Official 2021 Samurai Blue thread

Discussion in 'Japan' started by Whispered11, Feb 2, 2021.

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  1. Kakeru

    Kakeru Member+

    Manchester United
    Japan
    Feb 22, 2016
    Montréal, QC, Canada
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    And this is where words can barely describe the level of moronism shown by that manager. Osako is neither Edinson Cavani nor Zlatan Ibrahimovic to be in any position to deserve such status in any national team.
     
  2. seolseol

    seolseol Member+

    Apr 26, 2003
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Agreed. Osako has had some amazing games. But was always more of a build up player. Now he is the target player, the one to score the goals. But no.
    Moriyasus favourite player.
     
  3. Kanarienvogel

    Kanarienvogel Member

    Nov 15, 2019
    The problem is not Osako, the problem is the low amount of chances Japan actually manages to create vs quality opposition. Yes, today he wasted the one when he was alone vs the goalkeeper. Vs China a worse one, that was then called offside, it wasn't I think. Today then had a chance from a cross from Sakai early on. One that is actually difficult to put in. No blame there. Then another chance, good pass from Shibasaki I think (but not sure, my stream wasn't all that good), excellent movement by Osako to get past the defender, who then did an outstanding tackle.

    Of course insisting on playing him, but not playing him the way he delivers best is a problem. Again, the long ball, last time I brought it up everybody disagreed. But where has the long ball gone? Look back at the WC and how many of Japan's goal and chances came from that. Long ball by Shibasaki mostly, when to Osako, being quite good in the air he holds up, passes along. He's never really had much scorer's instinct, even if there was a period in which he mysteriously started scoring too. But Osako's main strength isn't scoring. It's allowing others to get in position to score. Nowadays the long ball is by Yoshida to somewhere not so dangerous. Or no long balls at all. Moriyasu seems to want to play a counter game based on speed and avoiding long balls? Or don't know, that's my best guess.

    The scorer Moriyasu has is Minamino, but of course being on the bench at Liverpool doesn't help, playing on the wing for the NT even less. Put him in the middle, right behind Osako but basically a second striker with more defensive duties and he has delivered when he got the right passes. Or instead of Osako, since Moriyasu seems intent on not using him properly, up front as nominal striker. Minamino won't create much himself, see the Asian Cup where he was horrible basically, because he got no useful balls and simply isn't a creator, but his movement is excellent, he has a knack of being in the right place and he scores. But on the wing?

    The problem is that with Shibasaki and Kamada there were basically 2 guys that can create, have the vision and the skill for that. The rest? Asano today didn't stumble over any balls, for his level that's a good game. Normally would be Ito, who is just a winger with speed, dribbling rather unimpressive, very doubtful crosses, the amount of crosses that don't go anywhere near another player is amazing. In the NT, I don't watch the Belgian League. Minamino we already had. Doan is the next big thing from 3 years ago that hasn't panned out. And Moriyasu has been wasting the right wing on those 2 for 3 years now. Kubo the hope, but he'll insist on Ito on the right and Kubo left or middle. And possibly Kamada out. That's just not enough players that can really create a bunch of chances, Shibasaki from the back, Kamada if there, Kubo with dribblings. And trying this strange theoretical counter game really doesn't help either.

    How many chances did Japan create today? Not all that many finally, not nearly the amount that Japan managed to waste in the good old times when it took 20 chances to score, but Japan had those 20 chances. Ok, slight exaggeration...With Minamino and Furuhashi Moriyasu would actually have scorers I think, no desperate need for Yuma (who I have no idea how good he is either, still not watching the Belgian League) what he needs is to play them where they can score and to have the players that create the chances.

    That's why basically I don't see any real alternative to playing Shibasaki again on Tuesday. he is the one guy that has the ability to really play the through-pass, the pass that opens up the game. Hopefully not in the wrong direction next time around. But ok, after today Morita-Endo looks like a possibility too, Japan loses something with creativity, but Endo lately has played better with Morita around I think, probably with Shibasaki he has to cover more defensively, so ok, I'd be fine with Morita too. Especially since it almost looks like Moriyasu has forbidden any high balls to Shibasaki.... yeah, the long ball thing again. But then Japan will just rely purely on speed and.. no idea, speed and luck? Defensive mistakes by Australia? A wonder?

    The quality is still there, Japan wasn't outplayed, but Japan shouldn't be even with Saudi Arabia, I expect Japan to be better than Saudi Arabia. Not more or less equal.
    Nakajima and Oshima, one seems mentally gone, fried, finished, the other plays 1 game every 5 years now it seems... with those 2 Moriyasu would look much better, some bad luck there, but he never really looked beyond Kubo as alternative for Nakajima. So he's still to blame.

