Rei Tachikawa has completed a transfer to Jamshedpur FC, and the faithful couldn’t be happier. For weeks now, speculation has been rife about the Japanese player making his way to the Furnace, and that dream has now finally become a reality.
Tachikawa has joined the club on a one-year contract, but already has fans around the country talking about what he might bring to the Men of Steel in the upcoming campaign.
The 25-year-old is the kind of player any Coach would love. Keeping with East Asian traditions, he possesses an everlasting gas tank and lungs stronger than steel, to add to his ability to be versatile and equally adept with both feet and his head.
But what really makes the midfielder tick? Following a successful spell of football in Europe, he now makes his way to India, and it’s clear that Tachikawa is ready to expect the unexpected.
“It’s my first time going to India, so I’m expecting everything”, said Tachikawa when asked about what he feels he will see once he lands here.
“One of my dreams is to play in front of a lot of amazing fans, and Jamshedpur provides me just that with so many passionate fans at the Furnace,” he continued.
“I wanted to play for a club with a great history, and at Jamshedpur FC, while the club may be new, it has rich traditions with footballers and is the perfect spot for me to hone my craft.”
The journey to this point has been nothing short of arduous but rewarding for the Japanese sensation. Leaving Japan to go to Europe might have been the toughest call, but young Rei has always been up for the challenge.
“My favourite footballing memory is when I signed my first professional contract in Portugal. It felt like a dream come true and a moment I had been waiting for for a very long time.
“You live for these sort of moments. When I was a kid, I used to play football with my friends after school. It was so much fun and I fell in love with the game. That’s why I wanted to be a professional football player.”
Energetic and full of life, Rei Tachikawa has already got people talking, and as JFC Head Coach Scott Cooper says, “he is a player that people will sit up and take notice of”. The future is bright for the talented midfield general, and teams in the Hero ISL must start planning on how to stop this Japanese samurai.
