{"id":2646,"date":"2022-08-18T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=2646"},"modified":"2026-09-24T22:03:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:33:34","slug":"danish-reds-eyeing-asian-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/danish-reds-eyeing-asian-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Danish Reds eyeing Asian success"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the lesser known historical quirks about Japan is that it\u2019s actually the final resting place of none other than Jesus Christ.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The story goes that it was actually Jesus\u2019 little known brother, Isukiri, that was nailed to the cross and in gratitude Jesus then carried his ashes all the way across northern Europe and Siberia before settling in Japan where he married a Japanese woman and died in the remote north of the country at the age of 106.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whichever way you spin it was a hell of a journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were to make a similar trip from central Denmark and end up on the outskirts of Tokyo the last thing you\u2019d expect to find is someone from the same town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That though is exactly what happened at one of Japan\u2019s most storied football clubs, Urawa Red Diamonds, where Danish striker Kasper Junker and defender Alexander Scholz now play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having both grown up in Vejle, a town of just 60,000 people more than 200 kilometres from Copenhagen, it\u2019s remarkable that they never crossed paths before moving to the other side of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more so given that both their fathers also turned out for the local side, Vejle Boldklub, where the younger Scholz started his professional career, as he tells The Asian Game<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun to meet now and all a bit crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know the same people and we\u2019ve been to the same places; we did play against each other in Denmark, we won the game and I scored a goal I think, but it\u2019s crazy that we really meet for the first time in Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kasper Junker always wanted to play in Asia and is loving life in Japan (PHOTO: Instagram)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From those humble beginnings a decade ago this pair of Danish footballers will now likely have a major say in just how far Urawa progress in the knockout stages of Asia\u2019s continental showpiece, the AFC Champions League, which gets underway this week in Urawa\u2019s home, Saitama Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-nine-year-old Scholz has been an ever-present as part of a Reds back four that\u2019s conceded less than a goal a game in the league this season, but with the team sitting in a disappointing seventh on the domestic standings he knows that the pressure is on to deliver in Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than fair enough to say that if we lose the first game of the Champions League it will be a disappointment,” the former Midtjylland and Standard Li\u00e8ge defender said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m ambitious and I want to win everything and being seventh in the league right now is not good enough for Urawa, so I view this kind of pressure and ambition in a positive way and so I say that if we go out of the Champions League now it will be a massive disappointment for the season, especially with the expectation from the supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are sentiments shared by 28-year-old striker Junker, who also feels the weight of expectation at the 2007 and 2017 ACL champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEver since the first day I came to Japan I remember seeing the banners in the stadium that say \u2018Reds Go To Asia\u2019 and I know that the goal for the club and the fans is that we want to go to Asia and show the quality of Urawa,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alexander Scholz has embraced all aspects of Japanese life (PHOTO: Instagram)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Champions League is the highest level you can play, the biggest tournament, and it means a lot for the club and the fans so of course the pressure is high because we want to deliver for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That expectation should usually sit even heavier on the shoulders of Junker, a dynamic and prolific finisher who scored almost a goal every two games last season as he took the league by storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This season however he\u2019s, oddly, struggled for regular starts despite appearing to be clearly the club\u2019s best option up front in their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation and he\u2019s hoping to be able to deliver on the continental stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy season hasn\u2019t been good at all,” he said matter-of-factly. “I had some injuries and when you go into that bad cycle with injuries it\u2019s difficult to get into a rhythm, and as a striker you need to keep playing games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel good now with my body and want to play and as a striker it\u2019s frustrating when I think I\u2019m good enough to play but that\u2019s not my decision to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough it hasn\u2019t been the best season I know the type of player I am and I know I can score goals in the J.League so I\u2019m not worried about the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first challenge for Urawa in the knockout stages of the ACL is that of Malaysian powerhouse JDT, and whilst the club is approaching that clash with a measured confidence, both Junker and Scholz are also hoping to dispel perceptions back home of the reality of life as a professional footballer in Asia, as the former tells The Asian Game<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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