Apart from the extensive media coverage on Japanese football, another extremely encouraging sight was the turnout of Urawa Reds football fans watching the training session. There were easily 100 football fans, ranging from young boys to school girls and up to retiring elderly, at the mini grandstand eagerly waiting for their favourite players to say hi to them.
Since last season, more than 10 players from the Academy have progressed to the first team, and many have even went on to play in Europe and subsequently the World Cup. Interestingly, some of the futsal pitches at Redsland are actually built using the transfer fees from some of the players’ move to Europe.
Among the clubs that I have been, the time spent with Manchester United has to be the most memorable. That year was 2003 and the club had the Neville brothers, Diego Forlan, Roy Keane and the young Cristiano Ronaldo had just came in. So everyday I would be studying how the team trained, what were their latest training drills and what kind of yoga & boxing training they would be having.
