There isn’t just one “right answer”
Football is played under the same rules everywhere in the world. But having played the game across Japan, Spain, New Zealand, and Australia, what really struck me is that the definition of “good play” is completely different depending on where you are.
The clearest example for me is defending.
Growing up in Japan, I was always taught that the top priority was not getting beaten by your opponent. Hold the line, don’t get dribbled past — that came first. But once I started playing overseas, I realized there was another equally important piece I’d been missing: winning the ball.
In Spain especially, before any one-on-one situation even arose, I was constantly made to think about how to defend as a group. Even if one player gets beaten, how does the team as a whole move to win the ball back? It wasn’t about fearing individual mistakes — it was more like the whole team hunting together.
This isn’t about which approach is “correct.” Both are correct. But realizing this difference made me understand that a lot of what I thought was “common sense” in football was actually just common sense within one particular culture.
The team you play for can shape your entire career
This next part is a bit harder to talk about.
Football has a cruel side to it. One choice — which team you end up playing for — can end up defining how far you’re able to go as a player.
I’ve seen it happen many times: a player with real talent chooses the wrong high school or university team, doesn’t get playing time because their style doesn’t fit, and eventually walks away from the game altogether. It wasn’t a lack of ability. It was simply that their way of playing didn’t match that particular team’s philosophy — and that alone was enough to close the door on what could have been.
It’s a harsh reality, but it’s also part of what football is.
That’s exactly why I believe adaptability matters so much. If you assume that the only “correct” way is the one you grew up with, you end up rejecting anything different the moment you encounter it. Instead, I want kids to be able to meet a different way of thinking, accept it first, and then work out for themselves how they want to play within it. That’s the kind of player I want to help develop.
This is exactly what we’re aiming for at Glocal Football.
Why exposure to different footballing philosophies matters early
There’s real value in exposing kids to different football cultures — Japanese, Spanish, New Zealand — from a young age.
A player who’s only ever been taught one “correct answer” has no way to cope when that answer stops working in a new environment. But a player who grew up knowing, on a physical level, that there’s more than one way to think about the game can walk into any new environment, observe what’s being asked of them, accept it, and adjust accordingly.
This isn’t just about tactical understanding. It’s about developing the habit of wondering, “why does this person see it differently?” That instinct will serve a player well no matter what team or environment they end up in down the line.
Beyond football
I’ve been talking about football this whole time, but I don’t think the value of an international mindset is limited to the sport at all.
School, work, the country you live in, the people you meet — throughout life, there will be countless moments where the “normal” you grew up with simply doesn’t apply. What matters in those moments is whether you can face that difference without fear, accept it, and think it through for yourself. That’s a skill that shapes how you live, full stop.
I think football is one of the best places to practice exactly that. Negotiating and competing on the pitch with teammates and opponents from different backgrounds is a far more physical, far more memorable kind of learning than anything you’d get from a classroom lesson on “diversity.”
What we want to give kids at Glocal Football isn’t just wins and losses — it’s this ability to think for themselves and adapt. I believe that’s something that stays with them not just as footballers, but as an asset for the rest of their lives.
