@Lefuz
you can see what the mangaka is going for by making an mc who's fixated on scoring goals/wanting to be a forward switching positions. by letting ashito discover the nice parts about playing from the back organically, the same is being done to readers who have the same bias. this manga does things so differently from other football manga that came before it. it's educating its readers.
@shase I can see the method to the madness, it's already been hinted in previous chapters. His biggest strength is his vision but he's not using it consciously. They're making him play DF, because it's easier for him to utilise it as he can see the whole pitch. Playing full back lets him still get up the wing and be involved in the attack. Longer term, he'll probably be better suited to a CAM role, but that will involve him paying attention to what's going on behind him, that's the next step.
@Soggy but that's the thing, are they really moving him to CM afterwards? Isn't Fukuda thinking of keeping him at LB in team A?
I need to re-read the hole thing as soon as we have all the missing chapters xD
Tachibana get your shit together man. I don't know the solution since he's pretty much having trouble in the background, i guess he need a girl or two just like ashito.
For what it's worth, this manga is centered heavily on ashito for 80 chapters. I wonder when Tachibana and Togashi get their spotlight.
TBH I could see Aoi to become Beckham type. Wide playmaker.
But that role is already obsolete and replaced by fullback with very good technique like Hakimi, TAA, Marcelo or Dani Alves. I think the fullback role suit is personality and surely will make him a world class player simply because he could splitting defense from back. To remind you, gegenpress weakness is a good passer from back.
physically, aoi can become full-back, winger (waste of his vision though), or deep-playing playmaker (xavi, iniesta), maybe a specialized no.10 but that role is kind of obsolete now (ozil, mata, etc).