|
Soccer was introduced to Japan by British instructors at the Japanese
Naval Academy in 1873. Over the years, the sport became popular
at schools across the country and in 1921, a national soccer association
was set up. But the lack of a professional league and the subsequent
low standard of the national team meant that soccer remained a
sleeper sport. For years there was only the Japan Soccer League,
whose players were basically ordinary employees of their team's
sponsor. As with amateur sport everywhere, most players actually
had other jobs.
Soccer really took off in Japan in the 1990's. The first professional
league, the J-League, was established in 1992 and kicked off in May of the following
year. The league started with 10 teams - Gamba Osaka, JEF United Ichihara, Kashima Antlers, Nagoya Grampus
Eight, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Shimizu S-Pulse, Urawa Red Diamonds,
Verdy Kawasaki, Yokohama Flugels and Yokohama Marinos. Between 1994 and
1998, eight teams (Avispa Fukuoka, Bellmare Hiratsuka, Cerezo Osaka, Consadole Sapporo,
Jubilo Iwata, Kashiwa Reysol, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Vissel Kobe) were
promoted from the lower Japan Football League (JFL) so
that the J-League numbered 18 teams. At the end of the 1998 season,
for the first time a team (Consadole) was demoted to the JFL and
the two Yohohama teams merged due to financial problems and became
the Yokohama F Marinos. Further tweaks to the system left the
current numbers of 18 teams in the J-League, now
called J1 and in the JFL, now called J2.
The 16 teams in the J1 for the 1999 season |
In addition to the leagues, there is the Emperor's Cup. This
tournament is open to any soccer team in Japan, professional
or amateur. There are regional playoffs to decide the teams from
each prefecture and there are also places assigned for university
teams. The qualifying teams and the JFL teams play in the first
and second rounds and J1 teams receive a bye into the third round.
The tournament is held in November and December with the final
on New Year's Day.
The complicated rearrangements to the league came together with
various changes to the rules of the game. The J-League was the
first to use the Golden Goal rule, allowing the first team to
score in extra time to win. Failure to score a Golden Goal meant
games were decided on penalties - but the winning team got only
2 instead of 3 points. This was later changed so that drawn games
are now possible. It's hard to say whether this multitude of changes
to the game was an attempt to bring back fans who were drifting
away from the sport or whether it actually caused the problem
in the first place. Another part of the teething pains of the
league was the financial aspect. When the league started, Japan
had not yet really begun to feel the effects of the post-bubble
economy. Some famous names from abroad such as Gary Lineker,
Zico, Pierre Littbarski and Dunga came and
lined their pension funds in the new league. With financial
short-sightedness equal to that of the banks and trading companies,
team rosters were bloated and players' salaries were sky-high.
It's perhaps not surprising that a lot of encounters on the pitch
seemed more like a clash of players' egos than ball skills.
This was particularly the case (unsurprisingly) with the Yomiuri-sponsored
Verdy Kawasaki team. Although they were the first professional
team in the country, as Yomiuri Nippon, their attempts to continue
this name (Yomiuri Nippon Verdy, the Nippon implying that they
were Japan's team) brought down the wrath of the other teams and
the League. The team also boasted the talents of some of the best-known
players, especially Miura Kazuyoshi or 'Kazu' and Ruy Ramos,
a naturalized Brazilian. Kazu had spent some time playing in
Brazil and his flamboyant style, on and off the pitch, won him
many fans. After an unsuccessful 1998-9 season in Croatia, he
returned to Japan to play for Kyoto Purple Sanga. Ramos in his
prime was the key to both the Verdy and national teams, a natural
'midfield general' who could slice through defenses with his accurate
passing.
Striker Jo Shoji
World Cup 1998 |
Runners-up in the
1999 World Youth Championship |
Nakata Hidetoshi of Perugia (later AS Roma and Parma) |
The Japanese national team has come along well since the formation
of the J-League. They surprised everyone with a 1-0 defeat of
Brazil at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The Olympic team again
did very well in the 2000 Sydney games until a somewhat immature
performance saw them lose to the US. They qualified for the World
Cup for the first time in 1998 and the team's solid performance,
despite not winning a single game, impressed many people. The
talented young Bellmare midfielder Nakata Hidetoshi (1977~ )
particularly caught the eye and soon after the tournament
he signed to play for Perugia in the Italian Serie A, later transferring to title contender
AS Roma. Other players, such as Nanami Hiroshi, Jo Shoji and Nakamura Shunsuke
made their way to Europe as the ability of Japanese players became
more recognized.
The national youth team took the soccer world
by surprise in the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria, losing
in the final to Spain. Hosting of the 2002 World Cup was awarded
jointly to bitter rivals Japan and South Korea. But in the end, the
organizational and technical skills of both countries overrode their ill
feelings towards one another and the event was considered a great success.
Japan qualified again for the World Cup in Germany in 2006, but failed to
impress. As the initial ceelbrity culture around the J-Laegue has faded,
the sport and the players have matured to the point that Japan has been able
to challenge South Korea for dominance of the Asian region. The two countries
qualified for the 2010 World Cup on the same day.
|
