Our system detected that your browser is blocking advertisements on our site. Please help support FoxesTalk by disabling any kind of ad blocker while browsing this site. Thank you.
Jump to content
 Share
kushiro

Okazaki interviews, comments and pictures from the Japanese media

By kushiro, in Leicester City Forum

Recommended Posts

kushiro

kushiro

Posted
  • Author
Posted

This is from a few days ago. From the Japan Times:

 

sp-okazaki-a-20160505-870x577.jpg

Leicester City's Shinji Okazaki arrives for training on Tuesday, a day after winning the Premier League title. | REUTERS

Soccer Okazaki in wonderland after Leicester’s Premier League triumph 
  •  
 
 

LONDON – Count Shinji Okazaki as one of those people who are having a hard time believing that Leicester City has actually won the Premier League.

“I still can’t believe it,” the Leicester forward said on Tuesday, a night after the Foxes captured the title thanks to Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea.

“If we celebrated on the pitch I think it would sink in, but we were at someone’s house when it happened, cheering on another team which is something we wouldn’t normally do.”

Okazaki watched the Tottenham game at teammate Jamie Vardy’s home with the rest of the Leicester players. Spurs had to defeat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge — something they have not done in 26 years — to keep their title hopes alive, but a late equalizer by Eden Hazard doomed Tottenham as the Leicester boys began celebrating the club’s first championship in its 130-year history.

 

Prior to Leicester, there had not been a first-time top-flight champion in England since Nottingham Forest in 1977-78.

“When the score was 2-0, I thought, ‘Oh, we’ll just have to get ready for the next game,’ ” Okazaki said. “But once (Chelsea) pulled one back I was like, ‘Come on!’ We were all watching it as if we were fans.

“When they scored the second, it was incredible. I couldn’t believe what was going on.”

Okazaki attributed the remarkable campaign under Claudio Ranieri to the humility and attitude of the players, none of whom were big stars going into the season — though that has certainly changed.

 

Leicester was 14th last season after staving off relegation, and was a 5,000-to-1 outsider before its improbable run began. Okazaki said none of his teammates are taking what they have achieved for granted.

“This club barely survived relegation a year ago, and we were made up of a group of players who weren’t guaranteed anything beyond this season,” Okazaki said.

“A lot of us hadn’t seen the light of day. So all the boys, including me, just put their heads down and went to work. No one moaned or complained. The manager allowed us some freedom on top of our basic plan, and it worked.

“The potential of a lot of our players came to the surface. Everything fell into place. But whether it will all come together in the future remains to be seen. It worked out this season, but no one can tell about next season.”

 

Okazaki is only the second Japanese to receive a Premier League winner’s medal after Shinji Kagawa with Manchester United in 2012-13. The Premier League title is also the first of Okazaki’s entire club career as he never won any silverware with Shimizu S-Pulse in the J. League nor with Mainz and Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.

Okazaki will bask in the glory for now, but has every intention of building on his success next season — just as he has done throughout his career, inch by inch.

“It’ll be a fresh start,” he said. “I can’t really think about it right now, but it’s what makes the Premier League interesting. There’ll be new heroes, and I hope I can be one of them. I want to make every day count, play in the Champions League and as long as I’m given the opportunity to show my worth, I want to keep repaying the club.

“I’ve never thought we won the championship because I was here. I am proud to be a part of this team, and I don’t really know about the 130 years of history at this club. Along with my teammates, the fans, the coaching staff, I’m just thrilled to have had a hand in this team winning a championship.

“It’s still unbelievable.”

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
kushiro

kushiro

Posted
  • Author
Posted

More City fans getting themselves plastered...... over the pages of a Japanese newspaper. Shinji's getting out-smiled for once:

 

IMG_0224.jpg

 

Like I said above, if any of the fans in this picture are on this forum and you want a copy, PM me and I'll send it to you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kushiro

kushiro

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I should have put these two pictures side by side so they were easier to compare. Oh well, better late than never:

 

babyshinji3.jpg

                       Shinji at Vardy's party                                                    Shinji as a baby         

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
kushiro

kushiro

Posted
  • Author
  • Popular Post
Posted

Japanese publishing companies are always quick off the mark. Just three days after the Everton game, this gorgeous 50 page colour tribute to our season was in the shops. It's really high quality stuff, full of good stats and analysis, and hundreds of City photos.

