The 2021 Japanese high school soccer player came to an end, and Yamada Aomori, who represented Aomori Prefecture, was crowned again after two years, dominating the national competition for the third time in six years. According to statistics, in the final between Aomori Yamada and Kumamoto Prefectural Otsu High School, about 43,000 people poured in at the Tokyo National Stadium, and the attendance rate even exceeded that of most professional leagues. For high school students facing the pressure of further education, the national competition is a stage to show themselves, representing youth and blood.
A japanese-style league for high school students
The right to play high school soccer players in Japan has been held for 100 years, and its history is longer than that of the Japan Football Association, which was founded in 1921. In January 1918, the Japan Football Championship, the predecessor of the Japanese high school soccer players, was held for the first time, and the competition venue was located in the Kansai area, and the participating teams were limited to 8 schools in Kansai. In 1976, the 55th Japan High School Football Player Rights moved to the Tokyo Metropolitan Area for the first time. By 1983, one school each of the 47 prefectures participated (two in Tokyo), and the scale of the competition was staggering.
Of course, the success of Japanese high school football players is largely due to Japan's unique college club culture, where young players hone their skills in club activities and lay the foundation through actual combat. When Japanese football was still in its infancy, the number of high school football players and the number of spectators remained high, and the relatives and friends of the players naturally needless to say, they will definitely rush to the scene to cheer. There were also cheerleaders spontaneously organized by various schools, and the uniform response infected everyone present. Even community residents who don't usually pay much attention to football, because of the relationship between school and the region, will come to the scene to experience the high school football culture.
In addition, since the birth of the Takaengu Cup U18 Super League, which was founded in 2011, the famous soccer players in various regions of Japan have been able to participate in high-level competitions almost every week, and five teams, including Aomori Yamada, Funabashi, Yukiniku University of Economics, Higashi-Fukuoka, and Otsu, are currently participating in the tournament. Take the two teams that entered the Japanese high school football players' final this year, Aomori Yamada and Otsu are the strongest teams in the 2021 High Sports League, Aomori Yamada is the champion of the U18 Super League East Of the Takaengu Cup, and Otsu, although only finished fourth in the West Zone, the top three teams in the West Zone are all junior teams in the J League, which can be said to be the strongest battle in the high school.
Aomori Yamada, who changed the pattern of high school football
Since 2000, more and more players have joined the J League after graduating from high school, such as Shunsuke Nakamura, Yasuhito Endo, Keiyuki Honda, and Ryotaro Araki, all of whom are examples of high school students participating in professional leagues. In addition, the J League tries more to poach from junior high schools, and the high sports league is no longer the only choice for football teenagers, and even traditional teams such as Teikyo and Kunimi are difficult to compete with professional teams for excellent junior high school players. Looking back at the teams that won the championship from 2005 to 2014, except for the Municipal Funahashi in 2011, the rest were all first-time winners. The monopoly of traditional high school masters has been broken, but it has presented a new situation in which no one who wins the championship is strange.
What made a huge wave in this trend was Aomori Yamada, who won the championship for the first time in 2016, with overwhelming force and rapid passing as the tactical idea, and three crowns in six years. In fact, before winning the championship for the first time, Aomori Yamada was a defensive team, and the annual goal was the round of 16. Looking back on the difficulties along the way, Aomori Yamada head coach Kuroda said: "The training conditions are getting better and better now. More than 20 years ago, our football department and rugby department shared a common field, the field was often in a state of unevenness, and the football club recruited less than 20 people. ”
Aomori Prefecture is located at the northernmost tip of Honshu Island, across the sea from Hokkaido. Aomori City, where Aomori Yamada is located, is an area that is often covered with heavy snow in winter, and due to geographical conditions, Aomori is not a place that can attract good players. However, with the first time in 2000 to break into the final four of high school football players and win the national college sports conference in 2005, Aomori Yamada has been recognized by more and more people. In 2016, Aomori Yamada's first victory stimulated many traditional universities, such as Higashi-Fukuoka, Maehashi Yuei, Shizuoka Gakuen, and Yamanashi Gakuin, and Yamanashi Gakuin, all of which have achieved good results in recent years.
Drive 7200 km in 30 days and carry the kids to the race
Kuroda took office in 1994, and Aomori Yamada lost only one time in a tournament for prefectural representatives. Since 1997, Aomori Yamada has qualified for the right to play as a high school football player for 25 consecutive years and continues to set new records. In addition, Aomori Yamada has cultivated many influential players in the J League, including Shibasaki, Muraya Seiji, Kikuchi Ryufan, Kamiya Yuta, and Ken Akira Fujimoto, who are still active in the fans' field of vision.
Kuroda's coaching philosophy, or the reason he spent 27 years in high school football, was influenced by Mr. Tadatoshi Kobayashi, who died some time ago. In the summer of 1987, at the age of 17, Kuroda represented Noboribetsu Otani High School in a national high school soccer tournament in Hokkaido against Kunimi High School led by Tadatoshi Kobaya. Kuroda said: "When I saw Kobayashi driving a minibus from Nagasaki to Hokkaido, I was shocked, it was almost a movement across the territory of Japan. Since then, I have been deeply moved and have my own vision of teaching in high school. ”
In 1994, Kuroda became the head coach of the Aomori Yamada Soccer Department, and obtained a driver's license for a large bus, personally holding the steering wheel and taking the children to compete around the country. According to Kuroda, he didn't want to lose to Kobayashi. One summer, Kuroda drove more than 7,200 kilometers in just one month. "It's all about the students." Kuroda said.
In addition, Kuroda's approach to education is also unique. Aomori Yamada's main players are asked to plow snow every year and clean the training ground to face the harsh environment unique to the snow country. "I sometimes feel that praise is very irresponsible in some cases. Paying attention to the growth of children and setting the right goals is the most important thing. Football has a variety of styles, just stick to your beliefs. ”
Attached kuroda just selected the best lineup of Aomori Yamada in the past
In the interview, Kuroda himself said that it is difficult to make a choice, and Aomori Yamada has too many talents. Interestingly, Kenaki Fujimoto, known as Japan's Vardy, was actually a full-back in high school, and kikuchi Ryufan, a young centre-back who performed well at Kobe Victory last season, was only a substitute.
In this list, there are 7 active players. They are Ryota Noma of Itilore, Tajikistan, Ryūkō Tanozaki of Chiba Ichihara, Nobushi Shiina of Toyama FC, Shibasaki of Leganes, Vazquez of Tokyo, Kazu Hashimoto of Gifu FC, and Muroyanagi of Hanover 96.