Russia Roar While Japan Keep Silent.

Russia successfully resurfaces while Japan takes time to rise.

On 22nd June two football matches were broadcast in Japan.
There is a long time difference between Asia and Europe because of the distancebetween them,
but that night showed another difference between Russia and Japan.

In the Euro 2008, European football championship, Russia successfully reached the semi-final after beating smartly Netherland.
Football which Russia showed to the world was nothing but great.
Thir organised performance was sustained by player's magnificant stamina and skill.

Russia is enjoying football thanks to its ever-rising natural resource; oil and natural gas.
That made it possible for oil tycoons who sucessed their own business after the perestroyca to invest in football in both Russia and Europe's footballing countries like England's Premier League.
It was Roman Abramovic who contributed most to bring Dutchman Guus Hiddink to the national team's manager position, paying $6.24million for his two-year contract.

While watching Russia playing superior to Netherland, I wondered why Japan is not as successful as the Kremlin country. Russia is now in economic boom and Japan underwent its own economic boom, which was miraclly so great that raised Japan to the world's second economic giant of the world. Japan started the professionalisation of football in 1992, forming the J-league, and made its first appearencein the World Cup in France in 1998.

In this context, Japan, too, is successful. The country has partcipated in the World Cup in three times in a row. But, the country is struggling in Asia. Considering the development of other countries in Asia, it is very hard to play and win in Asia. However, Japan's performance of the night against Bahrain was disappointing.

Japan's football seems to be more interesting and stronger than it used to be. They can pass and make many chances to score, which feels like attacking football. There are some players who play in Europe like Shunsuke Nakamura who plays for Celtic. When Japan played in the world cup 2006, they were expected to advance more than they did in 2002; the best sixteen. But, Japan failed to respond the expectation.

Never mind and keep going again. Russia's success may be good stimulation for them.
Almost of all Russia's members paly in the domestic league; the Russian Premier League.
The league, however, is different from the J-league for its possession of foreign players from the Latin American countries and western europe. But, Japan used to have world famous footballers.
Thus, the two country is the same in terms of foreign footballers influence on their players.

But, Japan is lacking something to play as well as Russia do.
Russia play like military but it is full of joy. Japan is well-displined too, but cannot satisfy its fans. the reason is down to the fact that Japan can not score.

It is interesting to see how far Russia can go in the Euro and after the championship.
Their role will change from the country of supplying young talents to other countries to the place of the best football league? The Kremlin is using sport to show its rising economy, whose presence in the world politics is ineveitable like the cold war era. What is sure is that the country's sports are rising.

When Russia and Japan last met in the group league stage in the World Cup 2002, Japan won 1-0 and booked a place in the final round tournament, on the other hand, in Russia some riots were broken out. But, now Russia is increasingly admired by many people after the sucesses of football, ice hocky and the eurovision contest. The country builds up more confidence to be a world's leader again. Without Russian oil tycoons' massive investment in football and Mr. Putin's policy never would have this records been achieved. Japan do not need to be like Kremlin, but it should learn this sort of desire. ■

Ryo2412