In December, the new East Asian Cup will be held in Japan. As the host, the Japanese men's soccer team is determined to win the East Asian Cup at home. According to the past practice, whenever the East Asian Cup, the Japanese national team will not recall those overseas players back to the country, and it is often the young internationals who play in Asia who play in the East Asian Cup.
In 2013, in the East Asian Cup held in South Korea, with the performance of a group of emerging internationals, the Japanese men's football team won the championship in one fell swoop. At that time, yamaguchi Hotaru, who was selected for the national team for the first time, became the MVP of the current tournament with a stable and excellent performance, and has gradually become a regular visitor to the national team since then.
【Hard-working genius under Father Yan】
In 1990, Yamaguchi was born in Nagisa City, Mie Prefecture. In the first grade of elementary school, under the influence of his older brother Cape Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Hotaru, who was studying at Nishimse elementary school in Mie Prefecture, joined the school's football training class and began his own football career.
What is valuable is that in addition to his brother, Yamaguchi's father is also a man who is passionate about football. When Hosumi Yamaguchi was in the third grade of elementary school, his father, Kenichi Yamaguchi, became a youth coach at the Minowa Junior Football Club, where Hosumi Koyamaguchi worked.
"I still train him harshly, not to coddle him, and to treat him like any other child." Commenting on the situation at that time, Kenichi Yamaguchi said.
A year later, Yamaguchi's family changed, and Yamaguchi's parents divorced. For Hotaru Yamaguchi, the soccer road that has just been on the right track is instantly overshadowed. In order to better grow up for his two children, his father Kenichi gave up his stable job in Osaka in order to spend more time with his children.
Quitting his job, kenichi Yamaguchi had to leave early and return to work every day to support his family, considering his family's livelihood. It was not until the second year of Yamaguchi Hotaru Junior High School that the family's financial situation improved. "Wages are completely incomparable to before, they are all hourly wages, and the income is reduced by half than before." Kenichi, his father, recalled the plight of the year and said.
Infected by his father Kenichi's travels for the family, Yamaguchi Hotaru, who was once mentally weak and almost gave up football, rekindled his enthusiasm for football, which also made him stronger. Once, Yamaguchi had a high fever of 39 degrees, but he still insisted on long-distance running training, and finally won the first place in the city's long-distance running competition.
Although the family's economy was not well-off, his father, Kenichi Yamaguchi, did not waste the football talent that Yamaguchi had shown. At the age of 15, he dragged Yamaguchi hotaru all over the J-League clubs in the Kansai region of Japan, and the three clubs of Osaka Gamba, Kyoto Undead Bird and Osaka Sakura all left Behind Yamaguchi Hotaru's auditions. In the end, the father and son chose the Osaka Sakura echelon, where the youth training fee is relatively low.
Years later, Kenichi, who was about to accompany Yamaguchi on his trip to the World Cup in Brazil, recalled the situation and sighed, "Even if it is dark, the bright light will continue to shine!" ”
【Gain a firm foothold in the national brand and professional arena】
After entering the Osaka Sakura Echelon, in 2006, Yamaguchi, who was not yet 17 years old, became a member of the U18 Echelon.
In 2008, as captain of Sakura Osaka U18, Hotaru Yamaguchi helped the team win the Kansai Division championship of the Takagengu Cup U-18 Football Championship for the first time and was crowned MVP of the tournament. A year later, Yamaguchi was promoted to the Osaka Sakura first team and took over the No. 26 shirt left by Shinji Kagawa.
However, in the two years that followed, Yamaguchi did not gain the trust of then-manager Martinez, and apart from a brief trip to Palmeiras, Brazil, for three months, Yamaguchi only got five appearances in the J-League.
2010 was a year of equal opportunities and challenges for Hotaru Yamaguchi. Despite his depression at the club, in November he represented Japan in the Guangzhou Asian Games football match. In this tournament, the Japanese team passed the barrier all the way, and won the Asian Games gold medal for the first time in history. As the main back, Yamaguchi played all the games, and his performance of both attack and defense also made him receive unanimous praise from the outside world, and even the Japanese media returned him to the club, and Yamaguchi Hotaru also ushered in a turnaround.
