Love Has No Words

Posted on 13/09/2009

In 4 months, Japan has produced a team of older athletes who have never played football before. Furthermore, they only met 3 days before they took off for Milan. Given the odds, they have played undeniably well, and despite not winning any matches, with their great character and personalities they have won the support of the crowd.

Japan was badly hit by the recession with many people losing their jobs and the number of homeless people has dramatically increased. Mitsuku Masaaki is just one person who recently lost his job in the construction industry, and consequently lost his home and moved to the streets. During this period, he has lived alone and not had many opportunities to interact with people. During the Homeless World Cup, Masaaki has begun to regain confidence, developed his social skills and is enjoying the company of other people. "In a team, I don't just care about myself, I have to care for my team members." It is his frist time abroad, and he is loving the interactions with other teams.

Despite the lack of English amongst the Japanese players, they have learnt to communicate through other methods like hand gestures. They feel they have connected without words, and sense the energy and love the other teams give Japan. At any Japanese match, you can hear the crowd chanting for 'Nipon' - another name for Japan. They are very pleased with the encouragement, and in return they support other countries. They feel a strong affiliation with the Cambodian Team, and have taken the young boys under their wings.

In an unfortunate incident, Honda Susumu fell over in the first match and dislocated a bone in his hand. It was terribly disappointing for him as he could no longer play a game with his hand in plaster. The cast was removed after 5 days, and against the doctor's order, he played in the final match against Australia. He was very excited to play and score his first goal of the tournament. He is a little unsatisfied that he couldn't play more games before going home. Overall, he has loved being here. " This tournament is really wonderful, and I hope it's continued for a long time."

Japan ended up ranking 46th after losing to Australia in a friendly and good spirited match. Masaaki was disappointed they didn't win one match, but he was not expecting to perform well after only playing football for 4 months. However, they will still go home with their heads held high.

Keren Tuch