- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Headline Book Publishing; First Edition edition (4 May 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747274770
- ISBN-13: 978-0747274773
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.2 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
603,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #32 in Books > Sports, Hobbies & Games > Football > World Football
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Think you've read it all when it comes to football? This book will certainly provide a new angle.
When one thinks of footballers plying their trade on foreign shores, rarely does Japan come to mind. Serie A in Italy, or Spain's Primera Liga, maybe, but the J-League? An ageing Gary Linker apart, most fans would struggle to name any European or South American footballing luminaries who have packed their boots and headed to the Far East.
Yet the surprise uncovered by Ultra Nippon is that there are many from football's first world earning a living in the J-League, playing, coaching and even refereeing.
Adding himself to the western contingent hooked up with the fortunes of the Japanese game, Jonathan Burchill has come up with a story which provides the ultimate contrast to standard football fare. For starters, you don't get teams called Grampus Eight, Shimizu S-Pulse, and Kyoto Purple Sanga just anywhere. And that's not the only contrast.
Birchall's odyssey takes in samba bands and giant parrots in a football world devoid of hooliganism. Organised dancing, not fighting, is clearly all the rage at Japanese grounds, and as the story unfolds the effect that Japan's national history, and culture and characteristics have had on the integration of the game become clear.
For much of the last few decades, the Western world has looked East with astonishment, at achievements economic and technological. In the football world, the pattern is different. Japan, with little confidence, looks West for its lead on the pitch, even if everything else surrounding the game seems from another world. Such a culture of deference appears to run right through the Japanese game.
Its influence has provided a bizarre canvas on which the author has painted a fine picture, making essential reading for the thinkers in the football fraternity. Planet football could and can easily be very different.
For any fan thinking otherwise, this should be compulsory reading. --Trevor Crowe
Product Description
In 1993, the J League was set up in Japan as corporate backers saw football as an ideal sport for a young, affluent generation who question traditional values. This title examines the sport not just in new surroundings, but as an old country coming to terms with change.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is an excellent read. its not your run of the mill soccer book, but is a refreshig change to the norm. its well worth a read and definately worth buying. if you like soccer, you will like this.
Format:Hardcover
If you love soccer you're going to love this one. Beautifully well-written, once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. Enjoyable from start to finish.
Format:Hardcover
East Asian football has come in leaps and bounds in the past decade, as exemplified by the appearances in the past four Football World Cups in which both Japan and South Korea have both featured. Initially, both countries were easy beats, but now have credibility on the international stage, both sides having made the knockout phase in two of the past three World Cups competing against European and South American nations which have a much superior pedigree in football. Key to this has been the establishment of professional football leagues in both countries, which allows for development and exposure for domestic players. Although South Korea's K-League was up and running first (1983), Japan's J-League (formed in 1993) is the more highly regarded of the two professional leagues.
Jonathan Birchall, an English journalist formerly based in Japan, has written a passionate account of his year following the J-League. Amidst the rigid and formal structure of Japanese society, there is a niche culture that surrounds the clubs that play in the J-League. Birchall does a fine job in immersing himself and exploring that culture in "Ultra Nippon: How Japan Reinvented Football". In preparing this book, Birchall has not only talked to the fans, but also to the players and managers. In this way, the reader gains a perspective of the life of a journeyman football player, those who leave their own shores to seek a better life offshore, as well as the personalities of the fans and supporters. Like most professional leagues, the J-League has its fair share of Brazilian players, three of which feature in the team Birchall follows, the Shimizu S-Pulse. The team is managed by former Tottenham player Steve Perryman, who adds some insight on the Japanese game from the point of view of an English former professional player. Although serving partially as a very informal history of the J-League, including a commentary on some of the more famous players and managers that have graced the J-League, as well as the bizarre club names and past controversies, "Ultra Nippon" is really an engaging tale of the travels and troubles of Shimizu S-Pulse during the 1999 J-League season, and the club's supporters, with a bit of insight on Japanese culture meshing with professional football thrown in for good measure.
Relatively dated now as it was published in 2000, prior to Japan co-hosting with South Korea the 2002 World Cup, "Ultra Nippon: How Japan Reinvented Football" is still an interesting insight into an ex-pat's experience of a foreign football league. I didn't quite get the sense that Japan "reinvented" football as per the subtitle of this book, but more reinvigorated it. Still, "Ultra Nippon" is well worth a space on the bookshelf, especially if you have an interest in East Asian football.
Jonathan Birchall, an English journalist formerly based in Japan, has written a passionate account of his year following the J-League. Amidst the rigid and formal structure of Japanese society, there is a niche culture that surrounds the clubs that play in the J-League. Birchall does a fine job in immersing himself and exploring that culture in "Ultra Nippon: How Japan Reinvented Football". In preparing this book, Birchall has not only talked to the fans, but also to the players and managers. In this way, the reader gains a perspective of the life of a journeyman football player, those who leave their own shores to seek a better life offshore, as well as the personalities of the fans and supporters. Like most professional leagues, the J-League has its fair share of Brazilian players, three of which feature in the team Birchall follows, the Shimizu S-Pulse. The team is managed by former Tottenham player Steve Perryman, who adds some insight on the Japanese game from the point of view of an English former professional player. Although serving partially as a very informal history of the J-League, including a commentary on some of the more famous players and managers that have graced the J-League, as well as the bizarre club names and past controversies, "Ultra Nippon" is really an engaging tale of the travels and troubles of Shimizu S-Pulse during the 1999 J-League season, and the club's supporters, with a bit of insight on Japanese culture meshing with professional football thrown in for good measure.
Relatively dated now as it was published in 2000, prior to Japan co-hosting with South Korea the 2002 World Cup, "Ultra Nippon: How Japan Reinvented Football" is still an interesting insight into an ex-pat's experience of a foreign football league. I didn't quite get the sense that Japan "reinvented" football as per the subtitle of this book, but more reinvigorated it. Still, "Ultra Nippon" is well worth a space on the bookshelf, especially if you have an interest in East Asian football.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A must-buy for the 2002 World Cup!
In the summer of the World Cup, this is the book to introduce everyone to the culture of Japan. This book shows what football is to the Japanese fan and how a transplanted sport... Read more
Published on 12 May 2002
Entertaining and informative.
Ultra Nippon is an ultra great read. This book provides insights on a culture that is often considered to be enigmatic. Read more
Published on 30 May 2000 by Kikuko Itasaka
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
