It’s good for Ashito’s apparent weaknesses on defense because his intuition there has a long way to go. As excited as he got to play, it shouldn’t be a surprise that him getting playing time was such a rare opportunity that Fukuda wanted to pounce. A big part is with Kobayakawa coming back, who plays his same position; there isn’t much merit to even being on the bench. Essentially, Fukuda gave Ashito a taste but wants to make the improvements so Fukuda wouldn’t take him off the bench again.
It really makes it clear the differences between the starters and the reserves. Fukuda’s commitment to the reserves is because they are the ones that will help the starters the most. The competition of wanting to become a starter to keep each other motivated. They are the ones that could really challenge the starters to improve on their own.
Both Anri and now Fukuda coming down hard on Togashi. Much like Akutsu, Togashi’s lack of communication with Ashito comes from looking down on him. Fukuda’s words were something Togashi needed to look at himself in the mirror. Interesting that he is trying to understand Ashito’s vision. As good as Togashi has been as a defender, it would make sense that that would be the one area he could learn from Ashito.
It’s not a surprise that Fukuda will be all for the first years to have their own training session. The defenders using the rope in training is interesting. It more so stresses how defenders need to communicate with each other. As the rope adds the extra handicap, if they don’t communicate, then even just their movement is toast. It could also help Ashito to demand to receive instructions from his teammates.
Nozomi’s advice to Kuroda isn’t much of a surprise. Kuroda is probably the most fundamental sound among the first years who play as you expect. Of course, Aoi is an irregular, as he didn’t even have the fundamentals when he started playing on the B team, but his play can really help Esperion going forward. It’s interesting that Akutsu like Ashito is an irregular type of soccer player. Considering that he seems to know his fundamentals, I am curious what makes Akutsu an irregular type according to Nozomi.
The conversation that Ashito and Kuribayashi have after the training practice is interesting because it shows what their goals are. Ashito simply wants to go pro. Meanwhile, Kuribayashi aims to be the best player in the world. There is a difference between being fine with being a pro player on the bench and being the best. The latter requires a hunger that will never go away, while the former you can be happy up to a certain point. The main thing is to not get satisfied and always aim higher and higher. That motivation is what will drive them to improve, and that is the mindset Ashito needs.
