Japan National Stadium, which was filled with excitement after the victory in the Tama River Clasico for the first time since the 2018 season. After the match, Tokyo players, who reported their victory to the blue and red comrades who filled the stands, were wearing blue T-shirts.
Hotaka Everyone is waiting You’ll never walk alone
The message there was a message to Hotaka NAKAMURA, who suffered a major injury of a right Achilles tendon rupture in the closing moments of the 10th match against Albirex Niigata, and was forced to take a long-term absence of about 6 months.
'We are fighting together with Hotaka.'
The one who created the flow of sending out that message and involving the fans and supporters to support Nakamura was a player's thoughtful arrangement, the team's feelings, and the team manager who worked hard to give shape to those feelings.
A T-shirt filled with feelings that were confirmed in about 3 hours
It was May 2.
The day before the away game against Avispa Fukuoka, while on the way to the destination, the team's chief manager, Ban Kazuaki, was approached by a player who suddenly spoke up.
"Is there anything I can do to encourage Hidaka?"
The one who called out to him was Teruhito NAKAGAWA, who himself had experienced a long-term absence due to a major injury.
"When I was with Yokohama F.Marinos, there was a player who suffered a major injury during the season. To convey our feelings to him and to show that we are fighting together as a "family," I suggested wearing a jersey with a message to the player on the front and his number on the back during warm-ups. I had that experience, so I proposed it to Chief Manager Ban."
Nakagawa's strong desire to overcome various hardships with his teammates, based on witnessing his teammates' serious injuries and his own experiences. This can be said to be Nakagawa's unique proposal, as he values "family" and "unity" that he felt during his time at Yokohama FM, where he won the league championship twice.
To respond to those feelings, Manager Ban also starts moving early.
"First of all, I was very troubled about what kind of item to create. If I tried to add messages to the current uniform as a base, there wouldn't be enough time to complete it. There were also ideas to print messages on player's T-shirts or wear Nakamura's merchandise, but thanks to the quick action of the merchandising department, we were able to come up with a solution by printing messages on blue T-shirts in the club's colors."
The Merchandising Department and each department worked hard to shape their feelings for Nakamura and to deliver those feelings to him.
"At the same time as deciding on the items, I wanted to decide what kind of message to print, so I created a LINE group chat for all players except Nakamura. It was around 3 p.m. on the 2nd day, I think." The chat screen quickly filled up with each player's passionate thoughts.
"I'm waiting! Hotaka" and other passionate messages from players waiting for his return, Captain Masato Morishige posted the club's iconic phrase "You'll never walk alone". The message at the beginning was unanimously decided, with many teammates expressing their support, to convey the desire for Nakamura's comeback.
"From Nakagawa's proposal to the creation of the T-shirt message and the completion of the design, everyone in the department involved in the project worked hard. The business department coordinated with the sponsors, and the operations department coordinated and reached out to the J-League and others. I am grateful to everyone involved for their support, as everything was completed in about 3 hours, and thanks to that, we were able to deliver it to Kawasaki Frontale the day before the match. There were voices saying whether we should wear the T-shirts and go around the stadium whether we win or lose, but I confidently declared that we will win no matter what (laughs). It was good to win the game and deliver the message to Nakamura."
Chief Manager Ban spoke with a smile, reminding us of that day.
"I want to welcome him at an exciting timing"
"When I was a member of Yokohama FM, I was impressed by the idea of encouraging injured players with such message T-shirts. I believe that good things should be done regardless of which club it is, and should incorporate the colors and flavors of each club well. This time, I proposed creating a message uniform as my own "seasoning" for the club, considering my feelings towards Nakamura and the relationship of playing on the same side. I can also understand the suffering of having a major injury. When I thought about what actions would be encouraging and happy for Nakamura, the idea of wearing a T-shirt came to mind. I'm sure Nakamura will be happy with it."
The player Nakagawa, who came up with the idea, looked back. And finally, when asked about Nakamura's return, he concluded the conversation like this.
"Not only me, but all of my teammates are hoping for his speedy recovery, and we have been moved by Nakamura's fighting spirit and passionate passion. It is natural to feel the sadness of losing such a player, but I think he is also working hard on rehabilitation for his return. We also created T-shirts with the thought of "For Hotaka Nakamura" and wore them together, and we believe that it is important to aim for "victory" once again. We want to continue winning while carrying Nakamura's thoughts in each game, and we also want to welcome him at exciting moments such as the championship race. It is necessary for Tokyo at the moment to fight for someone, and we want to continue playing with the feeling of "Wait for Hotaka". "
After the Kawasaki game, a message from player Nakamura was sent to the LINE talk group that players and staff are participating in, saying, "Thank you very much for the (message T-shirt). I will believe in everyone and work hard on rehabilitation. I will definitely overcome it and come back stronger. Nice victory!! Thank you for your hard work!!"
The passionate feelings of everyone were definitely conveyed through the screen.
You'll never walk alone
"Wait for Hota"
