Today’s entry is from Michael, better known as @Michael_Master on Twitter. His Twitter handle is befitting as Michael is the unquestioned “Master” when it comes to transfer news within the J league and Japan.
Let me give you the ‘Bottom-Line Up Front’ treatment and say that he is one of the best, if not the best, people to follow when it comes to providing timely transfer news within the J League. You absolutely need to have Michael in your Twitter feed if you’re a fan of the J-league.
The photo below serves as just one example as to how Michael makes it so easy for the non-Japanese speaker to follow the transfer news in all the leagues of Japan.
For those of you that may not know, Michael lives in Italy, which happens to be one of the hardest hit countries from COVID-19. Some of the responses he provides may seem upsetting, but are vital for disseminating information on how the virus is affecting people’s lives. After you read these responses, I hope you all have a better understanding on the gravity of the situation as well as how to go about your daily lives. I can only hope that public officials here in Japan begin to realize the severity of the situation and take the appropriate action soon. With that in mind, please enjoy this interview with Michael.
Q. Michael, first, we all wish you well as you are in one of the hardest hit countries (Italy) from COVID-19. How are you holding up and how has the response been from the government?
First off, it is a pleasure to be among the J-League experts to be interviewed. Very delicate question to start with, but unfortunately COVID-19 has impacting worldwide right now.
The situation in Italy is depressing, in particular because I live in Bergamo which is the most affected area in the country. People surrounding me are losing friends, relatives, even parents, without even being able to say goodbye due to the severity of the virus. Personally, people very close to me (parents, grandma) haven’t been affected, but I do certainly know someone that has passed away (my mother’s and friends’s relatives). This includes a gentleman I would talk with on a daily basis.
The government responses have often been questioned, mainly because some decisions have been made too late. At this moment, Italy is in lock-down and we will have to deal with it for as long as it is needed. To which, no one knows when it will end. There’s a lot of desire to start living a normal life again.
Very poignant. I truly wish you and your family all the best during these tough times. Stay Safe.
Q. How did you come up with your “Twitter Handle?”
It was when I was around 15 I think. I was with a group of friends and I didn’t know a few of them all that well. One of them couldn’t pronounce Michael so instead he called me “Master” – for no specific reason as far as I can recall. This eventually led to my old friends to using the name ‘master.’
Like a trend, they thought it was cool and appropriate. It doesn’t happen very often nowadays though, but it certainly did when I signed up on Twitter in 2009 – and I’m pretty sure only males, no females have ever called me “Master”. Just call me Michael, please.
Haha,well, I thought it was your last name the whole time! Doesn’t matter though as it is a great story and a great handle.
Q. How did you begin following the J League, and more importantly, providing transfer updates? (Have you ever lived in Japan?)
I wish to visit Japan one day, that’s a promise. As for the interest in the J-League, I think it all started when I was a kid more than 20 years ago as anime fan. I think many Europeans begin their connection with Japan with anime or manga. It was Captain Tsubasa in particular for me.
I’m 28 now but I remember playing with Japanese teams often on PlayStation and therefore always had some sort of interest surrounding the J-League. Of course, it took more time to develop the interest because of the lack of coverage for the J league in Europe. It was helped back in the day (probably 10 years or more) when EuroSport began broadcasting throughout Europe. They would broadcast a match per week and the highlights show was always a must-see for me.
I became a Sagan Tosu supporter along the way and when streaming providers; Skapa and now DAZN popped up, my attention started turning to the J2 and J3 leagues. (Tochigi and Sanuki in particular). I’m also interested in youth level and high school tournaments in Japan.
It was really a gradual process that led me to start providing transfer updates. As I slowly built up my knowledge of the J-league, I started to provide transfer information on Twitter as well as my Google doc summary before the start of 2016 season. Also, because English language updates were lacking a bit at that time when it came to transfers in the J-League.
Well they are great. Please see the example below for what a typical transfer profile looks like on Michael’s Google Transfer document.
Q. I started following your account after Stuart over at the J-Talk Extra Time Podcast (@sushifootball) suggested I do as much and it has been a game changer for me. The way you pass transfer information in English to those of us who don’t speak Japanese is so clean and so efficient. Let me ask you then, how did you settle on providing transfer news for the J League instead of following one club in particular?
As I stated earlier, one of the reasons was to make transfer information available to all, to make it simple, and to get to English-speaking fans of the J-League. Also, it’s a way for me to stay connected to the J world in the off-season.
I admit focusing on a particular club has been an idea but as a J-League fan, I also watch many other matches that don’t involve my favorite teams. I’ve always enjoyed providing general updates which in turn gets me even more excited towards the start of a new J-League.
It’s also a win-win situation for me. First, it helps my followers by always being up to date on transfer news. Second it helps me track and memorize transfers, re-check stats, as well as being able to get more specific information on new players. This has really increased my overall knowledge of the J league and football in Japan.
