17.06.2009 12:58
Barça treble success reaches Japan
Vanessa Forns
The treble achieved by Barça this season is attracting international interest. The prestigious Japanese sports magazine ‘Number Plus' is devoting 97 pages to the achievements of Josep Guardiola’s team.
The highlights of what is possibly the most important season in the history of FC Barcelona have
been brought together in the July issue of the Japanese sports magazine ‘Number Plus'. The 97
pages are packed with photos and information about the Club with special emphasis on the treble.
First the Champions League
Under the headline ‘Barça the Champions, the first part of the magazine focuses on the
Champions League, especially the final against Manchester United. The build-up to the match, the
match itself in the Olympic Stadium and the subsequent celebrations are the three main sections.
The magazine also includes interviews with Xavi, Messi and Iniesta and a description of the rest of
the squad with comments from them all.
League and Cup
Next comes a summary of Barça’s progress towards the league title plus a special
view of the title celebrations through the eyes of a Japanese journalist. Finally there’s a
shorter section on the Kings Cup won on 13th May in Valencia.
Guardiola the key
However, one of the important sections is that devoted to team manager Josep Guardiola. The
author, Atsushi Kondo, made a special trip to Barcelona to write the article, which describes
Guardiola as the key to the team’s success.
Historical review
In a section entitled ‘1899-2009 Barça Archives' there are a number of background
pieces, which include an article on the double of 2006 with interviews of the time with Messi,
Iniesta, Valdés and Puyol; another on Johan Cruyff and the Dream Team; another describing the
significance of the Camp Nou for Barça fans and lastly an analysis of the importance of the Barça
academy based at the Masia.
Public debate
The magazine also features a number of interviews with well-known personalities speaking about
Barça. One of them is the Serbian coach Ivica Osim, who has managed a number of Japanese teams as
well as the national side.
Also, and under the headline ‘Barcelona is beautiful', there’s a discussion about
the footballing philosophy of FC Barcelona between Hiromi Hara, technical secretary of the Japanese
national team and personal friend of Txiki Begiristain, Mitsuhiko Kubota, a commentator for
Japanese TV and Shigeki Sugiyama, a sports journalist specializing in the European leagues.