Off-the-field values, focus on mental side: Avispa Fukuoka U18 assistant coach speaks on club's philosophy, praises Indian footballers technique, physicality

By Sahil Kohli

Fukuoka [Japan], July 19 (ANI): Avispa Fukuoka FC Under-18 team assistant coach Kakeru Komatsu has emphasised how club prioritises off-the-pitch discipline as much on-field results and on how the set-up with younger talents.

The coach spoke to ANI on the sidelines of the ongoing Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) exposure tour to Japan, where Avispa Fukuoka has played against youth teams of Punjab FC and FC Goa so far. While the Japanese club lost to Punjab FC, they registered a 5-4 win on penalties against FC Goa at Fukuoka after it ended at 1-1 draw in regular time. They will play Bengaluru FC in their final game of the competition on Sunday.

Kakeru expressed his club’s emphasis on cultural values and how a youngster’s mental side holds more importance than their physical traits while coaching them.

“Talking about Avispa Fukuoka Academy, it is important to make players better on the pitch, but I also think it is important to provide education off the pitch. For example, going to school properly, doing the homework, and being on time. By doing these common things properly, I believe that discipline will be shown on the pitch as well. So we value how they live their lives off the pitch. Based on that, there is football. That is how we teach at Avispa Academy,” he said.

On being asked about the development of Japanese football over the years, the Avispa Fukuoka assistant coach said that the club does what the top management asks them to do and fully backs it without “changing or giving up”.

“If I talk about Avispa Fukuoka’s Academy, the top management decided what we would do and we continued to do it without changing or giving up. I think that is why Avispa Fukuoka Academy has developed. It is about everyone facing the same direction and continuing to do what top management says,” Kakeru said.

The assistant coach also said on coaching younger talent, “I believe the mental side is more important when coaching young players. It is more important that it is well controlled by coaching staff, rather than the physical. Mental side of a player is more effective.”

Having played against two Indian youth clubs so far, Kakeru had an important word of advice for the Indian players, saying that the players can become much more harder to beat if they keep the same intensity for the whole game, noting that they would look tired in latter stages of both halves.

“Considering these two games, from about the 30th minute of the first and second halves, we had more possession of the ball. Why is that? In the game against FC Goa, I think it is because we had the ball for a long time and they got tired. In the last game, even though we did not have the ball for that long, they looked tired. If they can keep their power after the 30th minute, it would have been much harder for us to play against them,” he said.

Kakeru lauded how both teams from India were very physical, technically proficient in their matches and attacked their opponents’ wrong areas well, making them run really hard for the ball.

“First, including the game against FC Goa and the last game, I thought both teams were very physical. Also, today and last time, they were not just physical, but they could handle the ball well and attack our weak points. So we had to run a lot to win the ball back,” he said.

“On the other hand, in terms of attacking, we could not score until the end unless we got past their strong and high physicality. So I felt that the physical and technical levels were very high,” he added.

Speaking ahead of the FIFA World Cup final between defending champions Argentina and 2010 champions Spain scheduled for Sunday, the assistant coach backed the latter to win. “Spain wins, 3-2,” Kakeru signed off. (ANI)

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