Japanese International Thread [R]

I agree that we lack depth at forward and right-midfield, and why doesn't Zico try out our Olympic guys now? I don't think this energy-saving soccer which lacks variation in attack works when Japan has to compete with quality teams from other continents and even the other Asian teams that Japan is going to face in the final round.

Besides, we have a home game against Germany in December, and I've read somewhere on the Internet that JFA is thinking about a tour of Brazil. Beating Oman 1-0 in Mascut is one thing, but beating Germany 1-0 in Yokohama is quite another. Why reward old guys like Kazu who are not even a starter in the league and practically have no chance to play in Germany? This publicity stunt which disregards players' performance in the J-League makes no sense. Moreover, I would say it's disrespectful not only to Singapore but also Germany and other national teams!

 

I don't think it's aim is a "publicity stunt" as you say.... The last thing the Japan NT needs is more publicity.....!

From what I've read of Japanese fans reactions to this year's games and the supposed "difficulty" that Japan had playing in its matches against asian teams, I have this impression that the JFA and the fans and media had pretty much whipped themselves into a nervous frenzy worrying about everything... Meanwhile, the team and Zico were very controlled and calm, reacting evenly to any suprises that happened. And they topped their group with 15 full points and number of goals. And they won the Asian Cup.

From the comments about "why isn't it easier for Japan to win against these 'low' teams and qualify", and "why don't they play with a miilion attacks", etc., my impression is that perhaps the fans themselves have shown some short-term memory loss -- forgotten that it is never ever easy, and it never was in the past times that Japan played in the WC (including one automatic for hosting). It takes patience and an intelligent preparation and strategy, especially with other asia teams getting more tactically smart and unexpected happenings always around the corner.

I would glean that Zico's intention for this suprising call-up is to take a moment to help the fans re-remember that qualifying for the World Cup deserves, and re-remember that it was never easy, and that terrific players played hard and with heart both in times when they did not qualify and when they did.

now you can argue, with merit, that this is "not the time or place". Given that the Euro-based players won't be able to come for the next Singapore game anyway (otherwise JFA loses leverage in negotiating for crucial call-ups in the future), it would still have looked "disrespectful" from the side of Singapore to arrive and not see Nakamura or Ono in the ranks anyway. Playing with some of Asia's past superstars Kazu and Nakayama may not be as "disrespectful" as people may think....?

then again, i may be playing the devil's advocate here, so don't all jump down my throat at once please...!

 

I didn't follow after then, but did they (Kazu, Akita, Gon, Hide...) accept to join the game...? I don't know how they felt but it could be disrespectful to these guys too...

 

what's the difference between germany and oman?

 

There's a world of difference between the two!

(West) Germany

World Cup record
Champions 1954, 74, 90
Runners-up 1966, 82, 86, 2002
Third place 1934, 1970
Semifinals 1958
Quarterfinals 1962, 94, 98

European Championship record
Champions 1972, 80, 96
Runners-up 1976, 92
Semifinals 1988

The Germans have appeared in 15 World Cups out of 17 and gained 168 points in 78 games with 50 wins, 18 draws, and 17 losses. They are second only to Brazil.

The Bundesliga under the control of DFB enjoys the highest average attendance in Europe and is one of the most successful leagues in the world.

Oman has never qualified for the World Cup and does not have a professional league.

[rant]
I wouldn't be satisfied with "Japan played well against Germany" this time around. Japan should do better than the Iranians who surrendered to the Germans 0-2 (Ernst and Brdaric) at Azadi and the South Koreans who are going to play them three days after the Yokohama game. Japan 1-0 Germany! [/rant]

 

Likewise, I would like to see Korea beat Germany this time. Oh, how sweet it will be for an Far East team to beat mighty Germans.

 

How would you all rate each Japanese international thus far with their respective European sides?

Personally, I believe Nakata seems to be playing well, and quite often, for Fiorentina, and I wish Inamoto was still with Fulham.... but there's nothing I can do about that one.

And what was the name of the Croatian side King Kazu played for?

Thanks,
Marchetti

 

Japan plays football?
No way, they don't

 

Nakata will be called up if he'd like to play.

