Japan
has so far hosted seven of the 11 FIFA Club World Cups, with the final
being played at the International Stadium Yokohama (Nissan Stadium) in
Kanagawa Prefecture each time. Matches have also been played in Tokyo
(National Stadium) and Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture (Toyota Stadium).
This tournament will see four games played at the Nagai Stadium in
Osaka for the first time.
Nagai Stadium is the home ground of J.2
side Cerezo Osaka. It is one of Japan’s major stadiums, having hosted
three games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™ and the play-off
for promotion to the J.1 League on 6 December this year.
Osaka is also home to one of the J.1’s top teams, Gamba Osaka, who took part in the FIFA Club World Cup 2008 as winners of the AFC Champions League. However, they do not share the Nagai Stadium with Cerezo Osaka, playing their home matches instead at the Osaka Expo '70 Stadium. If they had beaten Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the two-legged J.League Championship final played on 2 and 5 December, they would have ended up playing a FIFA Club World Cup game on their local rival’s patch.
“Thirty years ago, soccer was not so popular in the Osaka area when I was a small kid”, said Takashi Kawahara, deputy editor of World Soccer Digest, which, as Japan’s leading football magazine, has been keeping fans abreast of the global scene since its launch in 1994. Born in Hirakata in Osaka Prefecture, Kawahara is a renowned expert on clubs from the Kansai region, covering their stories for a sister magazine that focuses on the domestic game.
“However, now Osaka, where once soccer was
not popular at all, is home to J.League clubs. And with Gamba Osaka in
the northern part of Osaka, along with Cerezo Osaka in the south, the
two professional clubs have been running their grassroots programmes
with great endurance, and soccer is very popular here these days. This
improvement was carried out thanks to the soccer family. I was so
impressed by Korea/Japan 2002. And this time Osaka hosts the FIFA Club
World Cup. I am also pleased with this achievement”, added Kuwahara,
still upbeat about Osaka hosting its first Club World Cup, despite his
obvious disappointment at Gamba not being part of it.
Also from Hirakata in Osaka Prefecture is Masaya Mori, a 23-year old football fan. Although born and bred in Osaka, this young businessman is now a Kashima Antlers fan. However, he also supports Shriker Osaka, a futsal club based in Osaka. Passionate about football in all its forms, he said, “I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of football from global sides in a stadium where I normally watch the J.League.” Mori also talked about his love of Osaka.
“Teams like Club America, River Plate and TP Mazembe are coming to Osaka. I’m relishing seeing the respective playing styles and tactics of the champions of Latin America, Africa and other continents. I also want to see how the various continental styles fare against Barcelona and how Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima will square up against the foreign teams. I would like this Club World Cup to generate even more football fever in Osaka.”
An Osaka-born 37-year-old housewife, who used to play in
Japan’s top women’s league, is also thrilled the tournament is coming to
Osaka. “For young boys and girls who enjoy football, being able to
watch world-class players provides a different type of stimulation to
that which you get from the national team. I think that’s a wonderful
thing,” she said.
Regardless of who they will be cheering on, it is hoped that the first Club World Cup to come to Osaka can inspire not just the fans of Gamba and Cerezo, but also the children throughout the prefecture and western Japan.
Culled from fifa.com
Nagai Stadium is the home ground of J.2
side Cerezo Osaka. It is one of Japan’s major stadiums, having hosted
three games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™ and the play-off
for promotion to the J.1 League on 6 December this year. Osaka is also home to one of the J.1’s top teams, Gamba Osaka, who took part in the FIFA Club World Cup 2008 as winners of the AFC Champions League. However, they do not share the Nagai Stadium with Cerezo Osaka, playing their home matches instead at the Osaka Expo '70 Stadium. If they had beaten Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the two-legged J.League Championship final played on 2 and 5 December, they would have ended up playing a FIFA Club World Cup game on their local rival’s patch.
“Thirty years ago, soccer was not so popular in the Osaka area when I was a small kid”, said Takashi Kawahara, deputy editor of World Soccer Digest, which, as Japan’s leading football magazine, has been keeping fans abreast of the global scene since its launch in 1994. Born in Hirakata in Osaka Prefecture, Kawahara is a renowned expert on clubs from the Kansai region, covering their stories for a sister magazine that focuses on the domestic game.
Also from Hirakata in Osaka Prefecture is Masaya Mori, a 23-year old football fan. Although born and bred in Osaka, this young businessman is now a Kashima Antlers fan. However, he also supports Shriker Osaka, a futsal club based in Osaka. Passionate about football in all its forms, he said, “I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of football from global sides in a stadium where I normally watch the J.League.” Mori also talked about his love of Osaka.
“Teams like Club America, River Plate and TP Mazembe are coming to Osaka. I’m relishing seeing the respective playing styles and tactics of the champions of Latin America, Africa and other continents. I also want to see how the various continental styles fare against Barcelona and how Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima will square up against the foreign teams. I would like this Club World Cup to generate even more football fever in Osaka.”
An Osaka-born 37-year-old housewife, who used to play in
Japan’s top women’s league, is also thrilled the tournament is coming to
Osaka. “For young boys and girls who enjoy football, being able to
watch world-class players provides a different type of stimulation to
that which you get from the national team. I think that’s a wonderful
thing,” she said. Regardless of who they will be cheering on, it is hoped that the first Club World Cup to come to Osaka can inspire not just the fans of Gamba and Cerezo, but also the children throughout the prefecture and western Japan.
Culled from fifa.com
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