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?

The mindset of "I don't want to lose," which can be seen in his play, is the spirit of Rin MITO. According to him, this feeling was present even before he started playing soccer.
"Even when I was in kindergarten, I was extremely competitive (laughs). If something wasn't going well while playing, I would take it out on the people around me or say things I shouldn't have. Even if I didn't win in a game, I would explode with emotion and cry loudly. I had no sense of cooperation and couldn't make any friends. I didn't like being in groups with others, so I was always digging holes in the sandbox by myself (laughs)."
His parents, unable to bear seeing him like this, suggested that he play soccer. They may have thought that playing a team sport would help him develop a sense of cooperation. However, at first, this did not work out well.
"To be honest, I was just a bully until I was in junior high school, so it's hard to say that playing soccer helped me develop a sense of cooperation. Sometimes our battles over soccer would escalate into fights. I felt like playing allowed me to release the energy inside my body, but it often ended up in a bad way."
He joined Kyoto Sanga FC Junior Youth and realized that there were many players who were better than him, which made him feel dissatisfied with himself and led to a dilemma. However, he experienced the frustration of not being promoted to the youth team and then went on to attend Osaka Gyosei High School, attached to Tokai University, which became the catalyst for a change.
"Being confronted with the reality that there is always someone better than you made me even more determined not to lose, and I think it also sparked a desire to establish myself as a soccer player at all costs. Also, going to high school and meeting some really good friends was a great asset for me. Up until then, I hadn't been teased by the people around me, but having friends who would tease me and then tease me back led to me being more aware of "myself within the team." Now that I think about it, the environment of "club activities" may have been a good thing. Up until middle school, I was in a J.League Clubs academy, so I grew up in an environment that focused on the individual, but in high school, in "club activities," I was always in an environment where we were together in both everyday life and soccer, and as we all overcame tough training together, I began to play more with what I could do for the team, rather than just my own play. However, no matter what, I never lost the feeling that "I don't want to lose,"
It's still the same today, and even now, as he begins his professional career, it's that same spirit that saves him every time he steps onto the pitch.
"I don't have a strong mentality. Before a game I get anxious and in a bad mood, and I hate myself for being like that, but that's just me. In the end, even with all the conflicts I face, I ask myself, 'I just have to do it,' 'I don't want to lose, right?' 'I just have to beat the opponent in front of me, right?' That's what makes me take that one step forward and put my body on the line. Also, after being away for a little while this year, I was reminded once again that it's so much fun and satisfying to be able to play soccer to my heart's content on the pitch. There are times when I feel frustrated or think, 'Oh, it's not going well,' but knowing that I can experience those emotions when I'm on the pitch has made me feel less scared. Well, I do have a weak mentality, so there are some things that I'm scared of (laughs), but I'm not intimidated. I always tell myself, 'I'm just going to keep going.'"
His first professional goal, scored in the 28th Sec. of the J1 League against Shonan Bellmare, was a perfect example of MITO's "pushing spirit."

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Text by Takamura Misa

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