The 101st All Japan High School Soccer Tournament is about to kick-off on Wednesday 28 December. How did the players who made it to the big stage spend their high school years? Here we bring you the high school stories of Mr. HIRAYAMA Sota (current coach of University of Tsukuba), who played in the tournament three times and won the title twice as a member of Kunimi High School.

○This interview was conducted online on 14 December 2022.

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Finishing as the top scorer nor runners-up “brought me any joy at all”

Hirayama Sota enrolled at Kunimi High School in order to develop not only as a football player but also as a human being. He has become a starting player for the A-team since his first year and showed glimpses of his talent at the 80th All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, scoring one goal in the semi-finals to contribute to the team's championship campaign.

In his second year, Kunimi reached the final of the 81st All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, thanks to Hirayama's massive goal production. However, the final against Funabashi Municipal High School will remain a bitter memory for Hirayama.

Despite scoring seven goals in the four matches leading up to the final, Hirayama was silenced by the stout defence of Funabashi Municipal, which he recalls, “All four of the defenders were playing with a lot of grit, and the defensive midfielders were also pressing back, so I thought there was nothing I could do.” While being closely marked by his opponents, Hirayama posted up to lay off passes and occasionally took shots, he felt as though he “couldn't do anything.” The team also conceded a goal from a shot taken from distance in the second half and lost the match 0-1. They missed out on winning the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament for the third year in a row, a streak that had been going since OKUBO Yoshito (former member of Japan's National Team) was a member of the team.

Hirayama finished as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, but “there was no joy at all,” he said. The thought of missing out on back-to-back championships and the concern about their daily trainings, which was sure to intensify, outweighed the frustration of the defeat.

As a third year student, Hirayama has become a leader of the team in many ways and spent his final year in high school with extraordinary determination. He overcame harder trainings than ever before and further strengthened his body and mind, as he recalled his sentiment at the time, “I felt it was an obligation to win. I felt that anything other than winning the tournament would mean nothing to me.”

During the summer he decided to enrol at University of Tsukuba, putting aside his concerns about his future, and in November he participated in the FIFA World Youth Championship (now the FIFA U-20 World Cup), where he scored two goals to further boost his confidence.

Winning the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament for the second time

Then came the 82nd All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, where Hirayama put in a dominant performance. He scored two goals in the second round against Mito Commercial High School (2-0), one each in the third round against Hiroshima Minami High School (2-1) and the quarterfinal against Yokkaichi Chuo Technical High School (1-0) and recorded a hat-trick in the semi-final against Takigawa Daini High School (4-0). He showed such a dominating performance that OKAZAKI Shinji (now Sint-Truidense VV/Belgium), who was a second-year player at the time, remarked, “His level as a forward was about two-tiers higher,” and reached the final for the third year in a row.

In his first and second years, many of his goals were scored by heading in cross-balls from his teammates, but in his third year he has demonstrated his ability to dodge opponents with clever footwork and ball control, which allowed him to diversify his scoring patterns, According to him, “I was that type of player in junior high school, and it wasn't until I attended Kunimi that I improved my headers,” indicating that Hirayama has developed into a more complete striker by steadily honing both his natural and new weapons during his time in high school.

By the semi-finals he had scored seven goals, taking his tally at the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament to 15. He was just one goal short of the all-time record for most goals scored (16), set by KITAJIMA Hideaki, who played for Funabashi Municipal. Hirayama was certainly aware of the record, as he mentioned, “I knew I had to score two more goals to break the record.”

The final was against another Kyushu side, Chikuyo Gakuen High School. In this match, Kunimi showcased their dominance from start to finish, scoring goal after goal, with Hirayama also making his mark. “Once the game started, I was concentrating on carrying out my duties to execute Kunimi's football,” he said, but with one goal each in the first and second halves, he broke the all-time goalscoring record. The team triumphed 6-0 and successfully redeemed themselves for their loss from the previous year.

At the moment the final whistle blew, tears welled up in Hirayama's eyes, in which he recalls, “I didn’t know what the emotion was.” Perhaps it was the joy of victory, the relief of revenge, the sense of achievement, or just the joy of not having to run anymore. Having achieved a great record, Hirayama's All Japan High School Soccer Tournament came to a close with tears of mixed emotions.

Looking back on his high school days, Hirayama laughed bitterly and said, “If I were to do it again, I might go somewhere different.” But at the same time, mentioned, “I ate, bathed, and slept in the dormitory with my friends, and experienced both good and bad times together. I think it is because I went to Kunimi that I have so many friends with whom I can talk about my youth.”

As Kunimi's ace striker, "monster" Hirayama Sota reached the final of the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament three years in a row and set a record with a total of 17 goals. He describes the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament as “my lifelong treasure,” but says of his own record, “Records are meant to be broken, and I'm sure one day a talented forward will emerge to break it.”

"I hope that person will play in the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, break this record, and become a striker who can excel at the World Cup." When will we see a new "monster" who can surpass Hirayama?

The 101st All Japan High School Soccer Tournament

Tournament Dates: Wed. 28 December 2022 - Mon. 9 January 2023

Tournament Information