Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Japanese attacker Keisuke Honda is no stranger to Qatar. The 30-year-old led the Samurai Blue to a record fourth Asian title in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, emerging as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Recently he touched down again in Doha and said he was glad to be back, this time as a European star as AC Milan took on Juventus in the Italian Super Cup at the sold-out Al Sadd Stadium where both sides eventually drew 1-1 on December 24.
Honda, who has scored 36 international goals in 82 appearances, told sc.qa that the 2011 win was a special moment of his career, but he is no mood to rest on his laurels.
“The Asian title was a special one,” said the Japanese star who joined the Rossoneri in 2014. “It seems as if that was a long time ago. The city has changed rapidly. The facilities now are even more amazing. I hope I go back again with yet another title.”
The man who has been part of Japan’s ‘Magnificent Trio’ along with Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki since that 2011 triumph recalled an early instance of them being in action together, a cliff-hanger of a quarter-final against hosts Qatar at the Al Gharafa Stadium. “That was one of the early instance of us playing together. Qatar played very well in that game, and we were lucky to qualify for the semi-finals,” he said.
So would the attacking midfielder like to come back to Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup? “Yes, but of course not as a player,” he said with a smile.
However, die-hard fans of Honda are more optimistic. “Of course, he will play for Japan in the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” said 24-year-old computer professional Saori Asada (pictured below), who travelled from Tokyo just to support Honda and Milan.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/keisuke_honda_fan_jpg.html
