Eiji Kawashima: Pride in Career Growth During Hiatus from Early 30s Condition

I want to change the prejudice against Japanese goalkeepers.

In Strasbourg, I was given two-year contracts for my 36th and 38th years, respectively. Frankly speaking, it is a miracle that I was able to survive to this age under the foreign (non-EU players) quota. Compared to Germany and Belgium, which have many foreign quotas, the French league has only three quotas, so the hurdle is not low at all.

If he had returned to Japan, he would have found a team that wanted him. However, he insisted on playing overseas because he wanted to overturn the label that “Japanese goalkeepers are of a low level and cannot play well overseas.

I was 18 years old when I studied abroad in Parma, Italy. (Laughs.) Ever since I studied in Parma, Italy, at the age of 18, I was absolutely convinced that even a Japanese goalkeeper could play at the forefront in Europe, and I wanted to prove it to myself. That kind of prejudice will never change unless someone, somewhere, changes it.

It is a well-known fact that Kawashima was eager to learn languages from his high school days in order to play overseas. Today, he speaks English, French, Italian, and Spanish on a daily basis without a problem, and he is even able to give instructions to his fellow players in Dutch and Portuguese on the pitch.

He is now at a level where he can give instructions to his teammates on the pitch in Dutch and Portuguese. What is equally important is to be yourself no matter where you are. In the end, I feel that a goalkeeper’s own character is connected to his/her play, and it is how he/she can express himself/herself on the pitch. So, no matter what advice is given to me by anyone, I feel that I need to remain committed to what I believe is right.