{"id":35413,"date":"2014-06-25T16:17:19","date_gmt":"2014-06-25T20:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=35413"},"modified":"2014-06-25T16:17:19","modified_gmt":"2014-06-25T20:17:19","slug":"%e3%80%90rocketnews24%e3%80%91colombia-beats-japan-still-picks-up-a-few-japanese-supporters-for-its-inspiring-sportsmanship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2014\/06\/25\/%e3%80%90rocketnews24%e3%80%91colombia-beats-japan-still-picks-up-a-few-japanese-supporters-for-its-inspiring-sportsmanship\/","title":{"rendered":"\u3010RocketNews24\u3011Colombia beats Japan, still picks up a few Japanese supporters for its inspiring sportsmanship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted by\u00a0Michelle Lynn Dinh<\/a>\u00a0(Shimane<\/a>-ken,\u00a0Chibu-mura,\u00a0<\/strong>2010\u201313),<\/strong>\u00a0editor and writer for\u00a0RocketNews24<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>The following article was written by\u00a0<\/span>Casey Baseel<\/a>, a writer and translator for\u00a0<\/span>RocketNews24<\/a>,\u00a0a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Colombia<\/a><\/p>\n

The international nature of professional\u00a0soccer<\/strong>\u00a0makes for some uniquely compelling individual matchups at the\u00a0World Cup<\/strong>. Since the event is only held once every four years, during the time between tournaments the members of each country\u2019s national teams go back to playing for their respective, privately owned clubs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to imagine how this could make things awkward for a player who has a club teammate who\u2019s on the roster of a different national team. One day you\u2019re doing everything you can to beat him at the World Cup, but a few weeks later, you\u2019re going to have to go back to working together, no matter how bitterly contested your match in Brazil was.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, though, the opposite happens, and these personal connections bring a little extra\u00a0sportsmanship<\/strong>\u00a0to the World Cup, like what happened between\u00a0Japanese defender Yuto Nagatomo and Colombian midfielder Fredy Guarin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Japanese team came to Brazil with its confidence bolstered by continued success in Asian tournaments, along with advancing to the Round of 16 in two of the last three World Cups. The team was also carrying the lofty expectations of Japanese soccer fans and media outlets, which place an intense focus on international competitions and had showered praise upon the Japanese women\u2019s team\u2019s World Cup championship in 2011.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the men\u2019s team had struggled in its first two matches in Brazil, falling to Ivory Coast in its opener and failing to score in a 0-0 draw with Greece. A win against powerhouse Colombia was the only way Japan had a chance of advancing past the group stage, but despite some\u00a0creative moral support from record company Columbia<\/a>,Japan came up short again, losing 4-1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After the game ended, Nagatomo, who was also a part of Japan\u2019s much more successful 2010 World Cup team,\u00a0sat dazed on the turf<\/strong>, no doubt wondering just how his team had fallen so short of their goal. Many chose to leave the defender alone in his contemplation, but not the victorious Guarin.<\/p>\n

\"Colombia<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

While the two had just spent 60 minutes working at cross purposes, for most of the yearGuarin and Nagatomo are teammates on Italian club Inter Milan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u25bc And also apparently share tastes in wristwear\"Colombia<\/p>\n

Spotting the dejected Nagatomo,\u00a0<\/span>Guarin walked over to offer a few words of encouragement<\/strong>. He was shortly joined by two more players from the Colombian squad,<\/span>Juan Cuadrado and Eder Balanta<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Colombia<\/p>\n

The display of sportsmanship left a deep impression on viewers in Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing Guarin do that for Nagatomo brought tears to my eyes.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cGuarin is really one of the good ones.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cGuarin\u2026thank you!\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what they said to each other, but no matter who wins, there\u2019s always a connection between players who leave it all on the field.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cThank you Colombia. Good luck in the tournament!\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s probably safe to say that while sports fans in Japan are disappointed their team\u2019s campaign has come to a sudden end, quite a few will be cheering for Colombia\u2019s class act from here on out.<\/p>\n

Source, images:\u00a0Livedoor<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

More from RocketNews24<\/strong><\/p>\n