[Full text from News Station]What are the leadership skills of soccer player Hasebe Makoto and what kind of leader does he aspire to be? Uchida Atsuto asks[News Station](May 24, 2024)

Former Japan national soccer team player Hasebe Makoto, who will retire at the end of this season, will be appearing live. He is the captain of the Japan national team with the most appearances in history. We will be talking to him along with his teammate on the national team, Uchida Atsuto. ◆ Current feelings Hasebe Makoto: It still doesn’t feel real. However, as everyone is welcoming me in such a wonderful way, it’s starting to feel real little by little. I played for a long time, and I don’t think my career could have been any better, so I feel like I’ve done everything I can. Q. I heard that you spoke to Uchida when you decided to retire. Uchida Atsuto: Yes. Not secretly, but not secretly. I’ve heard your story. Hasebe isn’t really this serious, is he? I watched the press conference, and I thought it would be a more serious, steady press conference, but he also had some laughs mixed in. Hasebe Makoto: Even when I’m always doing emails or whatever, I always make jokes. But he always says, “It’s really boring.” Q. How did you respond to the email when you retired? Uchida Atsuto: We have a group that we make, and it says “I’m quitting this season.” Hasebe Makoto: Eiji Kawashima and Maya Yoshida are also in it. I sent it to those places. (Uchida) always responds quickly. Uchida Atsuto: That’s what I’m most careful about. ◆Reasons for being able to play for so long Q. I think you played in the German league for 16 years, the longest for an Asian player, but why were you able to play in the same league for 16 years? Hasebe Makoto: Of course, I think it’s not just the people around me, but the people around me who are also powerful, but I’m quite shrewd. I’m the type of person who looks around and thinks a lot about how I can survive, so in strange words, I’m good at getting by in the world. Uchida Atsuto: It’s true that if you play for that long, you’re bound to be reinforced in the same position. No matter how well you play, you can get injured, or you can leave to play for the Japanese national team.To survive in that environment is very Hasebe-like, how can the team win when they can’t win? I think the biggest thing for me is that when Hasebe is not there, his presence affects the team. Atsuto Uchida: You’ve always been in Germany. I wonder if you want to go to another country or don’t want a change. Are you afraid, or do you believe in the path you’ve been on so far? Change requires power, so it also requires power to transfer. Are you thinking about that? Makoto Hasebe: When I was in my 20s, I wanted to transfer to the English Premier League, and when I received various offers, I couldn’t transfer, and conversely, when I wanted to go, I didn’t get an offer, so there were times when I wanted to change my environment, but when I turned 30, my contract became one year. Then before I knew it, 10 years had passed. I turned 40. It’s like 10 years had passed. Atsuto Uchida: Weren’t you thinking about returning to Japan to play?Makoto Hasebe: I never thought about it, but I had a good career in Germany and at Frankfurt, so in the end, the timing just wasn’t right. Atsuto Uchida: Nowadays, young players are aiming to go overseas, but as someone who has played and been with the team for so long, what do you think is necessary? For me, it’s guts, soul, and things like that. Makoto Hasebe: I definitely think that’s necessary. That kind of tenacity. It’s not just about doing well, but also having difficult times, like Uchida and I, we’ve had long periods of hardship. I think it’s important to persevere and grit your teeth and do it, and of course, like Uchida, he’s a player who can do it well even without studying the language at all. I think it’s different for each person, but I think it’s not just about the talent as a professional player, but also the feeling, and the other things besides being a bitch. ◆About serving as captain of the Japanese national team for about eight years Q. I think it’s a brilliant career to have been captain for eight years, but did you have the qualities to do that? Or was it the position that made you the person you are? Makoto Hasebe: I think it was the latter. I wasn’t originally the type to be a captain, and just before the 2010 World Cup, Coach Okada made me one. I was the game captain at the time, but then I became the captain, and I started to move towards the ideal image of a captain. It’s true that the position makes the man, but I feel that it was only when I was in that position that I started to move in that direction. Atsuto Uchida: There were a lot of people with strong personalities, but in the end, he brought them to a state where he thought, “If Hasebe says so, then we have no choice.” Hasebe-san didn’t join a group. He didn’t belong