Shinji Okazaki, who has scored 50 goals for the national team, reveals his pride as a professional striker.

The ’23-’24 European soccer season is in its final stages. Belgium, where a number of Japanese players are currently playing, is in the midst of the playoffs. Sint-Troiden, whose management is owned by the Japanese company DMM.com, is challenging for Playoff 2, in which the teams ranked 7th through 12th in the regular season will participate.

The May 17 match against OH Leuven was the last home match for former Japan international Shinji Okazaki, who started alongside Jorur Chima Fujita (22) and Rihito Yamamoto (22), both of whom played in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers for the Paris Olympics (Qatar) in April and May. A knee injury had kept him out of official competition for about five months since December of last year, but he made his first start of the season after a period of rehabilitation.

Playing in his longtime familiar first-choice position, Okazaki showed his dedication to defense. Okazaki was a dedicated defender, and although decisive chances were hard to come by, his typical muddle-headed style of play was still there.

When he was replaced seven minutes into the second half, he was escorted off the pitch with a smile by a floral arrangement that included not only his Sint-Troyden teammates but also opposing players and staff, including Kento Mikan (28) and Yoshihiro Akemoto (26). The fact that Okazaki was able to receive such a reception was due to the high regard in which he was held for his humanity and the love of many people.

He made nearly 600 official appearances at the club level during his 20 years as a professional in Japan, Germany, England, Spain, and Belgium, and made 119 appearances for the national team.

Okazaki surprised many by scoring double-digit goals in two consecutive seasons in the German Bundesliga (13-15) and winning the Premier League title in the 15-16 season with Leicester. However, the impact of his 50 goals for Japan is still very strong. He is third on the all-time Japan national team scoring list, behind Kunishige Kamamoto (80) with 75 goals and Tomoyoshi Miura (57, UD Oliveirense) with 55 goals.

Looking at the current members of Japan’s squad for the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in North and Central America, Takumi Minamino (29, Monaco) has scored the most goals with 20, while Junya Ito (31, Stade de Reims) and Kisei Ueda (25, Feyenoord) have scored in double figures with 13 and 11 goals, respectively. Takuma Asano (29, Bochum), who seems to have a strong performance on the big stage, has only nine goals. Okazaki’s 50 points is a remarkable achievement.

I myself was a very rare type of player,” he said. I was the type of player who is a striker, but also plays for the team to do well. When I played for the national team, there were talents like Keisuke (Honda), Shinji (Kagawa, Cerezo Osaka), and Uchi (Atsuto Uchida, commentator), and I was not the main player. I had to play on the right or left side for a long time. I had to play on the right or left side for a long time, and if I didn’t do that, I couldn’t survive.

Okazaki once recalled in an interview with the author.

Looking back on his national team career from ’08 to ’19, Okazaki was certainly not always used heavily in the front line. When Takeshi Okada (67, current president of FC Imabari) made his debut for the national team, Keiji Tamada (44, manager of Shohei High School) and Yoshito Okubo (41, commentator) often played up top, so Okazaki was mainly used on the flanks. This was the case in 2009, when he scored 15 goals in the year. When he was up front, he was mainly playing in the top two, and he was far from being a “mainstay of the first lineup.

In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Honda was chosen to play in the first lineup just before the tournament, and Okazaki was dropped from the starting lineup. Okazaki was forced into the position of being sent off as a joker in the middle of the lineup.

To be honest, I was surprised to see Keisuke in the starting lineup. But he was running in his own way, and he had a competitive spirit. I thought that came out well. As a team, we are getting results, so that’s all that matters.

After the World Cup in South Africa, he was biting back his frustration. That is why he had no choice but to accept the harsh reality that he could not win the trust of his coach.

His use in the front line was limited during the four years leading up to the next World Cup in Brazil in 2002. Alberto Zaccheroni’s regime favored a tall, target-man type up front, with Ryoichi Maeda (42, national coach), Yuya Osako (34, Kobe), and Yoichiro Kakitani (34, Tokushima) all being used. Okazaki was again positioned as a side player.

