2019/24 Shoya Nakajima @ FC Porto (POR)

Wow.
From a loan in Portugal and PSG there's a big difference.
Anyway his trip to Europe seems a nightmare and despite all I think he didn't deserve this.

 

If nothing else his situation is a warning example of the influence the choice of agents can have. Though his alleged behavior toward other team members is no good look either. Corona is the cherry on the top.

 

While it's blatantly obvious that Nakajima's moves have been structured to maximize profits for Theo Panagopoulos, it's also true that delegating the day-to-day caretaker responsibilities of an agent to his kid Ryuki probably contributed to the current situation, particularly for a player who has gotten by on sheer talent with a reputation for questionable professionalism.

At the same time, to some extent you have to accept the recent events as a consequence of Nakajima's own makeup. He enjoys playing football and getting paid handsomely to support his family, and is disinterested in career achievements or perhaps even winning and losing - supposedly he even acknowledged that he actually preferred the lack of stadium supporters in Qatar, since he was free to have fun on the pitch with lower accountability for results.

With respect to Nakajima isolating himself on the squad, he was probably put in a tough spot by his wife's supposed health condition and the departure of his staff. At the same time, his teammates have families and personal responsibilities of their own without a whole entourage to take care of daily affairs, and you could easily imagine that he was viewed as wanting special treatment at the expense of the team. Above all, failing to communicate his concerns in order to achieve an adequate mutual solution seems to have bred mistrust, which unfortunately isn't surprising when Nakajima hasn't made much progress in speaking Portuguese while his agent is a total rookie.

 

About the winner's medal ceremony: Nakajima was apparently invited but declined to attend.

 

Wow, that's harsh. Relationship is no longer there.

 

Here's a summary of Nakajima's problems at Porto with local sources.

• Porto's culture (and Conceição) generally values players who get stuck in, show tactical discipline, and fight to win every challenge and match. Nakajima certainly does not embody this ethic in demeanor or style, and little tangible output has come of his technical qualities to make up for it.
• The team restarted training on May 4, while Nakajima was absent for nearly two months citing risks to his family and only began training alone on July 2. The club is unconvinced that this was a reasonable measure on his part.
• He has failed to communicate effectively, both during recent events and more generally. He speaks practically zero Portuguese or English, and shows little effort to overcome the barrier, smiling blankly when teammates attempt to engage him in conversation. This can be contrasted with Gonda at Portimonense, who has utilized the COVID-19 interruption to improve his language skills and has already given a postgame TV interview in Portuguese.
• Needless to say, Nakajima will be excluded from the cup final on August 1. Should a transfer offer match Porto's 12m EUR investment, the club would not hesitate to send him off, but given the current climate and the risks surrounding the player it seems unlikely.
• Basically the only realistic option seems to be for the two sides to repair the relationship and for Nakajima in particular to adapt both as a player and as a professional. Club management has pushed for Conceição to give him another run out, and it follows that a new season would mean another chance. Otávio and Marega are cited as examples of players who initially struggled to adapt to the team's tactics before being molded into key players.

 

So in other words his best bet is for the coach to get fired....

 

Just leave.

 

I think the damage is done. They should work on a tranfser. Its the best for both parts. Just hope they "choose" right this time. Although Porto sounded like a great deal in the first place.

 

I've really had high hopes for his time at Porto, I mean playing for one of Europe's top teams that regularly plays at CL is a dream for any player, but unfortunately, things dramatically went south for him.

I doubt a big team from Europe's elite would want him after this debacle, might just leave and go back to Japan but would any Japanese club want to shell that amount of money for his services?

A very strange journey indeed. Is the guy cursed or something? Another talent being wasted. smh

 

Yeah not trying to learn English or Portuguese is crazy.

 

Honestly with all the dirty laundry aired in the Portuguese press I think Nakajima will be viewed by other clubs as a toxic asset of sorts until evidence appears to the contrary. The only way for Porto to recoup their investment in the near future is probably for Panagopoulos to cook up another shady scheme to sell their 50% share of the transfer rights back to Al-Duhail or elsewhere. They will have to find an amenable loan destination or attempt to whip his ass into shape for the coming season.

 

Honestly, beyond the rumors around Portuguese football and the situation at Porto, this is the most concerning passage:

He has failed to communicate effectively, both during recent events and more generally. He speaks practically zero Portuguese or English, and shows little effort to overcome the barrier, smiling blankly when teammates attempt to engage him in conversation. This can be contrasted with Gonda at Portimonense, who has utilized the COVID-19 interruption to improve his language skills and has already given a postgame TV interview in Portuguese.

This helps actually framing in a better way why he picked Qatar before actually coming back to Europe. Why doesn't he want to embrace other cultures? I find this the worst part of all.

At that point, he can easily sign for an Arabic or Chinese squad, where he would stay in a bubble just built for him.

 

And get richer. But will be remembered only as one the most talented japanese players ever that just waisted it all away.

 

It's unreal how this has all panned out.

Hasebe, or someone like this needs to go down there and whack him over the head.

 

Yeah talk about another level of professionalism.

 

You blame Nakajima too much.
The world of football is full of this type of players, even worst, but if the lad is talented, as Nakajima is, a reasonable manager should overcome any conflict for the sake of the team and his career too.
Instead mister Conceicao assaulted Nakajima in front of the camera and then he (and the whole club) act as nothing happened.
Imo Nakajima story with Porto ended that day.

Anyway if the like of Coutinho (skilled undervalued player) found a big manager and team that believed in him after being a regular 3rd/4th choice sub in Inter and Mario Balotelli (an hot head) found the like of Milan and Niece to play for, a still young talented player like Nakajima can find someplace in the Top5 european leagues to play for.
Maybe change his agent ASAP.

 

I sincerely hope he goes back to Qatar or even UAE or MLS, makes some money and we don't have to hear from him anymore.

Nakajima is not nearly good enough to be that unprofessional.

 

He needs someone who can get through to him and make him get his act together. I think it's pretty clear that Ryuki isn't the answer - pretty funny that at age 24, only a year out from being a top division professional footballer he is sporting a major dad bod. Probably not the best example of dedication to the craft given that he appears to have retired because the agent hustle is more conducive to the high-rolling lifestyle.

 

I think this sort of fall is unlikely to be recovered. The hype omg....he's such a disappointment.

Possibly he should come back to Japan on loan and start again at J.League level.

Its really hard to place what's happened to him. He must be experiencing possibly a downturn in his mental health? He was at one stage motivated and high functioning. It's almost like he's depressed.

 

I think that's a bit dramatic and in fact I think the problem may be that he's too carefree and oblivious to the surroundings to easily fit into a team context. After the whole scene with Conceição was patched up he wasn't exactly playing great - the quality in the final third was certainly lacking - but seemed to at least be functioning in terms of playing with more intensity and attention to his tactical assignments.

Where would he go? I imagine Porto would want a decent loan fee and some wage relief at the very least, otherwise they might as well take their chances at patching things up. After all the management still apparently believes that his quality offers some value, and Nakajima does want to play football one way or another.

I suppose a club that would take him on would 1) be willing to bet some money 2) have the right ecosystem to handle Nakajima's personality and family and 3) need creativity, goals and assists. I suppose Frankfurt might be interesting if they end up having to sell Kamada - their extension talks with Roberto Tukuda have reportedly stalled, Hasebe would do a fine job as caretaker, and Frankfurt is one of the most livable cities for a Japanese family to live in its own bubble.