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Japan honoured their captain Wataru Endo, who withdrew from the World Cup and announced his retirement from international football due to injury, by hanging his shirt on the bench throughout their match against the Netherlands ๐๐ฏ๐ต
๐จ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
Japanese fans ran onto the famous Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo to celebrate their draw against the Netherlands.
They celebrated for only 40 seconds while the pedestrian light was green.
๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐พ ๐๐๐๐๐! ๐ญ๐ฏ๐ต
The moment the light turned red, everyone stopped celebrating and returned to the sidewalk. ๐๐
Everyone has been so impressed by Japanese fans cleaning up after themselves but most probably missed this beautiful moment at the post-game (๐ณ๐ฑ2 - 2๐ฏ๐ต) press conference.
Toward the end after reporters were done asking questions, ๐ฏ๐ตhead coach, Hajime Moriyasu, asked to speak one more time.
๐ฃ๏ธ โMay I speak?โ
He turned to the Dutch reporters in the room.
๐ฃ๏ธ โI think there are many Dutch reporters here as well, so Iโd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people of the Netherlands once again.โ
Moriyasu explained that when he became part of the Japan national team, Japanese football still had no professional league.
๐ฃ๏ธ โI was trained by a Dutch coach named Hans Ooft. It wasnโt just me. Japanese coaches in general were greatly influenced by him, which has led to the development of Japanese soccer today.โ
He also mentioned another Dutch figure who shaped his career.
๐ฃ๏ธ โThe legendary Dutch coach Wim Jansen served as the manager for J.Leagueโs Sanfrecce Hiroshima and also as a coach for Urawa Reds, contributing to Japanese soccer.โ
๐ฃ๏ธ โItโs not just those two. Many other coaches and players have contributed to raising the level of Japanese soccer, so I want to express my thanks. Thank you very much.โ
What a masterclass in graciousness and gratitude. Imagine after a high-stakes match, instead of basking in glory and bravado (well-deserved in my opinion), the coach took to the microphone to... thank his opponents publicly and sincerely.
Japan's cultural operating system prizes harmony (wa), respect for precedent, and gratitude as a form of strength, not weakness. Japanese sports culture reflects its broader society where you'll see athletes bow to their opponents, thanking referees, and even crediting rivals or mentors.
Think of sumo wrestlers, Olympic athletes, or even bullet-train staff apologizing for a 30-second delay.
The Japanese have this concept of On (ๆฉ) - it is the sense of indebtedness to those who came before or helped you. It's what you'd expect from a culture that truly prizes continuity.
Moriyasu was acknowledging a real debt to Dutch coaches like Hans Ooft (who coached Japan in the early 90s and helped professionalize the game) and Wim Jansen. Japanese football openly credits foreign influences - Dutch "Total Football" philosophy, German organization, Brazilian flair - while building something distinctly their own. Few nations do this with such little ego.
Japan is pure class
Football is genuinely the closest thing we have to a universal language. Expanding the World Cup to 48 teams was a top tier decision man. More countries, more cultures, more stories.
Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu was in tears listening to their national anthem at the World Cup. One of our favourite photos from the tournament so far โค๏ธ
40-year-old Vozinha heavily emotional after keeping a clean sheet against Spain ๐ฅน
Imagine playing in Portugalโs second tier and keeping a clean sheet on your World Cup debut with a world-class performance like that ๐คฏ
The craziest thing: Vozinha was not a professional footballer until he turned 25 ๐ณ
At 25, he started his career in Angola after spending years in amateur football.
Now he is Man of the Match on his World Cup debut, keeping a clean sheet against the favourites.
๐ช๐๐๐ง ๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ.
Japanโs goalkeeper, Zion Suzuki, must be destroying the minds of a lot of racists. Turns out the US-born son of a Ghanaian and a Japanese who grows up in Japan is, after all, Japanese
Diomande your chain might be real kid, was killing Hincapie down the rw and just moved to lw and is doing the same shit. Leipzig youโll be getting paid handsomely after this World Cup