Not long ago, I went to watch a soccer game between Sydney FC and Urawa Reds of Japan. Well, I kinda supported both sides actually. There weren't any real stars except for Urawa Reds' Shinji Ono(pic). Yes yes, I know he's not macho like Beckham. Minus the looks, I bet he's just as talented as Becks is. Well, he's actually a star of the current Japanese soccer squad.
However, this post is not about Shinji Ono. It's about the Japanese supporters that came all the way from Japan to cheer for their team. Hell yeah all the way from Japan just for a match. Still, this is not something surprising for soccer fans. Every clubs do have their travelling fans. Even those louyah football played in Malaysia also does.
The thing that impresses me is the spirit of their fans. Came equipped with huge ass flags and drums, they only filled a quarter of the stadium. Yet they were able to out-cheer the Sydney supporters. Ohmy... What a shame to the home team.
VS
3/4 of the stadium 1/4 of the stadium
Both teams lining up. The game was pretty exciting with Sydney scoring in the first minute and went on to lead 2-1 before half-time. However, Urawa Reds, supported by their travelling fans, came back to snatch a draw in the away fixture.
The continuous shouting and screaming of their fans totally impressed me. I wonder how would Sydney do if they were to play Urawa in Japan. This also reminds me of the 2002 World Cup held in Korea and Japan. Any football fans remember the red army?
Yup. This is the red army. South Korea's 12th player on the field. They were chanting and singing their national anthem during the whole 90 mins. Impressive huh? How intimidating that would be for a travelling team having almost the whole stadium shouting and boo-ing back at you. Scary I assumed. Bah. I guess you can never get this anywhere else. Perhaps, maybe in Old Trafford, the Red Devils' home. Yes, their stadium are always full but I'm not sure if you can get fans shouting for the whole 90mins. It's just incredible.
There, tat's the Spirit. Joga Bonito.
1 comment:
We Malaysian never seemed to have the spirit. Even Hitz.FM now is trying to encourage people to support local football. But being in Bolehland. We never would. There's only one why. We do not have space to improve because Malaysian do not permit that. They are playing for a vision 2020 football.
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