    Playoffs of course now still likely, but Oman has played vs the big 3, Vietnam and China left, they can hope to get 6 points from those 2 games. Japan has to beat Australia, even the playoff spot is not automatic at this point.

    Just throw a shitload of money at Frontale to get Oniki out of his contract by the time Japan land in Narita or Haneda. What he's done with Kawasaki is impressive. Maybe he can do it for Japan?
     
  4. KATO

    KATO Member

    Nov 26, 2011
    Manchester
    Club:
    Urawa RD
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Players won’t actively say but clearly they do not rate Moriyasu and do not trust him, there is no unity and passion in the team. Just passive.

    F&@$ Moriyasu.
     
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  5. AKITOD

    AKITOD Member+

    Apr 5, 2007
    Hobart, Aust
    Club:
    JEF United Ichihara
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Oh shiii*.... at least Moriyasu will surely get fired very soon.
     
  6. seolseol

    seolseol Member+

    Apr 26, 2003
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Hope so.
     
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  7. HTCONEM8

    HTCONEM8 Member+

    AC Milan
    May 16, 2014
    Club:
    AC Milan
    #257 HTCONEM8, Oct 7, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2021
    I hope so but who's gonna replace him, though? I don't think there is an available decent foreigner coach atm, so it might be another Japanese at the helm! :cautious: If it comes to this, just bring back Okada, at least the guy had always steered Japan back to the right path in his two tenures and had decent results. Maybe third time's the charm and he takes Japan to the quarter finals in the WC for the first time? :x3:

    I respect Moriyasu as a person and wish him good luck wherever he goes next but frankly speaking, Japan under his management has lost its identity and became similar, playstyle wise, to a mediocre J-League team .
     
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  8. Kakeru

    Kakeru Member+

    Manchester United
    Japan
    Feb 22, 2016
    Montréal, QC, Canada
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    #258 Kakeru, Oct 7, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2021
    Not even this World Cup winner? Right now, there is a strong need to get someone who will not be swayed by internal politics in player selections. I just do not trust Japanese coaches to make the tough decisions that are right.

    edit:
    I would kill to have a Japanese player giving Moriyasu the same treatment that Henri Michel received from a certain Eric Cantona.



    Damn, those exact same words could be used upon Moriyasu.
     
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  9. HTCONEM8

    HTCONEM8 Member+

    AC Milan
    May 16, 2014
    Club:
    AC Milan
    How did I forget about the guy?! Imo, he would be suitable for Japan, specifically for long term projects like what Germany always does with their national team coaches. I like the idea of having him as JNT's next coach or even any German coach for that matter. There are many similarities between the Germans and the Japanese in terms of discipline and diligence so this might be something to consider.
     
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  10. Gordon1995

    Gordon1995 Member+

    Oct 3, 2013
    Japan should have won their home match against Oman to not be in such a spot in the 1st place. Things not looking good for Japan right now.
     
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  11. rougou

    rougou Member+

    Dec 7, 2003
    Hyogo
    Club:
    AS Roma
    That's true. This was actually a difficult away match on a crap pitch, and if Japan had won the first match they probably would've been able to control this match, and maybe even settle for a draw. Although the goal came from a horrible back-pass, it came right after Japan switched to a more aggressive mode.
     
  12. rougou

    rougou Member+

    Dec 7, 2003
    Hyogo
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Australia now have a FIFA record 11 straight wins in a single qualifying series. We are screwed.
     
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  13. Gordon1995

    Gordon1995 Member+

    Oct 3, 2013
    They should have called Yuma Suzuki back imo, maybe he can provide something different with his movement in the box.
    Prefer Okada as well, but seems like he is retired. Nishino is worth a try but then his stint with Thailand earlier did not go as well as expected initially.
    Oniki didn't really impressed at the ACL this season, but then again he might have did it on purpose to get out of the ACL, especially with the coronavirus virus situation these 2 years where quarantine might be an issue whenever the team travels out of Japan.
    However, all in all, he never really did impress in the ACL imo. He has however did well in the J League and the domestic cup competitions to a lesser extent.
     
  14. Testator

    Testator Member+

    Glasgow Celtic
    Croatia
    Sep 5, 2017
    Croatian coast
    I don't know much about Moriyasu, but did he ever use a 2 striker formation?
     
  15. dlsn3y

    dlsn3y Member

    May 23, 2016
    Club:
    Southampton FC
    No idea where to post this but just want to say Moriyasu is absolutely useless. Doesn't change any tactics or players and sticks with veterans rather then giving guys like Sugawara, Suzuki etc a callup. Useless manager who also continues to play Gonda, Osako, Nagatomo etc.... Should be Tani/Sugawara/Furuhashi or even Onaiwu in those positions
     
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  16. seolseol

    seolseol Member+

    Apr 26, 2003
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Dont think so. Dont even have 2 strikers to use often. Often choose offensive midfielders as forwards in the squad also.

