In the 1990s, Japanese football completed a strong rise with the support of "Soccer Boy" and "School Football". Almost 20 years later, Japanese football has become an Asian benchmark. In the history of the World Cup, they have reached the round of 16 twice. This year's Russian competition, the first 2 rounds of 1 win and 1 draw, the completion of the promotion is also a great hope. The protagonist of this article, Keisuke Honda, is a successful representative of Japanese football, and he has scored goals and assists in all three World Cups, including this one. He is also the only player in these three editions to achieve this, even Ronaldo and Messi, can not do it.
【Born in a sports family, maverick personality】
Keisuke Honda came from a proud athletic family, and his uncle, Daisaburo Honda, was a famous canoeer who represented the Japanese national team in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Honda Keisuke's cousin, Honda Tadamoto, son of Honda Daisaburo, is a professional wrestler who is more successful than his father, representing Japan in freestyle wrestling at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games. In addition, Honda Keisuke's own brother Honda Hiroyuki also became a footballer, unluckily, he chose to retire after 2005 due to a leg injury, and then became Honda Keisuke's agent.
It should be noted that Keisuke Honda has good athletic talent, but he still has a lot of sports options. What eventually led him to the green field was the famous Japanese manga "Soccer Boy". Like countless Japanese teenagers, Keisuke Honda's childhood ignited his dream of football because of this manga, and he began a career that struggled for half a lifetime.
Keisuke Honda's personality has caused him a lot of criticism, but to some extent, it has also laid the foundation for his achievements today. As early as when he was in elementary school, Honda Keono once triggered a heated discussion among his friends because of an essay "I want to become a world-class star".
Although Honda Keisuke has always been self-consistent in facing the media and fans, he is quite delicate in his emotional life and pays great attention to protecting his wife. Before getting married, he was reluctant to let his girlfriend appear in public or mention it to the media. It wasn't until after marriage that Keisuke Honda began to gradually introduce his wife Misako to the media. Touchingly, the two met in high school, and Misako was once the manager of the soccer department of Nishisawa Nishi High School. As a result, in a high school soccer league, Honda and misako at the time fell in love at first sight in a chance acquaintance. Subsequently, after the test of the years, the two finally got married and had children after the love run.
[From the Dutch "Guiyou the Great" to the conquest of Moscow in World War I, Milan's years are unforgettable]
The genius is destined not to be buried, and at the age of 21, Honda Gave up the chance to win the J-League Golden Boot and chose to join Venlo in the Dutch League. Although the team was relegated in the first and a half seasons (joined in winter), Honda then brought Venlo back to the Dutch First Division with a stunning performance of 16 goals in the Dutch Second Division with an excellent performance. At that time, Honda Keiyo made Venlo fans crazy for him, and even gave him the name of Emperor Guiyou.
In December 2009, CSKA Moscow extended an olive branch to Honda Keiyu, a hit in the semi-season after entering the Eredivisie. Once again, he gave up the potentially beautiful report card of the entire season and left the winter window again. Even more legendary is that Honda Keisuke, as the first Japanese player to land in Russia's top league, then became the darling of fans in just one game. That's because his debut was the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 knockout round, CSKA Moscow versus Sevilla. In the match, Honda Keiyu first assisted Thomas Nezid to score a goal, followed by his signature free kick directly to score, successfully led CSKA Moscow to a 2-1 victory over La Liga powerhouses, and finally advanced to the champions league quarterfinals with a total score of 3-2.
During his four years with CSKA Moscow, Honda won 1 Russian Premier League and 2 Russian Cups. Then in January 2014, he chose to join Serie A giants ac Milan on his own. In Serie A, Keisuke Honda also had happy times. In the 2014-15 season, he contributed 6 goals and 2 assists in the first 7 rounds of the competition, becoming the team's ace for a time, and was also voted the 2014 Asian Player of the Year. Overall, though, Honda's free-fall ac Milan didn't reach the heights he expected. In the 2016-17 Serie A finale, Keisuke Honda, wearing the captain's armband, came to the end and completed his farewell match for ac Milan before moving to the Mexican league.
【Asian Player World Cup First Man: 2018 Russia Wins Individual Milestone】
Honda Keisuke's national team career has been controversial because of his flamboyant personality. The proverb that "you play to score goals for yourself" made Honda Keisuke and his national team teammates have a fierce conflict for a while, and even divided the Japanese national team into 3 factions: supporting Honda, opposing Honda, and Buddhism.
In this year's 2018 World Cup in Russia, in the first match against Colombia, Honda Keisuke came off the bench in the second half, received assists through the main corner, helped center Daisuke Yongya score, and won 2-1 against Colombia. Last night and this morning against Senegal, Honda scored another milestone goal. As a result, he became the only player in the last three World Cups, the only player who can score goals and assists in each World Cup, which can be described as the king of Asia on the World Cup stage!
If goals and assists were a little flat this year, the pinnacle of Keiyo Honda came at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. At the time, he was placed in a pseudo-nine position as the core of the team. This era label position led by Messi at that time allowed Honda Keisuke to play a brilliant competition. He won 2 MVPs in three group matches. Among them, Cameroon scored the team's only goal in the first game. Then in a life-and-death battle with Denmark (the winner advances to the round of 16), Keisuke Honda first --- elevator free kick with his stunt to help the team break the deadlock.
Later in the game, he completed a beautiful fake action in the penalty area, and then assisted teammate Shinji Okazaki to push the empty goal to score, leading the Japanese national team to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time outside the home country.
At the 2011 Asian Cup, Keisuke Honda, as the leader of the Japanese team, led the team to defeat Australia in the final, and the motherland won the Asian Cup for the fourth time in its history. He also became the MVP of that Asian Cup because of his outstanding performance.
The 2014 World Cup was the Waterloo of the Japanese men's soccer team, and in the first match of the group stage, facing Côte d'Ivoire, Honda Keisuke received a cross from flanker Yudo Tomo, followed by a beautiful smooth ball action to help Japan take the lead. What made him helpless was that Japan was later reversed by African powerhouses, losing 1-2. This also laid the fate of the team's World Cup, and in the end they drew 1 and lost 2, and they were eclipsed. Keisuke Honda had to wait another 4 years before he could prove himself again in Russia.
【Epilogue】:
For Keisuke Honda, who is now 32 years old, this should be his last World Cup. A player with a strong personality, a Japanese superstar who never disappoints at key moments. No matter how many people hate him, there will be more people who love him deeply. All this was won with his feet. Keisuke Honda, a maverick right-way sports car. When he stops, it will be another major loss for Japanese football. That generation, inspired by the young football players, went to Europe to pass the torch to the next generation of Blue Warriors.
(Mu Mu Dan)