SPECIAL TALK

Kashima Antlers Youth Third-Year Players Special Roundtable

Back row, from left: Haruto Matsumoto, Eita Kishino, Ryunosuke Tsuchihashi, Yuma Misu, Homare Tokuda, Victor Yuuzo Shimada. Front row, from left: Kairo Sato, Seima Okusawara, Aito Shiba, Yasuo Matsumoto, Yamato Tamaki

 

The youth team finished second in their first year of Premier League promotion. The 11 third-year players supported the team as younger players rose through the ranks and the team took on new challenges. Before each embarked on a new career path, heading to either the top team or university, they shared memories of the Academy House and their days at the Antlers Academy.

Our best memory is the barbecue party just for the third-year players!

――Congratulations on your three years with the youth team! What are your best memories from those three years?
Haruto Matsumoto　My best memory is the barbecue parties we had just for the third-year players a few times a year!
Tokuda　Everyone probably says that!
Haruto Matsumoto　Going out to eat barbecue together is one of my best memories.
Shiba　For me, going out to eat barbecue together is also one of my best memories.
Tokuda　I knew it!
Shiba　We pick a date in advance and book a restaurant, so as the day gets closer, it motivates us to train harder and helps us all work harder (laughs).
Sato　I know what you mean.
Tokuda　My best memory is cleaning up the neighborhood with Yasuo (Matsumoto Yasuo), who joined the dorm early, when we were in our third year of junior high school!
Everyone　(laughs).
Yasuo Matsumoto　Why is that your best memory? And it was back when we were in junior high school (laughs).
Tokuda　Oh, right!
Shimada　My best memory is...
Tokuda　Victor (Shimada), are you practicing for your interview? (laughs)
Shimada　I have a university entrance interview tomorrow (laughs).
Everyone　(laughs).
Shimada　My best memory is the school trip to Australia we took last year with the second- and third-year players.
Everyone　Oh, that was definitely great.
Shimada　It was so much fun.
Tamaki　Going to the beach in the summer was also really fun!
Yasuo Matsumoto　That was great!
Misu　Our daily lives are full of great memories.
Everyone　Whoa!
Tokuda　Misu, that was awesome!
Misu　But my best memory is still commuting to Kashima Gakuen High School by bicycle every day.
Tokuda　That was pretty much all we did every day (laughs).
Shiba　We all played tekkball when we were first-year players.
Tokuda　That was fun, in the courtyard.
Sato　That brings back memories.
Misu　We also had a lot of fun playing The Game of Life and other games.
Tokuda　Aito (Shiba) was the king of debt!
Shiba　I was still having fun even though I was losing!
Misu　Homare (Tokuda) was really good at the card game Daifugou!
Tokuda　I was pretty confident in that!
Shiba　He was inexplicably good at it (laughs).

Shiba (center) looks back on the barbecue party just for the third-year players as his best memory

Were noodles and mackerel simmered in miso the most popular dishes?

――Speaking of food, what was the best dorm meal?
Haruto Matsumoto　We had delicious homemade desserts on our birthdays!
Everyone　Oh!
Shiba　There were so many different kinds, and we could eat sweets only then!
Tokuda　Only then!
Misu　They used to serve cake before that. But I really like mackerel simmered in miso.
Shiba　That's a bit old-fashioned!
Sato　For me, it was mixed soba!
Shiba　That was Yasuo's request!
Everyone　Whoa!
Yasuo Matsumoto　(smugly)
Sato　The soup-less dan dan noodles were also delicious!
Yasuo Matsumoto　Whose request was that?
Okusawara　Mine! (smugly)
Tokuda　Nice one, Okushou (Okusawara)! (applause)
Shiba　Also, one of my own requests was garlic fried chicken!
Misu　“Garlic marinated in charred soy sauce,” right!
Tokuda　You said it perfectly! (applause)
Shiba　That was really delicious!
Misu　Mackerel simmered in miso too!
Tokuda　I know (laughs).
Misu　It was a staple!
Tokuda　Everyone likes the noodle dishes, right?
Okusawara　I like noodles too.
Misu　I also like carbonara udon!
Yasuo Matsumoto　Carbonara, here we go!
Misu　It suddenly appeared and then suddenly disappeared (laughs).
Shiba　It was a fleeting dish.
Misu　Yes. A legendary dish.

