Former footballer, fashion icon and traveller, Hidetoshi Nakata has a new passion - sake

''My vision is world wide; it's not just from a Japanese point of view," says Hidetoshi Nakata, the softly spoken ex-footballer and style icon. He's in Hong Kong to promote N, his own brand of sake. But, he insists: "I am not just selling sake. I also want to export Japanese culture."

Having been one of Japan's greatest cultural ambassadors for almost two decades, Nakata should know a thing or two about how to achieve that. With interests in sport, fashion, humanitarianism and, now, the drinks world, he is Asia's answer to David Beckham.

The Nakata story starts with football - the precociously talented midfielder made his debut with Japanese J.League side Bellmare Hiratsuka (now known as Shonan Bellmare) when he was 18. He debuted for Japan's national team at 20 and, at 21, his technique, passing flair and goal-scoring feats during the 1998 World Cup, in France, convinced provincial Italian club Perugia to pay Bellmare Hiratsuka US$4 million, making him the second Japanese footballer to play in the Italian league.

"When I got into football, I just wanted to be the best, to beat everybody else," Nakata says, getting comfortable in Wellington Street's FoFo by el Willy restaurant. "Well, I couldn't be the best in the world, but that's still OK."

With characteristic modesty, he plays down the period in his life when he became a global superstar. Nakata was voted Asian Footballer of the Year in both 1997 and 98, becoming the first player to win two consecutive titles, and Nakatamania spread from Japan like wildfire across Italy and other parts of Europe.

Unfashionable Perugia were suddenly making headlines both on and off the field. Japanese football fans and media descended en masse on the sleepy Umbrian town, with some home games attracting up to 3,000 Japanese spectators. The team sold hundreds of thousands of replica shirts and signed many new sponsorship deals, proving Nakata's commercial clout. Meanwhile, the Italian football press, among the most unforgiving in Europe, saw past the hype and lauded Nakata's talent, bestowing on him the nickname Gioiellino ("little jewel").

As Nakata gained fluency in English and Italian, his fashion sense became increasingly pronounced. In 2000, AS Roma, one of Italy's biggest clubs, bought Nakata for €22 million and went on to win the Italian league title that season. He moved on again when AC Parma sought to make him their talisman and paid Roma €28 million for the privilege. The Italians took Nakata to their hearts and, in 2005, he became a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, for promoting Italy in Asia.