Young Right-Back Aims to Emulate Zelvia's Mochizuki

It is a case of intense inspiration as the towering Machida Zelvia right-back Henry Mochizuki is already a role model for players in University football. A young right-back from Kokushikan University speaks out about wanting to "surpass" the Zelvia ace.

via Kokodama Yukihiro's interviews on gekisaka.jp (In Japanese).

Hayashi Raia spoke out about his ambitions prior to representing the Kanto "A" selection in the Denso Cup competition this month.

Hayashi spoke about the differences of football further down in South Japan (Kansai) and the more central area in Kanto;

"The strength is the same, but what I felt the most was that the basic technical aspects are completely different. I thought I had to learn the technique from practice."

The young defender went through the ranks of Kyoto Sanga- one of the oldest teams in the J-League- but also representing one of the standout high school teams in Kansai with Kyoto Tachibana.

Originally from the Kansai region- the Shiga prefecture- but he travelled further up North to study at Kokushikan University.

The Setagaya, Tokyo, situated Kokushikan University is host to many talented names, some coming in from the academies of top J-League sides - most recently players from FC Tokyo and Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

During his time with the University, Hayashi was able to find regular gametime, and even was on target in a tight 3-2 loss to Toyo University.

"As soon as I entered the school, I was not involved in the A team due to injuries, but Henry Mochizuki was in the fourth grade." Hayashi told Gekisaka.

This is the root of Hayashi's inspiration to catch up to the now J-League prospect Henry Mochizuki, most likely a common aim amongst university players.

Raia Hayashi's development with the university side in a testing level of football has allowed him to express himself as a physically strong player with good endurance and a forward thinking allure - as many successful right-backs are.