I wrote about tactics last time, so this time it's about markets. Watching the World Cup, I felt that individual Japanese players are already on par with the…
I wrote about tactics last time, so this time it's about markets. Watching the World Cup, I felt that individual Japanese players are already on par with the…
Last time, I wrote a piece called Ancelotti's Homework. In Japan's World Cup match against Brazil, what could Japan have done in response to Ancelotti's…
Football has a rule even children know. If you get sent off, you can't play in the next match. The card means something, and that meaning is what makes it a…
―― The nine trump cards the protagonist kept hidden --- This is the final installment of the series. Vol.1 covered when tactics were born. Vol.2 covered what…
――The ghost of 1966, and a faith disguised as data --- At the end of the last piece (vol.1, "A Chronology of Modern Tactical Inventions"), I wrote this: the…
―― A man with 2020s tactical knowledge is reincarnated into London in 1980 --- The protagonist of my novel EXTRA TIME is thrown into London in May 1980,…
After watching the Japan-Brazil World Cup match, I sat stunned for a while. Part of that was the disappointment of the loss itself, and the shock of conceding…
When I heard the tournament would expand to 48 teams, my first thought was: this is obviously just watering it down. From 32 to 48 is a jump of 1.5x. The bar…
The final matches of the World Cup group stage for the Americas are about to begin. Something about this tournament has probably been bothering everyone…
I recently published the novel "EXTRA TIME" on Kindle. Since I went to the trouble of writing it, I thought I'd record the story behind how this work came…
The trigger was my second son's team My second son is in the fourth grade and plays on a local soccer team. It's technically a youth affiliate of the JFL, but…
In the final group-stage match of the Qatar World Cup, Japan came back to beat Spain 2-1. Excitement, surprise, relief. It's a complicated mix of feelings, but…
Japan won its opening match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup against Germany. Things like this don't happen very often, so let me write down my honest thoughts. I…
I watched Amazon Original's All or Nothing: Arsenal all in one sitting on a flight to Europe. All or Nothing: Arsenal The 2021/22 season was a season of change…
I recently watched AC Milan vs Inter, the so-called Milan Derby, in Milan, Italy. The venue was AC Milan's home ground, San Siro. For my generation, this place…
Paolo Maldini He was a central figure in AC Milan's golden era of the 90s, and as a member of the Italian national team he experienced one World Cup win and…