Okazaki interviews, comments and pictures from the Japanese media

[goody2028]

21 minutes ago, Deeg67 said:

So awesome to see great things happening for Shinji again, especially after his initial false start with La Liga.  Literally couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Congrats to the nicest guy in football 

[The whole world smiles]

Congratulations to Shinji who has now won titles in Spain, England and international level. 

 

He was also highly regarded in Germany and has 120 international caps.

 

Certainly Not the most talented footballer to play the game but definitely one of the most hard working he squeezed every last drop out his career and his achieved far beyond his ability. Look forward to him having a crack at la liga next year although at his age you would imagine it would be mainly from the bench. 

[Deeg67]

He also has a very well-respected soccer school in my town (he's from just down the road).

[Sampson]

What a man!

[kushiro]

Five years ago today Shinji made his first appearance for Leicester  - in a pre-season friendly at Lincoln. Anyone go? 

 

This was the scene last night when Cristo scored the goal that clinched the title (along with Albacete's late penalty against Cadiz). Imagine having this smile to greet you when you score a goal. 

[kushiro]

On 07/07/2020 at 20:11, eblair said:

i really want to know did he ever write anything about the fans? i.e. did he realise how much he was appreciated not just by team mates but an entire city, where he now has immortal status

 

 

You might like this one:

 

 

[Deeg67]

Shinji named league champ Huesca's Player of the Year:

 

 

What a fuching fairy tale season this turned out to be for him.

 

[Chester Dontlie]

What a guy! I'm well chuffed for him winning the title and the Huesca's Best Player award. 

 

Here's a video of all his Huesca goals (12 which makes him their top scorer...despite missing more than few games and not taking any penalties!)

 

 

[Lesta2014]

So many headers, and still falling over. Love him!

[Out Foxed]

boosted for him

[StanSP]

 

 

[kushiro]

Cute Shinji goal on Saturday.  He heads it out of his own penalty box then....well, have a look.

 

 

That put them 3-1 up after 82 minutes but they threw it away and are still bottom of the La Liga - no wins, eight draws, four defeats. It was his first goal of the season - so he's now scored in the top flight in Germany, England and Spain. 

[TeamRocket]

Miss him in a lcfc top would have him back anytime 

[ferry67]

Wouldn’t get near our team now, but god I miss that smiling face! 

[volpeazzurro]

How brilliant! Always cheered me up just to see him and boy, did he give everything he'd got every time he walked on that pitch. Happy Christmas Shiniji and well done!

[Deeg67]

8 draws in 12 matches is a deeply weird record.

[Aus Fox]

22 hours ago, kushiro said:

Cute Shinji goal on Saturday.  He heads it out of his own penalty box then....well, have a look.

 

 

That put them 3-1 up after 82 minutes but they threw it away and are still bottom of the La Liga - no wins, eight draws, four defeats. It was his first goal of the season - so he's now scored in the top flight in Germany, England and Spain. 

I remember being at Middlesbrough when it was bloody freezing and we did that. 
Ian Walker had an absolute mare as I recall, but we were 3-1 up in injury time and we drew 3-3.

Must have been early 2000, one of the most comical, coldest crapest away days ever. 

[Deeg67]

Michel fired as Huesca manager today, the season after winning the 2nd division and getting promoted to La Liga.  Football is a tough business.

[kushiro]

Shinji, 35 last week, was back in the Huesca team tonight against Atletico - his first start for two months, back on the ground where he played in our Champions League QF four years ago (no, hang on - they were still in their old ground in 2017 weren't they). Sadly Huesca lost 2-0 and are still in the bottom three.

 

 

 

There was a good article on the BBC site about the team a few days ago:

Huesca: The tiny club from the Pyrenees catching the eye while trying to survive in La Liga - BBC Sport

 

Great to see all his former clubs in Europe sending Shinji birthday greetings last week:

Shinji Okazakiさん (@okazakiofficial) / Twitter

Edited 22 April 2021 by kushiro

[kushiro]

Sad news from Spain. Shinji's Huesca have been relegated from La Liga. They needed to beat Valencia at home but could only draw 0-0, and Elche's 2-0 win v Bilbao means they stay up. Shinji came on in the 85th minute - he hasn't had much of a look in recently.

 

That's the first time he's experienced relegation. He recently turned 35 and I wouldn't be surprised if his next move was a return to the J League, where he could easily have another few seasons in him. He's renowned for his fitness, and has no doubt been keeping an eye on his compatriot Kazu Miura, who last year made four appearances in J1 for Yokohama at the age of 53 (becoming the oldest professional footballer ever) and still hasn't announced his retirement. There's a target for you, Shinji.

[OntarioFox]

;-;

[Jattdogg]

I agrre, think it's time for shinji to go back home and enjoy a few more years having fun.

 

Wish him much success wherever he goes/stays.

[Deeg67]

Huesca was good enough to stay up.  A decent possession-driven side, just couldn’t turn a couple of those many draws into wins.

[cruzFOX]

Ahh shinji bless him! What a foxes legend.

doesnt matter what he does or where he goes he has a premier league medal! Puts him in a different class period. God I hope someone makes a movie about our title winning side one day. What an amazing bunch of guys we had in that team each with their own unique stories. Whoever directed moneyball starring Brad Pitt would be perfect to film it

[LCFCCHRIS]

Not from Japan but I thought this was good news for him as he thinks about hanging up his boots. They obviously loved him there too.

 

 

 

SD HUESCA
The Shinji Okazaki - SD Huesca Academy is born
The Japanese forward, new embassador of the organisation, joins the sports and cultural training project for young Japanese people in Huesca.

 

Shinji Okazaki and the sporting society Huesca have already made history together on the pitch, and now that will continue thanks to a new exciting project.

 

The Japanese striker together with the blue marron club, as reported by the organisation itself, will keep the link alive through the Shinji Okazaki / SD Huesca Academy alliance.

The alliance consists of an initiative that plans to promote the sporting culture and excellence in football offering young Japanese people a better approach to football, together with an educational approach for a unique experience to get to know the Huesca & pyrenees province.

 

This Sporting-cultural initiative also plans to promote the creation of a sporting environment in Aragón and develop a sustainable project in Nishi-Ku (Kobe).

 

 

Full original article here in Spanish:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.diariodelaltoaragon.es/noticias/deportes/futbol/sd-huesca/2021/06/16/nace-la-shinji-okazaki-sd-huesca-academy-1500069-daa.html