[WE ARE GAMBA OSAKA 2026/27] GK1 Masaaki HIGASHIGUCHI｜ GAMBA OSAKA Official Site

With renewed determination, they will face the 2026/27 season, marking their tenth star earned during this special season.
To experience once again the joy, excitement, and exhilaration of reaching the pinnacle,
What kind of evolution will the Gamba Warriors undergo to help the team achieve victory?
What kind of strength and resilience will they demonstrate on the pitch, and how will they bring joy to their fans and supporters?
This season’s WE ARE GAMBA OSAKA is,
This session explores the “philosophy of evolution” that resides within each individual, revealing their determination for growth.

Even at 40 years old, his performance remains undiminished. In the recent J1 League match against Kyoto Sanga FC, he was brought onto the pitch unexpectedly in the 12th Sec. minute and displayed a consistently calm and impressive performance throughout.

“Given the circumstances of coming on as a substitute, I tried to play as simply as possible. I was a little nervous, but I think I was able to get into the game after I handled the first free kick well. Even after we went down to 10 men and changed the system, I felt we could defend well, and we were able to go forward on the counter, so it’s a shame we couldn’t secure the win. As the Head Coach said, it all comes down to the final quality in both attack and defense. When you make mistakes like that, it’s hard to get points. Rather than blaming individual mistakes, I want us to show once again the teamwork where we can cover for each other, such as maintaining distance and making sure I make the final saves, and helping each other out.”

His desire to learn and improve as a GK is growing year by year.

“Having played in high school and college without a GK coach, it was natural for me to think for myself and practice on my own, and that continues to this day. In fact, from my experience, if you just play soccer and guard the goal without thinking, you’ll only get worse. Whenever I have free time, I’m exploring what I could do differently, and lately it’s become like a hobby of mine (laughs).”

However, it seems that the way he seeks “evolution” has changed significantly between his younger days and now that he has more experience.

“When I was younger, I was expected to grow by constantly adding new things, but as I get older, there are things that are automatically taken away from me. My muscle strength and range of motion are narrower than they used to be. Because of that, shots that I used to be able to shoot without thinking now require me to consciously extend my hand using the three fingers from my little finger to my middle finger to make the proper save. In that sense, lately I’ve been facing myself with the feeling that I’m working to “compensate” for the physical changes and negative aspects that I didn’t intend, while also seeking something new on top of that. In other words, I have more to do than when I was younger, but I think that being able to get along with myself well is also necessary to seek evolution.”

He says that this is something he realized after suffering injuries last year and the year before.

“Because I’d been away from matches for about two years, at one point I suddenly had this feeling like, ‘Huh? Am I not able to do this anymore?’ and I was shocked, thinking, ‘Ah, this is what getting old feels like.’ That experience made me think more carefully about my play, and in addition, being able to play consistently in matches during the special season naturally made me feel my condition stabilizing. In fact, by gaining experience in official matches and working on filling in the gaps I mentioned earlier and adding to them, I felt a significant improvement in myself. Lately, I’ve also developed a desire to improve my kicking, so I’m practicing a lot every day. I’m happy that I still seem to be able to grow (laughs).”

In the recent J1 League 13th Sec. against FC Machida Zelvia, he reached 399 appearances in the J1 League, bringing him close to the milestone of 400 appearances. If he achieves this, he will be only the sixth goalkeeper in J.League history to reach this feat. He says he hasn’t been consciously thinking about the numbers, but he quietly added, “I’ve always had the thought in the back of my mind that it would be great if I could reach this number with Gamba.” It was a glimpse into the inner thoughts of a true legend.

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Interview and text by Misa Takamura