Well that is a tremendous niche you’ve carved out for yourself.
Q. As you have already mentioned, you support/follow a couple of different Japanese clubs spread across all 3 tiers of the J League: Sagan Tosu (J1), Tochigi SC (J2) and Kamatamare Sanuki (J3) with the latter appearing as your profile image on Twitter. Please explain how you support 3 clubs from 3 separate prefectures in Japan as I only try and support one team inside any countries pyramid of football.
That’s a good question. First club I supported in Japan was Sagan Tosu during the times of EuroSport coverage of the J-League. I had no preferences at first but things changed when I discovered the newly-promoted team in 2012 or 2013. I’ve always been a guy who likes to support the underdogs and so I picked Tosu for their colors, their stadium atmosphere and Yohei Toyoda.
Same was for J2, I started with no favorite club to follow but then the underdogs again conquered my heart. It would be Tochigi SC during 2015 when they were really struggling and got relegated at the end. But I continued my support for them through their promotion back to J2.
Sanuki for similar reasons. An underdog, the colors, the chants, Kantoku, Makoto Kitano, then Daigo Watanabe joining the side made me even more of a fan (also bought his shirt – which is one of the few I have from J-League alongside Jubilo Iwata’s Daigo Araki). So I wish the story for Sanuki will be the same of Tochigi, seeing Kamatamare in the J2 again!
I can really relate to supporting the ‘underdog’ as an FC Ryukyu fan. Too bad we couldn’t convince you to change allegiances and become a member of the Ryukyu Army lol!
Q. With 56 clubs throughout the J league, and many more throughout the JFL and amateur ranks, how do you keep up with all the transfer news? Do you follow every teams site/Twitter account to get the timely updates?
Exactly, I follow each and every club on Twitter. I have a specific list with official accounts only, which I check every day during the off season to compile the transfer news, write the updates in English and finally tweet the updates for every single player. A few Japanese sites are also helpful. In the end I update the excel file on google with all the transfers I’ve tweeted out during that day. That’s the process. As for the JFL, @smntcsilverfox does a similar work and therefore I just retweet his updates.
The process I explained above may take a few hours when a lot of transfers and contract renewals are announced on the same day, in particular, during the end of the calendar year. But, it is a good way to kill free time at home during the winter months with the absence of competitive football matches. To describe my work that will be familiar to Japanese readers, I work in a kombini, a convenience store. Very flexible work times that benefits my #1 hobby.
There are probably many of us within the J-League circles that often conduct our hobby during working hours as well. Though we’ll never admit that!
Q. I have to assume that the J League winter and summer transfer windows are your busiest times but you also need to be keen to the transfer market windows around the world in the event that there is movement in and out of the J League during those times. When are you at your busiest and when can you take a breather?
To be honest, the J-League summer transfer window isn’t a particularly busy time for me as there are very limited moves within the league in general. The busiest period are the days close to Christmas through mid-January when most of the transfers are made official. There’s also the High School tournament occurring during that time that I enjoy following which occupies a lot of my time. The only time during that period that I can take a breather from providing updates is when the J-league goes on that New Year holiday pause/break.
Q. How often do you find yourself questioning, laughing or gasping at some of the transfers that pass through your Twitter Profile?
Being at a point where I know every single player, it’s pretty exciting to check the transfers when I get up in the morning (due to different time zone where I reside). There are surely moments when I scroll down and say: “wow, that’s a big move for the team, it will really strengthen their defense/attack.” Or, “totally deserved to go to a J1 team” with the occasional, “meh, I wished this (average) player wouldn’t have signed for my team”.
I use my knowledge to add additional info to the tweet, like their preferable foot of the player and detailed player positions. It’s really interesting to see how the market evolves day by day during the transfer window. Well, until the no-sense goalkeeper valzer happens…
You’ve got me stumped with the term ‘valzer.’ I think you are using to suggest that the GK can accomplish his task or assignment with very little effort?
Q. Many of us complain about not knowing transfer fees, lengths of contracts or salaries for the players in the J league. Are there any resources out there that may provide this type of information?
Unfortunately, there is not. Details surrounding contracts are never revealed by clubs. Sometimes the are just leaked by the media in their reports on big name transfers (Iniesta). It is probably only the JEB Entertainment agency who provides some updates on their players via transfermarkt. As for the transfer fees, we are aware (or just take for granted) that most of the contracts – in particular the J2 and J3 – are one-year deals.
I think many of us who are fans of a club don’t want to see our best players walk away for free at the end of the season. But I am not sure how to change the power struggle that exists between agents, players and the club. I also understand that multi-year contracts could be financially risky for many of the smaller clubs in the J-league.
Agree with those last few points.
