Kashiwa’s Goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa Participates in Ball Donation Ceremony: From the Children’s Perspective, I Am Their Idol

On the 2nd of this month, Shusaku Nishikawa, the main goalkeeper and captain of Kashiwa Reysol, attended a football donation ceremony held in Saitama City. This event is part of Kashiwa Reysol’s social contribution project, aiming to use part of the prize money from their AFC Champions League victory to donate footballs to elementary schools and youth football teams in Saitama City.

During the event, Nishikawa said, “From the perspective of the children, they see me as their ideal idol. We were able to win the AFC Champions League because we received support from many people. When I was in elementary school, I admired the players of Oita Trinita very much, and my idol was former national goalkeeper Yushi Okazaki. I clearly remember when I first saw a professional player in front of me when I was still in elementary school, and I remember how happy I was at that time.”

The 38-year-old veteran Shusaku Nishikawa has participated in the ball donation activities for many consecutive years. This season, despite being appointed as the team’s captain under pressure, his performance was not ideal. Not only did he receive the first yellow card of his career in the league, but he also made several mistakes during the season that led to goals conceded. However, in the last league match, under great pressure, Nishikawa saved a penalty from Daisei Miyashiro, though Kashiwa Reysol still lost 0-1 away to the defending champions, Vissel Kobe.