Kazu is perplexed by the call-up because he doesn't think that his performance at club level is good enough to warrant his place in the national team. The J-League Board of Directers and the Techinical Committee question the motive for this "serious" decision.

Zico's justification is that Japan vs Singapore is a "festa" in which everyone can thank those guys for their contribution to the Japanese soccer. He argues that he always counts on the all-time greats, such as Kazu, Gon, Akita, Sawanobori, and Omura. Of course, Zico himself is vacationing in Rio while we are reaching the climax of the struggle for the league championship.

He also believes that Singapore is too weak an adversary and hence does not give us an opportunity to make good additions to the team by using bencewarmers or bringing in young talent. Ono, Inamoto, Nakata, Nakamura, Takahara, and Yanagisawa all played but barely won 1-2 in Singapore. It'll be fun if the benchwarmers and Olympic players knock them out with the scoreline of 4-0 or more at home.

 

Welcome, Marchetti.

That's more like a topic for the Japanese Abroad thread.

Ono:
He is the most successful Japanese player abroad at the moment. When he is fit, he is litterally at the center of Feyenoord. He always sets up goal-scoring opportunities. He can cross, hit a grounder, take a freekick, and finish. I think he needs to work on defense, though. Feyenoord definitely needs to come up with strategies to defeat Ajax and PSV. Either winning the Eredivisie for the first time or winning his second UEFA Cup would be great.

Nakata:
Fiorentina is his 5th club in Italy. He did quite well at Perugia, Roma, and Bologna, but it's gonna be a challenge for him to take root in Firenze. The Viola fans want him to make a real difference in the midfield so that the team can win. Not only his build-up plays but also his goals and assists are needed. Let's see how he will perform in Udinese vs Fiorentina. He hasn't been playing international games for more than seven months, and so the home game against Singapore should be a good restart.

Nakamura:
He's training set pieces at Reggina but he needs to do more in the run of play. Although he is good at possessing and distributing balls, especially long balls, his playing style tends to slow down attack and make the whole team prone to counterattacks. He is a double-edged sword so far, and I believe that's why he has yet to establish himself at club level, unlike Ono. I'm worried that fatigue built up in his body during the Asian Cup and World Cup Qualifying games might negatively affect his perfomance in Serie A.

Inamoto:
I also wish Inamoto was still with Fulham. He wasn't a regular all the time over there, but when he played Fulham played well, I think. He is currently in the reserves but plays scrimmages with the first team of West Brom. I hope he will make it in the Premiership again. He is the guy who can stop dangerous players like Nedved and solidify Japan's defensive midfield. He also excels in lobbing the ball over the opponents in order to pass it to strikers and wingers waiting in the flanks.

Takahara:
Props to him for scoring 2 goals against Hertha Berlin. He also started in the following games against Bayer Leverkusen and Armenia Bielefeld. Too bad HSV is poor at defense. Without Mpenza and under a new coach, he will start in the next game against Borussia Dortmund. Because Kubo is again injured, Japan will have to rely more on him during the final round of WCQ and Confed. Cup. Playing in the host country right before the World Cup is a good experience. He has to practice shooting and prove himself in Hamburg. I hope he will set a precedent by becoming the first Japanese striker to succeed in Europe.

Yanagisawa and Kawaguchi:
Kawaguchi is great at international level, but his fate at club level is, umm...
Is Yanagisawa a striker?

King Kazu:
He played for Dynamo Zagreb. His profile is here.

 

Inamoto is back , he is on the bench today against Crystal Palace.

 

Japan drawn with Mexico, Greece, and Brazil for the Confederations cup. Think they can get past the first round?

 

Oops, I didn't know the draw was today. Group A is Argentina, Germany, Australia, and Tunisia. Tough to say which group is more difficult.

Can we beat Brazil? No. How good is Mexico this time? Considering that it's the first game, we'd have to defeat them to get of the Group B, alongside Brazil.

Now I think Japan should play Denmark instead of Greece as well as the United States in the upcoming friendlies.

6/16 Japan vs Mexico
6/19 Japan vs Greece
6/22 Japan vs Brazil

 

Mexico is such a tough team to gauge because they go up and down. They do seem to show up for big tournaments like Copa America and the World Cup.
Mexico won the 1999 Confed Cup, which they also hosted.

