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It was a baptism of fire for the midfielder, who made three appearances for Japan at the under-17 World Cup in 2013.
“It was the first time I could not get minutes. Before I was a professional player, I would always play 90 minutes, 75 minutes,” Nakamura recalled.
In addition, competition for a spot in the starting eleven was also extremely intense – to a point where Nakamura would be nauseous from stress on the morning of training sessions.
“There were so many good players, so much competition in the team and I lost confidence,” he said.
The youngster was eventually sent out on a couple of loan spells to teams one tier below, and that helped to get him back on track.
“(In J3) I could get the chance to play and I got the confidence … That’s why I continued to try to improve.”
Then came an opportunity from Singapore, via the chairman of Albirex Niigata Singapore club, Daisuke Korenaga. While Nakamura turned down an initial offer, he was approached again the following year.
This time, he was not afraid to take it up, he said, adding that he wanted a different environment.
Albirex’s new number 10 made a solid start, earning nominations for the Young Player of the Year and Goal of the Season awards.
Following this standout debut season, a number of offers streamed in from other clubs in the league.
But Nakamura, who also skippered Albirex, eventually opted for Tampines Rovers for their “philosophy, principles and environment”.
REDISCOVERING HIS PASSION
As he assimilated to life in Singapore, Nakamura also picked up English with the help of online courses and by listening to podcasts.
“When I came to Tampines, I had to learn English because almost (all the) players are local and I need to communicate with them both in and out of the game,” he explained. “Relationships are one of the important things for football.”
Eventually, the topic of representing Singapore came about and Nakamura stated his interest to club chairman Desmond Ong and head coach Gavin Lee.
“It’s an honour to play here and stay here. Singapore is a beautiful country with many cultures and good people,” said Nakamura, who in 2022 accepted a five-year contract extension.
“Singapore has given so many things to me … I would like to contribute and that’s why I want to be Singaporean.”
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