    Man , Japan is heading towards a crisis now.
     
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  17. mushu21_2

    mushu21_2 Member

    Manchester United
    Vietnam
    Sep 1, 2018
    IMO with Moriyasu's stiff attacking tactics, his team needs a dribbler who can carry the ball forward and draw out opponents to create spaces for the others. It's no coincidence that the short period of time when his team played proper football was when Nakajima had his top form. Without him, the slow passing game didn't have much chances to create damages. The problem appeared at the Asian games, it becomes clearer now.

    The players who may play in Nakajima's role are Kubo or to lesser extend, Kamada. Sadly one of them is injured, the other is slowly converted to a 'passer', not a dribbler anymore, very similar to what happened to the young Kagawa.

    I think when Ito comes back in the next games again Australia, he can also help the team in creative aspect. However in order to utilize Ito, the team should play a high press, fast pace, gung-ho game, which may be right into Australia's favorite style.

    With Kubo, Ito and hopefully an inform Kamada upfront, Moriyasu also has no excuse to play Shibasaki. His only argument to persist with Shibasaki is the team needs a ball distributor. With these more creative attacking players, Shibasaki should be dropped. And I think Moriyasu underestimates Morita and Tanaka's passing ability a lot.

    And I don't think the way he used Minamino, Furuhashi or even Asano is correct. Yes, they have pace, but their strong points are not creating chances. Running fast doesn't not automatically turn them to winger or side midfielder. They're at their best when playing closer to the goal to finish chances.
     
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  18. morimotomania93

    Japan
    Jan 22, 2019
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  19. seolseol

    seolseol Member+

    Apr 26, 2003
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
  20. HTCONEM8

    HTCONEM8 Member+

    AC Milan
    May 16, 2014
    Club:
    AC Milan
    #270 HTCONEM8, Oct 8, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2021
    I've always defended these people against the constant and systematic discrimination they always endure in the West but the behavior of some of them give me a hard time continuing my support and yeah this is not the first time they've done it. According to Yoshida in the article, it happened in the previous WCQ too. If Japan just never missed those big chances in the game... (sigh).

    All I can say for now is Karma is real and it will bite you in the a$$ eventually and let's see who's gonna have the last laugh.

    Oh, I just bursted out laughing after reading this part from the article: :ROFLMAO:
    "Nikkan Sports reported that the nationality of midfielder Gaku Shibasaki, whose errant backpass let in Saudi Arabia for the winning goal, was briefly changed from Japanese to Saudi on his Wikipedia page."
     
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  21. Testator

    Testator Member+

    Glasgow Celtic
    Croatia
    Sep 5, 2017
    Croatian coast
    I think Osako needs a strike partner- perhaps Furuhashi could do it?
     
  22. Whispered11

    Whispered11 Member+

    U.C. Sampdoria
    Japan
    Oct 4, 2011
    Munich, Germany
    Club:
    UC Sampdoria
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    I think he's not been so effective in matches that count.
    If I look to Osako's goals in the national team - despite having scored 24 times in 53 times, which is excellent - they include 5 to Myanmar and 3 to Mongolia. I thought, after his performances at the 2019 Asian Cup, we would have seen a more efficient player in front of goal. It didn't happen. He still squanders more chances than the ones he can take.

    Do you know which other player did that? Ayase Ueda during Copa America. But he's 22 and, in two years, he's grown a lot.

    And this isn't even Osako's fault. If he's the best Japan has produced in that position over the last 7-8 years (not considering Okazaki, a product from the previous generation), that's Japan's problem.

    I believe Onaiwu, Ueda and Suzuki should be our regular batch of strikers. Plus Furuhashi as a "false 9".
     
  23. Testator

    Testator Member+

    Glasgow Celtic
    Croatia
    Sep 5, 2017
    Croatian coast
    Furuhashi has impressed with his movement into good positions for Celtic. He will find himself in great chances often. It's just that he overthinks his shots when he has time. He is best used as a pressing forward, and I think he could wear down defenders, so that any strike partner would have an easier time.

    On Japan not producing good strikers...I've heard it being explained by mentality (nobody wants to shoot and let the team down by missing).
     
  24. Kakeru

    Kakeru Member+

    Manchester United
    Japan
    Feb 22, 2016
    Montréal, QC, Canada
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
  25. 007GS

    007GS Member

    Feb 2, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Australia
    Regardless of past results, I think this is three points for Japan or at least another nail-biting draw. Furuhashi would create a lot of headaches for Grant/Karacic and Sainsbury so your manager would have to be insane not to start him. Australia will be a threat on the counter, especially with Boyle, but the defense is lacking.
     
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