After MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE Round 12 match against Yokohama F･Marinos.
Renji Hidano 's expression was stern and gloomy.
It's not that I couldn't do anything.
On the contrary.

The moment they equalized at 1-1 is symbolic of that.
In the 27th minute, he collided with an opposing player on the right side of the penalty area and fell to the ground.
However, he did not appeal for a foul.
He immediately got up, snatched the ball in front of him, and entered the penalty area.
He drew in three opposing players before passing the ball to Hirokazu Ishihara, who was providing support. This play was the starting point for Ishihara's subsequent cross and Takuro Kaneko 's equalizing goal.

"The ball was right in front of me and my opponent was standing still, so I wanted to show that I was the only one who wasn't stopping and was moving forward."

As Hidano reflected on this, his expression remained gloomy.
It was perhaps inevitable, given that the team couldn't break free from its losing streak.

But then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Even if they had won, if he hadn't scored a goal himself, this man's expression wouldn't have been so cheerful.
That's how much Hidano's "desire to achieve the goal" comes across.
In fact, he continued:

"I actually wanted to go for it myself, but it led to a goal for the team, so I think that was good."

Hidano's desire to score goals can be rephrased as "a strong will to lead the team to victory with his own strength."

Just to be clear, he hasn't become arrogant. Regarding the play that led to the aforementioned equalizer, he said this:

"I still consider myself the lowest-ranked player on the team, and I go into Trial with the mindset of giving 100 percent, even 120 percent, of what I can do right now. Ideally, I'd like to avoid falling, but even if I do fall, I'm not thinking of stopping playing. No matter what happens, I think my role is to show a 'forward, forward' attitude and push the team towards the goal, so in that respect, I want to become a player who is more aggressive in pursuing the goal."

The subsequent match against Kawasaki Frontale came after a sudden change in manager.

Hidano was brought onto the pitch in the 70th minute and chased the ball fiercely in the attacking third.
It embodied what manager Tatsuya Tanaka had asked of him: "a powerful press that would give courage to his teammates."
Hidano himself recalls it this way:

"I think I was able to show through my press that I was going to go forward again when I came in, and also demonstrate my attitude of making runs behind the defense."

Compared to after Yokohama F. Marinos match, his expression was softer because they had won, but it was still far from what could be described as "cheerful."

"I'm still far from perfect. On the contrary, I feel a sense of urgency, because as a forward, I have to show results by scoring goals, so the fact that I couldn't score today is something I still need to work on."

He said this, his expression becoming serious.

On May 2nd, Urawa Reds will host JEF United Ichihara Chiba at home.
JEF United Chiba was the first team they faced this season. In that opening match, Hidano also scored a goal.
When I spoke to him a few days later, he casually said this:

"I want to become a player who can be the 'face' of the Reds."

My resolve hasn't wavered in the slightest.
And his actual playing style is surely, little by little, steadily approaching what he described.

The young man will continue to relentlessly pursue his goal.

(Interview/text/Hideki Kosai)