Purple Patch

AFC qualifiers towards the next FIFA World Cup don’t bring too much tension to Japan, especially when the second round has been already decided with a locked first spot. But there was a special reason to watch the match against Syria: the return to Hiroshima. After 20 years – last time was in July ’04, in a friendly against Slovakia -, the Samurai Blue were back in town, with a wonderful atmosphere.

And the venue wasn’t the only thing that differed a lot – with the EDION Peace Wing Hiroshima sold out and a great support for the team. In July ’04, only three players among starters were featuring in Europe (Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Shunsuke Nakamura, and Takayuki Suzuki). Four, if you added Atsushi Yanagisawa on the bench. Today, the situation completely changed.

Two decades later, only four players… are playing in Japan. The success and the development of the Japanese football movement has been such that only Keisuke Osako was starting from a J.League team. Ironically, Sanfrecce Hiroshima. And even if Kosei Tani had some pitch time, the other J.League-based player used throughout the game was a home hero: Takumu Kawamura.

If we know a bit around Keisuke Osako, Takumu Kawamura has been the new face in Moriyasu’s call-ups. He’s been featuring in the group, but he could also soon be leaving Japan. “Sponichi” reported how Red Bull Salzburg are on his tail – but if his possible departure could be a blow for local fans, Kawamura’s trajectory is also the testament of the good work done by Hiroshima in the last years.

The Shimanami Kaido Connection

Sanfrecce Hiroshima had always a preferred partner among minor clubs, for either loans or new adds. And that partnership ran through the renowned Shimanami Kaido Cycling Road, which connects Hiroshima to Shikoku for cycling aficionados. And that route brings to a particular club: Ehime FC. That’s always been the case, whether we talk of players arriving or leaving – and the list has some well-known examples.

Yojiro Takahagi and Ryota Moriwaki were loaned there to develop in 2006. Motoki Ohara has been recently spotted by Sanfrecce because of his talent (although with a middle-loan to Mito HollyHock). Same for Yoichi Naganuma and Kawamura, who were both loaned around the same time. But if Naganuma opted then to leave for Sagan Tosu, Kawamura stayed three years in Ehime and then opted to come back.

Born in Asaminami-ku in August ’99, Kawamura became immediately a support of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, joining the youth ranks very early and even being a ball-boy when he was younger. After a few years, he was promoted to the first team in 2018 – and after three games in the J.League Cup, Kawamura was loaned to Ehime. And the loan lasted three seasons – long ones, where the young midfielder took his time to develop.

If the first year was a settling one, already 2020 showed the potential of the Sanfrecce-loanee, with a clear step up in 2021. In total, Kawamura put together 77 games and 15 goals in J2, and it felt natural coming back to home when Ehime FC got relegated in 2021. Also because it was time to connect the dots – and reconnect to his hometown, now ready for new protagonists.

Back to Home

In fact, Sanfrecce Hiroshima have been a strange case – capable of having several senators, but also building them out once they needed a refresh of the roster. In the end, take Sho Sasaki – who joined from Ventforet Kofu as a back-up, and he’s today the captain. Or Keisuke Osako, who joined from the youth ranks to be the back-up of Takuto Hayashi, and then became the no. 1.

Or take the generation that spans in the roster from the class ’96 to the ’99 – Hayato Araki, Taishi Matsumoto, Makoto Mitsuta, Keisuke Osako himself, and Takumu Kawamura. They’ve been as important as the senators – Aoyama, Kashiwa, Shiotani, Sasaki, Douglas Vieira. And the final touch came from Michael Skibbe – who’s been capable of building a solid skeleton to have wonderful seasons and a good proposal of football.

Once back to Hiroshima, Kawamura started soft, due also to an injury to his ligament. Out from March until June, Skibbe gave him time to come back, starting to use him more from July. By the end of the season, he became a starter, playing in three different positions (full-back, defensive midfielder, and offensive no. 10). He even scored in the Emperor’s Cup final, momentarily equalising the score, 

Those 1453’ played in 2022 almost tripled the year after, when Kawamura became a starter without any doubt for Skibbe – who could finally phase out as well some of the senators to a minor role. This growth kept persistent in terms of performances in 2024, with Kawamura that has become a key-piece for Hiroshima – and maybe because of that, he attracted interest from Europe too.

From Japan to Europe?

The call from the national team was more than natural – Moriyasu had always the tendency of testing out a few new faces in the AFC Qualifiers. Kawamura debuted on the New Year’s Eve of 2024, in a friendly against Thailand which happened on the route towards the AFC Asian Cup. Kawamura wasn’t then called up for the tournament, but he remained in the conversation – having played both against Myanmar and Syria in the last two matches as a sub.

It’s tough to imagine him too much involved, but Kawamura represents the perfect example of a Japanese player who will thrive in the next years. An offensive player, with optimal technical skills, and a ductility that will see them being available for different situations. Red Bull Salzburg had already several Japanese players (Tsuneyatsu Miyamoto, Takumi Minamino, Masaya Okugawa) and it’d be a good landing spot. 

Looking at this story, though, but we were surprised to see how the player has been attached to Hiroshima – in 2022, he promoted traffic safety in town by being appointed “Traffic Safety Public Relations Ambassador”. There was even an official ceremony with the police involved: “I’ve been growing up in Hiroshima for a long time, so I’m very happy to be involved in this activity.”

And even there, before his breakthrough season with his beloved club, Kawamura had his ideas clear: “I really want to do my best as a former Sanfrecce player. I’d like to make history with Japan and go beyond the Round of 16 at the World Cup. I’m really excited, I hope I’ll be at the next World Cup.” Kawamura won’t be the last to leave Japan, but Hiroshima can be proud of his son. Whether he stays or not.