He is one of the most successful exports from Asia; in fact, he has opened many opportunities for Asian soccer players to play overseas. For nine years, he’s made himself a single most recognizable soccer player from Japan or even Asia has ever produced. But few truly know the man behind the mask; he is a sport superstar, who took Japanese soccer and Asian soccer to the worlds stage. A national idol, whose website can draw “fifteen million hits in a single day”(1). A fashion icon, noted for his sharp fashion sense and sharper haircut. He holds a marketing dream with lucrative contract for some of the world’s biggest brands. Yet, at the peak of his powers, with the world at his feet, he decided to pull the plug. At the age of just 29, Hidetohshi Nakata shocked the nation by announcing his retirement from soccer. He’s swapping the soccer field for the departure land, with plans to travel the world, for months, or maybe even years ahead.
Hidetoshi Nakata became the first Japanese player and the first Asian player to achieve success with top European clubs in Italy and England. His passion for the sport was aroused at an early age. He was forced to choose the love of soccer and the more popular sport baseball. As Nakata explains it as “ baseball teams were more strict and you have to cut your hair and you have to train more”(4) so that’s why he chooses soccer more easily. Nakata’s talent began to attract interest from Europe, he moved to Italy to play for the string of top clubs, winning new fans from both of his performances and his effort to absorb European culture. Gabriele Marcotti, a soccer journalist comment Nakata as, “ commercially he was phenomenally successful, even at one point, his jersey was the second most sold jersey ...
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...in Europe and also be remembered as someone who never fulfilled his potential on the soccer field. Though Asia and Europe was shocked by his decision. Nakata left behind a career that opened the World’s eye on Japanese and Asia soccer. He also holds a special place in the arena of Asian accolades. Through his life after retirement of the world of soccer, Hidetoshi Nakata encounters poverty, and prosperity, opulence and austerity. He is watching, listening and observing new experiences. These days, Nakata has brought his influence to another level. He’s found a calling as a traveler, and an ambassador to spread goodwill around the globe with soccer as his main ingredient. He is inspiring, creative, influential, visionary, and pioneering. It does seem that what Nakata touches, it turns into gold. Surely, Hidetoshi Nakata is the best and the most fashionable athlete.
Next I will talk about her teenage years of her childhood. She was a multisport athlete growing up, but she didn’t start playing organized soccer until she was 14 years old. She attended Diamond Bar High School, where she was named as the NSCAA all American. After her High School years she went to the University of California as u all may know. Also where she led the Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament in each of her 4
Dawson, Rebeccah. "'Death Is More Heroic on the Soccer Field ...': The Cult of Athletics in Melchior Vischer's Soccer Players and Indians." Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature Spring-Summer 2010: n. pag. Print.
Yasunari Kawabata was the first Japanese person to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. His style combined elements of classic Japanese prose with modern psychological narrative and exploration of human sexuality. Deeply influenced by the culture of his homeland, his writings capture the vivid and melancholy beauty and spirituality of Japan, while his own experiences and studies contributed to his assay into emotion.
Soccer has been known for many decades as “the beautiful game.” It has carried respect and happiness to millions around the world. However, the respect for the game falls apart when the fans and players use racism. Soccer went from being the beautiful game to being the judgmental game because of the fans. In some cultures, soccer is their way of life, and some are more passionate about soccer than others. The fans during the soccer games racially abuse the soccer players because of their ethnicity and skin color. Racism in soccer has been going on around the world for a while now, but hasn’t been addressed until the players or organizations stand up for themselves. The two editorials that talk about racism in soccer are “Racism on the Soccer Field Must End Before it Kills The Sport” by Andre Akpan, and “Beautiful Game of Soccer made Ugly by Racism at World Cup” by Aram Ghoogasian. Presently, racism from fans has increased over the past years, which have impacted the player’s
Have you ever thought of how water polo came to be? Where did it come from? How does it impact people on society? Well it’s definitely one of the hardest sports to play, and it takes endurance, pain, and commitment to be in it. Water polo is essentially a culture of its own because of how people’s behavior differs from in this sport and to people who don’t play sports. How this culture began is vital of knowing why water polo is a culture at all. What people wear is something that can change to the culture of this sport. Finally, why people love to commit to a sport is another idea of what makes this a culture. There are reasons to why water polo can be a culture and this paper will demonstrate the facts.
