OK, I'll try to explain it to you again... - Japan had practiced together two days. - For some key players, such as Nagatomo and Honda, it was ONE day. - Japan's last competitive game was in January - five months ago. - Japan tried in the first half a new tactic, 3-4-3, with in the key positions Nishi (a debutant), and Yasuda (returning to the NT after 2 years). - Peru is a quite good team, preparing for a very big tournament, and took the game very seriously. These above are the facts, and are more than enough to combine for the game we have seen, imo.
This is basically where I disagree. What's the point of playing some scrubs just because they know the formation in a meaningless match? Just impedes the quality players from learning it.
Ya is if I didnt know that...these are normal circumstances for International Soccer players, what about Peru? Im sure they had the same amount of time, and jet lagged as well, and away from home? Come on now...enough with the excuses, im as big a Japan Soccer fan as anyone Im just trying to look at this objectively. And what does Yasuda not being with the team have anything to do with the teams success. I felt he played a decent game, at least he tried to play aggressivly and wasnt content to play defense. Its not as if in those 2 years away from the JNT he forgot to play soccer. He was one one of the few bright spots to me. Could give Ucchida a run for his money down the road. It really doesnt matter when they last played and whether or not theyve played with eachother. These guys are the best of the best, they have to make it work. They have in the past made it work against better teams than Peru under the exact same circumstances...the only difference this time was Japans players and the formation. It will get some getting used to and I bet those practices helped, but the players selected were not players who win you games. That is not until the second half came. Japan had more talent, they should have won, practice is overrated...ask Allen Iverson.
I don't know who Allen Iverson is but he's completely wrong Practice is overrated and Barca's high profile, big budget players don't perform like their young players who have worked with each other for 10 years Practice is overrated and JNT looked a bit sh!t in the group stage but managed to beat ROK and Australia in knock out stage And countless example like France, Argentina... when they though if they throw a bunch of world class players, they would win
Hmmm... ? Bierhoff was top goalscorer of Serie A when Zac was Udinese's coach... and Poggi & Amoroso are strikers too. Is this a test or did I miss the irony-button?
Not to mention that several people on this board will try to tell you that it doesnt matter how many trophy titles a player or team has won, that doesnt make them talented. Im sorry, but thats rubbish. If you win, that means you are good. If you win consistently, it means you are great. If you score more goal from a position than any of your rivals, it means (at a minimum) that you are a talented goalscorer. I see a persistent pattern in the above comments of people who seem to want to bash players from Kashima, because apparently anyone from the team that has won Seven league championships, Six stage titles. Four Xerox cups. Four emperor's cups. Three Nabisco cups and a partridge in a fig tree must not be a very talented player. Just so theres no misunderstanding here, if I named my own back three, Inoha wouldnt be in it. But I am rational enough to admit when Zack chooses him, that he has a legitimate reason to do so. If you can find another player who scores as frequently (and gets as many assists) from right back as Inoha, dont be so fricking shy - lets hear his name. Come on . . . either take the piss or put that thing back in your fundoshi. WHO do you think should be there instead? Huh? And if you say either Gotoku Sakai or Tomoya Ugajin, I think I might just piss my pants laughing . . .
Well done. No irony intended, I just wanted to see how many of these "experts" actually pay attention. I dont actually remember all of the back three at Udinese in that period but I remember Zapata was the most famous one, and I think Bertotto played there for a while.
Incidentally, for those of you who want to read up a bit more on the tactics of the Zaccheroni 3-4-3, theres a good section in the following book that discusses it in detail: http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=Tu3gPD90eVQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Hey Sugar: Youve been told four times that Inoha was not playing at side back. Four times! And then you went into a long explanation of why you thought Inoha should not be playing side back (and should be replaced by Yasuda or Uchida). Its not a very good time for you to be acting insulted, and making comments like "Ya as if I didnt know that..."
Thank you! And Bierhoff was an icon of international football. Many of the posters may not remember him because they're too young simply. I remember that when I was about 10 years old one of the first articles I read about football was a relation from the game between Zaccheroni's Udinese and Widzew Lodz in Udine in old UEFA Cup. Maybe I have the paper with lineups still somewhere around (those were good times - playing football 8 hours everyday, unfortunately, I'm form the last 'football' generation in my country, later PC's entered the stage!). That was Serie A with real stars! With greatest, most complete striker I ever witnessed - Batistuta. Left, right feet, headers, great FK, shots from distance, very strong. I haven't seen a player like that later. If Japan could ever produce a striker like that... Sorry for OT but I couldn't resist.
Don't forget about Tulio (would be fantastic to see him playing as a sweeper in NT) and Nakazawa. They're getting old but NO other defender in whole J.League is even close to their defensive skills. If 3-4-3 is the way to go, they're inescapable.
True words. Seems its only you and me that thinks so. The others seem calm not having those two fantastic defenders on the team. No one is close.
