Departing from Italy ・rriving in England! 2005/08/16

 

 

In some ways it痴 hard to believe, but seven years have passed since I left Japan for Italy back in 1998. During this time, I have experienced everything from desperate struggles to the very last round to remain in Serie A, to fights for the Scudetto Cup itself. And I have played as a member of five different teams.

I have had opportunities to share a pitch with a huge number of top footballers from all over the world, and now, I can say that I know most of the players and coaches in Serie A.

 

Naturally I have been through both good and bad times in these seven years, but all the people I have met in this country, everything I have seen and felt here, all of this put together has been a truly wonderful, irreplaceable experience, that has allowed me to grow and develop into who I am now.

 

Having said that, to look at things from the opposite perspective, it is also true that having experienced so much over the years here in Italy, new and stimulating experiences do naturally become less frequent as the years go by. I would say that Serie A is one of the toughest leagues in the world, and no matter how many years I may have played in this league, I have never and would never find it 兎asy・ But as I said, as sad as it may be, the truth is that as the years pile up, the amount of stimulation one feels does decrease.

 

On a private level, too, I have become so accustomed to living in Italy that I feel more like I知 塗ome・when I come back to Italy after being away, rather than when I go home to Japan for a visit. Problems with language are pretty much non-existent these days too, and I as well as being adjusted to the way of life, I have lots of friends. Basically, I have come to feel like I belong here・lmost like I must have been born here・br> But on the other hand, it is exactly for these reasons that the excitement and stimulation of things new has faded away to some extent.

 

Partly due to my awareness of this, to tell the truth for the last couple of years I have thought more and more about how I would love to experience living and playing in a different country and different league. However, in the world of football, thinking something like this and actually making it happen can be two quite different stories. If I have my own hopes and desires, the club, too has its conditions and related issues. In any case, this year a team appeared that cleared the many obstacles there are in this process! Its name: Bolton Wanderers!!

This team is active in the English Premier League, and has been steadily improving its level over the last few years. Particularly successful this year, they climbed to 6th position on the ladder, earning the right to play for the UEFA CUP.

 

My experience as a player in England is extremely limited. Including UEFA CUP matches and practice matches, I couldn稚 have played more than five games all together. However, from what little experience I do have, one thing I can say is that I have a very, very favourable impression of the English stadiums. The spectators・seating is really just a hop, skip and a jump away from the pitch itself, making fans and players really feel like 登ne・ But I was not only referring to the stadiums themselves ・also the fantastic way spectators go about watching the matches. The philosophy is not 田heer for your team and boo the opponent blindly・as it is in some other places, but rather applaud for great play, regardless of who it is, and likewise for poor play ・boo, regardless of who the player may be. It is this kind of attitude and atmosphere that I think real sportsmanship is all about.

Aside from my own experience, just from what I致e heard from other players who have played in England, I致e had the image for a long time now that more than anything else, the whole environment surrounding football in England is just fantastic, and this is one thing that made England attractive to me.

 

Anyway, as I was saying, the myriad of conditions and timing and everything miraculously matched up, and I have decided to make the transfer from Fiorentina to The Bolton Wanderers!!

 

I really wanted and intended to make this announcement earlier, but even after both the teams involved agreed on all the conditions of my transfer to England, I had a medical check, followed by working visa paperwork to get through. The medical check is basically to check if a player has any physical problems, and in most countries is carried out in the form of a pre-season test. However, in England, the system is a bit different. Firstly, they are known for being far, far more thorough than other countries. In fact, before contracts are signed, the new player has to visit the potential team, and have checks carried out on everything you could think of and more. In my case, that痴 exactly what I was doing a few days ago ・tests galore, including fitness checks and so on. After that, arrangements for my working visa went relatively smoothly, but there ended up being more of a wait than expected for the results of my medical. What this meant, was that instead announcing my transfer right at the time I came to England, as I had hoped, I waited until now, until I got the OK from my medical, so that I could make a clear, definite announcement. I hope you understand that I just didn稚 want to do this in a half-hearted way・br>

Actually, there was quite a surprise in store for me when I went for my tests・the magnificent clubrooms!! Apparently they have just been renovated recently, and these clubrooms are incomparably better (leaving the relatively ordinary-looking exterior aside, that is) than those of any of the clubs I have been with before. There is a very impressive number of staff too, and overall, I really got the feeling that players here are being cared for and valued. I had a chance to meet the players themselves, too, including a few who I had met before as opponents in national team games, and found them easy to chat with. It was great for me to have the opportunity to check out the facilities before we finalised our contract, and as I said, they exceeded my already high expectations.

 

Anyway, the all-important organisational matters are now taken care of and finalised!! Now the ball is in my court, as I need to work on bringing my condition up to standard and prepare to play football!! The Premier League痴 season started on Saturday, a couple of weeks earlier than Italy痴 Serie A opening round, which is what I had been timing my training for. Needless to say, I have a little catching up to do now. I went and watched Bolton痴 opening game (against Aston Villa), and while part of me can稚 wait to get out on the pitch with my new team, it is really important in my current situation to stay calm and patient, and make sensible decisions・ecause the last thing I want is to rush into things and come out injured! Anyway, I have so much to look forward to. Of course I don稚 expect everything to be easy, and I know there are obstacles that will appear on any path, but including those challenging aspects, I think everything is going to provide great stimulation. Right now, the only way is up!!

 

My seven years in Italy taught me and helped me develop a great deal, both as a person and as a footballer・t least I believe so.

There are no words to express the deep gratitude I feel to the people who have played parts in my life in Italy, but what I do want to do, is put that huge energy into my football here in England from now on, in the hope that my efforts and results will somehow get my message across to everyone.

 

By the way, everyone, given the way things have turned out, let痴 work on our English together this year!!

 

 

 

Hide

He could start by not putting squares all over the place.

Just been looking on nakata.net. How cool is this guy? In the photo gallery he's like some catalogue model!

He could start by not putting squares all over the place.

 

The squares are to indicate where the words don't match exactly when translated from Japanese. Whoever downloaded it hasn't installed Japanese onm to their PC / Browser type thingy.

 

Coat on...

I heard his shot is like an atomic bomb

He could start by not putting squares all over the place.

 

Whoever downloaded it hasn't installed Japanese onm to their PC / Browser type thingy.

 

Isn't installing Japanese the first thing everyone does when they've got a new PC?

squint at the screen and it will all make sense