Warren St.John reports on the story of one woman who impacted her community in more ways than she probably realized. Luma Mufleh is a young woman originally from Jordan, who came to America for college and moved to Clarkston, Georgia. As a lover of soccer, she worked at the YMCA until she met a group of boys who showed more passion for the sport than anyone she had ever coached before. These kids were the refugees whose families had to move to America to escape wars in their homelands. They were looking for better place to live and economic opportunities. These kids and their families were caught somewhere between the cultures of their native homes and the new ways of life that was presented by America. Luma noticed the natural talent in all of these kids. She noticed the love for the game of soccer in these kids. She made a team called the Fugees. Fugees came from the refugees. Luma trained the kids with the strict discipline like mandatory practice, cardio and tough attitude. She told if someone misses more two game sessions you are off the team (St.John 109). On the field, Luma faced bigger challenges. “When Luma told kids to divide up into the groups for drills, they would instinctively divide themselves according to their ethnic backgrounds or common languages. In scrimmages, boys would overlook open teammates to pass their own kind. And each group, she learned, had its own prejudices toward others” (St.John 60).
With youth soccer as a raging phenomenon and the steady increase of success in the men’s, and women’s national teams, soccer in the United States is steadily growing. The American people are aching for a higher standing in the soccer world and Major League Soccer is planning on providing by increasing the amount of clubs and providing a more socially dominating presence for the game in the American society. The sport is undoubtedly the most powerful social gathering point modern society has to offer, and with it’s soon to be strong American presence, it will strengthen foreign affairs and create a unifying hobby throughout the American people. Not only will the expansion and popularity gather all society to one global love of the game, but it will help to unify some of the broken pieces of modern society.
Soccer is a great sport that can captivate the world and bring people together. The sport has evolved from just a game; it has become a way of life for most people not just in the United States but also around the world. In the novel “How Soccer Explains the World” by Franklin Foer, he gives great insight on various ways soccer has impacted the world. Soccer can be the explanation for gangsters, racial and religious, and everything in between.
Sports serve many different purposes in today’s world as many know. There are numerous sports played around our country that are people’s favorite pastime. For example, football, basketball, and baseball are all very popular throughout the United States. Another game that has been gaining quite the following these past few years is soccer. Soccer serves a countless number of purposes for not only our country but the entire world. There is variety of interesting information pertaining to the culture, the mental side, and how this all ties together.
While I have developed my soccer skills over the years, the relationships I have built with people are treasured more than my ability to play the game. Playing soccer has granted me the opportunity to be surrounded by an extensive family of people who truly love me. I am forever indebted to the sport for bringing me into love-filled relationships with players and coaches alike.
All around the world there is many different cultures and races. All of which have different sporting interests, an easy way of determining how and why a sport is popular within a particular culture is by using Figueroa’s framework. Figueroa’s framework features 5 levels which consists of; individual, interpersonal, institutional, structural and culture. When all of the levels are broken down and analysed, you will be able to see a clear definition as to why a culture plays a particular sport. In this report i aim to break down the levels to analyse the positive and negatives which will impact my future involvement with volleyball.
At school, I remember, Victor had two passions: music and soccer (football). He dreamed of playing the guitar like Jimi Hendrix and playing soccer like David Beckham. Unfortunately, he ended up playing the guitar like Beckham and playing soccer like Jimi Hendrix – a very stoned Jimmy Hendrix on crutches. Eventually, he did improve and it’s been a lasting passion ever since. He actually became quite a good player and when I joined his football club I was fortunate enough to play along side him at centre back, where he taught me everything I needed to know about how to avoid tackling, heading and scoring goals. But being new to the team I couldn’t understand why, after each game in the changing room showers, Victor always wore a Gimp mask. And as everyone here who went on his stag (bachelor’s party) will testify, that’s another passion that still lurks deep.
Despite his seemingly busy schedule, he knows how to strike a balance between work and play. One of his core and most crucial philosophies is that “a healthy body and mind are the catalysts for achieving greatness and enlightenment.” To live up to his own philosophy, Mark fully engages himself with a mixture of sports and outdoor adventure such as soccer, tennis, rock-climbing or cycling. Mark, a proud member of the Jamaican diaspora, was born in Linstead, St. Catherine, Jamaica (an emerald of the Caribbean seas) on March 9th 1985. Over the past few years, Mark has also amassed for himself various kinds of experiences from management to administrative in both public and private
The amazing game of soccer is played in every continent, and is the world’s most popular sport. It is proven to be one of the number one sports to be played and watched. Because its fans and players are so devoted, the sport continues to grow. Requiring only a ball and open space, the activity is available to anyone, whether rich or poor, male or female, athletic or not. Over the years, soccer has won the hearts of many because of its unique history, many benefits, and notable achievements.
“Sports are for fun, but they also offer benefits and lessons that carry over into all aspects of life”. This well-known anonymous quotation conveys the message that sport is the game which has some rules and custom. It is not only for fun and entertainment, but there are also some benefits of playing sports and which gives some important lessons for life. Every kind of physical sports is healthy because it involves running, jumping, stretching, mind skills and much more. There are so many sports available in the world nowadays, but we can categorize them by the numbers of players, the three main categories are individual sport, dual sport and team sport.