But as far as performances go, and I was already watching back then, it was nothing special. He was physically good but he was casually making mistakes. At the top of my head, I remember the Nabisco final in 2009 where his blunder costed Frontale the victory.
My main point is JNT cannot just rely on him, there need to be altervatives for him in case he gets injured or not in form next year. Ideguchi, Yamaguchi and Oshima are of a different type of MF imo.
Up to Halilhodzic of course. He should be more willing to try more alternatives to Hasebe like Kobayashi, Misao and Taniguchi, etc. And what you mean by Yamaguchi on the bench? I don't think lowly of Yamaguchi at all, I feel that he has been performing pretty decently with his interceptions and pressing. He is a pretty decent B2B MF imo with his workrate and physicality.
Ultimately there isn't anyone who duplicates Hasebe's passing, work rate, defensive savvy, and leadership qualities. I don't get the sense that Vahid would play a CB-type (Wataru Endo, Taniguchi) or bring in an inferior player for the sake of having a "real" #6 in the position, so I think it would be up to Yamaguchi or Ideguchi to slide over if the skipper is rendered unavailable at any point. As for left back, I guess it's Gotoku backing up both fullback positions by default for now. I think Kurumaya is a terrific footballer and would love to see him called in...nope, not biased at all..
Yes, in fact: a) Italy was lucky enough to find Donnarumma, otherwise they would have been screwed after Buffon in a key-position. And still, Donnarumma not playing doesn't make any sense, since GD can't gain any int'l experience if he doesn't play with Italy (Milan is just returning UEL, but it's a little different). b) oh, I remember how Nakamura played against Syria. Or not? 4 friendlies in 18 months against Syria, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Oman. SYR - Shoji, Ideguchi, Kurata BUL - Asano (I wouldn't call Yu Kobayashi and Kashiwagi "experiment", but someone could explain me why the MVP of this season is ignored...) BIH - Wataru Endo isn't exactly an experiment, since he already played 2015 EAFF OMA - Yuki Kobayashi (Saito wasn't an experiment, just like Nagaki - who indeed debuted, but he wasn't called back: more a role-filler -, while for Maruyama... I just wanna laugh). Three of these 6 experiments are now regular calls. So experimenting is useful, whatever your thought on these games may be.
Where did I say that experimenting in friendlies is not useful? I'm not following. I even acknowledged it would be fine to let Nakamura play against Haiti or NZ. But yelling because he hasn't played in the world cup qualifiers makes no sense. And by the way, Nishikawa played against Oman so the coach did experiment, even if I think he's crap Donnarumma plays with the club all the time anyway and his time for Italy will come, just like Nakamura if he keeps up.
You are right on the point that there are no players which play the same position as Hasebe that are as good as him but Yamaguchi and Ideguchi are totally different to the type of MF that Hasebe is, they can't just slide over to replace him especially with regards to defending aerial threats, thats why I still think Halilhodzic should still try someone with a similar build and playing style e.g Misao, Tanguchi and Kobayashi, etc. . Like that, if Hasebe cannot play the full 90 minutes of a match in the WC or e.g when Japan secured the lead, they can come on and at least play the last 10-20 mins to help at least retain possession and close out the match. This can help reduce at least a little fatigue and unnecessary risks of injuries for the next match if possible. It applies to all positions as well. Having sufficient depth in as much positions as possible is necessary.
If it is about retaining possession, Yamaguchi is perfectly capable & good enough as Hasebe deputy. Makes more sense to drop Yamaguchi deeper w/ Shibasaki on to retain possession. As for defending aerial threats, I can't think of anyone who will be effective just for that one role in world stage nor is Hasebe a truly good in that aspect as well.
It seems that this might be the best option due to lack of choices available but I still think JNT should find a secondary DM similar in build and style to Hasebe. Yamaguchi, in essence is still a B2B MF. We need a taller and bigger player for the holding midfielder role. The midfield might get overrun if all the players are of the same build as Yamaguchi. Kante can do his thing because of a Matic or Bakayoko holding the fort.
Problem with Yamaguchi is that he kicks the ball out whenever he's under pressure. He had a good start after the Iraq performance but he slowly faded away. Konno looked much better when he played but was mysteriously omitted the next time around, proving that Vahid can be a bit of a savage (Kiyotake is another exemple). And I think we all agree that Hasebe is a great player but the Australia game showed that he slowed down quite a bit. But at this point, there's no other player whom we can safely say that he can come into the team and perform as the defensive Anchor.
Hence,alternatives should be tried. Hasebe will be even further from his prime 9 months later from now, he might not be able to continue 90 minutes consecutively at the WC given how much he has slowed down. We don't want 2014 to repeat itself next year.
You keep mentioning "alternatives" but even the ones you named, some aren't defensive anchors in the mold of Hasebe. Some are imo..... even more a box 2 box compared to Yamaguchi. If you are so worried about aerial threats in final minutes... there are other options. Such as playing 3 CBs (could either push Shoji a bit forward or just play 3/5 in the back) to close the game.
9 months isn't gonna make much of a difference. And I don't know what you're referring to when you mention 2014. (almost) Everyone was confident going into it, the performances were decent.
I name them for their build other than their style. They might be more of a B2B too but they can be played as a holding midfielder, smaller MFs like Yamaguchi and others, especially Oshima cannot play that role that well imo. They mighy tend to give away the ball more easier and not withstand pressing that well. E.g, Taniguchi, from what I have seen is pretty defensive-minded, he has played as a CB numerous times this season and does not go the opposing teams' box. Misao and Kobayashi, etc. may be slightly more offensive-minded but I think they still can work the role well as I felt they are quite pressing-resistant and at least decent in the air. Zacceroni did not really bother to find alternatives for some positions imo. Especially the CM/DM role, he persisted with Endo or did not at least change the tactics to be able to exclude him. IIRC, Japan started losing control of the midfield and got overrun when Endo replaced Hasebe.
Won't disagree with you on that but Hasebe as you can see in past few matches isn't really that quick too anymore. Taniguchi as a late subsitute to prevent over-tiring Hasebe would be a good option.
Just to note: no one is yelling, just arguing some of your considerations. I don't think you can call "experiment" someone with 20+ caps in JNT. WCQ has sense when you're already qualified.
Asano, Muto, Kubo, Osako, Okazaki, Haraguchi, Minamino, Kagawa, Inui, Morioka, Sugimoto, Usami, Kiyotake, maybe Kakitani if he ever becomes good again, Doan, Nakajima, Saito, Honda ... There's so much depth at the attacking positions now and yet no one can string two very good performances in a row or stand out with their club. It's gonna be an intense year of reflection for Vahid, hopefully he turns it up a notch in terms of valuing talent over hustle ...
I really love the variety of attacking players in the pool. All of them bring something unique to the table. Hopefully the defenders will stay healthy, and the midfielders will take a big step forward in the next year.
Call him up. 大島僚太のボール奪取ショー（9.9 vs横浜FM） pic.twitter.com/2eVs1c9G3b— フロット (@milantale) September 10, 2017
Oshima might be too lightweight imo, don't think he is physically strong on the ball enough. His passing range and reading of the game is good though. Hope to see Nara, Nakatani, Ueda, Nakamura and maybe even Nakayama, Itakura, etc. playing there. Interested in seeing who Vahid will pick since it will be J league players only if I am not wrong.
It's not news to anyone that Oshima has great qualities on the ball. But recently he's shown substantial talent for pressing, intercepting and dispossessing opponents - we should see if he can do the same against international opposition, rather than get hung up on his height and weight.