The Disappeared Genius! Hiromitsu Isogai loses 50 kilograms and aims for a “strange goal

Do you remember the original genius midfielder, Hiromitsu Isogai (52), who carried the ace number 10 from his first year at Teikyo High School, a prestigious high school soccer team, and was the commander of Gamba Osaka at the beginning of the J-League season in 1993? He also played for the Japanese national team together with Kazu (Tomoyoshi Miura) and Rui Ramos, and was once expected to be the successor to Ramos with his accurate kicks from both left and right feet and exquisite through passes.

At the age of 29, he suddenly retired from soccer and became a professional golfer, which attracted a lot of attention. However, it didn’t last long, and he spent the rest of his life moving from one acquaintance’s house to another without getting a regular job. By the time he was in his 40s, he weighed more than 130 kilograms and was introduced on TV variety shows as a person who had changed from his smart, active days.

Considering his former glory, the drop in weight is astonishing. However, strangely enough, there was no sense of sadness on his face, and he seemed to be having a great time smiling and laughing.

On September 25 and 26, he participated in the Japan Tour (Sakura Championship in Sakura City, Tochigi Prefecture) and made his official debut.

FootGolf is literally “playing golf with a soccer ball,” and it seems that there is no one more suitable than Isogai, who has built up a professional career in both fields, but it seems that it is not so easy. The tournament consisted of 36 holes played over two days, and the result was a +25, tied for 57th place among 67 players.

“I was licking my chops. I thought it would be good for me because I can’t run anymore in soccer, but it takes a lot of energy compared to golf. In golf, you can get by with tools, but in footgolf, you kick the ball with your feet. I wasn’t used to kicking the ball as hard as I could, and my muscle strength (from dieting) had dropped, so the ball didn’t fly at all. Young players have to be able to fly, and it’s no good if they can’t get the distance. My shoes were too big, and my legs and feet were getting tired. I’ll have to prepare better next time (laughs). (laughs) But it was fun to play, and I enjoyed it.

On the short holes, his skillful approach with a kick using different strengths and weaknesses shone through, but on the long holes, his tee kicks went off to the left and right, and there were many occasions when he collapsed.

But on the long holes, there were times when his tee kicks went off the tee to the left or right. “If I were playing golf, I could easily get into the 70s, but without muscle strength, the ball won’t fly straight (laughs). Just like golf, footgolf has holes where it is no good if you get into it, and it was painful to take 11 shots on the 14th (par 5) on the second day. But I think my approach was not bad.

Although footgolf is still a young sport, a prize tournament has been held in Japan since 2014 under the Japan Footgolf Association. It seems that the International Footgolf Association is making moves to make footgolf an official event at the Olympics in the future, and Isogai, who started playing footgolf when one of his juniors at Teikyo High School was playing, has already registered as a player and is hoping to participate in international competitions.

“I don’t know if serious is the right word, but I’m going to do it, and I’m going to do it seriously. Of course, I don’t know what will happen if I don’t continue. But for now, it would be great if I could work hard for two years and participate in an international tournament or something. Overseas, there are former national soccer players who have competed in the World Cup, and I hope that my participation will help popularize the sport. Of course, if I get more support from sponsors, I’ll work even harder (laughs).

While playing foot golf, he also continues to work as a carpenter and painter.

“For example, I don’t have time in the morning to coach a youth soccer team in the evening. Besides, there are many typhoons nowadays, and it would be better to be able to build a house in case of emergency. If I was asked to go up on the roof, I would do so now. When I weighed over 100 kilograms, I used to worry that the cheap roof tiles would break, but I’m okay now. 50 kilograms lost, I feel like a different person, and if I get an offer to write a diet book, I’d be happy to write it (laughs).

(laughs)” This summer, she was infected with the new coronavirus, but fortunately her symptoms were mild. He usually takes the wheel of the car when he travels from Osaka to Tokyo, and it is not unusual for him to stay in the car overnight. I wondered if he had any problems with his health.

“I don’t have any chronic illnesses, just a weak heart (laughs). (Laughs) I did get infected with corona, but I was almost cured when I found out about it, so I just had a little taste disorder and dullness. Well, there’s nothing I can do about it, even if I worry about it. I often sleep in the car because I can sleep better there. Especially now that the weather is getting cooler and it’s not too cold yet, it’s great. When I stay at an acquaintance’s house, I am often bothered by their snoring or woken up by the sound of them going to the bathroom. But if I’m in a car, I’ll park it in a convenience store parking lot or parking lot and sleep until about 8 a.m.”

Although he was called a genius from childhood, wore the Japanese flag at a young age, and was one of the star players in the early days of the J-League, if you ask him whether he likes or dislikes soccer now, he will answer immediately, “I hate soccer.

“I hate soccer. I can’t run anymore. I can’t run anymore. I’ve worked so hard that I’ve torn my muscles. When I was playing, someone made an unthinkable mistake, and I ran to defend to make up for it, but I got tackled and injured. The thing I dislike most about soccer is that you can get hit or injured in ways you never expected. People around me may have looked at me as a genius or something, but I didn’t have any special awareness of it.

When I was in college and made the national team for the first time, I wondered how stoic the national team players were, and was shocked to see them playing pachinko (Japanese pinball) during breaks, eating curry before games, and drinking Junkels. On top of that, I was the only one who didn’t get the victory pay because I was a student.

This may have lowered my motivation in some areas, but basically, nothing has changed for me. It’s just that the people around me have their own expectations, and when things go wrong, they just say things. If I have money, I’ll spend it. If I don’t have money, I’ll just live without it.

More than 20 years have passed since he quit playing soccer. It has been more than 20 years since I quit my job as a soccer player, and although I am no longer able to make as much money as I once did, I am now free to do what I want, without being tied down by anyone, and I am able to enjoy my days no matter what situation I find myself in.

“There is no freedom, though. I’m not sure if I’m going to die early, but I’m just doing what I want to do first, meeting people when I can, and not waiting for the next time because I have work to do. It was the same when I went from soccer to golf, because golf was more fun. However, when I was young, I devoted everything to soccer, and the friends I made then still support me today, so in that sense, I am grateful to soccer.

What are you doing these days? When asked what he is doing these days, he can only answer, “I’m just hanging out. Now that he is over 50 years old, what does he want to do in the future?

“It would be nice to work at the port, go on a boat, and eat freshly caught delicious fish for free. But the winters are cold, and I don’t know if I can stand that. Farming sounds fun, and I hear it’s good to grow chestnuts and persimmons in the mountains. Maybe I will run for office and become a politician, who knows? I still play golf because I like it, and after being a professional soccer player and a professional golfer, it would be interesting to become a professional foot golfer and a third professional player. There is no yesterday in life, only tomorrow, so I just have to look forward with joy.