The Awakening

March 10th, 2019. First match of the J3 League season. MIKUNI WORLD Stadium in Kitakyushu: after coming last the year before, Giravanz are trying to improve their performances for 2019. The first match is a home game against FC Tokyo U-23, the youth side of the capital-based club. The first half ended with the captain and Giravanz legend Tomoki Ikemoto feeding the rookie Akira Disaro for the opening goal.

After half-time, Shinji Kobayashi had rotated a bit the elements from his bench. A young striker on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos has taken Ikemoto’s place. He’ll provide the assist to close the game for substitute Shintaro Kokubu, who scored the 2-0. It’s a nice day for Giravanz, and for rookies. After one year between the bench and the stands with Marinos, the class ’99 is happy.

That striker went on scoring 15 goals for Kitakyushu between J2 and J3, enjoying a solid stint with Giravanz. Meanwhile, Shonan noted his potential and nurtured him for 12 months before unleashing him to the world. The no. 18 from Bellmare is having the season of his life and he’d be a perfect candidate for a leap to Europe next January, especially if… a World Cup would come.

The readers hadn’t any doubt: the MIP from J1 League for this season is Shuto Machino. And there’s no other choice because his pace in 2022 has been otherworldly.

Down to Kyushu

Class ’99, Machino enrolled in Riseisha High School before joining Yokohama F. Marinos. Unfortunately, there was no space – for now – under Ange Postecoglou. Therefore, Machino joined Giravanz Kitakyushu on loan, with the club that was suffering in 2018 their worst year in history. It was indeed the right move.

In the ordinate 4-4-2 of Shinji Kobayashi, the forward started already his first game against FC Tokyo U-23. 2019 saw his first year as a pro, with Machino playing in 30 matches in J3 League and providing eight goals. With the two scored in Emperor’s Cup, in the end, his rookie year witnessed him being a key player for Kitakyushu in the run to win the J3 League.

Giravanz didn’t lose any time and made the loan a permanent move. Despite the hectic schedule and the leap towards J2, Machino kept a solid display as well in the second tier. Sure, his run flamed out towards the second part of the season, with Akira Disaro taking the stage and scoring most of the goals. Nevertheless, Machino racked up seven goals and eight assists in 32 games. In the second part of the season and he moved to the bench.

Slowly Developing

Staying in Kyushu was an option, but Machino found another way to J1. Kitakyushu came fifth, but no playoffs were held in 2020. The striker made the leap anyway to the topflight by signing with Shonan Bellmare, who needed some reinforcements for their upcoming campaign. Bin Ukishima was the manager back then, but he valued other forwards more than Machino.

Due to his first J1 campaign, the former Marinos needed time to absorb the change. Climbing the ladder so fastly could leave a scar in terms of performance, and Machino started most games from the bench in the first part of the 2021 season. The real change came when Bellmare fired Ukishima to replace him with former Gamba legend Satoshi Yamaguchi, who’s been in charge for Shonan since September of last year.

This changed the impact of Machino, or at least how much he participated as a starter. After a few games missed, Yamaguchi gave him four starts in a row. He then put Machino back to the bench, but in retaining the J1 spot – after a 0-0 away draw in Osaka against Gamba –, probably the head coach saw in Machino a diamond to polish. And he did that last Winter.

Man Machino

2022 hasn’t been normal. Machino scored 12 goals in 29 games, including three braces. And the first was probably the most important one: the two goals against Vissel Kobe gave Shonan the first home win of the season, the second in 14 games. Without it, maybe Yamagishi would have been given the boot by the club. Instead, Machino took the stage again four days later, scoring another brace to defeat 4-0 away Kawasaki Frontale.

The rest is history. Also, the recent brace against Sagan Tosu could be enough to save Bellmare and give them their sixth season in a row in J1, a feat matched only between 1994 and 1999… when relegation didn’t exist. It would be massive and just to give more perspective about Machino’s season: the last Shonan Bellmare player to score 10+ goals in a J1 season was… Wagner Lopes in 1998 (18).

It took 24 years to see this happening, just like not many Bellmare players have featured for Japan. Kosei Tani took the stage recently, and even Daiki Sugioka went back to the national team, but Machino was dominant in his display with Japan at the recent EAFF E-1 Championship: three goals, one per game. Top-scorer of the competition, and his teammates doing his celebration.

Given the 26 players per squad, we could imagine three forwards. Furuhashi, Maeda… and the guy who was playing in J3 three years ago?