Hiroki Sakai, a defender of the Japan national football team who joined the J1 Urawa Reds, attended the press conference on the 14th and said, "I want to grow together with a strong determination and a sense of responsibility."
31-year-old Sakai announced this month that he will move from Marseille, a French first division powerhouse who played for five seasons, to Urawa Reds.
On the 14th, he held an online press conference and said, "I played many games in the last season in Marseille, but I felt that I was no longer an absolute player. I heard from the Reds and decided to change the team. I felt ambition. I thought it would give me a sense of tension and responsibility, "he explained why he decided to join the team.
"I want to grow together with a strong determination and a sense of responsibility to get closer to the hot reds I saw when I was little. I'm really looking forward to what this transfer will bring to me," he said. He showed his enthusiasm for playing in the J-League for the first time.
Sakai has a reputation for physical strength and accurate cross ball, and is active mainly in the right side back in the Japan national team, and has participated in the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018 for the second time in a row.
Currently, he is participating in the Japan national team under the age of 24 as an overage frame for the Tokyo Olympics, and he said, "I want to aim for a gold medal when I get out and try to increase the probability as much as possible."