Throughout last year's battles, the keyword for the team was "passion."
The battles that fueled them were expressed as a desire to win, creating excitement in the stadium.
This season's WE ARE GAMBA OSAKA will shine a spotlight on the spirit that lies behind the "passion" of each player. What kind of power will their soul, enthusiasm, courage, and determination give to the team this season?

"I'm not particularly big for a GK, and I'm not particularly talented."
He says he has always viewed himself objectively, but that doesn't mean he was pessimistic about himself. He believed that he just needed to work harder than anyone else and take football as seriously as anyone else. In fact, he always used the obstacles that stood in his way as an "opportunity" to confront himself and as a stepping stone to growth.
"When I was in sixth grade, I tried out for the academies of Gamba and Cerezo along with about four of my teammates, but I was the only one who failed both." Also, when I graduated from high school, I couldn't become a professional player, which I really wanted to be. Also, during my first year of university, I had to take a year off from the club due to family circumstances, so I couldn't play soccer. Even after graduating, I didn't get any offers from J.League Clubs, so I played soccer while working for Renofa Yamaguchi in the JFL. Looking back, there were many times when I thought, "Wow, I overcame a lot." But for some reason, I never lost confidence. When I failed the selection, I practiced like crazy, thinking, "I can do better," and even while I was with Yamaguchi in the JFL, I worked at a sporting goods store, watching my teammates play in the J-League. I wonder if that's why I'm where I am today." That's why I continue to use the frustration and anger I feel at myself at each moment as fuel to imagine what I would do and what I would do, and continue to work hard. This is what drives me today."
On the other hand, perhaps it was also encouraging that he was always able to see "results" at the end of his efforts, and that this led to steady career advancement. His time playing soccer while working in Yamaguchi led to him playing for Fagiano Okayama in the J2 League three years later, and his time in Okayama, where he honed his skills under a GK coach for the first time in his professional career, led to his career at Gamba.
"I've always enjoyed my life, thinking that it's my life, even when things don't go well. Well, maybe there were times when it wasn't fun (wry smile). But all of those experiences, including those, have led to daily gratitude, and savoring the happiness of having so many people cheering for me in games and in all sorts of situations, has given me the motivation to work harder."
In fact, even now, Ichimori takes every opportunity to express his gratitude to those around him and the support they receive. He remembers the time when, during his time playing in the JFL, he had to hand out flyers in front of train stations and in shopping districts, bowing repeatedly and asking people to come and watch his games, in order to meet the "average attendance of 2,000 people" requirement for promotion to the J.League.
"It's such a blessing to have someone watch your game and cheer you on. I've felt that deeply, and that's why I'm so happy to be able to play in front of 20,000 to 30,000 people, more than 10 times the number back then, who come to Panasonic Stadium Suita. Every time I step onto the pitch, I think, 'This is not something to be taken for granted,' and that's what gives me the motivation to give it my all. I want to continue to be someone who can live up to that cheer, even just a little."
This weekend, he will face Okayama, a club that he is grateful to as "an essential part of his career." Of course, this gratitude will be shown by his determination to "put everything he has into helping Gamba win, with the confidence of having Panasonic Stadium Suita on his side."


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Text by Takamura Misa

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