Yokohama F. MarinosDFRyuta KoikeWas elected as a member of the Japan national team for the EAFF E-1 Championship on the 13th. It is extremely unusual for a player who started his career from the amateur category JFL to join the A national team. It was also the first feat in history for a JFA Academy graduate.
Yasuharu Sorimachi, technical chairman of the Japan Football Association (JFA), said at a meeting on the 13th, “After training at the JFA Academy for 6 years, I decided to belong to the JFL team, and thus climbed the stairs and became the A representative. There are many under-category representatives in the activities of the JFA Academy, but this is the first time that I have been selected as the A representative. It is also encouraging to those who are engaged in the game. I hope that they will not only be selected but also play an active part in the match. “
Originally from Tokyo, Koike joined the JFA Academy Fukushima when he entered junior high school and experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. After entering high school, he spent his time in Shizuoka prefecture, where he moved to, and played in the Takamado Trophy Premier League EAST. However, following graduating from high school, he did not hear from professionals and started his career as a member of society at Renofa Yamaguchi of JFL at that time. After leading to J3 promotion and J2 promotion, he joined Kashiwa Reysol in 2017 and fulfilled his first J1 challenge.
In the summer of 19th, he started his first European challenge in Lokeren, Belgium, but returned to Japan in May 20 due to the bankruptcy of the club. From there he joined Yokohama FM and has been the main force in the left and right side backs. In early June of this year, he experienced a long-term withdrawal due to a left hamstring strain, but he made a long-awaited return in the match once morest J1 Hiroshima on the 6th of this month. He was just in time for the E-1 selection.
In an interview with “Gexaka” before the opening of 2021, he said, “I have goals such as the Japan national team, but first of all, I have to avoid injury for one season and continue to play in the match. Beyond that, there are desserts and rewards, not everyone’s choices, and you can’t choose for yourself. I’m happy, and if you choose, I want to leave a result with F. Marinos so that I can perform at my best, “Koike calmly answered. As the word says, he gained a reputation for his success in the club and seized the extraordinary representation.
(Interviewed by Tatsuya Takeuchi)
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