With the experience gained from four years of apprenticeship, he challenges to secure his regular spot wearing the original number 15.
DF 15 Rio OMORI
Introducing all the blue and red warriors taking on the 2026 Meiji Yasuda J1 Century Vision League in 'PLAYERS FILE 2026.' What thoughts do the players hold, and with what resolve are they preparing to face the year ahead, especially with the special half-season tournament approaching?
Rio OMORI returned to Tokyo after a four-season apprenticeship across four clubs. Having steadily gained experience and achievements in each place and grown significantly, he received an offer to return from the blue and red. What are the feelings hidden there, and what did he gain during the four seasons he spent moving around?
The expression and words of the man who put on the blue and red jersey for the first time in five years conveyed not a sense of relief at returning, but a strong determination to take on the challenge of a new team.
Leaving Tokyo behind, the four years spent at four clubs in the Meiji Yasuda J2 League were an intensely valuable period for Rio OMORI. In the 2022 season, his first new destination was FC Ryukyu, where he increased his playing time but was unable to fully support the struggling team. The following season at RB Omiya Ardija, he was unable to secure a regular spot. However, the training during those two years led to success in the next step. At his third club, Iwaki FC, he played 35 matches as a key part of the back line, gaining invaluable match experience. Then, in the 2025 season playing for FC Imabari, he earned a starting spot from the opening match, appeared in 36 games, and experienced the J1 League promotion playoff battle. Through these thrilling game situations, he grew significantly both mentally and physically.
"There were difficult seasons where neither I nor the team could get results, but speaking of the last two seasons, playing for Iwaki.G in their second year after promotion to the J2 League and for Imabari, who had just moved up to the J2 League, both very hungry and energetic teams, allowed me to gain solid match experience, which was extremely valuable. There were many games where promotion or relegation was at stake, and although the category is different from FC Tokyo, I believe I gained very good experience in terms of competitiveness and match sense."
Five years ago, an 18-year-old rookie who had just been promoted from FC Tokyo U-18 and didn’t know his right from his left in the professional world grew into a reliable center back at 23 through a loan spell as a form of training. Of course, the club would never let him go unnoticed. Receiving a 'love call' to return from FC Tokyo, he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
“Being needed by the club—that club being FC Tokyo where I grew up—makes me all the more happy. However, simply coming back isn’t enough. I believe what this club lacks is a league title, so both personally and as a team, I want to fight with a strong focus on results. I understand that the competition for center-back positions in Tokyo is fierce, but I intend to climb up from the very bottom and absolutely claim a spot.”
The number he chose for his first year back was 15, the number he wore when he first started playing soccer. Changing his number from 34, which he wore in his first professional year at Tokyo as well as at Omiya and Imabari, was a way to express his desire to "return to his roots." Wearing a number he is attached to and carrying the confidence gained over four seasons, Rio OMORI throws himself into the fierce competition for the center-back position that awaits him from here on.
(Honorifics omitted in the text)
Text by Daisuke Suga
