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The story
In the Valencia vs. Real Sociedad clash, both Take Kubo (Sociedad) and Ryuji Sato (Valencia) — Japanese internationals playing in Spain’s top flight — started on the bench and never got off it. Sociedad won a wild 3-2 shootout. With this being the last league match before the international break, both players missed out entirely: Kubo has now started on the bench for four straight official matches, Sato for two in a row. On 5ch, posters debated whether the slide down the pecking order comes down to tactics, physical condition, or mentality, and compared the pair to Kang-in Lee, who’s been in fine form over the same stretch.
[Sept. 20 — La Liga Matchday 7: Valencia 2-3 Real Sociedad]
La Liga’s Matchday 7 fixtures were played around the country on the 20th, including a meeting between Real Sociedad, home of midfielder Take Kubo, and Valencia, home of midfielder Ryuji Sato. Both Kubo and Sato started on the bench, and incredibly, neither one got a single minute. Both now head into Japan national team duty on a sharp downward slide in club status. The match itself was a fierce, high-scoring affair, with Sociedad winning 3-2.
It was the last league match before the international break. Both players, named to Japan’s squad for the September/October window, had been getting minutes early in the season, but have since lost their starting spots — Kubo has now started from the bench in four straight official matches, Sato in two.
Source: web.gekisaka.jp / Original article here
What people said
He just vanished, huh.
Sato's minutes are drying up too, which is bad for his development — done.
Nakai's time now.
He never had much of a scoring touch to begin with — even in the J.League he was just a sideline trickster who'd beat one man and stop there. Don't think that's changed much.
He couldn't even manage that.
Outside the top two clubs, La Liga isn't that different from the J.League anyway.
Lee Kang-in drives Atletico's attack and sets up the second goal, Atletico win
Atletico 2-1 Real Madrid
https://x.com/BibimBallers/status/2101701245874393557
Lee Kang-in started in the derby and beat Real Madrid,
while Kubo didn't even leave the Sociedad bench…
Proof once again that Sociedad are stronger without Kubo — brutal result for the Kubo faithful…
Funny how he gets called up for Japan while he can't even get off the bench for his club.
the team's stronger without him,
and the results back it up, so there's no arguing it now.
It almost feels like the club is building its system around him eventually leaving, using him while they still have him.
Doubt they'll keep that up for a whole year, though — maybe a winter move?
Contrary to the impression you get from the article, they've actually looked shaky even against weak clubs.
Anyone could tell he had no room to grow back in his teens.
Figured he'd be completely unusable by his mid-20s.
His play's definitely lost its edge.
Still holding out hope Sato can turn it around.
Then how do you explain him dominating in preseason?
La Liga's just a graveyard for Japanese players.
But while Kang-in — once called his rival — was quietly starting and winning the Madrid derby, Kubo was…
How did the gap get this big?
Sato especially needed to score early and make his case while he still had playing time.
As he is now, he's on track to be nothing more than a slightly more sociable Usami.
But that alone never seems to translate into a string of goals or beating two defenders to finish it off — that part's just missing.
Doesn't mean much being good far from goal.
Sure, with a favorable setup or support from teammates, fine — but blowing past two defenders sitting deep from a standing start takes a Messi, nobody else can do that.
Anyway, there might be a Tottenham move in the winter.
That's the "conductor" guy, right?
Kagawa's old fanboys switched over to being Kubo fanboys.
The torch gets passed right here.
Beat Valverde, you mean.
— Oskarsson's wide open, but instead of passing he goes for a solo dribble ("onadori" — hogging the ball instead of passing) → gets tangled up and loses it → appeals for a foul → Oskarsson loses it
https://imgur.com/dKjkl5s
He's been nothing but a hindrance since his national team days.
Team's stronger without him.
We'll be riding high on Mitsuidera hype ("hol-hol," basking in smug pride) for the next five years.
What about the FC Tokyo kid?
Forget his name, but he debuted at like 15, right?
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Both Kubo and Sato had been getting playing time early in the season but have since lost their starting spots. The comparison that came up again and again in the thread was Kang-in Lee, once described as Kubo’s rival, whose start (and win) against Real Madrid in the Madrid derby was repeatedly held up as a contrast. That said, club playing time and national team call-ups are separate matters — being left out of the matchday squad doesn’t necessarily rule out a national team selection. The thread was split between the view that “the team is better off without him” and the view that “things could change with a winter transfer,” with opinions divided over whether the cause lies in physical condition, tactics, or mentality. A few names of up-and-coming young players came up as well, though the thread alone doesn’t offer enough detail to confirm their track records.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuhou+) thread “[Soccer] Kubo vs. Sato: Shocking No-Show for Both in Japan-vs-Japan Showdown — Both Head to Japan Squad Amid Plummeting Club Status.”
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