World Cup 2018: 3 things we should learn from Japan and its fans
This edition of the FIFA World Cup has already surprised us with the shocking exits of big fishes like Germany, Spain, Argentina and Portugal. The tournament being held in Russia has been even labelled 'the world cup of the underdogs' for the reason that there are some unexpected teams who have made it to the quarterfinals.
It is exciting to see the dark horses have a shot at the big prize, but World Cup also have given us some heartbreaking moments.
The elimination of teams like Morocco, Iran, Senegal, Nigeria, etc despite fighting hard was too painful for anyone who loves the game.
One such team who saw their dreams fall down even after putting up a great performance was Japan. The Samurais were 2-0 up against their round of 16 opponents Belgium at one point of the game, but a quick turn of things saw them being knocked out when the final whistle was blown.
Japan might be going home with nothing but empty hands and broken hearts. However, they have left some big lessons for every one of us to learn.
Here are three things that we all should learn from the Asian side and its fans:
#3 Discipline
Japan has been always known for their discipline. Even the common habit of removing one's footwear before entering a building or a house was introduced by them. The country's football team and its fans who came to participate at the World Cup were no different.
Players resorting to unethical actions on the pitch to provoke the opponents or to get a decision in their favour from the referee has become an ordinary spectacle in modern football. There are even teams who use it as a strategy to tempt their opponents. But Japan made sure that they don't forget their own values even in their darkest hours.
Even though they lunge into tackles or gather around the officials to let them know about their unhappiness on any particular decision, the Blue Samurais do not cross a certain limit. Cheap shots and such unscrupulous acts are not present in their book of tricks.
And we cannot not talk about the team's supporters, who always stood back after games to clean up the area they were occupying. Even when their heroes faced an excruciating defeat in the final minute of the match against Belgium, they made sure that they didn't leave anything behind that would tarnish the values held by them.