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| ◇Sportschosun DB |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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Japanese soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata revealed the reason for his early retirement.
Nakata, who made his debut in 1995 at the age of 18 in Bellmare Hiratsuka (now Shonan Belmare), drew high expectations with the modifier 'Genius'. In particular, he served as the ace for the Japanese national team in the Asian qualifying round for the 1998 World Cup in France. It has attracted attention for its excellent pass skills, wide field of view, and shooting ability that are not seen by Asian players beyond Japan. He was a player worthy of the so-called 'supernatural' modifier.
Nakata, who joined Perugia in 1998 and entered Serie A in Italy, later played for AS Roma, Parma, Bologna and Fiorentina, and also played for Bolton Wanderers on loan in the 2005-2006 season. During the Roman era, he experienced a Serie A championship, and unlike Japanese players who failed to appear on the European stage before, he performed steadily.
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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| APYonhap News |
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However, Nakata shocked everyone by announcing his retirement after the 2006 Germany World Cup match against Brazil, when he was just 29 years old. Since then, Nakata has turned into a businessman instead of a leader and appeared to distance himself from soccer. Not only Japan but the world were curious about Nakata's decision.
Nakata told the American sports media The Athletic that `What I liked was not playing on the ground or teaching or interviewing anyone. The passion is gone. I thought I was lying to myself" he said.
He also spoke frankly about his life in Italy. "At the time, Serie A was the best league in the world," Nakata said. There were players like Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero. But I didn't know the majority of players. I only knew about half of what teams were in the league"But I think I was able to concentrate on my own play thanks to that." Nakata "At that time, I didn't watch or watch soccer articles on purpose. I just loved soccer and wanted to be a better player every day" he said.
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| ◇Sportschosun DB |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
