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?

As a FW, I have always been conscious of scoring goals, in other words, "results." This is because I want to aim for the "higher world" as a soccer player.
"I believe that to survive in this world, you have to constantly aim higher, and conversely, I have decided that if I lose that desire to improve, I will quit being a soccer player. This applies to improving each individual play, as well as moving up the team's ranking and aiming for a higher category. In fact, I have always had that mindset since I started playing soccer, which is why I think I was able to develop my professional career and move up to the next level, competing in the J3 League and J2 League. It's the same since I returned to Gamba this year, and although I haven't had many opportunities to play in official matches, I always have the desire to improve. That's my spirit."
This mindset is also supported by his innate personality. Even before he started playing soccer, Minamino's "innate competitive spirit" was evident everywhere and always drove him on.
"Even before I started kindergarten, my competitive spirit was already showing. At preschool, there were a lot of events like climbing to the top of the climbing pole or jumping rope 1,000 times, which might have been why I got a Glico gift. I also felt great joy in achieving something, and I never wanted to lose, even when playing with tops or card games. Maybe I continued to have that personality growing up, because my teacher once told me in elementary school gym class that I was "taking things too seriously" (laughs). Whenever there was a "competition" or a confrontation, I would naturally get excited."
The same is true in soccer. Minamino's competitive spirit, fueled by the fact that he was always often on the pitch with older players at every age, always inspired him to reach new heights.
"In soccer, there's always someone better than you. Even if you succeed at one thing, another wall would immediately appear, so I myself would develop a desire to do more, like, 'If I can do this, then I'll do this,' and I would move my body in a way that allowed me to chase after that. Of course, I don't think I was thinking about such deep things at the time; I was simply focused on scoring goals and helping the team win, but looking back now, I think having had so many experiences where 'desire helps you grow' may have led to my awareness of 'striving to be better at all costs.'"
He is keenly aware that not everything goes smoothly, and that it is difficult to "go to the top" especially in the professional world, but he never gives up. He just keeps on doing what he wants most right now: to score his first goal for Gamba.
"It's been the same for the past two seasons since I turned professional, but the process of "turning 0 into 1" is extremely difficult, and I think it's extremely important. That's why I want to devote myself fully to that "1." If I do that, I believe I will be able to accelerate once I reach that 1. Also, since I play soccer as a job, I don't think I have the option of sulking because I can't play in a match. I think I have no choice but to practice hard and continue to hone myself for the opportunity that will come someday. A player who can't practice will never be able to play in a match."
It is because of this determination that he is the only player on the team to score in every practice match played this season.
"A player who can score in a practice match can definitely score in a match. Conversely, if a player can't even score in a practice match, there's no way he can score in a match."
The moment when "0 becomes 1" is steadily approaching.

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Text by Takamura Misa

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