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Unbeatable Mind
‘Resilience can give you strength to keep moving forwards when you are caught in the rain or a storm, and keep you continuing on your journey through life. And it is a strength which resides in everyone.’ Maya Yoshida, one of Southampton FC’s most admired players, is well known for his sense of humour on the field. However, underneath the convivial public persona is a man with unrivalled ambition, resilience and strength of character. Unbeatable Mind reveals the secrets behind Maya’s success and how he became a favourite of football fans across the globe. Recounting his stunning career trajectory, this book provides inspirational guidance on how to overcome obstacles and thrive in any competitive arena.
- GenresNonfictionFootball
272 pages, Paperback
Published June 19, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 30, 2018
'There was a centre-back named Maya Yoshida, who dreamed of playing in the Premier League as a teenager, then actually became a professional footballer and came to prove himself in the top division in England, and played like a true Premier League defender at Southampton.' This is how Yoshida says that he wants to be remembered in his new book, which offers a fascinating insight into the mentality of the 29-year-old Japanese defender who is currently starring for his national team at the World Cup in Moscow and will enter his seventh season as a Premier League player after the summer.
This autobiography tracks Yoshida's pathway to the Premier League from his childhood, when he played football with his older brothers and their friends before signing a youth contract with Nagoya Grampus of the J-League: famously the club where legendary Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger made his mark before coming to England. Every step of the way, from winning his first professional contract in Japan to moving to VVV Venlo in the Netherlands and then playing for the Japanese national team and Southampton FC, Yoshida has always showed determination to improve his game and fight for success despite a number of injury set-backs and spells on the bench. He puts this down to his 'resilience' - which explains the title of his book, Unbeatable Mind - and after reading what Yoshida has to say, I cannot doubt that he is resilient. I would go even further and say that he seems a model professional.
Although this book is intended to be read across the world, it naturally has a focus on the Japanese market. Many of Yoshida's reflections involve what it means to be a Japanese footballer in the Premier League and what differences there are between the culture in his native Japan and the culture in Europe. I study Japanese language and am interested in Japanese culture, so when Yoshida mentioned the manga (Japanese comics) he grew up reading, or the difficulty in learning English, I was fascinated by what he had to say. For non-Japanese readers, Yoshida is careful to explain every reference he makes to Japanese culture, which is helpful and shows that he is writing for native English-speakers as much as he is writing for Japanese readers.
I think it is especially the case that Yoshida wants to inspire the younger generation of Japanese footballers who are coming through the youth system at their clubs as he himself was once inspired by the footballers who starred in the J-League in its early years, in the 1990s. For example, in the book he tells the story of how he invited 100 young Japanese footballers from London Samurai United - for which he serves as a principal - to the game marking his 100th Premier League appearance with Southampton, and describes how he wanted to show them that 'everybody has a chance' to make it at that level. I was impressed by this and by Yoshida's pride in his country, which he wants to represent well through his time in England. When he talks about being a role model and giving people in England a good impression of the Japanese, he comes across as a humble and thoughtful character.
I would recommend this book to readers who follow the Premier League or football in general, and also those who, like me, are interested in both football and Japan. This is a perfect book for that mixture in particular.
This autobiography tracks Yoshida's pathway to the Premier League from his childhood, when he played football with his older brothers and their friends before signing a youth contract with Nagoya Grampus of the J-League: famously the club where legendary Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger made his mark before coming to England. Every step of the way, from winning his first professional contract in Japan to moving to VVV Venlo in the Netherlands and then playing for the Japanese national team and Southampton FC, Yoshida has always showed determination to improve his game and fight for success despite a number of injury set-backs and spells on the bench. He puts this down to his 'resilience' - which explains the title of his book, Unbeatable Mind - and after reading what Yoshida has to say, I cannot doubt that he is resilient. I would go even further and say that he seems a model professional.
Although this book is intended to be read across the world, it naturally has a focus on the Japanese market. Many of Yoshida's reflections involve what it means to be a Japanese footballer in the Premier League and what differences there are between the culture in his native Japan and the culture in Europe. I study Japanese language and am interested in Japanese culture, so when Yoshida mentioned the manga (Japanese comics) he grew up reading, or the difficulty in learning English, I was fascinated by what he had to say. For non-Japanese readers, Yoshida is careful to explain every reference he makes to Japanese culture, which is helpful and shows that he is writing for native English-speakers as much as he is writing for Japanese readers.
