The winning team is one where everyone can raise their “daily standards”

NakamuraThe W League season is in full swing, and the final world qualifying tournament for the Paris Olympics will be held in Hungary from February 8th. What are your current goals, Machida?

MachidaOf course, I want to win the final qualifying round and compete in the Paris Olympics, aiming to win the gold medal, surpassing the silver medal I won in Tokyo last time. However, I’m not good at having multiple goals at the same time, so currently, while I’m playing for the Fujitsu Red Wave, my main goal is to win the championship with this team.

NakamuraSince winning the W League in the 2007-08 season, we have not been able to win a title. As in the 2021-22 season, we have made it to the playoffs and finals, but have not been able to win in the end. Frontale, the team I played for, which is based in Kawasaki like the Red Wave, was also mocked as a silver collector, finishing second in the cup competition and only coming in second place until they became J1 champions in 2017.

MachidaNot winning a title has become an issue for the team.

NakamuraWhat do you think is necessary to achieve that?

MachidaOf course, I think there are many things that are necessary. For one thing, the accumulation of daily practice leads to the content of the game, so how intense and hard can you practice each day? There are days when you just can’t help but slack off, or feel like you’re not doing so well. I think that in order to become a team that can win titles, it’s important to accumulate good practice. In fact, how did Frontale, under Kengo’s guidance, become a team that could win titles?

NakamuraAs Machida said, I always valued everyday life, that is, practice. I think that raising the standard of everyday life is the fastest way to win the title. I was only able to confirm that after winning the championship for the first time in 2017. Frontale came in second place eight times, including league and cup matches. It was almost like we couldn’t win that many times (bitter smile). So I kept thinking about what I was lacking. In the end, it was the intensity, quantity, quality, and atmosphere of daily practice…I had to make it a place where players who weren’t doing it would stand out. We decided to do it properly as a team, and players who were doing it well couldn’t stand out. I was clearly conscious of that.