A Revolution in Orange

Originally published on Afshin Ghotbi's official website, November 22nd 2012.

Shimizu S-Pulse, a founding member of the J. League in 1993, are one of the three surviving teams yet to claim the championship trophy. While the hunger around Shizuoka City for a title crown is tangible, another arguably larger operation is currently underway, and it’s one that is changing the face of the club.

At the time of my conversion to a Shimizu fan in 2004, S-Pulse were in a something of a lull.  A league stage victory in ‘99 and an Emperor’s Cup two years later had hinted at the start of a dynasty, but the team ultimately drifted back to mid table. 2004 also saw Kenta Hasegawa take control at the helm. The former S-Pulse striker moulded his team around crowd pullers like Ito, Aoyama, Ichikawa and Okazaki, and a return to glories seemed just around the corner. But for all the promise, Kenta’s squad repeatedly fell at the last hurdle. Over his six year reign, the team evolved to comprise largely of local heroes and long term favourites. With their boss’s resignation in 2010, many judged it time to jump ship.  

It was against this backdrop that the ambitious and well travelled Afshin Ghotbi was entrusted to lead a revolution. In the Iran national team manager’s appointment, the shift in club culture cannot be overstated. The local-is-best ideology was traded for the international coach’s global vision. Departures may have denied the incoming manager some talent, but shrewd signings like Yoshida, Lee, Jong-a-Pin, and Kawai were made as Ghotbi began shaping his own team. With a new head coach viewing the squad with fresh eyes, suddenly all positions were up for grabs. Players such as Omae, previously on the periphery, became regulars. Members of the old regime, struggling to hold down positions, were shipped out on loan. 

2011 was the classic transitional season, and it was hard for some to watch as well established favourites had to step aside. Tensions were felt on the terraces as extensive adjustments displaced a number of the most popular faces. Following so many pre season departures, personnel changes inevitably continued through the season, predictably impacting on results. Some in the crowd seized on poor results as an indictment of too much change too quickly, but with the foundations laid, 2012 proved far more settled. A higher league placing and cup final appearance suggested things were moving in the right direction, and undeniable by any observer was how impressive it was to watch such progress being made by often the youngest starting XI in the country.

In the years directly preceding Ghotbi’s arrival I couldn’t help but sense Shimizu were treading water, in danger of stagnation. Instead, since 2011 the reformation of the club’s philosophy and the drive to globalise has been tireless and unceasing. S-Pulse were national representatives on a fund raising trip to the Netherlands after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, while in January this year a week was spent on tour in Hong Kong during pre-season training.

Eyes turned towards Australia, North and South Korea, the Netherlands and Sweden to fill the allotted foreign player positions. The Swede was one Freddie Ljungberg, and while ultimately a short lived transfer, it garnered the type of publicity money can’t buy. Overseas influence wasn’t limited solely to foreign acquisitions, either. New Japanese recruits Hayashi and Miyoshi brought with them experience playing in environments spanning from Plymouth to Patagonia. 

Courtesy of Ghotbi’s network of contacts, invaluable links between S-Pulse and some of the game’s biggest names are being forged.  A result of this is priceless opportunities for the club’s youngsters to learn and grow abroad while still contracted to Shimizu. One such deal will see 18 year old Hideki Ishige spend time training with Manchester City, with similar arrangements in the pipeline for other highly rated prospects.

Shimizu’s famous globe shirt motif has long been said to represent aspirations as an internationally recognized football team. The building of worldwide connections and broadening of horizons is the only way to realise that, and in the last two years huge strides have been made to that end. Whereas in the past S-Pulse may have looked inward, now with a bold outward facing approach, the club is reaching beyond the confines of the Miho Training Ground like never before. 

Over two short seasons a football club has been reborn, but it remains an ongoing process. Qualification to the Asian Champions League, tapping the largely untouched foreign market, and a first piece of silverware for a decade are all goals for the immediate future. While many fans may be preoccupied with the hunt for that elusive league title, setting sights on purely domestic targets would be selling the club’s potential short. Shimizu S-Pulse may stand on the brink of success on the pitch, but they are also experiencing growth off it unlike anything they’ve known. As the two come together the next few years will prove to be some of the most important, and exciting, in their history.