I think it is especially the case that Yoshida wants to inspire the younger generation of Japanese footballers who are coming through the youth system at their clubs as he himself was once inspired by the footballers who starred in the J-League in its early years, in the 1990s. For example, in the book he tells the story of how he invited 100 young Japanese footballers from London Samurai United - for which he serves as a principal - to the game marking his 100th Premier League appearance with Southampton, and describes how he wanted to show them that 'everybody has a chance' to make it at that level. I was impressed by this and by Yoshida's pride in his country, which he wants to represent well through his time in England. When he talks about being a role model and giving people in England a good impression of the Japanese, he comes across as a humble and thoughtful character.
I would recommend this book to readers who follow the Premier League or football in general, and also those who, like me, are interested in both football and Japan. This is a perfect book for that mixture in particular.
May 10, 2019
With all due respect to Maya Yoshida, Unbeatable Mind is the first footballer's autobiography that I have read which wasn't written by one of the legends of the game. Of course, Yoshida has done terrifically well to become an established centre-back in Southampton, a team playing in the English Premier League for a few years now, and his achievements are even more impressive as an Asian footballer where not many make it to the top of the game. Still, his achievements and skills are considered perhaps less significant compared to the other players' autobiographies I have read like Didier Drogba or Gary Neville.
But with such a "unique" position comes an equally uncommon viewpoint and story that is largely undocumented in books. Yoshida has done a lot of fighting to get to where he is today, through the ranks of the J-League, followed by the Eredivisie and finally the Premier League, where even in Southampton he faced stiff competition from the likes of Jose Fonte, Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk for starting spots in the lineup. It certainly takes a lot of mental strength to keep surmounting new challenges when they keep appearing just as old obstacles are cleared, and that is largely the theme of this book. Yoshida talks about the "samurai spirit" from the Westernised view where it is more about having grit and tenacity to keep fighting. Despite all the setbacks that he has faced, Yoshida muses about how his mental state was at various points of his footballing career and how his mental strength is largely credited for his football career today.
Of course, with any footballer's biography, I had hoped for more football-related content like tactics, behind-the-scenes tales or personal memories of games and all that. Unbeatable Mind does have some of it but not quite enough. Still, I have a newfound respect for Yoshida now after reading about a largely unrepresented perspective in the game, from footballers who aren't quite at the very top but are still fighting everyday to get to the highest they can. 3/5
But with such a "unique" position comes an equally uncommon viewpoint and story that is largely undocumented in books. Yoshida has done a lot of fighting to get to where he is today, through the ranks of the J-League, followed by the Eredivisie and finally the Premier League, where even in Southampton he faced stiff competition from the likes of Jose Fonte, Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk for starting spots in the lineup. It certainly takes a lot of mental strength to keep surmounting new challenges when they keep appearing just as old obstacles are cleared, and that is largely the theme of this book. Yoshida talks about the "samurai spirit" from the Westernised view where it is more about having grit and tenacity to keep fighting. Despite all the setbacks that he has faced, Yoshida muses about how his mental state was at various points of his footballing career and how his mental strength is largely credited for his football career today.
Of course, with any footballer's biography, I had hoped for more football-related content like tactics, behind-the-scenes tales or personal memories of games and all that. Unbeatable Mind does have some of it but not quite enough. Still, I have a newfound respect for Yoshida now after reading about a largely unrepresented perspective in the game, from footballers who aren't quite at the very top but are still fighting everyday to get to the highest they can. 3/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2024
Maya Yoshidas autobiography is a book that discusses his unbeatable mind to a great extent. I found it interesting as he discusses his Japanese culture and how it has made him the footballer he became. This book is good in its pacing as he doesn't spend too much time discussing certain events but I do feel in can be improved as at times the depth should be increased as sometimes it can be a little too short. This book is fantastic for both British and Japanese readers as he will say something that regards to his Japanese heritage and will then discuss and explain it so it can then be better understood by a wider audience. The book is very good and although not the most descriptive, it is interesting hearing about this wonderful footballers career and I only wish there is an updated edition in the future which will discuss his final year's at Southampton and beyond.
August 11, 2019
Struggled to get into it, despite being a huge Saints fan, but got better. Good inspiration for young players, and good read for fans.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews