| Takeshi Tatsumi | |
| |
| Nickname | Tatsumi |
| Kanji | 達海 猛 |
| Romanji | Tatsumi Takeshi |
| Coaching Positions | |
|---|---|
| Position | Manager |
| Club | East Tokyo United |
| Former Club | FC Eastham |
| Vital Statistics | |
| Age | 35 (Born January 11th)
|
| First Appearance | |
| Manga Debut | Chapter 1 |
| Anime Debut | Episode 1 |
| Voices | |
| Japanese Voice | Tomokazu Seki |
Takeshi Tatsumi is a Japanese former soccer player and the current coach for East Tokyo United.
Before being recruited by Kosei Goto to coach ETU, Tatsumi spent the past 3 seasons as the Manager for FC Eastham, an English Division 5 amateur club. During his final season with FC Eastham, he managed to lead them to the 4th round of the FA Cup, losing to Premier League club FC Portsmouth due to a controversial goal despite being clearly offside[1].
Tatsumi is viewed as the greatest player to ever play for ETU. When he joined Japan's National Team, he immediately became a mainstay in the starting XI and was Japan's Plan B for playmaking whenever Japan's then-ace Narita was shut down by the opposing team[2].
He is also a 2-time World Cup veteran, playing at the 2002 cup in Japan and South Korea and in 2006 in Germany for Japan. During the 2006 World Cup he scored his only goal in The World Cup against Brazil at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, and he became a hero. His position was as a forward and as a left midfielder.
History[]
During his playing career, Tatsumi was recruited to East Tokyo United by then-Sporting Director Kasano. He made his pro debut for ETU with the #24 jersey[3].
In his last season with ETU, 10 years before coming back as their head coach, Tatsumi was a star player for both the club and for Japan's National Team. As such, his daily schedule was filled with publicity activities by ETU's then-President Tsugawa. At one time during the season, then-President Tsugawa landed a major commercial for Tatsumi and challenged the latter to score more goals than Tokyo Victory and Japan's then-ace Narita at the upcoming Tokyo Derby.
During the Tokyo Derby, after being heavily marked in the 1st half and with ETU being down a goal, Tatsumi decided to be a deep-lying playmaker and let his teammates be higher up the pitch. This allowed him to shake his marks and score 2 goals for a reversal, giving ETU the win.
Following the Tokyo Derby, Japan's then-manager Veldhoven selected Tatsumi to be the team's ace for a friendly match. However, Tatsumi sustained injuries to his right ankle and his left knee during the match, forcing him to withdraw from Japan's National Team and miss ETU's training for a month. This led the team to be in a slump and to have 1W-4L in their last 5 matches.
For ETU's last league match before the summer break, ETU's then-President Tsugawa requested to then-Head Coach Komada to insert Tatsumi in the last 15 minutes of the match, since he was looking to attract new fans to Sumidagawara Stadium. While then-President Tsugawa's request was followed through by then-Head Coach Komada, ETU still lost the match. This led to internal conflict within the locker room, as Tatsumi's backup Fukasaku complained that the club cared more about showcasing Tatsumi than about winning matches, which made Tatsumi pensive.
Shortly after, as Kasano told Tatsumi about receiving an official transfer offer from a Premier League club for him, Tatsumi replied that he wanted to change his current mindset to help ETU. However, Kasano convinced Tatsumi to accept the Premier League club's offer, as he felt that the club became too Tatsumi-dependent on and off the field and stopped growing. Kasano also felt that this issue would eventually negatively affect Tatsumi's play. This led to resentment from Tatsumi's teammates, from ETU's supporters, and especially from then-President Tsugawa, who branded Tatsumi as a traitor to the press.
Kasano's plan with Tatsumi's transfer was for the latter to be ETU's shining light overseas with his play, while Kasano would focus on rebuilding the team. However, this fell apart when Tatsumi had a serious leg injury during his Premier League debut. This injury would end Tatsumi's playing career at the age of 25.
Tatsumi was eventually released from his Premier League contract and went off the grid before accepting the manager's position at FC Eastham. He revealed to Kasano that he had surgery to his leg, but that there is still water buildup and the leg's joints are loose[4].
When he was recruited in England by Kosei Goto, one of Tatsumi's conditions to coach ETU has been for the front office to notify players of all incoming offers as well as to allow them to meet the prospective team's representatives if they wish to do so[5].
Coaching Style[]
Tatsumi is very meticulous in match preparations, extensively watching videos about ETU's opponents to craft match plans in order to exploit the other team's weaknesses. He is observant about the flow of matches, making substitutions that allow ETU to keep the momentum or stop the opponent's momentum. He will also not hesitate to rotate players if they are out of form or if their focus in training is looser.
Although his training methods are unorthodox, Tatsumi is also astute to make ETU more cohesive in order to play at the same level as the league's powerhouses, like Tokyo Victory.
Even though he is meticulous with his training plans, Tatsumi never informs his assistants about his plans or the reasoning behind them until these training exercises actually happen.
Tatsumi does care about his players' well-being, as shown when for example freelance journalist Katsura Fujisawa learned that Tatsumi called Daisuke Tsubaki's middle school teacher to ask him a number of questions about Tsubaki[6], or when he had ETU hold a Curry Party for the fans, players, and the club's employees.
