J league is good league surprised with the amount of games he’s played his name has never really been heard a lot in potential AW squads….. well not to my knowledge, looks like he’s had 3 caps back in 2011
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
martinb
coochiee
Q&A with Fitzgerald & Deng. 'What do you like about your wife'?!
In English but right at the end Fitgerald demonstrates his Japanese language skills. As you'd hope after 10+ years in Nippon. https://youtu.be/_UujWWJjGdU
Man, that Kiwi accent is still waaaay strong. ‘I dunno,eh’ I wonder if they signed Deng because they wanted to play him but needed a CB partner who’d understand him! Though he did a decent bit of te reo Nihon there.
I nearly got to a couple of games they played within 50 minutes on the train of me when they were in J2, but they couldn’t be the priority at the time.
But the Japanese like being told how great they are by foreigners, just like Kiwis do!
They’ve got a show where they catch folk at the airport and they say I only had 48 hours leave, but I flew here to eat this ramen or some such. Sometimes genuinely weird or interesting stuff- French guys going to a hornet eating festival in the country. But very much in that goofy style… pop up lettering on the screen, shots repeated several times, meeting people foreshadowed with their faces blurred or hidden, a studio audience reacting with you ‘eeeh?’…
I wish I could understand more Japanese TV. The variety of tones amazes me sometimes. Then they have these dramas where everyone gets sick or has to perform CPR and is traumatised by it. Or these dark as af cop shows where there’s a bad guy with all these bombs getting revenge because of some middle school cliquey something. But I don’t watch much TV any more. Let alone know three generations of celebrities and all their stories which helps understanding their appearances on talk shows, comedy, light ent. etc.
Those kids’ supporter questions were kawaii. And that kid halfway through asked which of his teammates he would like to marry! Snuck that in. And all the crazy fan gear. Looks like an amazing stadium, again in the middle of a large park, with a river and other things…probably missed my chance for an away day there, but I’ll sneak a look at the schedule…
Looks like the local fans are kinda grateful and chill. Some of the clubs their fans seem really organised with flags and chants and I’d be worried about letting them down. Do think they’re right- if you’re a Kiwi odds are you’ll appreciate the countryside a bit more and not be distracted or overwhelmed so much.
He doesn’t look over 30 does he? But at least I felt better listening to the full time recovery work they do in order to play! If you’re old and huffing and puffing and all your muscles are killing you- these guys are full time accupuncturing, cupping, doing hot and cold baths, saunas, physio and massage sessions and they can do that cos it’s their job! Not and do any job using that broken down body in between games…
Nice find Cooch, for some reason didn’t cross my radar earlier.
My knowledge of Japanese TV shows is based off that very funny scene in Lost in Translation, where a slightly overwhelmed Bill Murray ends up on some crazy Japanese talk show with a OTT host. Amusing and you get a feel yes that type of fluff entertainment is popular in Nippon
J league is good league surprised with the amount of games he’s played his name has never really been heard a lot in potential AW squads….. well not to my knowledge, looks like he’s had 3 caps back in 2011
Read back up through the thread. He no longer has a NZ passport
Q&A with Fitzgerald & Deng. 'What do you like about your wife'?!
In English but right at the end Fitgerald demonstrates his Japanese language skills. As you'd hope after 10+ years in Nippon. https://youtu.be/_UujWWJjGdU
Man, that Kiwi accent is still waaaay strong. ‘I dunno,eh’ I wonder if they signed Deng because they wanted to play him but needed a CB partner who’d understand him! Though he did a decent bit of te reo Nihon there.
I nearly got to a couple of games they played within 50 minutes on the train of me when they were in J2, but they couldn’t be the priority at the time.
But the Japanese like being told how great they are by foreigners, just like Kiwis do!
They’ve got a show where they catch folk at the airport and they say I only had 48 hours leave, but I flew here to eat this ramen or some such. Sometimes genuinely weird or interesting stuff- French guys going to a hornet eating festival in the country. But very much in that goofy style… pop up lettering on the screen, shots repeated several times, meeting people foreshadowed with their faces blurred or hidden, a studio audience reacting with you ‘eeeh?’…
I wish I could understand more Japanese TV. The variety of tones amazes me sometimes. Then they have these dramas where everyone gets sick or has to perform CPR and is traumatised by it. Or these dark as af cop shows where there’s a bad guy with all these bombs getting revenge because of some middle school cliquey something. But I don’t watch much TV any more. Let alone know three generations of celebrities and all their stories which helps understanding their appearances on talk shows, comedy, light ent. etc.
