Renaissance of ‘trailblazing’ star: Japanese media reacts to Keisuke Honda’s A-League move
MAKE no mistake: Keisuke Honda’s arrival in the A-League is not a sideways move for a marquee fund payout.
Instead, it’s a new chapter in the career of a player whose public image in Japan has undergone a significant turnaround in the last four months.
With 37 goals from 98 senior appearances, Honda’s contribution to Asian football is beyond question.
In June the 2011 AFC Asian Cup MVP became the first Japanese player to score and assist in three consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments, and the Osaka native will forever be the symbol of the Samurai Blue’s continental dominance in the early 2010s under then-head coach Alberto Zaccheroni.
His club career, however, has been spotty at best and his glory days were arguably with Russia’s CSKA Moscow between 2009 and 2014. Three and a half seasons at Italy’s famed AC Milan failed to propel Honda into superstardom, and his next destination was not the Premier League as some anticipated but instead Mexico’s C.F. Pachuca.
Honda’s reputation fell to critical levels in April as a result of public sentiment suggesting he played a significant role in the dismissal of former Japan head coach Vahid Halilhodzic. It was seen as overreach by a player well past his international prime whose last competitive goal came in a September 2016 World Cup qualifier.
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Author Tadashi Ihoroi, whose scheduled book on Halilhodzic’s tactics was rapidly re-edited and released as a post-mortem on the Bosnian’s tenure and abrupt firing, was critical of Honda in a June interview shortly before Japan’s World Cup campaign began.
“He was a victim of ‘Guardiola Shock’ when he joined AC Milan [in 2014],” said Ihoroi. “It came at a time when players needed to be able to sprint 20 or 30 times per match … and players [who couldn’t] were unusable.
“In the end he was (at his best as) a CSKA Moscow player and was never able to reach the level of his braggadocio.”
But after quietly returning to form at Pachuca, where he recorded an impressive seven goals and seven assists in the 2018 Liga MX Clausura, Honda silenced his critics during Japan’s campaign in Russia. There he assisted Yuya Osako’s game-winner against Colombia and scored a critical equaliser versus Senegal to push Japan toward their third-ever knockout stage appearance.
Having retired from the Samurai Blue a hero in the wake of the team’s heartbreaking loss to Belgium, Honda declared a new target in a recent interview with AmebaTV: leading Japan to a gold medal as an over-age player in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. All of the sudden, a notion that many would have laughed at in April seems more than achievable.
“The best part for both Victory and the A-League is that clearly this is not some retirement tour,” said J-Talk Podcast host Ben Maxwell. “Honda’s stated aim of going to the 2020 Olympics as an over-age player means he’ll be motivated each and every time he pulls on the shirt.”
Maxwell’s thoughts were echoed by Japanese journalists, who expressed optimism about the move.
“Honda is still at a level where he can play well,” stated Football Channel chief editor Michio Ueda. “The A-League is one of the stronger leagues in Asia and it’s a great motivator for him as he tries to compete in 2020.
“It would have been exciting for the J. League if he’d returned to Japan, but in a sense it would have marked the last phase before his retirement. If Honda wants to be involved with the [Olympic] team it’s good that he’s staying overseas.”
If Honda is committed to his goal of walking in the opening ceremony at Tokyo’s New National Stadium in less than two years, there are perhaps few better starting points than AAMI Park.
“Because Japan don’t have the pressure of Olympic qualification, he can be more involved in the process of building the team; in that sense being in Australia puts him at an advantage over North America or Europe,” journalist Yoshiyuki Kawaji suggested. “It will be a big deal if he participates in the Olympics, but first he needs to achieve results similar to what he earned in Mexico.”
Honda’s arrival in Melbourne will also present a chance to pursue his business and philanthropic interests off the pitch, which range from soccer academies (including a joint-venture in Heidelberg, Melbourne) and clubs (most notably Austria’s SV Horn) to a recently-announced venture fund in collaboration with actor and musician Will Smith.
“There are lots of star athletes around the world who have advanced into entrepreneurship during their careers, but that’s rare in Japan,” added Kawaji. “As a player he’s somewhat of a trailblazer; it’s hard to imagine him retiring and becoming just a businessman.”
The A-League and Melbourne Victory both have an opportunity to significantly expand their footprint, with time zones and distance in their favour should they make a more aggressive marketing push toward Japanese fans and Asia as a whole. The urgency of this task will be amplified should the reigning domestic champions draw J. League opposition in the 2019 AFC Champions League group stage.
“[Victory] are by far the best run club in the league and have the biggest back office staff,” said Asian soccer journalist Paul Williams. “If they can’t raise their profile on the back of [Honda’s signing] then no one can.”