By growing American Japanese in southern California, Saki Watanabe had a lot of models that showed her that she could be all she wanted to be. There were baseball players, judges, politicians and actors. Writers, artists, teachers and business leaders.
But no one did what she wanted to do, which was football.
“I wanted there to be other players like me,” said Watanabe, a former college player who is now working for the Angel City community team and the Los Angeles Bulls Soccer Club coaches. “I had no player I watched.”
Or, more precisely, which looked like him. So the message she won was that there was no room in football for Japanese girls.
This is no longer the case. When Angel City entered the NWSL in 2022, JunoA Japanese international, was in the initial alignment of the first game of the team league and scored the second goal of the NWSL in the history of the franchise. Angel City now has three Japanese players on its list, most of the league, while the Galaxy won the MLS Cup last winter with two Japanese roles playing.
“It's a really cool thing happens,” said Thomas Honda as a young girl, dressed in oversized Galaxy Jersey, the defenders asked with enthusiasm Miki Yamane And Maya Yoshida For autographs after a pre-season match earlier this year. The girls' grandmother, standing nearby, chatted men in Japanese.
“I really hope that one day she runs with that and it's like” hey I could be like them “, continued Honda, the director of finance of the Galaxy. “For my daughter, it's even more relatable, having the Japanese representation.”
And the importance of this example is not lost for players. Like the Shohei Ohtani Dodgers brought the profile of Japanese athletes to dizzying peaks in Southern California, which created an opening so that football players stand out and also stand out.
“It is a responsibility to be in a position where people, they feel inspired. They turn to professional players and therefore in a position where I can become this inspiration, I am very lucky to be in this position,” said the defender of Angel City Miyabi Moriyasaid a World Cup and an Olympic veteran, through the translation of Watanabe. “It seems empowering to be in this position of influencing Japanese players in the United States to play football.”
Yoshida, who led MLS in minutes last season while captain of the galaxy in a championship, accepted.
“It is very important to keep our reputation not only as a football player, but as a Japanese,” he said. “All my behavior is linked to the representation of Japan. I understand that I should try to be nice and be the one that everyone should be proud of. ”
The defender of the Galaxy and the captain of the Maya Yoshida team raised the MLS Cup after the victory of the team championship against the New York Red Bulls in December.
(All J. Schaben / Los Angeles)
The first Japanese football player to present a team from the Akira Kaji defender, who joined Chivas USA halfway through his last season and made 14 departures. But Endo, a free spirit that was one of Angel City's first international signatures in 2021, was the first truly influential Japanese player in southern California. Her tireless work rate, her sparkling personality and her inclination for dyeing her different pastel colors made her one of the most popular players on the team’s inaugural season.
“During our first year, I could find you photos of men with pink hair because of Jun,” said Lisa Milner Goldberg, Vice-President of Angel City public relations.
And even if a torn ACL has kept Endo out of the field in the past two seasons, this popularity has not reflected.
“Other Japanese fans are coming out and they contacted me in the Japanese post-match, which did not happen as much during my first year,” said Endo in Japanese. “There were also children and fans who tried to learn Japanese and try to talk to me.”
Endo said that she has long adopted the idea that athletes, simply by their example, can let children know that they are welcome in certain spaces. This is an example that was refused in Watanabe growing up.
“When I was a child, I had this feeling of seeing him, I can do it. Not necessarily in the sense of gender or culture. But just in certain aspects of football and the individual player,” said Endo. “This is how I gained confidence. Now I want to inspire children because I like to be a model. ”
Yamane, whose English remains a work in progress during his second season in MLS, said that he had seen the impact that Japanese players have in some parts of the community. He said he had a Japanese neighbor who was not really interested in football until Yamane and Yoshida joined the galaxy.
“He came to a galaxy match because I played,” said Yamane. “Now he plays football with his daughter.”
The two defenders of the Galaxy and the three players had different fortunes this season. Angel City, who missed the playoffs last season, has a 2-2-2 sheet while the Galaxy (0-7-3) is without victory in 10 games after the defeat of 4-2 on Sunday against Portland. It is the worst start for an MLS title champion.
But they gathered for dinner several times – still in a Japanese restaurant, said the goalkeeper of Angel City Hannah Stambaugh, the original daughter of Tokyo of an American soldier and a Japanese mother.
“American dishes are incredible,” said Stambaugh in a strongly accentuated Englishman. “But sometimes we miss Japanese food.”
Meetings are more than just a chance for a good meal.
“They talk about creating something,” said Watanabe. “In Los Angeles, it is a fairly decent Japanese community. And they have Hollywood, which is a question of creativity. They therefore want to create something that brings together the Japanese community. ”
They already have it.
⚽ You have read the last episode of soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and highlights unique stories. Listen to Baxter in the episode of this week of “Podcast Corner of the Galaxy.
