Barcelona hopes to visit quake-hit Japan 'soon'

AFP, Sunday 13 Mar 2011

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has called the massive quake and tsunami in Japan that left at least 1,000 dead "a tradegy" and said he hopes the Spanish champions will be able to visit the country again "soon".

Pep Guardiola

Barcelona has visited Japan on several pre-season tours, most recently in 2007 when they faced Yokohama Marino in a friendly match, and the club has two fan clubs in the country as well as a football academy at Fukuoka.

"I hope the country can pick itself up and rebuild itself. It has been a tragedy. The pictures speak for themselves, it's devastating," Guardiola was quoted by the club's website as saying.

"I want to send my love to the people of Japan and I'm sure we’ll soon be able to organise an Asian tour and be able to be with them," he added.

Barcelona's football academy at Fukuoka in southwestern Japan which has some 300 students was not affected by the quake, the club said in a statement.

Xevi Marce, the director of the academy, said "the coaches and children at that school are in perfect condition."

The Japanese government has said at least 1,000 people were believed to have lost their lives, but the police chief in badly hit Miyagi prefecture said the death toll there alone is certain to exceed 10,000.

The quake and tsunami have damaged or closed down key ports. Some airports shut in the immediate aftermath have since reopened, but transport infrastructure has been crippled along parts of the northeastern coast.

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