JSoccer Magazine

With our promotion sealed and the J2 title wrapped up, I thought this would be a good time to let FC Tokyo supporters know about something I've been involved with and really hope to see succeed: JSoccer Magazine. I should've been plugging it from even before the first issue was published, but better late than never, eh?

The brainchild of Englishman Alan Gibson, who has done the lot in football in his time in Japan (apart from actually play in a J.League game!), JSoccer Magazine is the first football magazine to be released in Japan in English. I'm proud to say I've been a part of both the first two issues, and if you like what you see here you can order a copy of either or both by contacting Alan via email at alan@jsoccer.com (better for people in Japan), or through this link (for international readers).

The magazine is A4 size and printed in full colour, and both issues look absolutely great (these photos, taken at home on my phone, don't do it justice I assure you.

Issue 1

Alan resides in Kansai and spends a lot of time around Gamba Osaka, so its understandable that the cover of the Premier Issue (photo at top) features Takashi Usami and Yasuhito Endo, who were also both exclusively interviewed inside.

There are tons of great colour photos of the Team as One game, along with various articles on prominent players and club features (I found the one on Okinawan side FC Ryukyu very interesting), including...

It won't be especially pleasant reading for Tokyo supporters, but I told the story of our fall from grace and eventual relegation last season in a piece titled 'Capital Punishment.' Writing it brought back a lot of painful memories(!), but at the very least there are big photos of Gonda and Hirayama to look at!

Issue 2

Released last month, Issue 2 features Tadanari Lee and Freddie Ljungberg on the cover, and includes excellent features on Koreans in the J.League, 'Nadeshiko Japan,' Hiroshi Kiyotake, a tribute to Naoki Matsuda, a chat with ex-Tokyo forward Wagner Lopes, a view on Japanese football from two Australian supporters, and a piece by Tokyo Nerdy himself, Nick Wherton, about the green, less populated, side of the capital. As a teaser to Issue 2, you can read Nerdy's piece here, from the JSoccer website.

Pleasingly in Issue 2 there's also a strong focus on J2, with club profiles on Tokushima and Tottori, along with...

My J2 season-so-far piece 'Second Division, First in Drama!' (written at the end of September), focusing on the promotion race. Our struggles to get going, Chiba and Tochigi's fast starts (and eventual fadeouts), and the rise of newer teams Tokushima and Kitakyushu also get a mention. And as you can see above, as Alan obviously knows I'm a Tokyo fan, there's a belter of a photo of Naohiro Ishikawa (perfect for taking down to Kodaira to be signed at 'fan service' time?!) to boot.

Both issues have loads of other features, so why not grab a copy and have a look for yourself? As above, you can email Alan at alan@jsoccer.com, or order online at this link. He's also well worth a follow on twitter (@JSoccerMagazine), and always updates (often live from games in Kansai) scores and results from both J1 & J2.

As the slogan goes: JSoccer Magazine - Japanese Soccer From the Inside!