Tatsumi is a proponent of Giant Killing, meaning that underdogs can play amazing football and mow down the best clubs[7]. As such, in the 1st half of the season, ETU managed to beat two of the league's top teams: Osaka Gunners and Nagoya Grand Palace.
Tactical Analysis[]
Tatsumi usually sets his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation. When both Shigeyuki Murakoshi and Prince are not available, Tatsumi deploys a 4-4-2 formation.
Tatsumi's tactical plans rely on solid defensive play before counter attacking rapidly. When his team has the ball, the center backs will spread and move further forward, so the goalkeeper has enough room to dwell on the ball before passing it to his teammates. The center back positions are usually occupied by Kazuki Kuroda and Yusaku Sugie because they cover each other's weakness and have good mutual understanding. Kuroda is short but a strong tackler, while Sugie is taller and strong in 1v1 defending.
In the midfield, Gino is the center of ETU's attacking play because of his excellent vision and passing ability, however he rarely gets involved when his team are defending. On the other hand, Shigeyuki Murakoshi is the main breaker of the opposition attack before they are able to reach ETU's backline. Daisuke Tsubaki acts as the link between Murakoshi and Gino with his speed, stamina and work rate, while Ryo Akasaki is relied upon on the right flank for his speed, dribbling and crosses.
Club Philosophy[]
Tatsumi strongly believes that ETU will become stronger if the players, the management, the fans and the club's other employees all face in the same direction and fight sharing the same feelings[8].
Tatsumi's club philosophy seems to derive from ETU's scout and former Sporting Director Kasano, who told him that he is aiming to build a club that removes the boundaries between players, staff and the local community, and where people from different backgrounds, including the supporters, should be offering their opinions in order to take the best ideas possible[9].
Relationships[]
Kasano[]
Kasano is the former Sporting Director and current scout for ETU.
During Tatsumi's playing career, Kasano was responsible for his recruitment to ETU. He always looked out for Tatsumi's best interests, as he saw that ETU's then-president Tsugawa was ready to use Tatsumi to bring business opportunities for the club at the expense of Tatsumi's health. As such, Kasano felt responsible for Tatsumi's career-ending leg injury, although Tatsumi reassured Kasano that he has no regrets with regards to his career[10].
The season following Tatsumi's transfer to England, ETU got relegated to the 2nd Division, leading Kasano to take responsibility and resign from his position. Eventually, Kasano decided to work once again for ETU's front office, although he never appeared at the clubhouse.
In the present days, after Tatsumi's plea to him to make ETU stronger on and off the field, Kasano accepted a more active role within the organization, and agreed to be much more present in the clubhouse[11].
Kasano is shown to be approachable, as he regularly interacts with supporters and locals. As such, he is looking to make ETU into a club where the best ideas could come anywhere, even from supporters and locals. This philosophy inspired Tatsumi's own vision for the club when he came back as the head coach.
Both as a player and as a head coach, Tatsumi seems to trust Kasano, as evidenced by his decision to go through with Kasano's plan to transfer him to a newly promoted Premier League team. Moreover, in the present days during the league's summer break as ETU's current head coach, Tatsumi sought out Kasano's ideas to make the club stronger, as he felt that despite his tactics, ETU could not compete at the same level with Tokyo Victory[11].
Most of the current ETU squad were recommended by Kasano[11].
Tatsumi always addresses Kasano with the nickname "Kassan."
Richard[]
Richard is Tatsumi's current agent and is from England.
10 years before Tatsumi becomes ETU's head coach, Richard was looking to break into the Asian player market. As such, he came to Tokyo to investigate Tatsumi's condition after he had sustained injuries during Japan's friendly.
As Richard panicked after noticing that he left the map to ETU's clubhouse at the hotel, he unknowingly met Tatsumi on the street. Tatsumi led him to Senso-ji temple as he thought that Richard gotten lost trying to visit the temple. After seeing many locals gathering around Tatsumi to talk to him, Richard realized the man who led him to Senso-ji temple was indeed Tatsumi and resolved to sign him.
Kosei Goto[]
Goto is shown to be one of Tatsumi's good friends, as he came to visit him in Tokyo and ate with him at a local restaurant while still playing for Kyoto[12]. Goto then went on to become ETU's Sporting Director and was responsible for bringing Tatsumi back as the team's Manager.
President Nagata[]
Tatsumi has a good relationship with President Nagata, going back to Tatsumi's playing career when President Nagata was ETU's Public Relations Officer. Tatsumi refers to President Nagata as 'Old man'.
Yuri Nagata[]
Trivia[]
- Even though Tatsumi coached in England for approximately 3 years, he doesn't know what fish and chips are[13].
- As a player, Tatsumi has been described as being a combination of Gino and Tsubaki.
- Tatsumi's residence is at ETU's clubhouse.
References[]
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 1
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 141
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 189
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 134 to 151
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 129
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 86
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 23
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 89
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 137
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 151
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Giant Killing manga; Chapter 152
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 145
- ↑ Giant Killing manga; Chapter 24, page 3