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The story
Real Sociedad’s Kubo Takefusa finally scored his first goal of the season in the Matchday 9 La Liga clash against Malaga on October 18 (local time). Starting as a right-sided midfielder for the first time in seven matches, he unleashed a stunning left-footed strike from outside the penalty area for a priceless goal. On the 5ch forums, reactions ranged from praise for the goal’s beauty to skepticism (“didn’t that just go in off a defender?”), debate over his playing time and the emphasis on his left foot, to talk of teammate Oyarzabal, who also scored his first goal of the season on the same day.
In Matchday 9 of La Liga, held locally on October 18, Kubo Takefusa’s Real Sociedad took on Malaga away from home.
[Video] A left-footed stunner from outside the box! Kubo Takefusa’s golazo explodes
In this match, Kubo — starting as a right-sided midfielder for the first time in seven games — scored his long-awaited first goal of the season.
Source: video.twimg.com / Original article here
What people said
Guess that makes me dessert?!?!?!
GAAAH 😭😭😭
Way too cute 🥺
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2029506085342851073/vid/avc1/720×1280/4NP0QEK9B0OIPxs9.mp4?tag=21
Mai-chan is so cuuuuute
daaaaamn it
Catching up to Lee Kang-in won't be easy, but it's good to aim high.
Soccer players
sure do marry celebrities a lot, huh
Exactly
isn't that basically a lucky own goal?
meanwhile Ohtani's hit 30 homers and still gets trashed
are we amateurs or what
against Take, that's basically an open invitation.
then playing him once in a while is apparently the right call lol
that shooting practice really paid off
everyone inspires each other, and it all connects like this
he's finally getting his form back since returning from injury
must be the newlywed effect
THEEEEERE IT ISSSSS
even the local media said it made no sense — and yeah, it really didn't lol
The main reason Kubo Takefusa struggled to find form this season is that the left knee injury from the opening match of the World Cup (against the Netherlands) lingered and set him well behind schedule. Even before the national team break, manager Matarazzo had said "Take isn't at his best," so it was clear his condition hadn't fully recovered.
Given the poor form carrying over from the end of last season, there were concerns from the start of this season that securing a regular starting spot wouldn't be easy. Matarazzo's preferred 4-2-3-1 only has four attacking slots.
With Oyarzabal and Gedes locked in as key players, the remaining two spots are being contested by Barrenetxea, Oskarsson, Sucic, Oching (promoted to the first team this season), Pablo Marin (returning from injury), and Zakharyan (who's gradually winning back the manager's trust).
Congrats.
these past few years, once defenders started respecting his left foot, he kept bailing out to his right foot for crosses and shots
but the moment defenders got Kubo onto his right foot, they'd already won
because it was never going to turn into a goal or an assist, so it was never actually scary
Kubo really needs that left foot
He's hit his ceiling on the right wing, so they should use him as a shadow striker
if they won't use him there, he should just transfer to the J.League — it's a waste of time otherwise
that's surprising too
no off-season after winning the World Cup, that's why
Oyarzabal just smashed in a long-range shot himself — that was just a simple pass across, nothing more
especially the defense — Sociedad's gutted by players getting poached, and Malaga's dead last
how many Japanese players are actually thriving in La Liga
if the J.League were really the higher level, more Japanese players would be succeeding in La Liga
Korean players are in such a slump right now that Koreans are betting everything on Lee Kang-in
no wonder the hype level is different
can't help but laugh that he's on the same level as a Kubo who was out of form
Background and talking points
Kubo Takefusa’s underwhelming first half of the season traces back to a lingering left knee injury suffered in the World Cup’s opening match against the Netherlands. As manager Matarazzo openly said, Kubo “wasn’t at his best,” and with Sociedad’s 4-2-3-1 formation offering only four attacking slots, he found himself competing for the remaining spots against players like Barrenetxea and Zakharyan, alongside locked-in starters Oyarzabal and Gedes. Because this goal came in his first start after seven matches on the bench, the thread split between those who read it fondly as the “newlywed effect” and those who dismissed it as a “lucky deflection off a defender.” There was also technical discussion arguing that finishing with his left foot instead of bailing out to his right showed off his real strength — addressing a long-standing criticism that Kubo becomes far less threatening once defenders force him onto his right side. Many felt this goal proved the left foot was the key all along. The fact that teammate Oyarzabal also scored an equalizer and his own first goal of the season on the same day was discussed in the context of the short off-season following their World Cup win.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Soccer] Japan national team MF Kubo Takefusa (Sociedad) finally scores his first goal of the season! Starts for the first time in 7 matches, stunning golazo against Malaga!“
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