Sagan Tosu pay homage to LaLiga and Atletico de Madrid

The next rival of Atletico de Madrid in this pre-season, the Japanese team Sagan Tosu, wanted to act in honor of Japanese hospitality and paid homage to the red and white team some time before they played against each other. Many personalities of Japanese culture and business went to the New Otani Saga hotel in recognition of LaLiga’s work. Thanks to its LFP World Challenge project, it has fostered rapport between the two countries with sports events such as the match between Atletico and Sagan Tosu next Saturday.

Both squads, led by their coaches, took part in a Spain Experience act in which they exchanged T-shirts and praises. As a grand finale, players, coaches and managers participated in the Japanese ceremony ‘Bigami Biraki’, whose name means ‘to break the mirror’. The protagonists broke a sake container as a symbol of brotherhood between the two clubs.

The event also strengthened cultural and business ties between Japan and Spain. Ignacio Martinez Trujillo, Strategic Projects Director of LaLiga, emphasized the value of Atletico de Madrid and the LFP World Challenge tour. ‘This initiative acts as a bridge between companies and that bridge is opened wider with teams like Atletico de Madrid, who are a flagship of our League’, he said. In turn, Maria del Coriseo Gonzalez-Izquierdo, Spain’s Economic and Trade Advisor in Tokyo, praised the opportunities opened up by the cultural and economic exchange between Spain and Japan, emphasizing the taste for Spanish products in Japan.

To conclude, Clemente Villaverde, consultant for Atletico de Madrid and vice-president of LaLiga, received a commemorative plaque and talked about the season that is about to begin. ‘It is really difficult to repeat the previous two or three seasons but there is no doubt that we will do our best’, he concluded.