Shades of Man United, Urawa Reds vow to make the noise at Club World Cup

SAITAMA – Their raucous fans are the self-styled bad boys of Japanese football and the team’s red shirts, white shorts and black socks bear more than a passing resemblance to Manchester United.

But, while the fallen English giants will not be at the Club World Cup, Urawa Reds will and are set to be roared on in the United States by more than 5,000 followers.

Japan’s best-supported club face Inter Milan, River Plate and Monterrey in the opening round when the revamped competition starts on June 14. Urawa is a nondescript suburb about an hour north of Tokyo and the team have been known to draw crowds of over 50,000 to their Saitama Stadium.

Crowd trouble is extremely rare in Japan but Urawa were banned from last season’s domestic cup after their “ultra” supporters ripped down barriers and threatened opposition fans.

In 2014, they were forced to play a game behind closed doors after fans displayed a racist banner.

Fans say they are misunderstood and are looking forward to hoisting their flags and belting out their songs in front of a global audience.

“People who aren’t really interested in football think that we’re scary people, but I always tell them that’s not true. I often bring workmates to games to show them what it’s really like,” said Urawa fan Kakeru Inoue.

Urawa began life as Mitsubishi’s company team and their official name of Urawa Red Diamonds is a nod to the industrial behemoth’s corporate logo. They were originally called Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club, or MUFC, another link to the Premier League side.

Despite having been crowned Asian champions three times, Urawa have won the domestic J.League just once, in 2006. But they have appeared at the Club World Cup three times, most recently losing 3-0 to Manchester City in the semi-finals in 2023.

Veteran goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa says they are proud to be the only Japanese team at the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup.

“The competition will get a lot of attention from around the world and it has a big meaning for us. Who knows whether a Japanese team will play in it again because you need to become Asian champions to earn that right,” he said.

The club’s achievements have at times been overshadowed by their fans, who hung a banner reading “Japanese only” over an entrance to the stands before a 2014 game.

The incident earned Urawa the dubious distinction of becoming the first Japanese club ordered to play a game behind closed doors. One Urawa fan who has attended games since the J.League began said the club were “all about ultra culture”.

“That’s something you can only get in Urawa,” said the supporter, who gave his name only as Nakaji.

“No other club can match us.”

Urawa are coached by Poland’s Maciej Skorza, who is back for a second spell after leading the club to the Asian Champions League title in 2023.

The Club World Cup is being played in the middle of the J.League season, which runs from February to December. Urawa have made a strong start to their domestic campaign and look poised to challenge for the title, having finished 13th last season.

Marius Hoibraten, 30, says the Club World Cup is “a motivation rather than a distraction”.

“Being able to meet the best teams from other countries is a nice experience for us, everyone is buzzing,” said the Norwegian defender, one of the few non-Japanese players in Urawa’s squad.

“It’s a little bit of unknown water. Everyone is really looking forward to it.” AFP