In any case, this will be a tough one. I think our best chance is drawing against Mexico, beating Greece, then hope that Brazil has qualified and draw.

 

I was looking forward to hearing how the drawing went -- I knew that Zico was taking his break now (which he was supposed to take after the India game but didn't) in Brazil on his way to attending the drawing ceremony in Germany this week... It was interesting to see that Japan got in the same group with Brazil -- a bit o' destiny....

Anyway, as I was checking the fifa site, I read an article about the Group B countries, and came upon the following paragraph about Japan:

"Already through to the next phase of the Asian Zone qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, the Japanese continue to rule the roost in the AFC. Since the start of the year, Zico’s charges have also started to produce some impressive performances further afield against strong opposition. They suffered narrow defeats in the Czech Republic (0-1), Serbia and Montenegro (0-1), and also Argentina (1-2), and held England to a draw (1-1) in Manchester last June. "

The last sentence was weird -- I think the guy who was writing the article must have read the Japan results wrong... I think he's　saying that Japan lost to Czech and Serbia... I've come across a lot of bad research/writing on the fifa site -- not difficult things, but mistakes like this that make you wonder what kind of "reporters" are writing this stuff. High school students who had any interest in football wouldn't make the kind of mistakes they make! sigh!

 

they also said this:
"Their record against the Seleçaostands in stark contrast to that of Japan, who have failed to even draw in six encounters."

yet Japan tied Brazil at Confederations Cup 2001.

 

sigh... well, if you have a sec, you should submit it in the "feedback" option on the site.

 

So NakataH seems to have done well this past week... I hear some talk that he will be asked to join the NT in the upcoming Singapore game, and the club seems to have a positive attitude towards that happening. I wonder how that will affect the NT, especially if Nakamura/Ono/Takahara are not going to be present.

 

Now that Zico is back in Japan, after the media and the JFA and the fans have basically whipped themselves into a furor and frenzy over this Kazu/Gon thing in his absence, wonder how that Singapore game will turn out in the end... There seems to be a big gap in understanding between Zico and what got tranferred to the media, and it was irresponsible for everyone to run with the story (making up their own assumptions and criticizing) without even letting Zico plan it out and explain it from beginning to end. He himself has said that the entire plan was not solidified, and it must disappoint him deeply to know that it's caused Kazu/Gon/etal to be in a middle of all the insanity.

You can make an argument in favor or against every possible idea of how to treat this last game with SIngapore; I just wish everyone would approach it with a comprehensive eye and open mind.

But you have to admit, considering this was supposed to be a game no one really "cared" about, this has certainly made everyone think about it in more than a passive way, created "value" for it.

 

well I'm kind of looking forward to see if kazu and company can improve on the sloppy 2-1 win last time. Zico made a point that rather than his idea showing lack of respect for Singapore, people that say that are only disrespecting the guys he wants to call up.


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I hope they actually look at the article and see it says written by fifaworldcup. I just can't understand how anyone can make such mistakes in their article.

 

hey, that's great that you wrote in to fifaworldcup (although it looks like yahoo is doing the customer support). I sometimes do when I find errors in their articles, and I notice there tend to be a lot of errors in the asia teams. Not just the common name misspelling (though any idiot can find the spelling by a click of the mouse on the internet) or translation problem, but stuff that doesn't even make sense... but this article was really the worst, considering how MANY score mistakes it had in, like, 4 sentences.... And these people get paid to write this stuff...ie they're "professionals"....

My candid impression is that the guy who wrote it could care LESS about puny little Japan.

 

I am also baffled by the type of backlash Zico's plan has created. I'm not saying it's the world's most wonderful idea, but given the situation and the timing, it's as valid and interesting an idea as anything else. I don't like how people immediately run to words like "disrespect", especially when it isn't clear how you qualify what the parameters of "respectful" are in a situation like this.

My first reaction was the poor situation that Kazu/etc was placed in -- due to media irresponsibility, loose-lipped JFA, and supporter cries of "has-beens" and "bring on the younger players". If you read Japanese, here's a recounting of how the news spread (scroll down halfway): The Story that Walked on its own for 20 day I would attempt to translate, but maybe there is a better volunteer for it, as my Japanese isn't so hot!

