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The incredible support shown by the Urawa Reds fans at the Club World Cup this summer left us thinking: Who is this team? Who are these fans? And are Japanese Ultras a thing across the whole country? With so many questions yet so few answers, we did what any normal football fans would do - hop on a 15 hour flight across the world to find out more. From experiencing match day in the J.League to meeting so many incredibly passionate fans, this is football culture as far away and as brilliant as it gets. We're FourFourTwo, Welcome to Japan.
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When you go behind the goal at an Arawa Reds game
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it is 100% about supporting the team. Despite all the big money transfers this summer and the millions of pictures on Instagram of
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players on the holiday, one thing has caught my eye. This. The Royal Red Diamond fans lighting up the Club World Cup like it's the final
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Now, for a very Eurocentric football fan like myself, this was quite unusual
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Who are this team? Who are these fans? Is the whole of the J League like this? You will close your eyes and think that you're in Germany or in the Netherlands
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It is deafening. From the matchday experience to Liverpool's pre-season tour, from the history of the J League to their unique culture in society today
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This is football culture like you've never seen it before. I'm Matt from 442 and welcome to Japan
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In 1993, after decades of semi-professional football, Japan introduced the J-League to the world
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A lot of the teams that you see in the J-League today
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were really starting to establish themselves. Yomiuri SC eventually became Verdi Kawasaki
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Nissan SC became Yokohama Marinos. Mitsubishi SC became our Red Diamonds. Founded in 1992 they kicked off their maiden season with just 10 teams and the initial aims of raising the standard and profile of Japanese football amongst the masses the first outcome
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of which saw the league's founding teams removing their company or sponsor from the team name
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to allow fans to identify better with their local team. For example, Kashima Antlers has a little bit more of a ring to it than the Sumitomo Metal
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Industries Factory Football Club. So with a new start, new stadiums, new commercial deals and some serious funding, the Football Association's size was set even higher on hosting a World Cup
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Making it to the round of 16 with a new age mix of domestic players and a few special stars who had made it big abroad
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the co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup alongside South Korea was a success not only on the pitch, but off it too
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The J-League knew they had to capitalise on this, and once everything had settled down in terms of registration, schedules and the rules too
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interest started to grow, the money started to come in, and so the standard of the league was raised
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Which brings us to now, when the league is able to produce top talents that have gone on to have successful careers in the Premier League
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Think of the likes of Kaguya, Endo, Minamino, even Okazaki, a Premier League winner
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the list goes on. You've also got young stars like Mitoma and the new Spurs signing Kota Takai
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joining the Premier League directly from the J-League, a real testament to the progress of
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the league itself. Japanese clubs have also reaped the rewards on the continental stage with five
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AFC Champions League title victories, three of them for the Uarra Red Diamonds, the latest in 2022
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Few clubs in the J League really carry the weight of expectation
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like the Urawa Red Diamonds do They are backed by a massive fan base
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and they're more than just a football team They're a symbol of the pride and the ambition of the whole club
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All of the J League clubs have amazing active support
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but Urawa are just at a different level completely. Not only can they put on huge displays at home
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but they can do it away and internationally as we've seen in the summer at the Club World Cup
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I think it a great honor to be here And the symbol of the club is here at the Saitama Stadium There young fans there old fans there new fans There fans that have been following and seen their team throughout the generations
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This really is the complete melting pot where all of them come together to support the Urawa Reds
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Urawa Reds supporters are a breed of their own. They do consider themselves ultras in the Japanese sense where you are a diehard supporter of the team
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you are participating in active support. Home, away, midweek, does not matter
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That definition is removed from the European definition of ultras, which obviously has the more political nuance to it
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And that's something that we don't really see a lot of in Japan. None of them are using their cell phones
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None of them are taking selfies. None of them are taking video for the gram. We'll be right back
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That match day experience is just everything you'd expect. The footballing culture and societal culture roll into one in the space of just a few hours
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Pre it the unity of all the fans It the politeness It the fact that the home fans and away fans can mingle together without the need for a massive police presence During the match it everything you think you see It the passion It the unrelenting commitment to supporting their team
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Like we saw at the Club World Cup, this isn't just for a special event. This isn't a polished version
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This is the normal. This is the every single game day. There are no fake friends at Urawa
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Let's say you're a salaryman in Tokyo. I'd say a nine-to-five job, shuffling paperwork all day
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you go back home, shower, you go to sleep, and that's your five a week
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And then Saturday comes, and that's the one day where you can, you know
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you put on your uniform, you go to the stadium, you have a few beers, and you let loose
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I mean, football in general, that's where you can be yourself. That's where you can let go
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Whatever happened at work that week, you know, it doesn't matter. Like, you're there to sort of let it all out
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Then you're outside. You're back to normal, to the still, to the serene, to the quiet
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to people just going home. It may have made a lasting impression
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but then you realise it was just another match day in the J League. It seemed like Steven Gerrard said, if Liverpool had a match on the moon
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then Liverpool fans would find a way to get there
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