FC Tucson led the Colorado Pride Switchbacks U23 3-0 last Friday thanks to Damian German, who scored two goals and had an assist on the third one. That’s when Daisuke Takanaka entered the game, and scored twice — both in the final six minutes of play.
Takanaka’s success in his FC Tucson debut hid a major case of the nerves.
“I was so nervous,” he said.
The 20-year-old Japan native figures to see more action this weekend. FC Tucson will play Friday at Albuquerque Sol FC, then return home for a Sunday game against Colorado Rapids U23.
FC Tucson coach Dave Cosgrove wasn’t sure exactly what’d he’d get from Takanaka, but he was optimistic.
“Honestly, we had a suspicion he would do well,” Cosgrove said.
Takanaka made his way to Tucson through a series of Pima College connections.
Akira Kondo, one of Pima’s three full-time athletic trainers, hails from Tokyo. Japanese schools are always looking to find colleges in the U.S. to send their athletes, and Kondo has served as an agent of sorts to help find athletes a team.
Kondo connected with Aztecs assistant soccer coach Javi Holguin; Holguin’s boss at Pima is Cosgrove, who is in his first season with FC Tucson.
Takanaka moved to Tucson last August and played as a freshman with the Aztecs. Now, he’s halfway through his first season with FC Tucson.
Takanaka says he’s been focusing on practice and getting familiar with the faster pace of Premier Development League games. Takanaka’s English has drastically improved, but Cosgrove said there’s still a language barrier at times. The player and his coach have found a way to make it work.
“Surprisingly, I’m not sure I’m the best communicator,” Cosgrove said with a laugh. “If he sits back and watches instead of listening while I go over a new drill, he picks it up pretty quickly.”
Cosgrove said he is certain Takanaka will continue to help the team’s performance throughout the remainder of the season.
Both Cosgrove and fellow teammate A.J. Valenzuela said Takanaka has the uncanny ability to attack opponents directly, which comes in handy late in the game when players are tiring out.
“Most players, they don’t like to dribble at players,” Valenzuela said. “But Takanaka does.”
“He’s kind of different, but he fits into what we want,” Cosgrove said. “He fits a very specific role that we added.”
Corner kicks
- This weekend marks the first time FC Tucson will play both an away and home game against different opponents in the same weekend. It will also be the second game against the Albuquerque team, which FC Tucson beat 2-1 last month. The team will play Albuquerque Sol FC twice more this season.
- Following Sunday’s match, FC Tucson will have a break until July 3. They’ll play just three more times before the regular season ends July 13. Cosgrove said he’ll give players some much-needed time off before starting up practices again. The team will also scrimmage.
