Kashima Soccer Museum

Aurélien Baron, International Affairs Division

The museum entrance

4 years have passed since Kashima Stadium welcomed the World Cup. This year, the 32 participating countries will fight for the coveted trophy in Germany, Western Europe; in other words, at the other side of the world. Local people who saw any of the 3 games at Kashima will surely celebrate in their own way the memory of the Cup. Nostalgic ones surely remember these:

Argentina–Nigeria (1–0)
Germany–Ireland (1–1)
Italy–Croatia (1–2)

A giant stone soccer ball, outside the Kashima Stadium

And if they don't, all they have to do is go to the Kashima Soccer Museum, located in the stadium. Honestly, the reason why I wanted to go there is because I had enormous doubts about the quality of the exhibition. I was deeply convinced that a Japanese museum about soccer (or football, which is after all the original term) would be bad. But I must say I am very glad to tell that I was wrong. Just like the quality of soccer has incredibly improved over the past decade, the museum offers a rather good exhibition. As soon as you get in, you are transported 4 years into the past. The official World Cup Theme "Song of the Time" constantly vibrates in this place. If you are enough of a soccer fan, you will probably remember the performances of your national team, the transcending song having the extraordinary virtues of calling back vivid images of the competition. . . .

Japanese soccer memorabilia

The Soccer Museum is not only about the World Cup, though a large part shows beautiful pictures, soccer memorabilia signed by the 6 countries listed above, and a tournament table that a Frenchman like me is not particularly very proud of. 2 miniatures of the stadium before and after it was rebuilt can give you an idea of the big transformation Kashima Stadium had to go through in order to be able to welcome the Cup. The seat capacity grew from around 15,000 seats up to more than 47,000 seats.

They are so many who to come and support the local Kashima Antlers team, the pride of Ibaraki Prefecture when it comes to soccer. Of course, there is also the other team, the Mito Hollyhocks. Kashima plays for the first league, Mito for the second. The Antlers are famous all around Japan and the Museum explains you why since it is also dedicated to the short (but rich) history of the club.

The Green Dream

The Antlers made their professional J-League debut in 1993. In 13 years, the Kashima Antlers won the League Championship 4 times (1996, 1998, 2000, and 2001), got hold of the Yamazaki Nabisco Trophy 3 times (1997, 2000, and 2002), and conquered the 77th and 80th Emperor's Cups. It is no wonder then that they have Antlers players in the national team. Ogasawara, Koji, Yanagisawa are regular members of the Japanese squad. And chances are 5 members of the team could be going to Germany this year to beat Brazil, Australia and Croatia in Group F (F like "Feasible"). . . .

If only it was this French "Baron" in the team, not one from Brazil . . .

The Kashima Antlers are really respected in Japan. The story of the club is one of those that could inspire scenarists and filmmakers. Everything was made from scratch. Kashima turned professional and made it in the J-League with many difficulties but thanks to the help of legendary and committed player Zico from 1991, the club improved at an amazing pace. This is why you can see a statue of him in the stadium. Zico played two years for the Antlers before becoming technical manager in 1995. With other Brazilian stars such as Alcindo, Leonardo, Jorginho, the Antlers wrote the most beautiful pages of soccer history in Japan in the late 90s. Though in Japanese only, you can enjoy a retrospective of this in the "Dream Seat" zone of the Museum, a nice theater that sends you back in those golden Antlers times.

Inside the stadium

So, to make things a little bit clearer, the museum has 4 zones (Stadium, World Cup, Dream Seat and Antlers) providing 14 different shows/exhibitions altogether. Soccer fans will be delighted by the exhibitions' quality before (or after?) watching one of those thrilling games in the splendid stadium, outstanding landmark in Ibaraki.

An added bonus of visiting the Museum is that you can go on a mini tour of the stadium itself and stand up very close to the pitch. The view from that level is awe-inspiring. You should definitely check it out.