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The story
Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo had started in each of the club’s first two matches of the season, but was rotated to the bench for the first time this season amid a congested fixture schedule. In the 2-1 win over Espanyol on the 29th, he came on only as a substitute, and a local newspaper delivered a harsh verdict: “He couldn’t get into the flow of the match and did almost nothing.” On 5ch, the thread saw opinion split sharply — pointed criticism of his playing style and calls for a transfer sat alongside more level-headed analysis citing his Champions League playing-time stats, plus comments that acknowledged his talent while flagging his injury risk.
<La Liga: Real Sociedad 2-1 Espanyol> ◇ 29th ◇ Matchday 2 ◇ Reale Arena
Real Sociedad’s local newspaper gave this assessment of Japan international midfielder Takefusa Kubo (25), who came on as a substitute against Espanyol: “He couldn’t get into the flow of the match and did almost nothing.”
Real Sociedad faced Espanyol at home on the 29th in La Liga Matchday 3. Kubo, who had started in both of the club’s opening two matches, was benched for the first time this season as part of squad rotation amid a congested schedule.
Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here
What people said
From back in the junior-high soccer championship days?
He scored 2 goals against a South Korean high school select team back in 8th grade, so as long as he hasn't declined since then, he'd be fine.
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(spelled out vertically, playing on Inui's given name "Takashi")
He used to turn into Messi twice a year lol
Kim Min-jae 2,271 min
Lee Kang-in 1,121 min
Takefusa Kubo 563 min
Wataru Endo 225 min
Lee Kang-in is going to blow way past him this season.
After showing that kind of leaky defending in the CL, it's wild that Bayern still plays him
( ´◔‿◔`)
At his age there's no more "potential" bonus to lean on either, so from here his market value is just going to keep dropping.
Getting sold would almost be the good outcome — no club's going to pay a transfer fee for him, so he's probably stuck warming the bench for a while.
https://youtu.be/f9WXzEU4OTM?si=qGaLLluh0uDGVc25
He really is good — after scoring the opener in the season opener, he set up the opening goal again in Matchday 2.
Maybe he's better than Kubo, but he's his own kind of disappointment too.
At age 25, Ohtani played 106 games, batting .286 (110-for-384), with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs (didn't reach the qualifying plate-appearance threshold). Decent numbers.
It's not just useless — while he's busy showing off his dribbling, the opposing defense gets time to reset, so it actually hurts the team. He'd be better off releasing the ball quicker and thinking more about team play.
Maybe not in Spain, but adults across Japan's soccer world treat him like a big star. At least as long as he's the face of the Adidas Japan national team shirt, he'll be treated as a superstar.
He's basically living the king life — must be a pain to manage.
There's a super-young prospect out there — Mitsudera is playing left wing for Marinos right now, but his natural position is actually right wing.
Signing with Real Madrid's B team just for the prestige was the mistake. He got turned into a business asset, saddled with a transfer fee way above his actual ability, and that's now the ball and chain holding back any future move.
He probably at least reached out to them himself.
Even among Japan's famous players, there's always that one signature play or goal everyone remembers — Nakamura Shunsuke's free kick against France, Honda's knuckleball strike, Endo's dinked penalty, Nakata's brace against Juventus…
But Kubo… there's nothing. He has no signature moment at all. (´；ω；｀)
His soccer sense isn't actually that great — if anything it's a bit lacking. His ball control and dribbling sense are genuinely excellent, sure. But Kubo can't make runs to receive the ball in space at all, so his range as a player is limited.
Background and Key Talking Points
Takefusa Kubo failed to land a big-money move in this summer’s transfer window and ended up staying at Real Sociedad. The club has pointed to squad rotation amid a congested schedule as the reason for benching him, but the thread was split between those who read his drop from the starting lineup — after starting the season’s first two matches — as a sign he’s fallen outside the club’s plans, and those who see it as routine workload management. The Champions League playing-time comparisons that came up (the gaps with Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in) reflect not just his recent form, but also his broader standing within his club. It’s worth noting that drawing firm conclusions about a transfer or being frozen out of the squad from a single benching may be premature.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Soccer] Takefusa Kubo Benched for First Time This Season — Local Paper: “Couldn’t Get Into the Flow of the Game, Did Almost Nothing”“.
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