Following the J.League All-Star DAZN Cup held at MUFG Stadium on the 13th, Shusaku Nishikawa spoke about his penalty save in the third-place playoff against J1 WEST and his impressions of participating in the tournament.

[Shusaku Nishikawa]
(But you saved Shinji Kagawa's shot in the penalty shootout?)
"I waited patiently. When he stepped forward, he slowed down, so I thought something was up and braced myself."

(What kind of stage was the J.League All-Star game?)
"This was my third time participating in the All-Star game, but I don't know if it will continue, and I came here thinking that this format might be the first and last time, so I was determined to have fun today. As a player, I would be happy if it continues to be held, and I think we need to work hard to make the J.League even more popular."

(Did you actually enjoy it?)
"I really enjoyed it. Playing with high-quality players that I usually compete against, I thought 'they're really good' even during training the day before, and playing with skilled players definitely raised my own awareness, so I want to use that experience to grow even more when I return to my club."

(But his jersey number was 21?)
"It felt fresh. It was the number I wore in my first year at all three clubs (Oita Trinita, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and Urawa Reds), but it felt fresh, or rather, even looking at myself from behind, it felt a little unfamiliar."

(This was a new type of All-Star game where teams from each category competed in a tournament. What was it like actually playing in it?)
"We were also wondering how it would turn out, but we had a feeling that 'we can do this.' For the spectators, 90 minutes is a long time to concentrate, but I think today they were able to relax, get to know players from different categories than the club they support, and enjoy themselves."

(Many former teammates were also participating, weren't they?)
"I would have liked to play against Coach Makino (Tomoaki). But I also got to meet Maki and play against Hide (Hidetoshi Takeda), so it was fun. I also got to meet Ken Iwao chan. It's great that if you continue playing soccer for a long time, you can reunite with everyone like this. It was only possible because of Ausstar, so I'm glad."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]