Those kids’ supporter questions were kawaii. And that kid halfway through asked which of his teammates he would like to marry! Snuck that in. And all the crazy fan gear. Looks like an amazing stadium, again in the middle of a large park, with a river and other things…probably missed my chance for an away day there, but I’ll sneak a look at the schedule…
Looks like the local fans are kinda grateful and chill. Some of the clubs their fans seem really organised with flags and chants and I’d be worried about letting them down. Do think they’re right- if you’re a Kiwi odds are you’ll appreciate the countryside a bit more and not be distracted or overwhelmed so much.
He doesn’t look over 30 does he? But at least I felt better listening to the full time recovery work they do in order to play! If you’re old and huffing and puffing and all your muscles are killing you- these guys are full time accupuncturing, cupping, doing hot and cold baths, saunas, physio and massage sessions and they can do that cos it’s their job! Not and do any job using that broken down body in between games…
Nice find Cooch, for some reason didn’t cross my radar earlier.
My knowledge of Japanese TV shows is based off that very funny scene in Lost in Translation, where a slightly overwhelmed Bill Murray ends up on some crazy Japanese talk show with a OTT host. Amusing and you get a feel yes that type of fluff entertainment is popular in Nippon
It has noticeably dialed back since the 80s though. There were insane shows like Nase-by, other mad endurance shows and comedy shows and a mix like Takeshi’s Castle- the kind of things Mike Myers or the Simpsons do a version of.
And of course the groundbreaking Iron Chef in kitchen stadium. And fittingly around food time 4-5 main channels are oohing and ahhing over some kind of usually common meal. I saw strawberry jam on a big piece of white toast at one point.
Fitzgerald San's goal verus Tokyo Verdy in March. Him of the peroxide hair. About 3.40mins in the video. Pokes it home from a corner. Popular goal with his team mates. Niigata in the red & purple stripes. https://youtu.be/HAT_kWvEuOw
Final Round of the J1 this weekend and Niigata are dead last, already relegated. 17 pts off safety, so they have been a relegated side for many weeks now.
37 yr old Fitzgerald has played 30 of 39 league games (2,510 mins). One goal Sometime Socceroo Jason Geria 22 matches.
Bit of news from a few weeks ago... one of the great undercover Flying Kiwis of the last decade is carrying on for another year. Michael Fitzgerald, also known as Fittsujerarudo Maikeru, has signed a one year contract extension with Albirex Niigata for whom he’s made 82 J1-League appearances over the past three seasons. He’ll be 38 years old when the 2026 campaign wraps up, ageing like fine wine as the saying goes.
Fitz has been playing in Japan since 2008 and the only reason he’s never added to his three caps for the All Whites is that he swapped citizenships in order to qualify as a local in Japan. Hence his undercover status. He’s played 179 J1 games across his whole career and 117 in J2.
It’ll be the latter that he’s adding to this year. Last season was a stinker for the club as they won just four of their 38 matches to finish a distant last place on their way to relegation. That was a bummer... but Maikeru has done this before.
He first joined Niigata when they were a second tier club and helped them get promoted in 2022 (at the fourth attempt). Throughout his time in Japan, he’s won two league titles (2017 and 2018 with Kawasake Frontale, granted he was injured for a lot of that time), won the second tier championship (2022 with Niigata) and has also experienced relegation (2025 with Niigata). That’s a bloke with a full set of experiences to call upon.
Michael Fitzgerald: “I am grateful to be able to play for Albirex Niigata again next season. We have had a disappointing result last season, which was very regrettable, and as an older player I feel I should help put the team together again. I believe that if we compete with the Niigata badge on our chest, we must demonstrate through our actions that we can lead the team in a good direction, as well as achieve results on the pitch. I will be using my experience to try strengthen Albirex Niigata as they take that new step forward.”