Tag: soccer

Are you big in Japan?

June 15, 2017 • 2:30 pm

Note by JAC: Greg has just returned from two weeks in Japan and will be writing us several posts about his experiences there. This one features soccer, a sport Greg plays.

by Greg Mayer

Are you big in Japan? Cristiano Ronaldo is, at least as judged by the prominence of his much-larger-than-life visage on the entrance to Soccer Shop KAMO in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Soccer Shop KAMO, Shinjuku, Tokyo.

I went in to the shop, on Koshu Kaido Avenue, a bustling commercial boulevard that separates Shinjuku from Shibuya in modern west Tokyo, during a recent visit to Japan.

Koshu Kaido Avenue, Tokyo. Note the pruned gingko trees which line the street.

The shop has multiple floors, but I only visited the first, which features jerseys and other branded merchandise, from local teams like FC Tokyo, but also clubs from around the world. Manchester United has long been known as an international brand, especially in Asia, but judging by the merchandise on display, Barcelona and Chelsea are the most popular (not Ronaldo’s Real Madrid).

Although best known for sumo and baseball, Japan is an up-and-coming power in world football, having co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with Korea, and with a number of players in top European leagues. I saw some fields and players at a distance on Honshu, but on Okinawa I got to see youth and adult players up close.

A ‘futsal’ field in Shinjuku Chuo Park, as seen from the observatory atop the south tower of the Tokyo Municipal Government Building. In the U.S., futsal is the indoor game, and this would just be considered a small-sided field, but it’s called ‘futsal’ in Japan.

Especially interesting was a beach soccer team practice and scrimmage I got to watch at Araha Beach on Okinawa. Because sand is a high-friction, uneven surface, beach soccer is played largely in the air, with moving the ball off the head, chest, and thighs as important as the feet, and even passes with the foot being mostly aerial chips over defenders. This goal keeper (making a save in the photo) would receive the ball, advance it by juggling from one thigh to the other, then drop the ball from his left thigh and take a ferocious volley shot with his right foot. Because of the shorter field, this was a very productive approach for the offense, and reminded me of foosball, where the goal keeper is often the most dangerous attacking piece.

A skilled keeper making a save during practice, Araha Beach, Okinawa.

In the following short video, you can get a sense of the aerial nature of the game, as the play advances from the backfield to a shot on goal without the ball ever touching the ground.

And in this short video, you can see a player (he was one of the best) receiving a corner kick and then setting up his own bicycle kick. Bicycle kicks are very rare in regular soccer, but there were a few during this one brief scrimmage.

The fitness and skill of the players is phenomenal.

Anglo-American forces defeat Germany, Japan

July 6, 2015 • 10:14 pm

by Greg Mayer

No, it’s not a headline from the summer of 1945, but this weekend’s soccer news: the U.S. women’s national team beat Japan 5-2 to win the World Cup, while England bested Germany 1-0 to finish third in the tournament standings. The U.S., the sport’s traditional powerhouse, reasserted itself against Japan and, earlier in the tournament, Germany, who have become themselves powerhouses in women’s soccer. Germany was ranked #1 coming into the World Cup tournament, while Japan were the defending Cup holders. Japan has become a fierce (though usually friendly) rival to the Americans, the two teams having a history of winning and losing championships to one another. England had their best result ever, and should have made it to the final (really, it’s not just me: the numbers don’t lie), losing their semifinal last week on a heartbreaking own goal in extra time. England might also take some pride in that the American coach, Jill Ellis, is English.

Carli Lloyd just after striking the ball at midfield. It went in for her third goal of the game (Mirror).
Carli Lloyd just after striking the ball at midfield. It went in for her third goal of the game (Mirror).

The story of the Cup final (and, for the American team, of the tournament) was the phenomenal play of midfielder Carli Lloyd. Ellis moved Lloyd into a more attacking position in the knockout stages, moving the team from a 4-4-2 formation to more of a 4-3-2-1 (Lloyd being one of the 2). As an attacking, rather than defensive, midfielder, Lloyd exploded offensively, and scored three goals in the final by the 16th minute. The first two were well executed set plays, with a fine back heel assist from Julie Johnston for the second goal. The third, pictured above, was a stunning 54-yarder, after a quick change of possession at midfield caught the Japanese keeper (the talented Ayumi Kaihori, who had an uncharacteristically poor game) too far forward off her line; the shot went in over her head. I tried to find an embeddable video of the third goal, but couldn’t. Click on the link below to see all of Lloyd’s goals, including her first three from earlier games; the goals from the final are shown starting at about 24 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GufTwt8KJc4

Here, from one reader, are all the goals:

In other news with world historical headline echoes, the apparently outnumbered Greek people, led by Leonidas…er… Tsipras, say to the supranational state at their border that is demanding earth and water, “Molon labe.”