YANGON—The latest coaching gig of retired Japanese footballer Hisashi Kurosaki puts him in a place surrounded by civil war, threats of natural disaster and a population that doesn’t fully support its national team.

Kurosaki has been head coach of Myanmar men’s under-22 national team since February.

The 57-year-old was drawn to the Southeast Asian country by his determination to make Myanmar a soccer powerhouse in Asia once again.

His current goal is to take the national squad to the final at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) at the end of the year.

Before coming to Myanmar, Kurosaki, a former forward on Japan’s national team, was the head coach of a Chinese professional team for four years.

He has also served as head coach of Albirex Niigata and other J.League clubs.

When he was thinking about coaching in Southeast Asia, a fast-growing football region, for his next career move, the Japan Football Association encouraged him to consider a post in Myanmar.

“When I visited Yangon before signing the contract, I felt how the chairman of the Myanmar’s football association and instructors wanted to make the country better through soccer,” Kurosaki recalled. “I was moved by their enthusiasm.”

But it hasn’t been easy.

WAR AND DISASTER

A civil war has been raging in Myanmar since 2021, when the military junta staged a coup and took control of the country.

Security concerns make it difficult for the 12 teams in Myanmar’s first division football league to play in local matches. So the games have been held exclusively in Yangon, the country’s most populous city.

This setup has deprived players of the different feelings they get when playing “home” or “away” games.

With divisions deepening in the country, especially right after the coup in 2021, some citizens took a critical view of Myanmar National team, seeing it as a representative of the national military.

Furthermore, a powerful earthquake struck central Myanmar in March this year, killing at least 3,700 people, according to the junta.

People in the local football world, like Kurosaki, believe that soccer can help to liven up the mood of the stagnant society.

Yangon, where the national team is based and where Kurosaki lives, has been largely spared from the battles. Staff and players have been able to live their daily lives relatively free of major problems.

But the head coach has faced many restrictions in his job, including securing a stable practice environment.

In June, the World Bank projected Myanmar’s real gross domestic product would decrease by 2.5 percent this fiscal year.

Investments in soccer decline when the economy shrinks.

Practice fields in Yangon have become insufficient, and seven teams of different genders and ages of national squads, must share the limited resources.

“It is troublesome to coordinate with the teams to decide which one will use which practice ground,” Kurosaki said.

A training system for soccer players is also under development in Myanmar.

Kurosaki said he feels that some of his players have been unable to reach their full potential.

They are thin due to a lack of protein and other nutrients, making it difficult for them to handle physical contact in matches and hampering their running abilities.

Some team members are from conflict zones.

“I don’t talk politics with the players,” Kurosaki said. “That is because it is best for them as members of the national team to succeed in soccer and support their families in their hometowns.”

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITY

Kurosaki, who was a star player in senior high school, joined the Kashima Antlers in 1992 and played an active role in the early days of the professional J.League in Japan.

He played in 24 matches and scored four goals as a member of the national squad.

He watched “the Tragedy of Doha” from the bench when Japan and Iraq drew 2-2 in the final match of the Asian Qualifiers in Qatar in 1993. That draw ended Japan’s hopes of reaching the 1994 World Cup.

At the time, Kurosaki’s rivals in Japan included Kazuyoshi Miura, who now plays for Japan Football League club Suzuka, and Masashi Nakayama.

Kurosaki felt a sense of responsibility rather than delight at being selected for the national team.

He tells Myanmar footballers the importance of assuming responsibility.

Although mental toughness is needed to outdo an opponent, the coach said many players on the team are mentally weak.

People in Myanmar are characterized as gentle and modest. The country lacks depth in the soccer ranks, reducing competition between players for a position on a team.

“For now, they need to lose, learn lessons and improve themselves,” Kurosaki said.

He thinks the accumulation of such experiences will help strengthen their mentality.

Although Myanmar is ranked 160th in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, the national team of the country, when it was called Burma, earned two consecutive gold medals at the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games.

Things are starting to look up for the country’s soccer landscape.

The Myanmar women’s national team won an international championship earlier this year. Former J.Leaguer Tetsuro Uki serves as head coach of the team.

Kurosaki aims to bring Myanmar players to a high level again.

“I’m here to help them achieve that goal,” he said.