Relegation

Dear Hasebe,

I really like your posts about your cleats and your book and your new Mont Blanc pens.  I'm sure my own posts about green Peeps, Japanese soccer players and Asian fashion statements are equally interesting.

However, I think you and I both might be missing the point.

As your coach recently said in a press conference, "We need a new mentality. Some don't seem to realise we're in a relegation place. We've got plenty to do before we get out of there. There's going to be plenty of fitness training over the next few days."  (Bundesliga website, "Magath's Methods Revive Weary Wolves") 


That was a few weeks ago.  Since then, you still haven't won a game.  The situation for your club is getting downright critical.  Relegation is slipping closer and closer towards reality.  But from your blog, could a person ever tell?  Not a bit.


It's not that you don't have opinions.  I've definitely seen pictures of you yelling at people (a 3 foot poster of it, in fact) or directing people to where you think/know they should be.  And when asked about Inoha's amazing comeback goal in the Asian Cup, you were bluntly honest. "I don't know what Inoha was doing there.  The manager has told him to stay back and I was telling him the same thing. So I was surprised to see him there. I guess he felt like he just had to get forward." (Associated Press, "Inoha the Unlikely Hero as 10-men Japan Knock Out Hosts Qatar+")  


It's not that you don't care about Wolfsburg.  You "chastised" your own JFA teammates, "I'm thinking now that I'm here, I should be spending my days off with my teammates as well. So please do tell those guys to stop grouping themselves as 'the Japanese' in this part of the world" ("What is in Germany?"  Translation provided by Calvin)  Joking aside, though, you've invested the time to learn German and you spend a lot of time with your teammates and you're dedicated to your team.  When you returned from Doha, Qatar, a winner of the Asian Cup, you were asked about the transition back to VfL.  Your response? "In my head I am already completely with VfL again and physically I am feeling good" (VfL Wolfsburg site, "Hasebe Returns: "A Worthy Champion")  And you even had ideas about what you and the 'lads' needed to do to prepare for the next game. 


It's not that you're not putting in the time or the effort.  Sean Carroll in his article for the Daily Yomiuri Online talked about your abilities in glowing phrases such as, "Hasebe has quietly established himself as the pulse of the team, and almost everything flows through him."  and "The Wolfsburg midfielder is a wonderfully cultured player who possesses all the attributes to succeed in the center of the park." ("The Back Post/Okada Laid Base for Zac's Success")  He also mentions that even before the World Cup, Uchida (another Bundesliga profi) selected you as the most important player, citing your improvement specifically to your time spent in Germany.  


So, kid, why not talk about your career on your blog?  Why not admit the difficulties?  And your determination to succeed?  Go ahead, talk about the impending deadlines, the burden your shoulders bear and that nagging little fear that perhaps it will crush you rather than mold you into someone better, stronger and more able.  


I'll admit to it if you will.    


Wir stehen zusammen.


Love,
Me