Kaoru Mitoma is absent.
This is, well, normally painful.
He can beat a man on the left side. He makes the opponent's defense drag back. When the game gets heavy, a single dribble can change the atmosphere, making people think, "Wait, something might happen." Even those who don't know much about soccer can tell that the temperature of the screen changes when Mitoma has the ball.
Keisuke Honda also said it clearly.
"Isn't the impact of Mitoma-san's absence significant?"
Of course it is. It's better to have him than not. That's so obvious it's hardly worth saying. But what really caught my attention in Honda's words this time wasn't that.
What I found scary wasn't Mitoma's absence itself, but the way an atmosphere of "It's going to be tough this time" or "It can't be helped since we don't have our best members" spreads the moment people realize he's gone.
"Looking at Reality" and "Giving Up" are Very Similar
Of course, looking at reality is important. Mitoma is gone. Minamino is gone. Compared to powerhouse nations, you can't say the squad depth is thick enough yet. Honda looks at that quite calmly too.
But Honda then said, "We should still talk about winning the championship."
This is Keisuke Honda.
Normally, you'd want to say, "It's tough this time, but let's take it one game at a time." As an adult comment, that's safer. It's less likely to be criticized, it's harmless, and it doesn't hurt anyone.
But Honda doesn't run away to that.
It's tough. But say "victory."
It's painful. But don't lower the standards.
This sounds like spiritualism, but it's probably not.
To say "victory" is not just to talk about a dream. It's about placing yourselves at that standard beforehand.
For a team aiming for the top 8 and a team aiming for the championship, the meaning of a single win changes. The regret of a loss changes. Even in the same practice, the scenery you see changes.
In short, the words you speak determine the place you look.
Thoughts Become Reality, for Better or Worse
There is a saying, "Thoughts become reality."
When I was young, I was a bit skeptical when I heard such words. If you wish, it will come true? No, no, life isn't that sweet. There are times when you don't get rewarded even if you work hard, and there are things you can't reach no matter how much you wish.
But as I live longer, my perspective changes a bit.
Thoughts don't change reality like magic. But they certainly change actions. And actions gradually pull reality toward them.
Moreover, this isn't just for good things.
I have it too.
The things I think "I hope this doesn't happen" are exactly what happen.
The more I don't want to fail, the stiffer my body gets.
The more I don't want to be disliked, the more I say unnecessary things.
The more I don't want to make someone angry, the more I overthink and actually make the atmosphere worse. The more I don't want to lose, the more I play defensively and end up losing.
I wonder what that is.
Perhaps people's bodies move in the direction they are strongly conscious of. If you keep looking at the future you want to avoid, you end up choosing the path toward it while intending to avoid it.
But this isn't just about the national team.
Aren't we doing the same thing in our own lives?
"It's impossible because that person isn't here."
"I can't do it because the conditions aren't right."
"The timing is bad right now."
"Once I'm a little more prepared."
When saying that, people may seem to be looking at reality, but they are actually creating an escape route beforehand. They treat the reason for not doing it as a calm judgment.
If you say "it's probably impossible" before you even start, you feel like the wound will be a little shallower when you fail. But if you keep doing that, you become someone who truly doesn't take on challenges.
If we keep thinking "It's tough because Mitoma isn't here," the team, fans, and media will unconsciously start seeing it as a "tough tournament."
If they win, "well done," and if they lose, "it couldn't be helped."
This atmosphere seems kind, but it's quite scary.
Because it creates an escape route from the beginning.
Honda is Someone Who Has Kept Saying It Since He Was Small
The weight of Keisuke Honda's "We should talk about victory" comes from the fact that he has lived that way himself.
Since he was a child, he kept saying:
I will become a pro.
I will be on the Japan national team.
I will fight on the world stage.
From the outside, it might have seemed like a dream that was too big. He might have been laughed at, with people saying, "He's talking big again."
But Honda put it into words first.
And he lived his life to make himself catch up to those words.
This is the important part; it's not a simple story of "it came true because I said it."
Because he said it, he couldn't run away anymore.
Because he said it, his daily standards changed.
Because he said it, the way people around him looked at him changed.
Because he said it, he himself had no choice but to choose actions worthy of those words.
To speak of a big dream looks like a sparkling act, but it's actually like putting a collar on yourself.
Once you've said it, "well, this much is fine" no longer works.
That's why many people don't speak of their earnest wishes.
They don't want to be laughed at.
It's embarrassing when they fail.
They don't want to be thought of as not looking at reality.
But dreams that aren't spoken are usually swallowed up by daily life.
Can We Remain a Country Satisfied with a "Good Fight"
The Japan national team is no longer a weak team.
They are no longer just there to learn from powerhouse nations like in the past. The number of players fighting in Europe has increased. On the world stage, the time they can go on the offensive themselves, rather than just enduring, has increased.
That's why we must also say some tough things.
Is it okay to always end with "you worked hard"?
Is it okay to be satisfied with "a good fight against a powerhouse"?
Is it okay to stop at "a best 8 finish is a great achievement"?
Of course, this isn't about denying the history of Japanese soccer so far. We can have this conversation now because of what has been built up to this point.
But becoming stronger also means the standard for being praised goes up.
A loss that would have been praised in the past is now regretted.
A result that would have been called "amazing" in the past is now met with "but we could have won, right?"
That's not coldness; it's that the place where expectations are set has changed.
Mitoma's absence is painful.
You don't have to hide that.
But if we lower the standards we set for the Japan national team from the start because Mitoma isn't there, that is much scarier.
Atmosphere Changes from Words
I think Honda's words, "We should talk about victory," aren't just for the players.
They are also directed at the fans, the media, and us who talk about the Japan national team.
By what standard do we view the Japan national team?
Are we satisfied if they fight well?
Do we say "it couldn't be helped" even if they lose?
Or do we say, "If you're seriously aiming for the championship, you shouldn't be satisfied here"?
People move toward the words they speak when things are tough.
If you say "it might be impossible," you start looking for reasons why it's impossible.
If you say "it can't be helped," you start preparing to settle for that.
If you say "we will win anyway," you start looking for what's missing to win.
Having lived for 66 years, I think this: true standards emerge precisely when things don't go as planned.
It's still easy to say "victory" when Mitoma is there. It's still understandable to say "we'll win" when the best members are all there.
But Mitoma isn't there. Key players are missing. It's going to be a tough fight.
In that situation, can you still say "victory"?
That's where the current location of the Japan national team shows.
What's scarier than Mitoma's absence isn't the hole in the fighting strength.
It's that the atmosphere where we can seriously say "we're still aiming for the championship" is still thin in this country.
First, say it.
That we will win.
Reality always follows a little later than words.
I will continue to write about "people's true feelings" and "the sense of incongruity in the world" behind life and news from my own perspective.
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