JFA=QBK Need new JFA before choosing the coach to choose the players. Kagawa is karmically reaping the amazing stupidity of his career choices. He exemplifies the dreamy attitude that is part of the flawed psychological makeup of Japanese soccer players today. JFA is likewise karmically reaping the amazing stupidity of practically all their choices. They have actively fostered a soccer culture based on myths for more than a decade. Completely the opposite of the pragmatism that built Japanese soccer from nothing into one that produced golden generation players like Nakata, Ono, Matsuda RIP... players the current frauds are mostly not fit to lick the boots of. Honda deserves respect overall and Okazaki, and Endo for what he once was. Nagatomo and Uchida deserve so much better from their teammates but I think they have probably passed their peak of really dynamic impact, mainly their greatness was wasted other than at the last Asia Cup.
I liked that Aguirre didn't play with a ghost FW (although Okazaki kind of turned into one against UAE). Also, his subs injected something into the team, unlike past coaches where there would be no change in energy when the subs came in, or they refused to sub at all. Unfortunately, other than Shibasaki it all backfired on him. Muto and Toyoda missed 2 easy sitters each. And after using up all his subs Nagatomo got injured, which killed our chances of pushing for the goal in extra time. And yeh I agree that Kagawa should not be starting, if playing at all. Maybe coming on as a sub would give him some motivation to do something. The only think I remember is him missing the PK and the missing the goal completely from a few feet in front of the goal at the end of regulation.
He miss nothing, he hit the post and in the inner side not the outer then he was simply unlucky as JNT in this whole match. Plus all the problems you guys said. Of course.
Shibasaki is really good, Muto on the other hand still has some work to do. Usami is really needed in the JNT.
Now Uchida u got some explaining to do for letting your teammates hang out to dry. He certainly would have had the ability to make a difference today
Kiyotake definitely should've started in place of Kagawa. It behooves me why yamada wasn't called up. At this point in their careers, Kiyotake is the more complete playmaker/trequartista than Kagawa. Endo is too slow as well. Shibasaki should've been starting from the get go, I would've dropped endo from the squad and called up yamada, seto, yamagichi, or Hasegawa instead
This was the Greece game all over again. It wasn't a fluke result, we can't just chalk it up to bad luck and point to the possession stats and say we were the better team. There's a pattern here and it reveals deficiencies in the team. We had 19 corners, 0 goals from corners -- that's pretty bad. As long as we pose no credible threat from corners we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to results like this, since smashing it in off a corner is the easiest way the grab a goal against a team that is bunkering. Look how many goals Iran scored off corners in their QF game. We're really bad in this aspect of the game and it's costing us. When Kagawa is this bad -- poor touches, misplaced passes left and right -- he's completely useless. A more physical player can at least throw his weight around in the box and try to cause trouble. Out of form Kagawa does nothing but hurt the team and having him in the crucial #10 role the whole tournament had a lot to do with how things turned out IMO. I feel for the guy because he's certainly had his share of bad luck but the fact is his poor play is a very significant common thread in both our WC and now Asian Cup failures.
Kagawa is the new Yanagisawa. You can have all the skill and tactical nous in the world and if the mindset is wrong and you crumble when its all on the line, you become a laughingstock. Yanagisawa had everything a world-class poacher needs... until the ball came to him in front of the goal for the NT. His movement off the ball was among the best I've ever seen, anywhere. He could find seams in any defense. He had the touch and creativity to create the yard of space. He was technically able to strike and place the ball extremely well, as long as nothing was at stake. Kagawa is just as mentally weak as Yanagisawa, maybe even more so. He can make brilliant touches that take two defenders out--unless it is a situation where coughing it up with a needlessly sloppy touch would be disastrous, in which case, he does.
He also missed end the end of regular time as I said. It was congested, but no excuse for not hitting the target from there. Of course, other guys had a chance to score on that sequence as well and they all blew it. A post does not count as a shot on goal, so I consider that a miss as well.
I thought Sakai was pretty solid. His timing on headers leaves something to be desired. But he hustled on defense and put in all of Japan's dangerous crosses. Twice in a row in the first half he found Inui for free headers but Inui decided to play defender and cushion a header to UAE's keeper on both occasions. Sakai staring down Omar was also the best part of the match.
It's been a long time since Korea won it but i feel it is Australia's cup to win or lose. Korea is playing worse than Japan if you look at how many clear scoring opportunities Japan can create. It's Japan's poor finishing that let them down.
First of all I liked Yanagisawa. Sad outcome though. But it is unfair comparing Kagawa to him, Kagawa accomplished little bit more don't you think.
Matsuki, Gon, and Shindo after Shibasaki was inches from scoring the winner. https://vine.co/v/OIFXrUAQJpM
Japan really lack individualistic players like Benzema, Van Persie or Lewandowski who can create a goal out of nothing. JNT do not possess enough variety of players imo.
It was not Aguirre's fault that Honda/Kagawa missed their penalty, it was not Aguirre's fault that Shibasaki's freekick missed by a few cms, it was not Aguirre's fault that Toyoda is a sub-par striker, it was not Aguirre's fault that Japan had 35 shots and scored only 1 goal, the list goes on and on. Majority of the blame cannot be placed on Aguirre. Also, just because Kagawa was mediocre yesterday does not mean he has to give up on football. The dude is only 25 years old. He will find his way back.
He has been mediocre for the JNT for quite a while now. I feel that Aguirre should be more willing to try others in place of Honda and Kagawa.
Are you being sarcastic or do you mean that?=) Why wouldnt it be a dream?=) The undisputable superstar for one of Asia's truly biggest and best clubs. Obviously they dont atttract too many supporters, and have a relative small stadium but nonetheless! For an Emirati national, its probably the biggest accolade there is, and I've never heard him say anything about wanting to play abroad. And Omar IS a fantastic player who could if he wanted succeed in far better leagues than the Arabian Gulf League I think=)
Aguiire should leave. He's most likely corrupt anyway, and JNT should use this opportunity to find someone better. And why do they have to look abroad, when all they can find are mediocre managers with absolutely no clue about Japanese football, the Japanese talent pool etc? Better to hire someone like Culpi, Nelsinho, Autouri or Pixy then, if they HAVE to have a foreigner.
I'd take Aguirre over any of those guys. He made one mistake, one huge one, it was not rotating his squad. Otherwise this Japanese team was one of the most coherent ones we've seen in a while. Defensively strong and dominant on the ball. The early exit emphasized some of the flaws we have to deal with, let's see if he takes the adequate measures.
Well, they probably can't look abroad, now that they already splashed the cash on Aguirre. Its only a 2 year contract anyway, right?
Interested in when Aguirre will inevitably get let go, probably more cause of the court case than anything else. Also curious, and hopeful if we get a Japanese coach or a J.League coach at least.
in soccer only results matter. let's enjoy our earliest exit since 1996. our stars in europe made history. japanese soccer is improving thanks to exporting players to europe.