Okazaki was scoring a lot of goals as Mainz’s absolute leading scorer at the time. Thomas Tuchel (50, now at Bayern), who was in charge of Mainz, asked , “Is Shinji used on the right side for the national team?　Who is up top?” Okazaki himself was also surprised. Okazaki himself must have wondered why he was not being used, but the dedicated man never forgot his “for the team” spirit.

If I go too far inside, I end up being covered by Keisuke and Shinji. If I go too far inside, I will be covered by Keisuke and Shinji. If I create a one-on-one shape on my side and draw out the defense, I win (because I can get behind them). If I can show that I can go for the back repeatedly, passes will come, and as a result, I will have a chance to score a goal.

This was also his comment at the time. He always played with Honda at the top and Kagawa on the left side in mind. I think Zaccheroni must have been truly grateful to Okazaki, because he played a completely different position from his club, but performed his role well and scored a lot of goals.

But as we all know, Japan’s team failed miserably in Brazil. Okazaki himself could only avenge that defeat with a goal against Colombia. That is why, for the four years leading up to the 2006 World Cup in Russia, Okazaki was eager to “play at the top of the lineup,” and he actually pushed this desire to the forefront. Javier Aguirre (65, now at Mallorca), who took over after the World Cup in Brazil, respected that intention. For the first time, Okazaki was used as a mainstay in Japan.

However, the Mexican coach became embroiled in a fraud scandal and was eliminated from the top eight at the 2003 Asian Cup in Australia. The Mexican coach was dismissed suddenly, and Vid Halil Hodzic (71) took over in March 2003. At the start of Halil’s regime, Okazaki himself was playing very well for Leicester, and the Bosnian coach recognized his value, positioning him, like Aguirre, as the first choice in the first team when the new team was formed.

It would have been good if that had continued for a long time, but when the team lost to UAE in the final Asian qualifying round for the World Cup in Russia starting in September 2004, Honda, Kagawa, and Okazaki, then known as the “big three,” were sent back to the starting lineup. Later, coach Halil Hodzic put Osako, Genki Haraguchi (33, Stuttgart), and Yuya Kubo (30, Cincinnati) in the core of the team, and Okazaki lost his place to Osako.

Okazaki showed respect for Osako, who had taken his place in the team, saying, “I get fired up when I can’t play, and I think Sako, who plays in the first lineup, is a different type of player.

He always respects his fellow players and puts the team’s victory first, and this resulted in his 50th goal for the national team against Thailand on March 28, 2005. When he scored with his quintessential diving head, he once again expressed his deep gratitude to his teammates.

I hadn’t scored a headed goal recently, so it was good for me to revive my senses again. It had been years since I played a full match for the national team, so I was relieved in that sense, too. I really feel that “I’ve come this far by being utilized (by everyone). I have been thinking ‘why am I so bad at this,’ and feeling that I am not good enough, but the people around me saw my moves and took advantage of them to score goals.

Many goalkeepers are egoists who score goals by grabbing the ball that falls in front of them, but Okazaki is a player full of dedication and integrity who is always “for the team” and “for other people. This statement clearly shows how open-minded and big-hearted Okazaki is.

It is this human nature that has allowed him and Kagawa to continue to work together to reach the World Cup in Qatar in 2010, while encouraging each other in Spain and Belgium after being left out of the national team.

Kagawa once said, “I am really grateful to Oka-chan,” and Okazaki is loved by his rivals for the position. As he said himself, he was “a rare type (of FW).

Through all the twists and turns, he has always given his all, doing whatever it takes to help the team win. This spirit will surely be passed on to the next generation. I hope that the current national team’s forward lineup, led by Asano, Kisei Ueda, and Dainichi Maeda (26, Celtic), will do the same.

I played with Kisei and Dainen at the Copa America ’19, and I want them to overcome obstacles on their own and grow as players. No matter how hard they are forced into a difficult situation, the soccer world always returns results to those who work hard.

The great scorer, who will soon take off his uniform, once again encouraged the young players who will carry the future of Japanese soccer.

It would be ideal if more and more youngsters would follow in Okazaki’s footsteps, and if Okazaki himself would vigorously pursue his next goal, which is to become a leader in Europe. One can only hope that the “man of dedication” will have a spectacular second career.