――Which noodle dish was the most popular?
Okusawara　For me, it was mixed soba.
Sato　Me too!
Misu　For me, it was carbonara!
Tokuda　I liked that too!
Tsuchihashi　Does it have to be noodles?
Shiba　I'm on team fried chicken!
Tsuchihashi　Me too!
Kishino　Me too!!
Shimada　Me too!!!
Haruto Matsumoto　There are others too!!!!
Kishino　Is Haruto (Matsumoto Haruto) the dessert?
Haruto Matsumoto　I also like tomato curry without water!
Everyone　Oh!
Shiba　Hayashi rice is also delicious!
Sato　Hayashi rice is amazing!
Shiba　Wednesdays are either curry or Hayashi rice!
Shimada　If they're serving that, pizza toast is also delicious!
Shiba　Isn't that a bit weak?
Everyone　Yes, yes.
Misu　It's definitely mackerel simmered in miso!
Tsuchihashi　That's enough! (laughs)
Tokuda　Everyone has their own favorites!
Tsuchihashi　Everyone is different, and everyone is great.
Everyone　Thank you to everyone at Kashima Food for always providing delicious meals!

Misu (center) loves mackerel simmered in miso among the many delicious meals at the dorm

We are here today because we worked hard in training

――On the other hand, what was a difficult memory?
Okusawara　That 3-on-3 game when we were first-year players.
Misu　Ohhh...
Sato　That was intense! It brings back memories.
Tokuda　Only four of us experienced that: me, Kairo (Sato), Misu, and Okushou.
Sato　That's right! Everyone else was at the National Sports Festival.
Tokuda　It was incredibly hot.
Kishino　Wasn't the third-year summer training camp in Wakura (Ishikawa Prefecture) the hardest?
Shimada　I didn't go, but everyone sounded like they were having a hard time when they talked about it.
Shiba　I also only heard about it, but I thought I didn't want to go (laughs).
Kishino　No way, no way...
Misu　Homare didn't go! (laughs)
Tsuchihashi　We played a match, ran, played another match, ran...
Tokuda　Whoa, that's criticizing the coach!
Tsuchihashi　No, no! I was just talking about what we actually did in training!
Shiba　Tell us more!
Tsuchihashi　First, we had two 35-minute matches. That alone was quite physically demanding, but in between matches, we did about 30 hill sprints...
Tokuda　Whoa...
Tsuchihashi　Then, we ran continuously on a track that was about 300 meters around...
Shiba　What, so you couldn't win the match?
Tsuchihashi　We wanted to win, but... the players were probably all physically exhausted. In the end, we had to run about 10 kilometers back to the hotel...
Misu　That's true.
Kishino　It was hot too!
Sato　It was a day of extreme heat.
Shiba　Hot days always become difficult memories (laughs).
Tokuda　But that's how you got stronger, right?
Tsuchihashi　...Well! (laughs) We were made to run so much, so it was a fun memory!
Tokuda　That mentality is important!
Tsuchihashi　What was the hardest thing for the group that didn't go to the Wakura training camp?
Haruto Matsumoto　How about the stair training at Kashima Gakuen High School?
Shimada/Tamaki　Oh! That's it!
Kishino　We got a message saying the training was at the stairs of Kashima Gakuen High School, and we thought, no way... but when we actually went, sure enough...
Everyone　Whoa...
Kishino　We all experienced it! We also ran up hills after stair sprints!
Everyone　Whoa...
Shiba　But not everyone participated. Some were injured.
Kishino　I see!
Tokuda　We rarely had everyone together.
Shiba　Was it about once a week on Tuesday?
Okusawara　Every Tuesday was tough.
Shiba　I don't want to do it again!
Misu　I agree (laughs).
Yasuo Matsumoto　Absolutely!
Shimada　I definitely don't want to do it (laughs).
Shiba　Let me say this clearly!
Tokuda　Everyone, I'm sorry it was like that, but it was our last time (laughs).
Misu　Yes, yes. But looking back now, it's because we worked hard at that kind of training that we are here today.
Sato　It's a good memory.
Shiba　We really learned how to run!
Yasuo Matsumoto　We also got good results on fitness tests!
Shiba　Coaches, please give the younger players even tougher training next year!
Everyone　Yes, yes!
Shiba　So they can win the Premier League next year!

Tsuchihashi (center) recalls the grueling training camp in Ishikawa Prefecture held in the summer of his third year

Only Okushou was in the 10th place!

