Between the abundant goalkeeping howler, incredible supporters and superb standard, Japan’s J2 League may be the best you’ve never seen
Tag: japan
Prior to 1992, Japanese football registered on few radars. Glory in the Asian Cup would change all that, preceding the start of the J League a year later
Japan is an intoxicating blend of the traditional and the futuristic. It is a unique culture, with a prevailing attitude of respect and deference that underpins its society and shapes its values,…
In the summer of 2002, Asian football was thrust into the global spotlight thanks to a highly successful World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The entire planet sat back and revelled in…
Despite its relative success, it’s fair to say that Celtic fans don’t look back as fondly on Gordon Strachan’s stint as manager as they do on Martin O’Neill’s five-year tenure. O’Neill put Celtic…
In owing to their more transient nature – and the irreplicable do-or-die spirit that permeates throughout a team of underdogs, helping to make any one-off opponent appear infinitely more conquerable – cup…
In 1991, Japanese football was at its lowest point. Their top flight was played by amateurs and the football association knew something needed to be done. The birth of the J League soon…
Having endured almost 70 years of anonymity at the World Cup, the 2018 edition in Russia will represent Japan’s sixth consecutive appearance at the tournament since 1998. The Samurai Blue have come…
Few of football’s best and brightest managers would ever chance an exotic venture in a far-off country, especially while their reputation was growing. When one such opportunity came Arsène Wenger’s way in…
If you didn’t already know, Paddy Power are sponsoring the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup in London this summer, so they went to get a first-hand perspective on what CONIFA means to…
KOBE IS A BUSY CITY. Of course, most cities are busy, but Kobe is busy in a way that seems to morph effortlessly from one version of itself to another, almost in…
THE SUCCESS OF any organisation is rarely down to just a few contributors, much like how a jigsaw is deemed incomplete even if a single piece is lost. As a result of that,…
When Kazuyoshi Miura made his professional debut, Diego Maradona had just lifted the World Cup and Margaret Thatcher was still Prime Minister
IT SITS THERE, almost like an unexpected guest. Mount Fuji impressively intrudes on a Sunday morning flight between Nagasaki and Tokyo. The peak of the iconic mountain is so high that it…
THERE IS AN EERIE CALM TO THE CITY OF NAGASAKI, which is difficult to gauge. It is a spellbindingly friendly city, one which is rightly proud of a heritage which stretches back…
Illustration by Federico Manasse Before the summer of 2002, Asia was largely forgotten by the footballing world. A general awareness existed among top-level clubs that the continent offered large swathes of untapped…
THERE IS A JAPANESE PHRASE which translates roughly to “the frog in the well knows nothing of the great ocean”. A general interpretation is that those who do not experience the world…
EACH PREMIER LEAGUE season provides a stark reminder of the global reach of the English game and its continual ability to extend into previously untapped areas of the plane, in search of…