In the following two years, under Sakura coach Kurpi, Hitoshi Nakaguchi won a lot of playing time in the league. His tireless running and outstanding sense of attack and defense made him the number one partner of former Roma midfielder Simplicio at the club. In 2012, Yamaguchi represented Japan in the London Olympic Games, and as the main midfielder, Yamaguchi won the fourth place in the London Olympic Games with the team.
In the first few years of his game in Osaka, in addition to the near-all-round performance on the court, Yamaguchi Hotaru's deepest impression on fans was the word "dream" embroidered on his shoes. This "dream" word implies his desire and desire to wear the "Blue Samurai" shirt, representing the Japanese national team.
【Dream national team, MVP shine East Asian Cup】
In 2013, the Japanese Football Association announced that it would form domestic players to compete in that year's East Asian Cup.
In this competition, the Japanese team, with local players as the team, won the championship in one fell swoop. And Yamaguchi Hotaru was also included in Zacheroni's national team list, which ended his long-cherished wish to play for the national team for many years.
Coincidentally, Yamaguchi's first national team match was played against the Chinese team. In Zaccheroni's technical tactics, Kakitani is the offensive core of this Japanese team, so Yamaguchi did not show much performance on the offensive end. However, in terms of midfield interception and depth protection, Yamaguchi's abundant body can make the Japanese midfield defense impregnable, and for a time the front led by Gao Lin and Yu Dabao was helpless.
If it were not for Sun Ke's sudden appearance before the final game, this team, which was rated as the "Japanese Third Team" by former Japanese men's football coach Trussier, would have won the opening red in the first game.
In the subsequent matches against Australia and South Korea, Yamaguchi was given the opportunity to play, becoming the other player who appeared in all three games except Kurihara. In the final MVP selection, he also unexpectedly beat the big hit - teammate Aki ichiro Kakitani to lift the MVP trophy of the 13-year East Asian Cup.
For the then-emerging Japanese international, former Sakura Osaka coach Popovich once commented, "Yamaguchi is one of the few players in Japan who has a big picture view of the game. ”
Selected for the Japanese national team for the first time, Yamaguchi's performance is dazzling enough.
[Failure to stay in the ocean, do not hinder the ambition to fight for the country]
With his strong performance in the East Asian Cup, Yamaguchi gradually became a standing player under Zaccheroni.com. In 2014, he was included in the 23-man squad of the Japanese national team Brazil world cup, and landed on the stage of the coveted World Cup.
After the World Cup, like Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, who were seniors of the national team, Ruyo became Hotaru Yamaguchi's next career goal. At the end of 2015, Yamaguchi landed in the Bundesliga and joined Hannover 96. When joining Hannover 96, Hotaru Yamaguchi said, "I hope to represent the team as soon as possible and contribute to the club, and I am also looking forward to partnering with Kiyotake Hiroshi." ”
However, contrary to his wishes, Yamaguchi played only 6 times in the Bundesliga after half a season, and out of consideration for his national team career, Yamaguchi finally chose to return to his parent team Sakura Osaka. So far, Yamaguchi has represented Sakura Osaka 102 times in all competitions, scoring 10 goals, making her the first person in the Osaka Sakura team.
In the 2015 East Asian Cup, Yamaguchi once again represented Japan and scored a world wave in the match against South Korea. In the Japanese national team with a lot of talent in midfield, although Yamaguchi cannot ensure an absolute main position, he has also experienced many intercontinental competitions such as the Asian Cup in 15 years and the World Cup qualifiers in 18 years, representing the team more than 30 times.
Unfortunately, we can't see Hotaru Yamaguchi at this year's East Asian Cup. On November 26, Sakura Osaka officially announced that Hosumi Yamaguchi would be recuperating for three weeks due to an injury to his right fibula. Yesterday, the Japan Football Association announced the 23-man roster for the East Asian Cup, and Yamaguchi was also unnamed. The absence of the MVP of the last East Asian Cup can be described as a major regret of this East Asian Cup.