The "curved" field, the shots that lasted one entire episode, Marc Lenders training by kicking the ball against ocean's waves, the infernal catapult of the Derrick twins, Holly and the New Team, Roberto Sedinho, and us with the fruit juice in hand, we watched enraptured and rapt everything that happened. Nothing and nobody could divert our attention from the screen and from the deeds of Oliver Hutton and Benjamin Price, the two main protagonists of one of the most famous cartoons (30 years ago nobody talked about anime here in Italy) inspired by the world of football, "Holly and Benji, two champions"(Capitan Tsubasa in the original version). It all began in 1980 when at the age of 20, Yoichi Takahashi falls in love with football watching Argentina in the 1978 World Cup and throws down a short story that tells a challenge between a football player, Tsubasa Taro and a goalkeeper Genzo Wakabayashi, or those which would then become Holly and Benji, respectively. That story was so successful that the Shueia publishing house asked Takahashi to make a series, the title chosen was Capitan Tsubasa. Everything remained the same as the original story except the name of the protagonist who became Tsubasa Ozora. The anime was made in 1983 and then the strongest reference was that of the 1982 world championships where the Italian national team triumphed against Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer's Germany with goals from Rossi, Tardelli and Altobelli. A few days ago one of the most famous sport manga (spokon) in history turned 35 and we couldn't but celebrate it in our very own special way.
Guido Astolfi has designed for us the protagonists of Capitan Tsubasa who do not wear the shirts of their teams but the Les Vêtements de Football. Today there's a new drop here.
