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Reflecting on the gap between professional soccer players and university students
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Reflecting on the gap between professional soccer players and university students

Wed, Jul 26, 2017
Reflecting on the gap between professional soccer players and university students
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“First the Tokyo Olympics. Next the ‘A’ division. Then the World Cup.”

Ryosuke Koijima, third-year student from the School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University

The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup (21st edition) was held in South Korea earlier this year in May. After putting up a tough fight during the Group Stage, Japan qualified for the knockout stage in which the best 16 teams competed with each other. Unfortunately, Japan lost the match against Venezuela in the Round of 16 of the knockout stage, and did not proceed to the quarter-finals.

Waseda Weekly, an online magazine of Waseda University, interviewed Ryosuke Kojima, who took part in all the matches at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Kojima is currently the only regular goalkeeper who is also a full-time student at Waseda University. He belongs to the University’s soccer club, and spends most of his time on the Higashifushimi Campus equipped with comprehensive sport facilities and soccer field.

Q1: Why did you become a goalkeeper?

When I was in kindergarten, I remember watching a World Cup 2002 match on TV which Japan played against South Korea. After watching the match, I simply started having admiration for soccer and started playing it when I attended first grade in elementary school. Actually, my father really loved baseball and we used to play catch when I was young. When I entered elementary school, I once thought about playing baseball instead but in my hometown, students can only join the baseball club after completing second year of elementary school. That was why I ended up in the soccer club. I did not start playing as a goalkeeper until I was grade six in elementary school. At that time, after observing how I played and defended as a goalkeeper, my coach suggested that I played as goalkeeper. To be exact, I only started playing as a goalkeeper when I was in my first year of junior high school.

Q2: Why did you decide to study at Waseda University instead of purusing a professional career in soccer?

Photo taken at the Kanto University League (photo by wasedasports.com)

I belonged to the youth team of Nagoya Grampus during year three in junior high school through my high school years. I actually wanted to go professional after completing my high school education but I did not meet the requirements at that time. That was why I decided to further my education instead. During my third year in high school, I used to train two to three days a week with the soccer club of Waseda University. I was really impressed by the single-hearted devotion and dedication displayed by the members of the soccer club, which made me realize what was missing in me. Thereafter, I made up my mind and decided to pursue my university education at Waseda University.

Q3: I heard that it was difficult for you to be a regular soccer player when you were studying at University. Could you tell us more about it?

Last year, I only participated in three official games. I have a senior named Masaki Goto, who is two years older than me and graduated from the School of Sports Sciences in 2017, currently belonging to the Shonan Belle. There was a period when soccer players were being recruited to represent Japan. He was being recruited and he was someone whom I could never surpass. He made me realize what I was lacking in, and made me want work hard to be in the part of the starting lineup. Starting this season, I am part of the regular team and have since been participating in university leagues. My wish this year is to play as part of the first division team. In order to attain that, I will work hard really hard.

Q4: How different do you feel about the professional soccer players and players who are studying at Waseda university?

Kanto University League (Kojima is the the player in yellow; photo by the soccer club of Waseda University)

Even though there are many great soccer players in the University, I think that professional soccer players do better in terms of decisiveness and understanding tactics. Take Takefusa Kubo who belongs to the Japanese club F.C. TOKYO U-18 for example. He is only a first-year high school student but he is very nimble, quick and flexible. He understands the instructions of the coach clearly and is selected to be in the front line of this year U-20 World Cup.

Despite the things that I have said, I think I benefited a lot by entering university as well. When I train at the University, I switch my positions and roles around and do not only train as a goal keeper, which is what everyone does when they train in a national team. By switching my positions and roles, I feel that it benefited me by improving on what I have also been lacking in.

Q5: Among the games you played at the University, which game left the deepest impression on you?

The game the left the deepest impression on me was the first official game I played. It was the Kanto League that was held last year in June. Although my team lost the match, I was able to accumulate and build my confidence. It was a totally different experience compared to the matches I played for the national team.

Q6: Looking back at the World Cup the other day, do you have any comments you wish to share with us?

Photo showing Kojima saving a goal in the match which Japan played against Venezuela at the 2017 U-20 World Cup (photo by Kyodo News)

I feel that we were able to utilize our coordinated attacks and defenses as a team. However, comparing to other teams, we lacked decisiveness. It was the same when it came to defending the goal. Given that we are at a disadvantage as most players from other countries are generally taller, personally, I felt we should focus more in widening our defense sphere. In addition, we should also look into making improvements in our positioning, decisiveness as well as physically stamina and fitness.

Q7: What are your future goals and dreams?

My dream is to be the guardian (i.e. goalkeeper) of the ‘A’ national team and win as many matches as possible. By 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, I will have turned 23 years old and it will be my only chance to participate in. As Japan is the hosting country for the 2020 Olympic Games, it is guaranteed that it will be participating in the soccer game. Soon, it will be the first Asia preliminary round. I will do my best to be qualified as the front line goal keeper, playing for and representing the nation.

Photo taken at the U-20 World Cup Group Stage when Japan fought against Italy (Kojima is the player in lime green; photo by Kyodo News)

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Ryosuke Kojima was born in Aichi Prefecture. He is currently living in the dormitory of Higashifushimi Campus, only a minute away from the soccer field. As his classes are mostly conducted on the same campus, he spends most of his time there. If he were to be selected to represent the national team, he will have to spend about 10 days once a month for overseas training. He says his favorite subject is soccer. Aside from soccer, he also enjoy watching movies and TV dramas.

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