Fukuda Tatsuya is the enigmatic head coach of the Tokyo City Esperion FC’s Youth Football Team. He is the one who recruited Ashito Aoi and other talented players such as Keiji Togashi. Everyone in the club aspires to be in Team-A, which gets direct coaching from Fukuda.
He is the manager and perfect coach with a vision for his ideal. All of his decisions are backed by reasons and will eventually lead to his dream team.
The anime showed glimpses of coach Fukuda, a top player with a promising career in football. What could have made him quit playing professional football? How did he end up becoming a coach at Esperion? What makes him the highly regarded coach that he is?
Let’s dive deep into the past and personality of one of our favorite characters from Ao Ashi, Fukuda Tatsuya.
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Professional Career before becoming Coach
As hinted in the anime, Fukuda was a successful football player before becoming a coach. Born in Ehime, he attended Tokyo Kokudokan High School in Tokyo. It was here that he joined J-League’s Tokyo City Esperion FC at the age of 18. Eventually, he became a regular at 20.
As a talented midfielder, he left Japan at the age of 23 to play overseas. He was signed by Sabadell FC. It has just been promoted to the first division of Spain, La Liga.
There, he faced a whole new set of problems such as language and racism. With his talent and determination, he proved himself. In Spain, he found out that he had a knack for teaching football.
Soon after, he sustained a serious injury, which shattered his dreams of continuing professional football. He could not play as well as he used to. Eventually, after playing for second-division teams in Paraguay and Mexico, he retired at the peak of his career.
Fukudu is considered an unparalleled genius player of his time, likened to players like Haruhisa Kuribayashi. His step-sister Hana often finds glimpses of his play style in Ashito Aoi.
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Coach Fukuda: What sets him apart?
Fukuda is a man of many talents. But his ability to identify a diamond in the rough is what makes him special. This is evident when he discovers Ashito Aoi. When Ashito was playing in his final junior high match, Fukuda was visiting Ehime, to pay respects to his father.
He was watching that match to pass time. It was on a whim when he taught Ashito a special move. But when he saw Ahito’s ability to remember every position on the field, he immediately realized that Ashito was the missing piece to his final dream team.
That’s how Aoi Ashito is right now. It was all thanks to Fukuda’s keen observation skills.
His decisions are always driven by reason, even if it is not clear to others around him. Players at Esperion were confused to see Ashito in the club when he clearly lacks the basic foundations of football.
Fukuda’s way of getting things done can be questionable at times. This was shown when Ashito was forced to play as a full-back when he clearly wanted to play as a forward.
Fukuda knows exactly what each of his students needs. He gives them the push that they require at the right time so that they excel at the sport. This is why he is highly respected by genius players such as Kuribayashi. Of course, him being a genius helps him understand how to coach potential talents.
Esperion’s Future with Fukuda Tatsuya
As mentioned earlier, Fukuda has a vision for his ideal team. The top players of the team seem to have an idea of this and are passionate about being a part of it, with Fukuda guiding them all the way.
His initial dream is to make Esperion the best club in the world. But he will not stop at just that. In the endless realm of football tournaments, Fukuda aims to take his players to the World Cup, representing Japan on the world stage.
With all said, Fukuda Tatsuya is an important character in the story of Ao Ashi. Without him, even genius players cannot reach their full potential.
Hope this answered all your questions about Esperion’s esteemed coach. For more of such interesting character profiles, check out the Recent Highlights website.