――Finally, please tell us the third-year players' MIP.
Tsuchihashi　Not MVP, but MIP?
Misu　You mean the most memorable person...
Sato　That's Misu!
Misu　Me?
Shiba　Misu stood out, but isn't it Homare?
Tsuchihashi　That's true.
Shiba　He's already scored goals in the J-League!
Tokuda　(smugly)
Shiba　We all watched that goal!
Tokuda　Thank you, everyone (blushing).
Shiba　We all got excited in the Academy House lounge!
Misu　Whoa!
Shiba　It was like, “Homare did it!” (laughs).
Haruto Matsumoto　I was also excited watching it at the stadium!
Kishino　That shot was incredible!
Shimada　Homare, the “Hiroshima Killer”!
Tokuda　Kairo Sato, the “Shohei Killer”!
Sato　No, I'm not a “killer” at all! (laughs)
Shimada　Yamato is the “Frontale Killer”!
Tamaki　That's true, he scored the winning goal in both the first and second halves of the Premier League season. The volley goal he scored at home in stoppage time was the most satisfying!
Tsuchihashi　What about me?
Haruto Matsumoto　Is Doba the “FC Tokyo Killer”?
Tsuchihashi　No, not a “killer,” but a “one-hit wonder”! (laughs)
Kishino　The FC Tokyo match in the second half of the season is also my best memory! It was the first match I was allowed to wear the captain's armband!
Tokuda　That's what it's all about, Kishino! (laughs)
Kishino　We kept a clean sheet without any of the regular starters and won 2-0. We had some great games before that, like the Frontale match, but I was happy to keep setting new personal bests!
Haruto Matsumoto　Off the pitch, they also praised my video editing in the creator category.
Misu　That!
Haruto Matsumoto　I made the video played at the rally!
Sato　That brings back memories.
Tokuda　That's not MIP, it's talent (laughs).
Everyone　Yes, yes!
Tokuda　Kairo really did hold the team together for a year.
Shiba　Kairo is definitely the MIP!
Sato　That's the least funny development!
Tokuda　After all, Kairo is the center of the team.
Haruto Matsumoto　I think so too!
Shiba　He runs the most!
Sato　You don't need that! (blushing)
Shimada　He embodied the Antlers spirit!
Sato　Stop it! (blushing)
Tokuda　Kishino also started playing from his second year, and he was awesome!
Sato　He was our guardian of the goal! He inherited number 21 from Soga-san (GK coach Soga)!
Kishino　(smiles)
Shiba　Jersey numbers aren't chosen, so it's amazing to be entrusted with a traditional number.
Tokuda　Only Okushou wore number 10!
Okusawara　I had worn number 8 all along, but it was my first time wearing number 10.
Sato　It suited you! And Homare wearing number 10 was also different.
Tokuda　Hey, stop it! (laughs)
Okusawara　Honestly, I would have preferred number 8...
Tokuda　You shouldn't say that (laughs).
Okusawara　But I was also happy to wear number 10!
Everyone　(applause)

Okusawara (left) was entrusted with number 10 for Kashima Youth in the Premier League EAST

 

Sato　I was really happy to play soccer with everyone.
Shiba　I was blessed with great staff and teammates, and I had an amazing time living in the dorm!
Yasushi Matsumoto　Now that I'm a high school student, I'm so grateful that I got to meet all of you seniors...
Everyone　(Fake crying)
Yasushi Matsumoto　It's sad that we'll all go our separate ways after graduation, but...
Everyone　(Fake crying)
Yasushi Matsumoto　That's also...
Everyone　(Fake crying).
Yasushi Matsumoto　Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...
Tokuda　Once-in-a-lifetime? (laughs)
Everyone　(Laughter)
Yasushi Matsumoto　Anyway, I'm grateful to all of you! (laughs)
Everyone　(Applause)
Tokuda　I came to this dorm when I was a third-year junior high student, and I'm really happy that I turned pro, but I think the real challenge starts now, so I want to work hard to make lots of people smile.
Everyone　Whoo!
Sato　I hope I can pay everyone back for everything they've done for me in the professional world.
Haruka Matsumoto　We'll all go our separate ways, but I believe that we'll be able to play soccer together in the professional world again, so let's keep working hard!
Everyone　(Applause)
Kishino　Let's use the experience we learned at Antlers in our college lives, and work hard so that we can come back here again!
Ogasawara　Yeah. I want to work hard so that I can come back here again!
Tamaki　I've had so many injuries and caused my parents a lot of trouble, you know. Let's work hard so that we can go to college and come back here together again!
Everyone　Thank you, everyone!

A group photo with everyone striking their favorite pose. Yuma Suzuki's goal celebration is very popular