From the multitude of unofficial fan clubs that crowd the terraces to the carefully choreographed chants that ring out for ninety minutes, J. League fans have arguably borrowed as heavily from their native baseball league as they have from European and South American football culture. Michael Tuckerman explains.
Editor’s note: This is the second part in a three part series by furtho looking at Omiya Ardija, a Japanese team living in the shadow of their near neighbours, the Urawa Reds. Read the first part here, which looked at Omiya’s remarkable promotion to the top Japanese division, a joy tempered as their inadequate stadium [...]
Editor’s note: Urawa Reds spent the past week basking in the global spotlight at the World Club Cup, but there’s more to Japanese football than them as Furtho explains in part one of a three part series looking at “Squirrel Nation”.
The Derby
There’s half an hour to go before kick-off. Away behind one goal, a huddled [...]
I would not like to take a penalty in front of Urawa Reds’ supporters at their Saitama stadium, myself. Watch this shootout from an Asian Champions League semi-final against South Korea’s Seongnam Ilhwa last week, and marvel at the spectacle of the giant flags. It’s really no surprise they won, is it?
(By the way, we’ll [...]
