There’s nothing more legendary that seeing something becoming worldwide, property of everyone, global. J. League is trying to achieve that, but to do so, you need a global fanbase. And it’s there, although its numbers can certainly rise. In this series of pieces – which will all fall under the label “J. League Worldwide”, we’re trying to tell the personal and professional stories of Japanese football fans all over the world.
Before introducing the fifth instalment of the series, I want to remind you of the efforts of Stuart Smith in starting this column (you can find him @Sushi_Football on Twitter, doing the good job of spreading the hype for J. League). Between March and April 2016, he had already published four episodes, and I want to give them a fresh exposure:
- No. 1 – David Clements, @dclements54
- No. 2 – Ryan Steele, @Steelinho
- No. 3 – Ben, @NavyWaspBlue
- No. 4 – Gabriele Anello, @nellosplendor
For the fifth episode, we’re staying in Italy with a well-known figure and a colleague. He currently works for Calciomercato.com, and you can hear his voice on DAZN and Eurosport, but he also worked for Sky Sports. Certainly, his name is a synonym of professionalism and experience, but what you might not know is that he’s one of the biggest fans and followers of Japanese football in Italy.
Ladies and gentlemen, here’s Federico Zanon. He’s been kind enough to find some time for our questions, dipping into his passion towards J. League, and which kind of future he sees for the league itself and the whole national movement.
Hello there, Federico. Where are you from and when you first started following J. League?
I discovered the J. League in 2010, when I started commenting their games for Eurosport. It was an unknown championship for me back then: I had to learn fast about players, teams, stadiums… and I was hooked. I fell in love with the stories and everything they had to offer.
In those times, Antlers were thriving, but there were other players that I loved, like Yasuhito Endo at Gamba Osaka, Ryoichi Maeda at Jubilo Iwata, Marcus Tulio Tanaka or even the offensive line of Shimizu S-Pulse (Jungo Fujimoto, Frode Johnsen and Shinji Okazaki). Amazing players to watch.
Do you have a favorite team or player?
I admit I have a soft spot for Urawa Red Diamonds: I even learned their anthem! It’s a club I discovered in 2007, when they played in the FIFA Club World Cup and they faced AC Milan in the semi-final. There were Washington, Yuki Abe and Tulio himself.
About the player… tough to say. I’m deeply in love with Takashi Usami and Hiroshi Kiyotake, but I also like Tomoaki Makino and Shinzo Koroki. If I have to pick, though, I’d say Yosuke Kashiwagi.
How you’re able to watch J. League games? And how do you keep up with the news regarding the league?
Frankly, it’s hard to find news. Luckily, we have Twitter, which represents an amazing source for all info and fun facts. About the matches, first we had Eurosport, and now we can watch them on DAZN.
Did you have the chance of visiting Japan, maybe even attending a match? If so, which kind of experience it was? And do you want to visit the country again?
I’ve been to Japan in 2018, during Golden Week. 11 days with a tour de force featuring Tokyo, Aomori, Hirosaki Castle, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima and Miyajima. This has been my trip in a few words. A fantastic experience, which I certainly want to repeat. It’s like being teleported to another planet: I’ve travelled a lot, but for me, Kyoto is the most beautiful city in the world.
You’ve been working as a journalist FOR a long time and YOU’VE had the chance of commenting many football events in your career.
How do you think J. League has been perceived in Italy? And there’s a space to improve the image of the league, both in your country and in Europe?
The kickoff times aren’t helpful… probably J. League should pursue a different strategy to promote games in Europe. Moreover, I think there’s a common consideration in the Old Continent to rate Japanese football games as a shenanigan, a cartoon phenomenon, reminiscent of Captain Tsubasa.
Having great stars in the J. League is indeed a solution: just think about the coverage MLS got from signing Ibrahimovic. I don’t think MLS is superior to J. League, yet every little bit of Ibra-related news is spreading in Europe.
For this reason, I can’t honestly criticise Vissel Kobe’s policy from the last months; it’s true the squad was badly built, but stars spread awareness about J. League in Europe. And that’s what the movement needs.
I wanna thank Federico for his time and I hope in a decade J. League will have a different consideration in the Old Continent also because of dedicated professional figures like him. You can follow his work on Twitter @FedeZanon15! See you soon for Episode 6!
[…] No. 5 – Federico Zanon, @FedeZanon15 […]