to a group, but he wasn’t a lone wolf either. He treated all the players equally, and he treated the coach equally, and I think that’s what made him the best suited to be a captain. Were you conscious of that? Makoto Hasebe: I used to go to hot springs by myself, so I was quite lonely, or rather, I often thought about things by myself, and even during the national team training camp, I often locked myself in my room. Uchida said this, but he helped me a lot and was quite neutral.For example, even if other players say something, I’ll be like, “I don’t think so,” so I was able to keep a good balance. There are players like this, and there are all kinds of players, and I’ve been helped by them, and I’ve been able to be captain for a long time. Q. In terms of mindset, what has been the most important thing? Hasebe Makoto: Anyway, I don’t lie about soccer, but I can lie to those around me, but I think it’s the way I approach soccer. I can’t lie to myself, so I don’t know if I’m strict with myself in that respect, but I’m proud that I’ve been able to do what is natural for a soccer player. Uchida Atsuto: It feels good to have come this far, but I’ll break it down a bit. I was just talking to Kawashima Eiji and Hasebe on the phone earlier, wondering if there were any interesting stories about them. I looked back at six years’ worth of lines, but there wasn’t one. The only one I was able to get back from Eiji. We went to a sushi restaurant together, and Hasebe disappeared from the counter in an instant.Makoto Hasebe: Ah, that’s it. I think he was eating at the counter and when he moved his chair, it fell in slow motion. Atsuto Uchida: That’s it. That was the most interesting episode. ◆ On the 24th, the members of the Japanese national team for the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup were announced. At the press conference, there was also a message from coach Moriyasu to Hasebe. Coach Hajime Moriyasu: “While working together at the World Cup in Russia, I want you to be a role model in the world as a soccer player. I think that you are a person who has given dreams to Japanese people. I hope that you will contribute to the development of Japanese soccer as a coach.” Makoto Hasebe: I have had the opportunity to communicate with Moriyasu in various ways, and I have a lot to learn from him, so I would like him to continue to teach me various things. Q. There was also 37-year-old Nagatomo. Makoto Hasebe: He’s still as glaring as ever. I call Nagatomo my “glaring friend.” Q. It’s difficult to break through the wall of the top eight, but how do you plan to get past this?Makoto Hasebe: I think it’s a very difficult theme, or rather a deep theme, but I think Japanese soccer has definitely grown up until now, but I think it will be more difficult to break through the walls of the top eight and top four from now on than it has been in the past 10 to 20 to 30 years. I think the players have grown of course, but not only that, but also the coaches, the media, the soccer fans, everyone needs to grow. I myself am thinking of going down the path of a coach, so I hope I can give something back to Japanese soccer in that way. ◆ Atsuto Uchida, the coach I aspire to be: I think the level would rise significantly if I stayed and coached in Europe, but do you think it’s important for Japan?Makoto Hasebe: I played for Frankfurt for 10 years, and because of the trust I have built up there, I think I am able to stay at the club and pursue the path of coaching. I am a foreigner in Germany, so I don’t think it’s easy to be given such a position, so I would like to first gain experience as a coach, one step at a time, and then hope to be able to give something back to the Japanese soccer world. However, it’s not like I’m going to do something for Japanese soccer from the beginning. Q. Are you excited? Are you looking forward to it? Makoto Hasebe: I talk about these things, but I think it’s really difficult, but it’s a different country from my own, the language and my mother tongue are different, and I still have a lot to learn German. It’s a huge challenge to coach such a multinational global team of players in a different environment. I don’t think it’s easy, but I can challenge myself there. And I’m looking forward to doing it. Atsuto Uchida: How long will it take at the earliest? Hasebe Makoto: I don’t want to get it in the shortest time, but what they’re saying now is that you need two years of coaching experience to get an A, and if you think about it that way, it will probably take five or six years to get the highest coaching license at the earliest. ◆About my family Hasebe Makoto: I’m very grateful to my family for their support, but I’ll have some time to relax from now on, so I’d like to spend my time with them. Let’s go somewhere with Uchida and the whole family. I spoke to Hasebe Makoto. Thank you very much.
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