It has been an unusually long pre-season for Japanese defenders Tomoki Imai and Kosuke Ota.
"Having 4-5 months of pre-season does not happen in Japan, it's my first experience of this," says Ota, who arrived at Perth Glory last year, in the midst of the pandemic. He has since re-signed with the club for another two years.
"It's taken me a while to get used to the speed of the game, as I didn't get any real game time during pre-season, but I'm looking forward to it [playing matches], and very excited."
For Imai, who is starting his third season in the green and black of Western United, participating in the FFA Cup has helped him keep up his performance levels.
"The pre-season has been very long, but playing the FFA Cup [versus Newcastle Jets] a week before the league kicked off was great. My condition is not bad, and will improve as the season progresses," says Imai.
Tomoki Imai of the Western United FC competes for the ball with Clayton Lewis of Wellington Phoenix. May 22, 2021, in Wellington, New Zealand. Source: Photo by Masanori Udagawa/Getty Images
Imai says his club's newly appointed manager, John Aloisi, expects him to not only be a strong defender, but as a foreign player, to perform to a level higher than the rest.
"I want to show that difference."
"Manager Aloisi is a very experienced, respectful coach," says Imai.
"He also scored against Japan in the 2006 World Cup in Germany," he laughs.
Ex-striker Aloisi is best known to many Australian football fans as the man whose penalty sent the Socceroos to their first World Cup in over 30 years. For Japanese fans, his legacy is rather different.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup group stages, Australia scored three late goals to topple Japan 3-1, with Aloisi scoring in the final minute of the match.
"He passes down his experience to the players.
"I don't speak English fluently, but he is very understanding. He respects the Japanese people and the Japanese culture."
Imai is aiming for a repeat of his stellar 2020/2021 season, which saw him awarded Western United's "Player of the Season" and "Forever West Award" (fan's player of the season). He has also re-signed with the club for another three seasons, the longest a Japanese player has so far committed to playing in the A-League.
"The biggest thing for me was having no injuries and appearing in every single game until full-time," says Imai.
And this will be his number one priority this season as well. For his team who finished 10th on the ladder last season, Imai is aiming for a top 6 position to go into the play-offs this time around.
Imai has won plaudits for his strong, no-nonsense defensive style, and he has words of advice for more Japanese players looking to make the move Down Under.
"Japanese players tend to be small and quick. I am more on the Australian side with my physical strength. But if J-League players can bring their unique points to the A-League, they will all do well."
While I am the only Asian player on my team, everyone is so inclusive and they all respect my culture. The multiculturalism is what makes Australian soccer great.
For Ota, last season was possibly one of the hardest a foreign player can endure: joining the team in the middle of a global pandemic, not too long after completing mandatory quarantine.
"Lockdowns and quarantine. My environment changed 180 degrees," Ota tells SBS Japanese.
To overcome a challenging year, Ota says it was crucial to "stay away from injuries" and "enjoy every match". He appeared in 19 matches last season, of which 17 were starts.
Kosuke Ota of Perth Glory has signed for another 2 years Source: Yusuke Oba
Glory Head Coach Richard Garcia says in a release upon Ota's re-signing for another two years, “[Next season] he’ll know what to expect and I’m sure he’ll be bigger and better and stronger.”
Ota says, the team is trying several formations and positions, and he is determined to "play my assigned position 100%".
"We really need to win away games" says Ota, adding that their inability to win matches away from home is an issue that needs to be addressed.
"We will have several away games from now on. Winning these matches will be crucial in having a great start to the season."
Imai and Ota, who have been good friends since before either arrived in Australia, will clash at AAMI Park on 26 November.
"We have been in contact since Japan, and I am looking forward to playing against Imai," says Ota.
Another Japanese player to appear in the current A-League Men season is forward Keijiro Ogawa, who has signed with the Western Sydney Wanderers on loan from Yokohama FC.
Wanderers are well known for signing Japanese players, starting with the legendary Shinji Ono who played with the club between 2012 and 2014, followed by Jumpei Kusukami, who played between 2016 and 2018.
"This season, Japanese players are in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, so if you add up all the home and away games, you can see a lot of Japanese players in action," says Imai.
"I will do better than last season, so please come and cheer us on," he adds.
As for Ota, he hopes the league is bound for bigger things.
In Australia, cricket and AFL are popular sports. But I want to show how great the A-League is, how great soccer is.
"I am yet to win a championship title in my career, and Perth Glory hasn't either [in the A-League era]. So I am aiming for that"
Western United Ticket Giveaway!
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