Interview with Yukinari Sugawara, Japan National Soccer Team Member: “There is a ine line between confidence and pride”

In addition, AZ, the Dutch first division club he plays for, is off to a good start this season, with seven wins and a draw, second only to leader PSV (as of October 8), and Sugawara has become an essential piece of the team’s core.

“If you go to the national team, the most successful players are in the top league. I am still in the Netherlands, which is not in one of the five major leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France), so I have a great sense of urgency to play at a higher level. This season, I need to constantly fight against this feeling, otherwise I feel that I will become useless. I think I need to think more penetratingly and inspire myself. It’s a battle with myself.”

 

Looking back, Sugawara has continued to play for the national team since the World Cup in Qatar, and has been asked repeatedly by the press about his response to the competition, but he has consistently replied, 

“I have only a sense of crisis. It is not about what others around you are doing, but how you can improve yourself in order to take up a position. It is true that I was given opportunities in the national team matches in March, June, and September, but I always felt that Hajime Moriyasu, the coaches, and my fellow players were testing me. There is a fine line between confidence and pride. If you feel that your participation in a game is taken for granted, even if it is only by a millimeter, it will definitely show in your play. That is why you should always keep the arrow pointed at yourself, and just keep working on what you need to do without compromise.”