Tokyo Verdy: Green spaces — Terrace Edition

Words: Charlie Wright

Images: Charlie Wright

The Portuguese word ‘verde’ derives from the latin ‘viridis’ meaning blooming, youthful, fresh or green, and it is from this that the team formerly known as Yomiuri FC took their new name in 1992: Verdy.

It brings the word ‘verdant’ to mind and so the tranquility of Shinjuku Gyeon National Garden is the natural place to start the day.

After a morning observing some of the earliest of early sakura we break our brief repose and head back west through Shinjuku itself, past the ever-famous Godzilla head (which I finally realised was responsible for the maddening roars I had heard whilst coming home from Golden Gai in the small hours of the morning) and onto the subway.

Our destination is Ajinomoto Stadium, a 49,970 capacity ground built on land formerly used by the United States Forces Japan military command in Chofu prefecture, some 25km west of Tokyo station.

The subway journey is as pleasant as ever, Tokyo once again living up to its well earned reputation for efficient public transport.

There are fewer green shirts than I expect, Verdy fans easily outnumbered, at least on our train, by the orange and blue of today’s opponents Albirex Niigata. I had a theory as to why.

The most fervent and raucous supporters are in unallocated seating behind the goal and must arrive several hours early in order to stake their claim to their usual seats.

©Charlie Wright/ Terrace Edition. Tokyo Verdy vs Albirex Niigata.

This was another piece of culture shock for an Englishman used to trying to spend as little time as possible in Premier League stadiums in order to avoid extortionate prices for beers and food - but we’ll come to the refreshments later.

Arriving at the large, decidedly suburban Tobitakyū station we follow the crowd past a number of red and blue banners extolling the virtues of Ajinomoto Stadium’s other tenants, FC Tokyo.

My impression was that FC Tokyo were far more prolifically supported throughout the city - at the very least their merchandise seemed to be front and centre of any tourist-oriented football shop we entered.

When I discover, to my horror, that their shirts have ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ stitched into the collar I declare myself a Tokyo Verdy fan on the spot. Some things can’t be helped.

Despite this perceived FC Tokyo dominance it is Verdy who have the most silverware between the two sides, boasting seven league titles, five Emperor’s Cups, and six League Cups. Most of these were won in Japan’s semi-professional era when the club was still known as Yomuiri FC.

There was some limited success right at the start of the J-League era in the early 90s but since 2009 they’ve languished in mid-table in the J2 League.

This year however, they’re back. A successful 2023 campaign culminated in a third place finish and promotion back to J1, and with that amount of silverware it’s hard to argue they don’t belong here.

The sports shop on our immediate approach to the stadium has a handful of green items but, like so much I’ve seen so far, is overwhelmingly dominated by the blue and red of FC Tokyo. It’s only upwards from here though.

As we pass through the ticket checks there’s a market style open-air Tokyo Verdy shop with shirts, scarves, the ubiquitous supporters towels in innumerable designs, hats, assorted trinkets and an orderly queue of kids feeding 100 yen coins into a gachapon machine filled with capsules containing keyrings with each player’s face on.

I don’t fancy my chances of getting a goalkeeper from the gachapon keyring machine (one has to represent the goalkeeper’s union at all times) so I opt for a rather fetching green, gold and black scarf instead.

I pick up on a buzz as we walk the perimeter of the stadium. A relatively mixed crowd of young and old, men and women all seem excited to be here, perhaps long term fans or perhaps newcomers lured in by the return of J1 football.

Their average attendance in last year’s successful J2 campaign was 7,982 and there are easily double that here today.

The last errand to attend to before taking my seat is the concession stall. I order something called ‘popcorn shrimp’ and expect to receive some bite size shrimp pieces. Instead I get a bucket of popcorn topped with tempura prawns. It costs £3. Incredible.

Kick-off. Verdy channel all that energy, that nervous excitement radiating around the stadium, into a tremendous early start and win a dangerous free kick on the edge of the box.

Fuki Yamada steps up, shouldering the responsibility, and with a baying sea of orange in front of him powers the ball over the wall, past the outstretched keeper, into the top left corner.

Verdy are 1-0 up inside the first 10 minutes. The team from Niigata Prefecture aren’t deterred by that early flurry of green and soon play their way into the game, striking back with an equaliser around the 30th minute.

Half-time arrives quickly and I set off to find somewhere for a cigarette. Japan’s very strict rules on smoking on the street mean you can’t just light up anywhere and upon finding the smoking area, a repurposed concrete stairwell packed with groups of two and three laughing and joking.

I feel my most authentically local as I blend in with the huddle of green-shirted smokers puffing away in the golden evening light.

The second-half continues much the same way the first had finished, with Albirex on top. Motoki Nagakura capitalises on a lackadaisical back-pass, snatching the ball, breezing past the other Verdy centre-back and slotting home past the goalkeeper.

It’s disastrous; the Verdy supporters behind the goal briefly silenced as their counterparts in orange and blue at the opposite end go crazy but all is not lost; the team in green have one last trick up their sleeve.

In the 90th minute, a hopeful cross from the right lands at the feet of the Tokyo number 10, Tomoya Miki, at the edge of the six yard box.

His flick lands at the unlikely feet of nominal left-back Hijiri Onaga, thrown on today to play on the left wing, unmarked at the back post, who deftly steers the ball into the top left corner of the goal with a single touch.

To my left, spring has now sprung; the green wall explodes into a cacophony of drums and song and Tokyo Verdy have secured a crucial point.

Welcome back to J1.