Fourth week of our Footballing Pipelines sees us leaving European shores for the very first time. Two decades ago, there wasn’t a professional league in Japan. Now they rank among the dark horses for the 2014 World Cup in 30 months time and it’s down to a collective effort…
It’s incredible to think that less than 20 years ago, there wasn’t a professional soccer league in Japan. The football that was played in its amateur league featured a string of company teams playing in front of no-one other than extremely (corporately speaking) loyal fans. It received considerably poor press attention, especially in comparison to baseball and the national team were rarely cause for great celebration. Japan had never qualified for the World Cup and was part of the Asian Cup finals for the first time in 1988 before the J. League kicked off its inaugural season in 1992.
Football became a major news story practically overnight and thanks to star names like Gary Lineker, Dragon Stojkovic, Dunga and Zico strutting their stuff, the crowds flocked in. A very deliberate attempt was made to force football into Japanese popular culture and the initial signs were positive. The first couple of seasons were unmitigated successes until a change in the economic health of Japan meat that foreign ‘stars’ were just as well remaining in Europe if they wanted to enjoy their twilight picking up hefty pay cheques. J. League clubs were forced to produce home-grown talent and set structures in place that strove for sustainability. A limit was placed on the number of foreigners in each squad, clubs designated a ‘hometowns’ – denouncing the concept that the J. League was made up of franchise sides, and with it, a commitment was made to their local communities.
As Japan-based football writer Ben Mabley explains, there is now a uniform structure within J. league clubs that has developed over the first 20 seasons of its existence.
“There is now a fairly rigid structure for youth development at club level. To give a typical example, my local club Gamba Osaka has about 30 ‘youth’ players on its books – these will be high-school students (age 15-18) and directly affiliated with the club. It also trains about 250 ‘junior youth’ (junior high school, age 12-15) and about 1,500 ‘junior’ (elementary school, age 6-12) players in various locations across the city. As part of its social contribution programme, it also hosts coaching events at various local schools throughout the year – where it can obviously not only strengthen its roots in the community, but also invite any talented players it comes across to join its regular coaching programmes.
However, the overall structure nationally displays an interesting duality between the European and North American models. A number of players turn professional after completing their education at 18 at a high school known for its football, or even hold off joining a pro club until age 22 and play for a university instead. The winter high school tournament attracts a fair amount of attention in the sports media, while certain universities have built up a national reputation through regular appearances in the early rounds of the Emperor’s Cup (equivalent to the FA Cup in England) and even the occasional giant-killing feat. They will often have unofficial ties with certain local clubs – for example, Gamba picked up two players from the Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences upon their graduation this spring.”
While many will look to Japan’s first World Cup qualification in 1998 or the fact that they, with incredible home support, were incredibly successful at the 2002 tournament as the catalyst for their astonishing growth, it is probably more important to look at the very start of the J. League two decades ago. The deliberate attempts to make football a big deal as well as ensuring structures were in place to make it maintainable, remain key for a country now regarded as dark horses for the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
Aged just six when the J. League first began, Keisuke Honda is amongst the first generation of Japanese footballers to have grown up immersed in football. Originally a junior high school player with Gamba Osaka, Honda was dropped after three years having been deemed not good enough. He moved to Ishikawa Prefecture and won a contract with Nagoya Grampus at the age of 18. The now CSKA Moscow midfielder is a former Designated Player for Development – a selective national scheme run by the J. League and JFA – is not only regarded as a key player in the Japan team but he’s also taken over Hidetoshi Nakata’s mantle as the poster boy of Japanese football. His fashion sense sends the Japanese media into a frenzy. Thankfully, his Most Valuable Player award at the 2011 Asian Cup proves he is more than capable of living up to his star billing.
One player who missed a large chunk of the Asian Cup win is perhaps the Japanese player who has seen their profile rise most over the last twelve months. Shinji Kagawa joined Borussia Dortmund for a very modest fee and then went on to shatter every lowly expectation that his £300,000 price-tag had placed on him – sensation probably doesn’t put it strong enough. Blessed with two excellent feet, guile and creativity, Kagawa established himself in the record-breaking Dortmund side that eventually romped to the Bundesliga title. The quick, intelligent and frighteningly skilful attacking midfielder missed the tournament thanks to a metatarsal injury but he made such an impression in his first few months that so many more German scouts were sent to January’s Asian Cup that was originally planned.