 

IMG_0244.jpg

 

Here's some of the pages inside:

IMG_0228.jpg

 

IMG_0232.jpg

 

Good feature on City fans:

IMG_0260.jpg

 

Photo diary of Shinji's season:

IMG_0254.jpg

 

IMG_0255.jpg

 

Statistical analysis of every game:

IMG_0261.jpg

 

This headline reads 'How the Have-nots Grasped the Dream':IMG_0256.jpg

 

 

It really is wonderful. And all for 800 yen, which is about a fiver at current rates.

 

  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites
bluesbrothers

bluesbrothers

Posted
Posted (edited)

Japanese publishing companies are always quick off the mark. Just three days after the Everton game, this gorgeous 50 page colour tribute to our season was in the shops. It's really high quality stuff, full of good stats and analysis, and hundreds of City photos.

 

IMG_0244.jpg

 

Here's some of the pages inside:

IMG_0228.jpg

 

IMG_0232.jpg

 

Good feature on City fans:

IMG_0260.jpg

 

Photo diary of Shinji's season:

IMG_0254.jpg

 

IMG_0255.jpg

 

Statistical analysis of every game:

IMG_0261.jpg

 

This headline reads 'How the Have-nots Grasped the Dream':IMG_0256.jpg

 

 

It really is wonderful. And all for 800 yen, which is about a fiver at current rates.

 

That's awesome. Can you do a scan? Need some texts to study.

Edited by bluesbrothers
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Vardinio'sCat

Vardinio'sCat

Posted
Posted

 Superb contribution Kushiro, a bit like Shinji.

 

His workrate has been a cornerstone of our style, and his off the ball movement has created so many spaces/opportunities for his team-mates, over the season. He is a credit to Japanese football, and to LCFC.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Countryfox

Countryfox

Posted
Posted

 Superb contribution Kushiro, a bit like Shinji.

 

His workrate has been a cornerstone of our style, and his off the ball movement has created so many spaces/opportunities for his team-mates, over the season. He is a credit to Japanese football, and to LCFC.

 

Well said puss ....    and he's very underrated by many on FT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kushiro

kushiro

Posted
  • Author
Posted

 Superb contribution Kushiro, a bit like Shinji.

 

His workrate has been a cornerstone of our style, and his off the ball movement has created so many spaces/opportunities for his team-mates, over the season. He is a credit to Japanese football, and to LCFC.

 

Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kushiro

kushiro

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Here's a few more pages from that commemorative magazine (they actually call them 'mooks' - cross between a magazine and a book).

 

There's four pages on the history of the club:

IMG_0248.jpg

 

IMG_0259.jpg

 

Joe Dodoo might not have been part of our trophy ceremony last week (despite making a league appearance), but he takes his place in the player profile section here. (No Chilwell or Schwartzer because of no league appearances).

IMG_0257.jpg

 

IMG_0258.jpg

 

And of course there's lots of Okazaki coverage:

IMG_0252.jpg

 

IMG_0253.jpg

 

It's produced by 'Soccer Digest'. I posted some pages from their regular issue a couple of weeks ago. They ought to get a load over to Leicester - they'd fly off the shelves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lgfualol

lgfualol

Posted
Posted

Not from the Japanese media but someone on Twitter just said 'Okazaki may be the worst City player to ever wear a Leicester shirt'. Really gets to me that people still don't understand his value.

They cant truly mean that, surely. Just an attempt at some attention.

We just won the prem with him playing almost every game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
daddylonglegs

daddylonglegs

Posted
Posted

They cant truly mean that, surely. Just an attempt at some attention.

We just won the prem with him playing almost every game.

 

Unfortunately they did. She claimed to have supported Leicester for '10 years' - I listed off names such as Bednar, Beckford, Chris O'Grady, Elvis Hammond... she wasn't having any of it haha! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kushiro

kushiro

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Wow. Over the next two weeks, J-Sports is replaying the whole of our season. All 38 games - in full. Starting tomorrow afternoon, they're showing about three games a day, though on some days there's four or even five matches.

 

They're calling it 'Wonder Team Leicester City'. And to think I was wondering what to do with my empty days between now and the start of the Euros....

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Vlad the Fox

Vlad the Fox

Posted
Posted

Wow. Over the next two weeks, J-Sports is replaying the whole of our season. All 38 games - in full. Starting tomorrow afternoon, they're showing about three games a day, though on some days there's four or even five matches.

 

They're calling it 'Wonder Team Leicester City'. And to think I was wondering what to do with my empty days between now and the start of the Euros....

Can we get that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kushiro

kushiro

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Can we get that?

 

There's sites like time4tv.com that cover a lot of sports channels. Don't think they do Japanese channels, though. Anyone else know?

 

Why don't you all just catch the next plane over and we'll have a two week party, pretending we don't know how the story finishes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...