get even higher in the future. By the way, is there any player, who didn’t stand out much back in school or university, but who has become very good in his 40s?  

Fukunaga – I believe national tournaments are for the players who love football and practice regularly. I think they can enjoy it even more when they become older, including over 50s. Even though one use to play brilliantly, that does not mean he can still do so on the pitch, if he doesn’t practice hard. I look forward to seeing various players in the championship, and I’d like to stay competitive. I may discover some excellent players by facing them, even if I don’t recognise their names. It happened to me in the Kanto championship. Many players, who couldn’t move aggressively, played with a strong spirit. So I expect the teams with a robust mentality and physical strength will get through to the final round.

(To be continued)

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

The 3rd All Japan Seniors (over 40) Football Tournament

2015-11-14 (Sat.) - 16 (Mon.)
J-GREEN Sakai/Sakai City Osaka
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