Best News Website or Mobile Service WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2022 Best News Website or Mobile Service Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2022 SINGAPORE: When Japanese native Kyoga Nakamura first arrived in Singapore in 2019, his culture shock took the form of three things: The heat - he lost about 6kg in sweat in his first month - the pitches not being made of natural grass; and spicy Indian food. The footballer is now a permanent resident with an eye on citizenship and a chance to compete in a Singapore shirt at a year-end regional tournament. Nakamura can trace the seeds of his dream to the gift of a football from his parents for his first birthday.
"That's why I started to play ...
and I just wanted to be a professional football player," the 28-year-old told CNA. "When I was a child, my idol was Shunsuke Nakamura. He's like me - left-footed, centre-midfielder and not too big.
" Just like the now-retired Celtic star, Kyoga has a wand of a left foot, an eye for a good pass and the ability to unlock stubborn defences. But unlike his compatriot who had close to a century of caps for Japan, the Tampines Rovers midfielder could soon feature for a different country altogether. OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE Born in the city of Chiba, Nakamura started his professional career in the second tier of Japanese football with hometown club JEF United Chiba at the age of 18.
It was a baptism of fire for the midfielder, who made three appearances for Japan at the under-17 World Cup in 2.
