Most fans memories of the Nissan stadium in Yokohama will stretch back to a July morning in 2002 when Brazil, inspired by the original Ronaldo complete with a strange haircut, defeated Germany by 2-0 to win the FIFA World Cup.    It was the game where 'Man of the tournament' Oliver Kahn, who had performed heroics to get the unfancied Germany to the final game, saw his reputation crumble at the final hurdel. The game ended with Cafu lifting the trophy and the blond headed Kahn with his gloves in the back of the German net in disgust.  

Inside the stadia concourse there are images of that night but mostly dominating are images immortalising famous victories of the Japanese national side through the ages.   This is after all the 'International Stadium Yokohama' one of the major homes of the Japanese national team   It also plays host to the club matches of Yokohama F.Marinos in the Japanese J-League. Not completed until 1998 it has the highest seating capacity of any stadium in Japan, with a total of 72,327 seats and hosts the FIFA World Club Cup each Janaury as the winners of the Champions League of UEFA play against the best South America has to offer.

Marinos are one of Japan's most popular sides located not 30 minutes from Tokyo in Japan's second city Yokohama a thriving modern city with 3.8 million inhabintants. Yokohama is a modern city with beautiful harbour walks, shining pavements and thriving shopping areas. The city's tradition, as a thriving port that opened its arms to the world of

trading after periods of historical isolation, means that the city is also home to a lively number of bars in a pub culture that came with the arrival of visitors to its shores.   Unsurprisingly the team itself pays homage to the naval and sea faring traditions of its past in the team name with Marinos meaning sailors in Spanish.

Playing in a strip strikingly similar to another club with naval traditions Portsmouth, Marinos were formed by the merger of Yokohama Marinos and Yokohama Flugals in 1999; a union that also led to the formation of Yokohama F.C the now J-League 2 side.    Historically, Marinos are one of only six teams to have competed in Japan's top flight of football every year since its inception in 1993. Famous players from its past include Julio Salinas and Ahn Jueng Hwan the South Korean golden boy of the 2002 World Cup.

Marinos opponents were Jubilo Iwate and they like a number of other sides in Japan also use hispanic references in the team name. The team name Júbilo means 'exultation' in Portuguese and a number of flags used by Jubilo fans also use Portuguese in creation. Similarly Marinos fans pay homage to star player and Japanese International Koji Yamase with the title 'El King'.

Played on a Wednesday afternoon with a 3pm kick off on a Japanese holiday, a crowd of over 45,000 filled the stadium on a warm and pleasant afternoon. The winning goal came midway through the first half from Kazuma WATANABE. The ball flew into the top corner of the home end goal past former Japanese International keeper and one time Portsmouth player Yoshikatsu KAWAGUCHI.

editor for V.I.F