Gamba Osaka – one of the most prestigious clubs in the J-League – is part of the multi-club network, which also includes Athlético Paranaense, Pachuca CF, and Sharjah FC. The key pillars are talent identification and talent development. The goal is strengthening each other, with Ajax playing the leading role as the connector.
Nakano had been in Amsterdam before; in 2019, he participated with Sagan Tosu in the Future Cup. The Japanese team made an impression on the opening day with a 3-0 victory against Ajax. At that time, Sagan Tosu was also a partner club of Ajax.
Sakamoto and Nakano are training with Ajax U23 for the entire week and have already interacted with Francesco Farioli in this capacity. On Tuesday, Ajax U23 and Ajax 1 had a joint training session.
Sakamoto: "It is my first time in the Netherlands and in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. I appreciate that Ajax offered this opportunity to us. At the first training we already had the chance to train with the Ajax 1st team together with Ajax U23, it was a very special experience to us."
The Japanese talents are accompanied by Teho Ando, the technical manager of Gamba Osaka. His presence aims to help Sakamoto and Nakano learn as much as possible about the Ajax philosophy this week and take the next steps in the collaboration.
