In 2005, when Masakatsu Sawa debuted in football with Sporting Cristal. Chemo del Solar gave him several minutes and since then he has made a name for himself in Peruvian football.
However, it was not until Deportivo Municipal that he found glory, winning over the 'edil' fans game after game. And speaking of that, the GOLTV network made an extensive note about his career at the beginning of the year.
Now, taking advantage of Masakatsu Sawa's departure to Japanese football, we remember it.
The 'Samurai' Sawa, a Japanese idol on Inca land
The "Samurai" Sawa is the star of Deportivo Municipal of Peru, the humble but tenacious club with a red stripe on a white canvas, from the first division. He grew up speaking and writing in Japanese, but today he conquers this South American nation with a language that everyone understands: the goal.
Sawa, now 34 years old, has brought glory to Peru and Japan. In 2006, he was the first Japanese to score in the Copa Sudamericana while playing for Bolognesi. And in 2008, the first Japanese to score a goal in Libertadores, when he played for Cienciano. "That remains in history," he confesses.
"People tell me that I am an idol, but I don't feel that way. I am very embarrassed to be compared to the idols that still exist in Peru," says Sawa to the AFP, at the end of training at the Iván Elías Moreno stadium in southern Lima. He is accompanied by his son Yushi, with whom he has fun and disputes some balls.
"My dad worked for a company and my mom is a housewife. I was born in a city called Kashiwa, near Tokyo," says the player, who in Peru is also known as "The son of the goal."
After discovering his interest and talent as a footballer, this 1.73-meter striker emigrated to Argentina at the age of 18, to train in the youth division of River Plate club. "I had the opportunity to meet (Javier) Mascherano, (Gonzalo) Higuaín and (Radamel) Falcao, who are now the best players in Europe," he recalls.
He lived in a boarding house of River Plate for four years, where he learned to speak Spanish with an Argentine accent. "When I arrived from Argentina to Lima, people told me: why do you speak like an Argentine, it's weird," he recalled. Today he is married to a Peruvian and has two children. Sawa never naturalized, not even when he was invited to do so to defend the colors of Peru in 2007.
"They asked me to naturalize to play for the Peruvian national team, but I didn't want to because I wanted to play as a Japanese in the competitive league and for my country," he explained.
A dream that he partially fulfilled. In 2008, he returned to Japan to defend his hometown club, Kashiwa Reysol, where he won four titles and participated in the 2011 Club World Cup. They finished in fourth place, after being defeated by Neymar's Santos.
And despite being in a tentative roster to be called up by the selection of his country, he was excluded due to an injury. "I would like to play until I'm 40 and for my son to do the same, but his future and destiny will be decided by himself," he considers.
Sawa made his professional debut with the popular Lima club Sporting Cristal, under the command of Peruvian coach José Guillermo del Solar in 2005, where he became champion. At that time, he arrived at training on a bicycle.
In 2006, he signed for Bolognesi club in Tacna, under the command of Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, who was beginning to manage first division clubs. "Sampaoli used to call me colloquially 'ponja' (Japan, with the syllables inverted). He was very demanding, with a very mechanized and tactical methodology," said the forward, with 42 goals in his career.
In 2007, he arrived at Deportivo Municipal, which was still in the second division. He went to Cienciano and, after going to Japan for four years, he returned to Municipal in glory and majesty.
Beyond the nickname of "Samurai", he confesses that he does not practice martial arts: "If something happens to me, I will defend myself however I can," he says.
Source: Goltv.tv