Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] Thanks for the highlights and analysis. From what I got to see, I thought they looked solid and not intimidated. I hope we can kick my countrys' butt (unlike cookie I'm not very patriotic =P ) -- which the rest of BS would have you think is a shoe-in for elimination rounds.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] i have no probs with that. I'm only patriotic when it comes to other sports not football. It's only rare that I support the Aussie National team and thats whenever they verse NZ and the US.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] Watching Ivory Coast vs US; I'm feeling pretty good about our chances against my passport. Only 1 side is playing football, and it's definitely not the US, but I think we'll struggle to break down their defense. They sit back quite a bit and get back pretty fast, but they haven't got 2 good passes or a single creative player among them.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] GK - Shusaku Nishikawa DF - Hiroki Mizumoto DF - Masato Morishige DF - Atsuto Uchida DF - Michihiro Yasuda (77' Yuto Nagatomo) MF - Keisuke Honda (77' Shinji Okazaki) MF - Yohei Kajiyama MF - Hiroyuki Taniguchi MF - Shinji Kagawa MF - Takuya Honda FW - Yohei Toyoda (65' Takayuki Morimoto)
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] am I the only one that thinks Kajiyama looks like a middle-aged man?
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] You are not the only one, I think so too, he looks out of place, heh.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] This was a good game. Shame about the rain, the game got scruffy (Japan stopped running & Argentina got few kicks/punches in) and all but I too think 1-0 wasn't bad for Sorimachi. Inevitably they were a better side, but it wasn't painful watching. I spent a couple of years talking up Sorimachi Japan especially after the youth WC, I think I can carry on doing that. That man has something special. Win or lose they are generally more entertaining than ... well ok, I better call them He Who Must Not Be Named as I don't want to rub it into the A-te... phew, I almost named Him I think we've got a handful of players now who aren't afraid to make strong runs against stronger players breathing down their necks (Honda, Uchida, Morimoto and to a lesser extent Yasuda and Kagawa) rather than constantly chickening away in favour of those ultra ideal passes which we typically see in He Who Must Not Be Named.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] haha, u're funny it's always nice to read ur views on things
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] If there is gonna be two squads for Japan with the 2nd squad doing Asian cup qualifying and composing of U23's, maybe this is cause Sorimachi will be the head bloke for 2014 and they're giving him as long as possible to get it all going.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] Number of overage players A - Argentina (3), Australia (3), Ivory Coast (0), Serbia (3) B - Japan (0), Netherlands (3), Nigeria (1), USA (3) C - Belgium (2), Brazil (2), China (3), New Zealand (3) D - Cameroon (2), Honduras (3), Italy (1), South Korea (2)
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] I think USA is weak, but I'm worried about breaking them down. I think they'll play with 10 behind the ball and 1 or 2 advanced CFs. Much harder to get a read on Nigeria. Holland is ridiculous.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] Is it true McBride will be US's OA? If so, he'll be a handful I reckon.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] McBride, Guzan (GK), and Parkhurst (CB) McBride has actually looked very poor to me in their friendlies against Ivory Coast and Cameroon. But they brought another target man, Altidore, who just signed with Villareal.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] The reason why I handpicked McBride is that he's just the "sort of player" Japan would have problems dealing with, much like Viduka for Australia. Often these players are not the most technical or best players in a conventional sense, but just the sort of player Japan can't find a solution to. There's always some sort of solutions to dealing with all players for Japan NT, even the world's best players, be it by just ganging up on them or whatever else, but there are certain type of players for whom Japan would have no answer. If McBride turns up on form, he could be one such player and inexperienced Sorimachi players can suffer. That's my only concern really.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] Totally agree there, which is why I brought up that they didn't bring just McBride in that role. They brought a young kid whose on his way to Europe in that exact mold as well. It's kind of gimicky playing 2 target men like that, but it could work against us if nobody else. Their wide palyers have atrocious crossing thus far... so there's at least that.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] Oh well. It'll be fun watching anyway either way. I've always enjoyed Sorimachi Japan. Actually I think we could lose though. In theory, Sorimachi Japan is a side that's liable to go down in a big heap, in that their gullible and happy-happy brand of football can be found out on a bad day. There is still enough raw talent and gut to pull through, but sometimes I think their result is unpredictable no matter how well they play. But you know what's funny. When I watched A side I always watched with palmface, but when I watched Sorimachi Japan I've always watched with a big smile on my face. While at one point I became concerned of the possibility that I might have an undiagnosed perversion for young boys in blue shorts, after much deliberation, I became profoundly convinced that it's more to do with the spirit with which they play. Something about the way they play gives me confidence that A side doesn't. I can't quite figure out what it is exactly, but Sorimachi has the knack of doing that with any boys he lays his hands on.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] Fair Warning: I seemed to have let a wee fly follow me on my way back into the Japan house, so we may want to be very careful about giving it material. But otherwise great post! =) There is definitely an enthusiasm lacking on the full nats, and the players you'd expect to inject some heart and drive into the team often look as frustrated as us.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] I have been posting in the Japan forums longer than you have been on Bigsoccer... It will be a great game, I believe it will be a tie, due to both teams playing reserved their first games in the olympics against one another. It will open up there after in the 2ed and 3rd games.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] Japan will go out for a win. I believe they'll get it comfortably. Both teams'll go out hard. They understand that if they win the 1st game, they can't be eliminated until the end of the last game of the group, thus less pressure, if they lose, they're chasing a spot for the rest of the group stage. I'm more hoping that they go far in the tournament and advertise themselves well for european clubs.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] I just noticed you followed me from WR; but if we're talking straight up. I think the US has major issues if they're planning to do 4-4-2 with Altidore, McBride, and Adu. But I don't think this is the thread to discuss it in and I've already stated my opinions in the Olympics: Group B forum if you'd care to discuss it there. Suffice to say, I think those problems will pigeonhole the US into a defensive game not unlike the last 2 friendlies. I think Japan will come out playing for goals (as they typically do) but could well struggle to finish (as is common as well). I think the US scores 1 goal at most (and only then because of the CF situation Enclosure mentioned), and quite possibly 0. Nobody would be surprised to see either walk away with 1-0.
Re: Official Olympic (U23) Japanese NT Thread [R] It will be interesting to see how the Chinese fans welcome the Japan team.