Q. Seeing how you live in Italy; do you follow a club in the Serie A?
I’m an Inter Milan supporter. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid because of my father. I would go to the stadium occasionally but the San Siro is far from where I live (50km). I grew up watching Ronaldo and one of my first memories is Youri Djorkaeff’s overhead kick against Roma. I’ve got a lot memories related to the neroazzurri with my family and friends, both good and bad.
I remember I cried the night Inter won Champions League as well as my frustration on May 5th 2002. Despite the fact that I watch Inter matches weekly, I must admit I am certainly more knowledgeable about J-League compared to my domestic league.
Q. Any other clubs or sports you follow throughout the world?
I also support FC Nantes in France and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England. When I was a kid I played soccer briefly (my left foot isn’t too bad but overall I was average) and tennis until 15. So I still follow tennis a little bit. I also watch F1 (Ferrari fan) and the WWE, having been at the Monza circuit and wrestling live events during my life.
Q. Do you work with the guys over at transfermarkt? Do they solicit your input on a regular basis?
The guys over at transfermarkt do a terrific job. No secret transfermarkt is a very useful website for the J-League and lower leagues as well nowadays. I’ve been contacted for my input but with the many things I have going on, I’m not able to do something for them on a regular basis. But I recently helped then with market values and I would like to continue do that in the future.
Q. For that matter, have any leagues, clubs or organizations contacted you regarding your work?
A simple reply here: no. I’ve never been contacted.
Q. I always struggle to find the optimal time to post my blogs or tweets but you don’t have that problem because as soon as transfers are officially released by clubs, you blast them out. In that regards, is there a direct competitor in the Twitterverse, or J League circles, that you try to get ahead of when it comes to transfer news, or does that not really matter all that much in your case?
If I am being honest, I sincerely don’t feel there is any competition for what I do with transfer information. I generally tweet all the transfers the same day they are announced in bulk but sometimes rumors, or other news, is posted by someone else before me. In that case, I just retweet them. Therefore, no competitors, just followers that share the same passion.
Rapid Fire Round
Q. When I was growing up my best friend’s parents were Italian immigrants and therefore I was exposed to great Italian food. Probably the reason why I grew up husky. Please tell us the best place to eat, and the dish you order, at your current location?
I must admit, I’m more of a homemade-cooking type of guy. Sort of lasagna, pizza and apple pie expert. I rarely go to restaurants but near my house there’s a popular Pizza by the meter which is always full. Pizzeria S. Lucia is its name. They have an exceptional vegetable pizza and Napoleon cake dessert.
Q. According to a post I saw on Twitter last week, there is an outside chance that FC Ryukyu may square off against Kamatamare Sanuki in the emperor’s cup this year. I don’t see that on the official JFL page but let’s say that were to happen, care to make a prediction or wager a bet on the result?
Neither team has a good record in this competition, so could be a wide open game. We still don’t know when the league will restart but the schedules should be pretty busy for all teams. Both teams will probably use some rotational players for the match, thus making FC Ryukyu the favorite.
True, FC Ryukyu have been bounced out of the Emperors Cup in their first match the last 3 years.
Q. Name a few websites or Twitter accounts that could help us out when it comes to following the J League or football in general.
@aishiterutokyo provide news daily. @jsoccermagazine is close to the action, and if you need a shirt, he certainly can help you out (as he has done for me). My friend @maimaidenden is also very reliable when it comes to football across Asia, and I use @smntcsilverfox for the JFL and lower leagues in Japan. @aarinh2 for his knowledge and irony. But there really are so many other English-speaking accounts that I hope I mention them all, if not, I apologize.
They are: @J2KantoBites, @sushi_football, @GifuRichy, @90thMinuteSub, @J1tokei, @jleagueregista for interesting reads, @JTalkPod for podcasts, @FRsoccerSam for live coverage of specific matches and also @navybluewasp a shirt collector/expert alongside @tich_spulse.
For Japanese accounts: J-League official account for sure, as well as @bmtps_k, Hochi, Sponichi, and Nikkan Sports, and to get lineups before matches @j1referee as well as @j2referee and @j3referee by the same guy.
I had not heard of some of those accounts so I will certainly be adding them to my J-League List on Twitter, thanks!
Q. Seeing how you are in the middle of a lock-down in Italy, what are some tips and advice for those of us that may soon find ourselves in a similar situation?
The only advice is to follow the government’s rules and please stay at home.
Pray that doctors will save as many lives as they can.
It is in these moments we realize how important the small things we take for granted are; how much meaningful an handshake or hug will be; and how good it will be to celebrate for a goal again!
What an absolutely powerful way to end the interview. Thank you so much Michael for your time and message to those of us around the globe. Michael can be found at @Michael_Master on Twittter with his Google Transfer Doc at the following URL:
Please keep him, and the millions of others who have been affected by COVID-19, in your thoughts.
ryukyuarmy.com 