アメリカと日本サッカー The Parallels of American Soccer & Japanese Football Leagues

As Japan and the United States head into an epic Women’s World Cup Final this Sunday it would be remiss to take note of the shared obstacles both nations face. Not by tactics, set pieces, or player rosters, but by a lack of respect within their own countries. And this is not limited to Women’s Football, this extends into to both nations Men’s national teams and their respective Football / Soccer leagues as well. In Europe, entire nations rally behind their national men’s teams and have hundred year old clubs with equally old football leagues that were created long before the US started calling it Football / Soccer. The USMNT could be in the World Cup Final and the news of the team would still be buried behind more “important” sports segments like the NFL lockout or player doping results in other sports. Sadly in Japan, the same problem exists. With Nadeshiko Japan’s historic run up to the 2011 FIFA World Cup Final you would think this would be front page news. Iie! Not there. And over here in the US? Not a chance. Perhaps if the USWNT wins they might make the evening news a day late after LA’s “Carmageddon” as what happened after the US win over France in the Semi Final. I would not be surprised if there are people in Europe that bear resentment as we did over FC Dallas triumph over the LA Galaxy in last year’s lead up to the MLS Cup on the grounds that the majority of Texas could give a rats ass unless it was the Dallas Cowboys making the news. Attitudes in both countries towards “Soccer” are less than deserving. Regardless of Mexico’s win in the Gold Cup scores of Americans wishing their own country defeat just to spite our brand of football is disgraceful if not outright unpatriotic not to mention disrespectful to the country that gives you the freedom to choose which team to support unlike Mexico. Equally disgusting during last year’s 2010 FIFA Men’s World Cup scores of Japanese posts chided their own team all over the internet and Japanese press all purely out of a hate for a sport that is both growing in popularity and skill set among J-League players despite the lack of news coverage. ばか! Sound familiar? Until recently, you would have to wait for a sex scandal involving LA Galaxy’s David Beckham before you could get an MLS story in the news with the exception of Landon Donovan’s win over Algeria. Meanwhile over in Germany, the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup is front page news.

Both Japan’s J-League and the US’s own MLS were both created in the 1990’s and are both respectively new leagues in the European sense of the word who are making significant gains in both countries. Despite gaining a 182% gain in overall attendance in the face of a 60% drop in Baseball, NBA, and the NHL our MLS football is still meeting stiff resistance from the non-believers and the haters in this country. Similarly in Japan where Baseball is king the ranks of non-believers are firmly entrenched but with Japan’s recent gains in the FIFA rankings and the success of the nations J-League these proponents of anything but soccer are slowly being deafened by the monstrous chants out from the Nagoya Grampus stadium and by the cheers of their ever growing masses of supporters. There are some that say Soccer will never be popular here in the US. It’s likely those same doubters are unaware of the over 4 million people who attended MLS games during the 2010 season. And while the Women’s Professional Soccer League aka WPS plays on with only six teams on college “Throw ball” fields, it is the one women’s football league that female players ranging from Marta of Brazil to members of Nadeshiko Japan all come to the US to play in the highest paid women’s football league in the world. And despite the lack of fans or news coverage, this tiny league is thriving and slowly rebounding the way the MLS did in the early 2000’s. The MLS now boasts 18 teams with two expansion teams and another ten cities citing interest in future league expansion. Whereas the J-League has grown so large they are broken into two divisions with Div 1 boasting 18 teams and Div 2 boasting 20. Not to be lost to the American Women’s Professional Soccer League aka WPS, Japan has its own women’s league known as the L-League boasting 10 teams.

Football / Soccer is growing in both Japan and the United States but you wouldn’t know that from the spotty news coverage particularly for the women’s leagues of both countries. While their male counter parts both in Japan and the US dominate what little news coverage given, women in both countries play on and face the same uphill battle for respect that the men face. But this too will change. It really gets under my skin to hear some "men" call women’s football weak. The only thing weak is the failure to acknowledge and outright dismiss the football stars this country is producing and fear of our women’s teams successes. I really don’t care if  the player is a man or a woman playing. I’ll equally watch Kitsuke Honda, Homare Sawa, Lauren Cheney, or Landon Donovan play not because of their sex or which team they play for, it’s because they kick ass! To dismiss Football / Soccer in either country is to insert your head into a bucket of sand and to further dismiss the women’s game entirely is to stick your head in your ass and flush it down the wrong side of history. It has been Japan and the US’s shared destiny since Commodore Perry landed in Uraga Harbor in 1853 that these two nations shared an entwined history and run tandem karmic parallels. I believe in our Football aka Soccer will become a dominant sport in both countries within my very lifetime. And if there is any doubt to what a believer can dream, wait for the final whistle to blow this Sunday at the end of the Final in this year’s Women’s World Cup. Whether you love Homare Sawa or Hope Solo, this will be one match for the history of both countries. You will believe! わかります か?

