The J.League announced on May 12 the results of the fan vote for the J.League All-Star DAZN Cup, set to take place at the National Stadium on June 13. In the J2/J3 EAST-B category, Tomoaki Makino, the 38-year-old manager of Fujieda MYFC, was chosen to lead the team. “I am truly honored that so many people voted for me, a first-year manager. If I’m going to do this, it won’t be just for fun or a festival—I’m going for the win. I want to win the tournament,” he said with determination.
The event will feature a one-day tournament format with seven 30-minute matches involving six regional groups. In the fan vote for Makino’s group, 59-year-old forward Kazuyoshi Miura (Fukushima) was also selected. The voting system chose the top vote-getter among field players in each regional group, along with top players per position (1 GK, 3 DF, 4 MF, 2 FW).
Makino revealed that after Fujieda’s home match against Fukushima on May 6, he and Kazu (Miura) discussed the All-Star game based on the interim results. “Kazu said, ‘I want to go for the win. I’m serious about winning.’ It showed me that even for him, the All-Star isn’t just a festival. That really flipped a switch for me in a good way,” Makino said, clearly inspired.
