MILAN - "People rush to say running but it's such a broad topic that I wasn't able to bring my ideas together." It's not an easy subject to explain. Running, we mean. Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author, attempts to do just that in his work "The Art of Running", now a cult book for runners all over the world. We don't know if Yuto Nagatomo has read it. What we do know for sure is that the art of running is his painter's palette when he's out on the pitch. He uses every shade of speed. "My strength is one-on-ones and pace. I'd like to help the team by making the most of these skills," he said shortly after signing for Inter.
Yuto's rapid thanks to a completely natural remedy, 'Umeboshi', literally the 'salty prunes of health'. He loves them and in Japan a greengrocer tried to make him the face of his products. No luck. Nagatomo is a hero and icon in his country. He has a degree in political economics from the Meiji academy, one of the six most prestigious in Tokyo. He even ended up in a short animated film about his life, "Yuto-kun ga Iku" by Ryo Higuchie Aya Otawa, which was shown at the WA! Japan Film Festival. His style vaguely recalls Yoichi Takahashi, the creator of Capitan Tsubasa or Flash Kicker as it's known in the English-speaking world.
It's just a short step though from manga and cartoons to the football pitch. At midnight CET this evening Nagatomo will take on Greece in what is essentially a knockout match. His assist for Honda against Côte d'Ivoire was not enough. Today Japan wants more from him. Perhaps even to score, his old habit. "I like to score goals and under Mazzarri I don't exactly play as a full-back. I want to score more." Always on the run of course.
