For this week’s WA On Wednesday interview, Perth RedStar‘s top scorer Reina Kagami speaks to Ben Gilby about her footballing journey that started as a young girl in Japan and has taken her to Western Australia (11/7/23).
Above: Reina Kagami gets a shot in on goal for Perth RedStar against Murdoch University Melville. Photo: Robbie Anderson.
Reina Kagami has caught the eye in her first season playing in the NPLW WA for Perth RedStar this year. The Japanese striker has been among the competition’s top scorers all season, despite believing she is capable of more.
Speaking through an interpreter, Kagami said: “To be honest, I’m still not satisfied with my performance. I have missed many opportunities to score. I still have a lot to do – language, physicality, physical strength – and I’m looking forward to it. I am aiming to win the NPLW and working hard to be the league’s top goal scorer. It is difficult for me to continue to play to my satisfaction every game.”
The striker began playing back home in Japan at the age of six before representing Miyawada FC, Tsukuba FC, Shutoku High School, Daito Bunka University, and Ryukyu Deigosu. Kagami remarked how proud she was to have finished in the top three in Japan four times during High School and University.
The attacker, who describes herself as “a technical player. I like to focus on my passing accuracy and finishing skills,” came to Perth with her university friends, including her RedStar teammate Chiori Ikeda.
“I decided to live here because Perth is not a well-known area in Japan and I wanted to live in a place with a beautiful ocean. My agent has a relationship with Perth RedStar and introduced me. I wasn’t personally familiar with the club before arriving in Perth, however, my team-mate Chiori Ikeda had recently joined the NPLW at the club. Carlos (Vega Mena, head coach) offered me a position with the team, so I joined Perth RedStar.”
As beautiful as Perth is, there are major differences between life in Western Australia and Japan, as Kagami revealed. “It took me about three months to get used to it, the lifestyle here is very different to Japan. I have settled in well however it may still take some time to get used to English!”
Among the differences is the style and standard of football, as the striker identified. “I feel as though football in Japan is more tactical than in Australia. It is strong in one-on-one and basically, teams play in zonal defence setups. Since coming to Australia I have found that the football here has a much higher physical ability than football in Japan. I found this challenging initially, but am working hard to adjust to the physicality on the pitch.
At the time of our conversation, RedStar were seven points clear at the top of the ladder, and Kagami is clear on her expectations for the remainder of the season.
“Perth RedStar are a quality team and I believe they will win the NPLW WA.”
The rest of the competition have been warned.
Follow Impetus on social media – we’re @ImpetusFootball on Threads, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. DON’T MISS our brand new TikTok platform @ImpetusFootball too!
impetusfootball.org 