Football Leagues » J-League » Life slowly returns to normal as J. League resumes
Life slowly returns to normal as J. League resumes
Mike Tuckerman
Vegalta Sendai were preparing to host Nagoya Grampus when catastrophe struck. On Friday, March 11th at approximately 2.46pm, an undersea earthquake of unprecedented strength rattled the north-eastern coast of Japan. The magnitude 9.0 tremor and the subsequent tsunami it unleashed has so far resulted in more than 14,000 deaths and displaced over 100,000 residents.
One such resident was Vegalta Sendai's star off-season recruit Marquinhos. After playing just one game for his new club, the J. League's Most Valuable Player in 2008 asked Vegalta to tear up his contract, citing "emotional distress" in the wake of such devastation. Few could blame the Brazilian for returning to his native country after a glittering career in Japan, however it's a luxury not afforded to most of the residents in the badly affected prefecture of Miyagi and its surrounds.
Australian defender Eddy Bosnar saw no reason to flee his adopted homeland. The combative centre-back plays his club football for Shimizu S-Pulse but after a brief five-day trip to Sydney to reassure family and friends of his safety, Bosnar was quick to return to training in Shizuoka.
"I think the bigger deal is the people who are losing their homes and who have lost everything back where the tsunami took place," Bosnar said. "If you're a foreigner you're always going to find a way out, but if you're not a foreigner, you can't find a way out."
While Bosnar sympathises with foreign players affected by the frightening turn of events, he is quick to pay tribute to both the people of Japan and the club that pays his wages. "We're talking about how worried we were about ourselves, but nothing really happened to us," he said. "The only thing I'm worried about are these people who are homeless, that's all you've got to worry about. Because Japan's a country that's not used to that."
Dragan Stojkovic is another high-profile foreigner with offers to leave Japan. The Nagoya Grampus coach has been widely linked with a role as assistant coach at English Premier League giants Arsenal, having lead Nagoya to their maiden J. League title last season. For now, Stojkovic is busy preparing for a blockbuster away trip to Saitama Stadium to take on Urawa Reds as life slowly returns to normal in Japan.
It's the second important away trip for Nagoya in a matter of days after they recorded a morale-boosting 2-0 win away at FC Seoul in the AFC Champions League. Champions League football has provided a welcome distraction for Nagoya and their fellow Japanese participants Kashima Antlers, Gamba Osaka and Cerezo Osaka. Meanwhile, the rest of Japan's clubs have taken part in a number of charity games in a bid to not only raise funds for earthquake survivors, but also to maintain match fitness.
It can't replace the real thing, so when Stojkovic's Nagoya run out Saitama Stadium they will do so in front of a partisan 50,000-strong crowd willing their opponents to victory. But even the notoriously hostile Reds supporters will tone down their vociferous support out of respect for those affected by the March 11 tragedy. The return of J. League action may be another sign that life is returning to normal in earthquake-rattled Japan, but there's still a long way to go yet.
Copyright: Mike Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com
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