Samurai Blue

Japan is only one day away from the AFC Asian Cup Final! The Japanese football [soccer] team will be facing off against the Aussies in Qatar tomorrow for the 2011 title. Why “Samurai Blue”? Well, their uniforms are blue. And…yeah, samurai.

Japan’s performance has been good lately; the national team made it to the round of 16 at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa last year, falling to Paraguay in penalty kicks. Though it was a disappointment, the team received a lot of attention for its brilliant wins and unexpected prowess on the pitch. Their star player during the World Cup, Keisuke Honda, became an international celebrity as a result.

While Honda can definitely ball with the best of them, the rising star of the Samurai Blue is Shinji Kagawa, 21. Though he plays in Germany’s Bundesliga and didn’t appear in the World Cup games last year, he’s identified quickly as a ferocious player and he’s led the team to several victories in Qatar already. His incredible potential at such a young age suggests that the next generation of players on the squad will be more formidable than the last.

Unfortunately for Japan, though, Kagawa broke a bone in his foot in the final-four match with South Korea, and he will be out for the final tomorrow against Australia. Japan’s coach, Alberto Zaccheroni [from Italy] said that while he regrets losing Kagawa so late in the tournament, he is still confident in the team’s abilities and in his replacement. He’s keeping the replacement player a secret, which has the Australian coach thinking that the Japanese may still have a trick up their sleeve. He’s probably right not to discount them. After all, their performance against Korea in the semi-finals was spectacular. Korea and Japan are serious rivals, so that win was a much-needed boost in momentum for the Samurai Blue. I’m expecting a win for Japan, and hoping for one, but I like Australia too!

Update: After a great match, Japan beat Australia 1-0 for the title! Congratulations Samurai Blue!

REMIX