It took the 1978 World Cup in Argentina for Yoichi Takahashi to wake up to the popularity of football, a little-known semi-professional sport in Japan. Mesmerised by Kempes and Co., the manga artist switched his subject from baseball to the Beautiful Game, and came up with the iconic tale of Captain Tsubasa, starring eponymous young footballer Tsubasa Oozora.
The manga, and the anime adaptation, became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring a generation of footballers who grew up alongside the 11-year-old. Japan’s most notable football export Hidetoshi Nakata — who “didn’t watch soccer on television” or “couldn’t really understand why people are soccer fans” — took up the sport because he wanted to try out some of the skills featured in the manga.
The Tsubasa generation came to the fore in 1998 as Japan qualified for its first World Cup. In Russia, at their sixth straight appearance, they are captained by Makoto Hasebe, who co-stars with the character in advertisements back home. Tsubasa’s biggest disciple, however, should line up for the opponents on Tuesday.
‘The Incredible No. 10’
For Colombia’s James Rodriguez, football was never about emulating the nation’s greats such as Valderrama, Asprilla or Rincon.
Instead, he spent his sleepy childhood afternoons glued to the flickering images of Tsubasa — or Oliver Atom, as he was known in the Spanish version ‘Supercampeones’ — on the television screen.
Noting the similarities between the child and his favourite character, biographer Michael Part writes in James:
The Incredible Number 10: “In the show, Oliver and his mother moved to a new city and he joined a new soccer team. He lived mostly alone with his mother because his father, Koudai, was a sea captain and was always gone.
