“Philosophically I’m the same person I was when I was seven years old playing on a really average pitch in Melbourne and asking for the ball all the time and not really understanding why we had to do all this work without a ball.”
Three decades on that young player, with an uncommon curiosity about the game, has now turned into one of the few Australian – and AFC – coaches handed a chance to make their mark elsewhere on the continent as Arthur Papas prepares to take charge at Kagoshima United in Japan.
With barely a dozen or so Asian coaches working elsewhere within the region, it’s notable any time one is handed a chance abroad and the post comes with considerable expectation when that individual is one that’s spent time working under arguably the best AFC coach of his generation in Ange Postecoglou.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the two years I spent working under Ange at Yokohama (where the club won the J.League and reached the latter stages of the ACL) and I’m certain that this opportunity doesn’t come about without having worked with him,” he told The Asian Game.
“Having spent time with a coach of that stature there’s so much you can learn but the main thing is just to be yourself where he has certain beliefs that you don’t compromise because it’s ingrained in you beyond just a philosophy, it goes a lot deeper than that.
“The conviction in the man is tremendous and under a lot of pressure that other people would really question the method and maybe look for the easier alternative which is change, he knows that change isn’t necessarily always the right way to go about things.”
Papas though is anything but a clone of the former Socceroos boss and brings extensive head coaching experience with him from stints in Australia, India and Saudi Arabia, as well as the role at F.Marinos into the new position at a highly ambitious Kagoshima United side.
The two do though see the game in a similar way and that’s something that should have all Japanese football fans excited as the 40-year-old vows to bring with him an attractive brand of attacking football to the southern Japanese city.
“My journey to Kagoshima started many years before, even before the actual coaching journey,” Papas, who recently rejected the overtures of hometown club Melbourne Victory, said.
“For me it started at 25 with a dream that I wanted to be a professional coach and see the world doing it and have a great adventure and pass on your beliefs of how you like the game to be played and watched.
“I’ve tested myself in so many parts of the world, but philosophically I haven’t changed much because the coaching journey begins way before that in terms of how you perceive the game and for me I was always attracted to teams that play attacking football, use the ball where the ball is the most important thing, and to players who were creative and didn’t rely so much on their physical aspect but who could rely on their creativity and technique.”
Papas now has a chance to impart that philosophy on a relatively new club in a remote but spectacular part of Japan.
Located at the far southern tip of the main four Japanese islands, Kagoshima the city is a breathtaking area where a smouldering, active, volcano – Sakurajima – stands watch over proceedings and is barely a long goal-kick or two from the clubs’ scenic home stadium.
Kagoshima the club was in the second division of Japanese football barely a year ago after only being formed back in 2014 and the goal for all at the team is clear.
“We’ve set some objectives internally but at this stage everyone wants to be in a position to be promoted and that’s important absolutely as we progress in the project, but the most important part is the way that we want to play,” Papas said.
“That style of play is a big reason why they recruited me and there’s been a bit of turnover in the squad to try and bring certain characteristics in as well to help us achieve the playing style.
“The thing that really attracted me to the club though was the way that they want to build the environment around the team, which is important, the things that are important off the pitch and in the people that they have at the club.
“Then on the field with the way they want to play where a lot of that is a game based on attacking football, possession football, being an aggressive team and making the community really proud because it’s a very unique part of Japan.”
Having finished fourth in 2020 and missed promotion by just the three points the pressure will be on Papas right from the start, where he’ll face an early test with one of two local derbies coming in just the second match, as they travel to face Roasso Kumamoto, but for the ambitious coach and club these are exactly the kinds of challenges they welcome as they look to pilot the club into being a real name to watch for years to come.
“Of course, the derbies are really important because you want the people that work so hard throughout the week that come to support us to go home happy and looking forward to the following week.
“The main thing for us though is that I don’t want us to compromise our beliefs and principles and I’ll be doing everything I can for the club, the supporters and this warm and welcoming region in Kagoshima.”
Should Papas succeed in this project then it’ll surely open the doors for other AFC coaches to be given a chance in Asia’s top domestic football hub and that means that the eyes of not just Japanese fans but also those across the region should be tuned in the events in southern Japan in 2021 and beyond.
Listen to Arthur Papas’ interview with Scott on Episode 65 of The Asian Game podcast.