Of course, the idea of Asian players in the German top flight is not a new one. Yasuhiko Okudera and Cha Bum Kun were the original trailblazers in the 1970s and 1980s. Kagawa appeared to act as a reminder. Shinji Okazaki, a player in a slightly similar vein to Kagawa, joined Stuttgart on the 30th of January this year. Thirteen days before hand, he scored a hat-trick for Japan against Saudi Arabia at the Asian Cup. Towards the end of last season, Okazaki helped Stuttgart retain their place in the Bundesliga. At the start of this season, he capped off an excellent opening day for his club with an emphatic strike from distance.
While Kagawa and Okazaki have drawn headlines in Germany, it is Takashi Usami that has got the Japanese public most excited. Aged 17 years and 14 days, Usami made history when he debuted and scored his first goal for Gamba Osaka to become the youngest player to achieve both feats for the club, breaking the records previously set by Junichi Inamoto. Again able to play in a host of positions across the forward line, he is currently on loan from Osaka at Bayern Munich, where his appearances have been rather limited by those in front of him in the pecking order. Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are all currently favoured by Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, though Usami has impressed when he has been on the pitch. He came off the bench in the DFB Cup in October to score against Ingolstadt and has looked lively when appearing for FCB.
The final Japanese international making waves in the German leagues is Schalke’s right-back Atsuto Uchida. Only 23 but with 45 caps to his name, Uchida established himself as first-choice early on in his first season. Signed before an impressive 2010 World Cup, he was the first Japanese player to grace the Champions League semi-finals. Not as technically capable as he compatriot, Uchida’s make up for it with a raw willingness and energy to bring adventure into the game. He is of course, still learning his role completely but the shift that he puts in from defence is a huge plus for club and country.
The rise of Ryo Miyaichi is arguably the story that is most likely to be turned into a movie in the future. As we’ve shown, high school football is a part of the process in Japan but to see Miyaichi jump from high school into a professional contract with Arsenal within a matter of months is just incredible. The industrious, quick and versatile forward had played just 12 professional games before this season, thanks to a loan spell at Feyenoord, but has struggled for chances so far this year. During his six-months in the Netherlands, Ryo was quick to showcase his many very fine abilities; he is now just desperate for a chance to do it at the Emirates as well.
194cm tall striker Mike Havenaar might not have a Japanese name or look particularly Japanese but having been born in Hiroshima and lived his whole life in the country; he most certainly is Japanese. Born of Dutch parents when his father Dido was playing in the country for Mazda FC, Mike finished the most recent J. League season with 17 goals to his name – second only to Joshua Kennedy and despite the fact the team he plays for were relegated. He is fully expected to move away from Ventforet Kofu during the January transfer window with a host of European clubs said to be interested.
When Shinji Kagawa departed Cerezo Osaka, he was barely missed thanks to the fine form of his fellow midfielder Takashi Inui; and it was long until he followed him to Germany. Inui has got pace, an eye for a pass and isn’t afraid to score goals. He has started well in the 2. Bundesliga but will need to progress quickly if he is to rub shoulders with the huge amount of players who all able to play in the forward positions for Japan.
With every passing departure from the J. League, attention is quickly turned to the ‘next Japanese star.’ Every time one departs, the focus is placed on another player destined to ply their trade in a European top-flight. Currently; that focus is on Kensuke Nagai. Lauded for his blistering pace, there isn’t a foot race in the J. League that Nagai doesn’t win. On his debut for 2010 champions Nagoya Grampus, he made the Yokohama defence appear as though they weren’t trying as he galloped beyond them and won a penalty. Like many before him, football on this side of the world beckons.
Incredible thanks to Japan-based football writer and recent contributor to The Blizzard, Ben Mabley for his assistance in researching the piece. Check out his Football Japan blog.
Photos courtesy of riyanroco and Kate_Lokteva respectively.
