The journey from Liverpool to Japan turned out to be a rare opportunity for thousands to see their club live. Supporter Martyn Hatori-Singleton offers his first-hand experience of a day in the making.
I have been a red since I woke up one morning about the age of four or five and finding a button bath on my bedside table that stuck in an embarrassed enamelled grandeur, ‘Liverpool’s magic’.
Certainly, every team that can make Badges appear, must be special … and so it has proven. Together with my father and uncle I have been a red since the time started.
That was Belfast, Noord -Ireland, about 45 years ago.
UPS, Downs and some mid-table-doldrums later, here I am in Japan 2025. To say that much has changed, an understatement is probably.
From watching all kinds of live games on TV (remember that!?), To VAR, social media, global fan bases and then the predator, Ordem 4, Bosman transfers, 4-3-3s and who could forget … Gegenpressioning!
So here I live and work in Japan for more than 20 years. Although my relationship with football did not start as well as possible here.
Wake up with the champions
May 5, 2005, and I am in a pub in West Londs for a farewell party because I moved to Japan three days later.
If you read this, you probably already know what happened that night and thanks to a clear Luis Garcia goal, with the full-time whistle, I danced and hugged a strange, to the astonishment of my non-football support colleagues.
May 20, 2005, and I am in a small town in North Saitama, Japan, where it seems as if football never existed, let alone try to see the largest Champions League final on a television.
The next morning I woke up with a superlative all-caps e-mail from my father: ‘!!!! Champions !!!! ‘
And so I followed from the east and I had many beautiful encounters here.
“Do you like football?”, “Who do you support?”, To get to the point immediately, “Liverpool?” have generally been the start of many conversation and friendship.
Then it was announced that the Japan team would visit, I immediately designated the date on my agenda and I emphasized when tickets were for sale.
Together with my colleague -immigrant Liverpool -brother, John, we logged in and after a tragical 30 -minute false dawn we have endured to secure tickets.
Since then I have collected that quite a few supporters were disappointed in this process. Since it was announced as sold out shortly thereafter, it was curious to see 67,000 announced as the competition attendance in the 72,000 capacity Nissan Stadium.
Anyway, game day.
Hits and fog
I live in Nagano, Central Japan, about 150 miles from the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.
My daughter created a special Omamori with Liverpool theme (Japanese happiness Charms) to protect me on my journey.
Ah, this is football! So at 5 o’clock in the morning I was in the only bus of the day of our small village to the city at 7.25 am. One bus and four trains later, at 3 p.m., I stepped out in the burning summer elevation of Yokohama.
Liverpool supporters were already on their way. Buzz!
After we checked in a hotel and met John, we went to the stadium.
It was the proverbial sea of red everywhere, although given that there was a tsunami warning in fact along the Pacific coast of Japan, this might not have turned out to be the best analogy. Fortunately it turned out to be different.
While the sun went under the Nissan stage, we found our seats high in the trusses. At ¥ 16,000 (£ 80) for attic chairs, this was quite the money spinner. Ticket prices were as high as ¥ 150,000 (£ 750) for VIP experiences. A yeast average ticket price would probably come to around ¥ 40,000 (£ 200) for the night.
To give a context, the average ticket price in Japan for J-1 weekly football matches is around ¥ 6000 (£ 30).
Nevertheless, the powerful Reds were here, on the back of a Premier League-winning season during a walk. And about 90% of the crowd present was dressed in red and here to encourage our team (or so we thought).
As soon as we had taken our place, both John and I looked at the field and then each other. “Is that a pitch?” Was the uncensored summary of our exchange.
It seemed that a rodeo had just left. Jeez, Ball fell on that one person. However, the Handventilator and LFC water bottle were appreciated. Ball went on, someone.
While the players were still warming up, the dad suddenly kicked in life with “Youll Never Walk Alone” and the crowd did his best to sing along. Only 25 minutes to start.
Box checked for correct number. Box left for timing.
Ten minutes later it was announced that Ian Rush laid a tribute to Diogo Jota. The crowd was asked to turn on their phone lights and while the stadium lights were switched off, it gave a wonderful creepy effect.
A single light at the pitch then found rush and perhaps placed a wreath? I don’t know because the screens in the stadium had no close-up and the announcer was difficult to hear.
Points for tribute. Min points because they are somewhat badly done.
(I later heard that OLSC Japan had made repeated requests to put a place to tribute outside the stadium, but were ignored. Too bad, but a football competition, in this case the J-League, which ignored the requests of fans … sounds too familiar.)
Nevertheless, thank you for allowing a form of honoring his memory together.
Start of new friendships
The game started then and am I alone, but when the opposition team makes a good pass or scores, do we welcome these movements? Oh well, it seems so in Japan.
John and I exchanged many astonished look when the end of the stadium proceeded to applaud and congratulate the home team, Yokohama F. Marinos, with all the raids made in the third of the Liverpool field. Including the goal!
Full figures for sportiness. Question marks for tribal loyalty.
With Liverpool rightly, after a dubious first half of show and first senior goals in red for Wirtz, Nyoni and Ngumoha (who was already talking after the game), we said goodbye to our team of these sizzling coasts and went our way to a local water feature, where they showed the repetition of the game.
It was packed on the trusses with Reds supporters and we probably had a better time there than in the stadium. Chat, laugh, drink, sing and exchange numbers.
Hopefully the start of new friendships. Bonding through the beautiful game.
So, thanks Liverpool FC, for making here, regardless of possible translation errors. Did I ever introduce myself to Liverpool playing in Japan? Not somehow. But hey, Liverpool is magical!
Ynwa!
* This is a guest article for this is Anfield by Martyn Hatori-Singleton.
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