Masaya Okugawa: Haaland s training performance is mediocre, but he can wear a hat if he only performs 50% of his game

29-year-old Japanese winger Masao Okugawa also ended his 10-year career in Europe in January this year, returned to the Japanese league, and joined Kyoto. The player recently accepted an exclusive interview with Football Digest and talked about his experiences in Europe.

Talk about returning to Japan

"When I returned to Kyoto after 10 years, I couldn't help but sigh that 'It's been 10 years', which made me feel more moved by the passing of time. The older I get, the more I realize the fun and difficult things of football, but the harder it is to keep up with it, so it's great to be able to experience these things in my 20s."

Talk about joining Salzburg at the age of 19 "When I first went there, I found that the team was younger than me, and there were even 16-year-old players. Although my skills were not mature, I would perform very well in the game. Such competitiveness was completely different from the situation in Japan. I have never understood that if I perform poorly in training, I can score so many goals in the game? This is what surprised me the most. Off the court, they are Football is not so persistent. I go out to drink on holidays and play with my friends until late at night. I feel like they are really enjoying their lives. "

Talking about Haaland, who was once a teammate of Salzburg, "He is a monster. To be honest, at the beginning, I didn't know if he was lazy and performed mediocre during training. I wonder what level he is? But after the start of the league, even if he only played 50% of his strength, he could score a hat trick every time, and his level was four or five levels ahead of the others. This kind of impact is difficult to understand in Japan. At that time, he was only 19 years old, his physical fitness was already very good, his speed was very fast, and his ability to seize opportunities in front of the goal was world-class. Looking back now, I really think that 'Salzburg is an amazing club'. But after leaving the stadium, Haaland was just An ordinary boy, this is no different from his peers in Japan. "

Talk about joining Bielefeld for the sixth year of studying abroad

"My idea was, 'This year I will become the core of the team and lead the team forward.' At that time, it was the second season of the team's promotion to the Bundesliga. The whole team was full of confidence, and it was filled with the atmosphere of 'may make something this year'. But when facing experienced teams, they were always reversed at the last moment, and the team gradually couldn't keep up with the pace, and it was difficult to get points. In this process, my chances for each game were very limited. However, I think I have fully demonstrated my ability in 33 games. It is a pity to relegate, but this experience is very valuable. "

Talk about the nickname of "Ancient Capital (Kyoto) Neymar"

" at the beginning To be honest, I was very happy when I heard this nickname. Neymar had a great influence on me. I have always practiced by watching his game video. It can be said that he is the reason why I became a professional player. As for why this nickname is, I don’t know much. But after I went abroad, I didn’t care about these things. Now I think back. "

Talk about the first time with Wilz

"He was only 19 or 18 years old at the time. He was not the kind of player with strong physical fitness. I thought to myself, 'This guy is so thin'. But even if he was surrounded by four people, he was not panicked at all. He calmly took the ball to break through or pass the ball. This is not the calmness that an 18-year-old player should have. In an environment like a tall player around him, I thought, 'Oh my God! This guy is a bit amazing! '"