Japanese fans, Keep your head up!

Hey fellas, I am a Korean American, born in Korea but raised in LA, and I am currently in Seoul once again for the WC 2006.

I had a chance to watch the Japan-Australia game a couple days ago, and along with what I could catch from this game and based on numerous games in which I have watched Japan's play, I would like to share a few things with you guys.

This is a purely subjective opinion, and I welcome any counterargument to which I would love to address here in this board.

Japan's strength

1. sheer quality of passing game

By far (I mean, its not even close), Japan has the best passing game in Asia, and in this regard, Japan's passing game would probably rate on an equal level alongside of many good European teams (England, Portugal, and Netherland).

There have been so many times that I have been utterly impressed by your crisp passing game, and your passing game alone can keep you in just about any game you would play from now on.

Even the passes that fail to find an intended target are still good enough to create many "ah~~~" moments, and with Nakata, Nakamura, and Shinji playing in the lineup, I can see that Japan will always have opportunities to create many dangerous situations.

2. Ball Keeping ability

Again, Japan's ball keeping ability on average is very, very good, and with the exceptions of a few questionable plays, I havent seen many possessions in which Japanese players lost the ball in such an outright manner.

In this regard, with the excellent passing game, Japan reminds me a bit of Argentina in its offensive potential.

3. Good Defence.

While many general Asian fans may perceive your winning the Asian Cup as a fluke, I think differently.

Japan might have won a few games in a very close manner, sometimes lucked out by the mistake of opponents, but the fact still stands.

Japan didnt lose, and they managed to win the games, as ugly as it may seem, consecutively to win the Asian Cup.

And I believe that a good overall defence by Japan is a good reason behind this.

As with just about any sport, soccer games are won by defence and not by offense.

With Nakajawa in the middle, Japan's defense is shrewdly organized, tight, compact, and almost mistake-free.

Dont be fooled by the lack of their physique. Japanese defenders are tough players, smart enough to cover their individual weaknesses with their collective efforts.

4. Speed

Needless to say this. We all know that the speed of Japan as a team, along with that of Korea, is fastest in Asia, and probably in the top 7~10 in the world in this regard.

I can think of a few African teams, England, and Portugal as only teams that may outrun Japan.


Weakness:

1. Stamina

I am absolutely confounded by the horrendous state of the team Japan's collective stamina. I even raised the same concern back in 2002 here in this board, and I just cannot comprehend what the hell Zico has been doing for the past four years in terms of training Japanese players in this stamina department.

What has Zico done in this regard? Anyone? Someone please?

Japan knows that their greatest weakness has been in the lack of stamina for so many years, and I just have to question the coaching staff for not addressing this concern for the past four years.

Losing a few steps and not being able to run at full speed after 80 minutes of playing in a hot, humid weather is one thing, but bending down for that deep breath and barely running just into fifteen minutes in the second half against Australia is just not acceptable at this National Team level.

You have solid defence, fast lineup, and great passing game, but not being able to capitalize on these great assets just because you lack decent stamina is like not bringing your ID card to your final SAT test before the application deadlines. Never mind that you have 4.5 GPA, 10 APs, and Student Body President position.

If you dont bring your ID to your SAT test center, you wont be able to take that SAT test, and that means say good bye to your fancy stats.

In order for Japan to upgrade its lable as a "good team" to "great team" in the world, Japan needs to focus on running at near full speed for entire 90 minutes.

While some casual fans could have blamed the loss to Australia on the goalkeeper and defence in the last ten minutes, I have to say Japan lost to Australia simply because they fail to match up with Australia in this stamina department.

2. Forwards

The combination of great midfielders, solid defense, and outstanding passing game all becomes a moot point when your forwards refuse to take a shot even inside the penalty box.

For that matter, Korea is also guilty of this, but Japan needs to shoot the darn ball when you have one-on-one opportunity. The repeated failures to create enough space even when marked by a single man near the penalty box
from time to time can greatly damage the team morale.

It is not just an offence that suffers as a result of this, but the whole team, as midfielders and defenders get more anxious and nervous as time passes.

While it may not be practically and realistically valuable, having the leadership player to provide that elusive leadership voice in the Japanes locker could have only helped Japan. Japan should have invited either Kaz or the old Nakamura into the roster solely for this purpose.

Overall, Japan does have the potential to beat Croatia, but in order to do so, they need to toughen themselves mentally and physically.

Croatia will come barking from the onset, trying to bulldoze the fragile, stamina-wise, Japanese team from the kickoff. Since they know that they would have a clear advantage in stamina, Croatia will try to make Japan run as much as they could in the early first half.


I wish Japan and other Asian teams much luck in the remaining games, and despite some grumblings coming from other general fans voicing their opinions on not wanting Japan or Iran to win any games in this WC, there are far more reasonable, cool-headed soccer fans in Korea who truly want Iran and Japan to be hugely successful in this WC.



Good luck to both Japan and Iran.


By the way, we KNOW that we need to do something with our terrible defence organization.

People in Korea have said that the midfielders of this WC Korea team is the best in the history of Korean soccer , but I only have one thing to say this:

This years Korean defence could easily rank as the slowest team defence in the history of Korean soccer.