 

so Zico changed his mind after AFC sent a letter saying that even though they already advanced, they should play with their best team. so no Nakayama, Kazu, etc.
Zico just named the normal J-leaguers with no Europe-based players. Okubo is on the roster, and I hope he gets good playing time, but I don't know with Zico. He might keep Suzuki and Tamada in the whole time.

 

With regard to the infamous "AFC letter" here was some stuff I picked up:

-- jury's out on whether this letter was sent solely to Japan in response to Zico's idea creating reaction in the media, OR whether this same letter was sent to basically all teams in preparation for the last WCQ1st round games.

-- Zico was rather indignant about the AFC's letter, saying that it is not their place to tell a coach how to pick his team. I don't think this letter really affected/intimidated him.

-- most importantly, Zico has picked his team according to the basic wishes/responses of the current NT members, who were asked by Zico through his translator to give their honest opinions on how they felt about the Kazu/etc call-up plan. The players said that they have a great desire to participate in the progression of the team to the next round. Reg members like Nakazawa and Miyamoto have made the same thoughts known in the media.

-- the fact that Zico picked this particular team shows that he was not affected by the AFC letter. He has stated in the press conference that he would like to prepare the team with the following members starting: Doi, Miura, Miyamoto, Matsuda, Kaji, Ogasawara, Motoyama, NakataK, Fujita, Endo, and Tamada.

If Zico was really affected by the letter that supposedly told him to "pick the best members", the above starting line-up would be reverted back to the guys who played Asia Cup.

The Forwards

Given the above philosophy, I don't think Okubo will be getting a starting position. The point of the team make-up is to let the substitute group have the opportunity of participating in the progression of the team through the WCQ not just off the field as they have done up til now.

Interesting to note that in the announcement, Motoyama was listed as a forward. He was listed as a forward in the AsiaCup roster, but was reverted back to midfield in the two WCQ games of the last few months.

Given the roster, the team looks like they will be going with a 4-4-2 formation or something like a 4-4-1-1 formation? Though it might be fun to see a 3-4-1-2 formation in the second half if Okubo gets sent in....

 

If Zico really cared about those starters from the beginning, why all the fuss about Kazu etc. then? Seriously, would other countries do what he intended to do in a World Cup Qualifying? I mean, countries like Turkey taking on Kazakhstan, Brasil taking on Bolivia, or Australia taking on Vanuatu, would do it in a World Cup Qualifying? I don't think so. They would prepare the best available squad and train it, wouldn't they? Isn't that the point of the AFC letter?
1. Singapore is nowhere near the national teams that Japan is going to face in the final round of WCQ.
2. The result does not matter.
3. More goals, the better.
4. The last match-up was 1-2, a narrow win with all the Europe-based players playing.
5. The Europe-based players are not available this time. Inamoto and Nakata have chosen to focus on getting their position in their respective club. Rightly so.
6. Other key players, such as Kubo and Tsuboi, are still recovering from injury.
7. Germany is gonna come over here next month
8. Two friendlies against Denmark, Norway, Sweden, or the United States of Can...err, America, are considered.
9. The CC: Mexico, Greece, and Brazil, and possibly more.

It's a perfect opportunity for experimentation to strenghen the roster. Those starters, especially Doi, the Nabisco Cup winning goalie, and Okubo who has been in good form in the Athens and for Cerezo, are highly motivated to gain (or regain) a position in the Japanese World Cup Squad. What the J-League clubs have been saying makes sense to me: think about the future. An all-stars match would suffice in order to honor those ex-stars.

I thought Zico would stick to Suzuki no matter what, so I'm a little surprised to see Motoyama in the starting lineup. He's more like an attacking midfielder or a left winger used as a supersub. Ogasawara's presence makes him more effective. The formation looks like 4-4-1-1, or rather 4-2-3-1 with two defensive midfielders (Endo and K. Nakata) supporting three attacking midfielders (Fujita, Ogasawara, and Motoyama) behind a lone striker Tamada (or Okubo).

Japan 5-0 Singapore