Theyre both fantastic players, but not at all suitable for a 3-4-3. This is the whole underlying point of the discussion above. If any of the people joining in dont understand what the 3-4-3 implies, please FOLLOW THAT LINK that I posted and spend a bit of time reading the descriptions of what each player is supposed to do. Apparently a lot of the people commenting here dont see what Zack is trying to do with the team, and just cant leave their preconceptions about a 4-4-2 behind. In a 3-4-3 your back line has to be guys with TOTAL discipline and fantastic positional sense. Tulio is a great player, but the guy has about as much self-discipline as a three-month-old German Shepherd puppy. I think he might make a good deep midfielder, because he has power in the air, is good with both feet, and can join the attack in a lot of different ways. But in the back three? I really dont see it happening. When Nakazawa was 24 or 25, he would have been great in such a position. But nowadays I dont see how he could handle the running that would be required. The back three - and especially the big guy at the center of the line - have to run twice as hard as in a 4-4-2, to make the system work. Besides . . . Nakazawa himself has said he doesnt want to be called. He didnt formally retire yet, but its clear that he views his Intl career as essentially over. I found this point very interesting in the poll on my website, as well. Nakazawa was the most common name mentioned as "who was the biggest surprise omission". Clearly, its going to take some time until the "average fan" is able to change their perception of what sort of players fit a 3-4-3 system. I remember the same problem happening back when Troussier took over. Iihara and Akita had been permanent fixtures of the NT for over 4 years, and were the best central defenders in the J.League. You would be very hard pressed to find anyone who thought differently. But neither one was suitable for a three-back line so both were dropped and never played again until after Troussier (yet Akita was still good enough to come back for a few more caps after Zico restored the team to a 4-4-2. But for the sake of this discussion, lets please try to keep it on a fairly high level, and avoid talking about using Nakazawa in the back three, or Uchida/Yasuda in place of Inoha. The link I gave is a good and easy to understand "3-4-3 for dummies". Anyone who reads it can easily understand why nobody besides you is mentioning Tulio or Nakazawa as a likely starter.
Do they have to play 3-4-3 so fkcing bad then? Enough to left the best two defenders they have? Don't get it.
also Zac had his problems with Makino in the beginning because of discipline (Makino said he wasnt Zacs favorite, still lack of tactical discipline), thats why other players were preferred to start ... and maybe still are
First of all, I dont agree that they are the best two defenders they have. Last year? . . . . well, maybe. But in 2014? Tulio will be 33 (and he already gets injured once every 4 matches) and Nakazawa will be 37! If you think that makes sense, Im sorry - No offense but youre delusional. Second, Japan hired Zack. He didnt go out and beg to be coach. They chose him. If they wanted a coach who will use a 4-4-2, then they should have hired one? Obviously they think there are better options. Personally I agree. I think its a very good strategy for a Japanese team to play. What I dont understand is how people can gripe about a system when its clear that they dont even know what it means. Please dont take offense at that. Im not going out of my way to belittle people or put them down. But from some of the comments above, its clear that the person who made them doesnt understand some element of football tactics or tactical formations. Before you post loud complaints about the system, at least take some time to find out what it is. The way some people gripe and complain, it almost reminds me of the people who think flouridated water is a conspiracy to control their minds.
Spare me the theory Matsu, please, a guy who : 1. plays on the right side 2. defends most of the time 3. makes some runs to attack but not too much to keep the balance of the team is called a right back for me and that's what Inoha was. He doesn't have any offensive skill, all he can do is defending so if you think he played like Nishi was during the first half, you are the one who's wrong. But, and I feel like there's a misunderstanding there, he started like a defender in the three back, no problem about that. But several substitutions made him finish the game on the right side and that's something I don't wanna see. I wasn't arguing about him playing with Konno and Kurihara, he was decent there.
Dude! Which fricking game did you watch???? 74' Inoha => ---------- <= Moriwaki Inoha played at right wingback for less than 30 minutes. And in that time he had a hand in two of the three most dangerous plays of the evening. He was the one who crossed to Sekiguchi when Sekiguchi overhit his first touch and the keeper beat him to the ball. He was also the player who won the free kick that Honda sent 10 yards over the crossbar. And youre claiming he finished the game on the right side???? Christ!!! Having an opinion is one thing. But talking out your ass does nothing but fill the place up with a lot of bad-smelling hot air.
Who is better than Nakazawa and Tulio? Yes they will be old in 2014, but first Japan has to qualify for the WC, why not use the best they have now. And if they are to old or injured in 2014 lets see. Pretty fkcing ignorant and play the so called future in so important games and qualifiers. Clearly when they are not so good. But if you think there is any better choices than those two RIGHT NOW. I can't help you. Konno will also be over 30 in 2014, it's that so much better???? No offense to Konno. I like Makino but he does not even get the chance in friendlies.
In Zaccheroni's 3-4-3 there are no side-backs by definition. At Udinese he used Helveg and Bachini, who are NOT side-backs. He brought Helveg to AC Milan, and on the other side he had Guli, again, not a side-back. In the 3-4-3 there are side players, and they should do the whole field, otherwise the system doesn't work. OK, there were two side-backs in the first half vs Peru, actually, and that is why Japan played with a 5-2-3 which defended very well, but could not attack. These are not my words, but exactly what Zac said in the post-game conference. So, I believe we can finish it here, because even thou we might have different interpretations of the 3-4-3, the one that Zac has is quite clear and simple: two side players who should both defend, and attack. If they constantly fall back and line up with the three defenders, there is no offensive phase, and what happens we have seen. With that said, I have no problems with Zac trying new things in a friendly game. No modern manager should fossilize himself and his team on a single system. The 3-back, for example is very useful when you are forced to play with ten men, especially if you have lost a defender. In other words: guys, let Zaccheroni do his job. I would guess that he knows what he's doing...
If no new talent arises, Tulio could be an option as one of the four centerbacks, but not as a starter. more as a support, veteran member, who might come in when we need an extra defender to hold a result. At the other end of the spectrum, I heard from an Italian observer that Mike Havenaar's little brother is a hell of a CB, VERY promising.