日本サッカー J-League Defender Takahito Soma to come to MLS

Former Urawa Reds and current Second Division Bundesliga Energie Cottbus defender Takahito Soma has announced he has accepted an offer to move to an undisclosed Major League Soccer team here in the United States. This move is slated to take place during this summers transfer window. The 29 year old former J-League defender will join Colorado Rapids star Kosuke Kimura as the second player from Japan to join the MLS. "I have had an offer from an MLS club and want to move in the summer," Soma was quoted as saying Thursday. We at American Mishima are very happy to see the MLS invest in J-League players instead of retiring European players in decline. I have always argued the point about the logic of paying millions for the Beckhams of the world when the J-League has many talented players in their prime who would love to come play in the US. It's a wise descision to consider more J-League talent scouting. After all, who set up the winning goals in the last MLS Cup at BMO Field? It sure wasn't the likes of Thierry Henry or the over-hyped David Beckham. No, it was Kosuke Kimura - a man who was initially rejected by the J-League who has since become a superstar in his home country of Japan. I rest my case! I give kudos to the MLS for finally waking up and smelling that sashimi! We at American Mishima would like to offer Soma-San a nice よこそ ことしも よろしく おねがいします! & がんばって ください! Now show the MLS what the J-League players can bring to the pitch! Ganbare!

JFAのサッカー Japan’s J-League – So What’s Next?

It’s been well over a week since Japan’s most devastating series of disasters resulting from the magnitude 9 earthquake hit the Sendai area. In response to this national tragedy, Japan’s JFA J-League (Japan Football Association) had suspended all matches since the March 11^th earthquake prompting many players to help in the relief efforts. While many of the leagues foreign players have left the country stars like former international and current Kashima Antlers star Mitsuo Ogasawara visited refugee shelters to encourage survivors in Ofunato and Rikuzen, Iwate Prefecture. Ogasawara grew up in Iwate and wanted to help. As described from the Official JFA website this was a “heartbreaking homecoming” for Ogasawara. To quote the Kashima midfielder “I am hoping we can support those who have been forced to evacuate so they can have a more secure life and recover fully.”

Of course, for many people in the disaster zone this will not be possible as there are close to over 9000 people reported dead and still many more missing. Since then, many J-League clubs have called for donations such as Avispa Fukuoka, Urawa Reds, Kawasaki Frontale, Nagoya Grampus, and Jublio Iwata. The J-League plans to resume play on April 23^rd but some second division clubs such as Mito Hollyhock may be delayed as some venues have sustained earthquake damage.

In a related move, Japan’s European based players plan to return home for a charity match between Japans’s National Team the Samurai Blue vs. a select J-League squad scheduled for March 29^th at Nagai Stadium in Osaka. This match will feature Samurai Blue & CSKA star Keisuke Honda and Utsuto Uchida. This charity event will raise funds for Japan’s disaster victims. We at American Mishima would like to thank the JFA J-League for their respective clubs participation in the ongoing relief efforts. We hope their league can continue to help lift the spirits of those affected by this tragedy.

To find out more about the J-League Please Visit  http://www.jfa.or.jp/eng

日本サッカー Japan's Samurai Blue Takes the 2011 AFC Asian Cup!

It’s official! For the fourth time in a row Japan’s National Team the Samurai Blue has taken the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar the future site of the 2022 World Cup. Japan enthralled its large numbers of supporters that flew in from Japan to watch their team sweep through past Qatar in a 3-2 victory in the quarter finals then onto an outright slugfest in the semifinal against South Korea in a 1-1 tie. Korea would go on to face Uzbekistan third place in a 3-2 victory while Japan would face Austraila in the final match to ultimately triumph over Australia’s Socceroos in a 1-0 victory in Khalifa Stadium the Asian Cup Final. Well done boys! Bonzai! Bonzai! Bonzai!  To read more results from the 2011 Asian Cup please visit: