Student Interview about Keramik Cup 2019 24 January 2019
Interview with Shogo Morishige (Grade 11)
1.How long have you played soccer? How did your interest begin?
Although I do not remember much, according to my parents, I started kicking footballs at the age of 2, as my older brother (2 years older than me) was playing football and I got influenced by him. I then starting playing the game in a team at the age of 4, and I think my interest for football began mostly due to how my dad liked (he still does) football, and I remember that I often used to go to the park with my brothers and dad to play football. I also remember watching many football games with my family, collecting football player cards, and having my life being surrounded by the game in general.
2.Who is the sports icon that has influenced you the most?
I think the sports icon that has influenced me the most when I was little is Joe Cole. He is a retired English football player who used to play for Chelsea when I liked him the most, and I just loved to watch the way he played – his trickiness, his ball control, his goals, and how he easily got past defenders. He made me want to play like him a lot.
3.When did you join Tokyo Musashino City FC? What is your training schedule? What position (or positions) do you play?
I joined Tokyo Musashino City at around mid-July in 2018. We have about 4 trainings and 1 game (in average) a week, and I play in the attacking positions. Mainly, I play striker, or the No.10 position or sometimes on the wings.
4.What is the Keramik cup 2019? How did your team get selected to participate in the competition?
The Keramik cup 2019 is a 5-a-side indoor tournament held in Germany, in which teams from Germany, England, USA, Austria, and Japan participated in. Most of the teams were the Youth Academies of Bundesliga clubs. My team was able to participate in this competition because we won the Japan Keramik Cup (qualifications for the Keramik Cup held in Germany).
5.Comment a bit about the games you played against different teams in the Keramik cup 2019. How was your experience?
Sadly I actually did not play any of the games, as I was not selected to play in this competition. But being there and watching some of Germany’s best players play was a great experience for me, and I think I was able to get a lot out of this experience. Even if I didn’t play, there was a lot for me to watch and learn.
6.Where in Germany did you play? Did you get to visit/eat something? How did you enjoy the trip?
My team and I stayed and played in a town called Montabaur in Germany. We were able to visit the Montabaur Outlet, and also walked around the city of Frankfurt (about an hour away from Montabaur). We also visited the German Football Association and looked at the real World Cup trophies. Some of the good foods I ate over there are schnitzels and sausages. Sausages in Germany are the best, no joke. And overall, I think I enjoyed this trip a lot, in terms of learning their culture/language, and making many new friends, although it was extremely disappointing for me that I couldn’t play.
