“The city itself is deeply steeped in football tradition. Many of Japan’s football legends—like Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono, Shinji Okazaki, Masashi Nakayama and the timeless King Kazu—hail from Shizuoka. Schools in this region have also dominated the prestigious National High School Football Championship, reinforcing the city’s status as a talent factory. As football lovers, visiting Shizuoka had always been a dream”
True Bangkok United took home the inaugural Selangor Asia Challenge (SAC) 2020 after beating hosts Selangor FA 4-2 on penalties at the Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia on Sunday evening. Persib Bandung came in third and Hanoi fourth.
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.
