Nikkan Sports briefly mentions that So Taguchi is scheduled to have surgery on his right shoulder today.  They also mention a post Taguchi made at his blog that, in a nutshell, says:

• He was approached by the club some time in mid-September about what his plans were.  Taguchi said he wanted to continue playing and the Buffaloes hinted that they might be willing to offer him a coaching job if he were to retire.
• He was never formally approached about a coaching position after the above interaction.
• He was told not to talk about his decision, and as a result, started practicing with the rest of the team in order maintain status quo.
• He was later approached by team personnel and told that they "heard what was going on."  Immediately after that, the papers started mentioning his Senryokugai status.
• During this time, the club denied the reports and simply said discussions were ongoing.  This is why he hasn't been listed in the first round of the Senryokugai reports.
• Some personnel with the team suggested giving him a press conference, like Takeshi Yamasaki, but it apparently didn't sit well with the others because he was essentially a "fired" player.
• Then came the announcement that he was leaving the club, followed by "he's leaving despite being asked to stay."  He denies he was ever given the option to stay and that he was senryokugai'ed, "fired."
• He also says that he hasn't spoken to the club since 9/30 and that reports that team's announcement were delayed because of discussions are false.  The claims by the team that he was hard-set on continuing to play were also apparently false, as he never received any concrete offers to stay with the team as a coach.

I'm not really sure what happened between the Buffaloes and Taguchi, but it seems like he got a raw deal.

Be Sociable, Share!

•