When a Japanese River Plate supporter gets his Argentinian counterparts going at the Club World Cup

A Japanese fan traveled the 4,600 miles from Seattle to the Pacific island nation, not to support the Urawa Red Diamonds, but rather their opponents, River Plate, who won 3-1 in their opening round of the Club World Cup. Akito Watanabe is a fan of El Millonario, the historic Argentinian club, with whom he fell in love more than a decade ago.

An Argentinian journalist met him in front of the hotel occupied by River Plate, singing and leading the other supporters present at the event, wearing red and white jerseys. The native of Chiba, a city located 40 kilometers southeast of Tokyo, had been captivated by the Argentinian club during its victory against Gamba Osaka (3-0) in the Suruga Bank Cup, a trophy that pitted the winner of the Copa Sudamericana against the winner of the Japanese League.

Now well known to River Plate fans, Akito Watanabe has been spotted singing among the Argentinian club's supporters on several occasions, as he did during the World Cup in Japan in December 2016. In 2019, this Japanese man also made his pilgrimage to Argentina, Buenos Aires, to visit the facilities of the club he supports and whose language he now speaks much better.