To be fair apart from sticking with one starting lineup, I think Aguirre shows some good quality. I have a felling Japan's players are slowly becoming more edgy. For example they commit early, professional fouls more frequently to break down opponent's potential build up. Overall they controlled the games very well. Of course finishing is still the problem.
It's obviously easier to say so now (because it solaces), but that wasn't the case in 2011 (the game vs saudi ghosts aside). We had a healthy dose of luck in 2011, especially vs Australia (honestly, they deserved to win) and, to a lesser extend, vs Korea Rep. And we suffered a lot vs Jordan, Syria and Qatar too (each time we got our result in the last minutes). This time, luck wasn't on our side, even if it's true that we clearly suffered from a poor finishing.
Yes, that's the point. This time I felt much more secure, except about some moments against UAE. I think UAE's attacking force is one of the best this tournament. Their 7, 10, 11 are extremely good. To think they were reduced to just 2 clear cut chances, there were improvements.
We were stronger in 2015, but in 2011 we proved to have some balls. Especially in the Syria and Qatar match.
Belief i think is the difference. Coming off a good 'guts' filled 2010 WC, and a point to prove at the 2011 AC. This team I don't think was mentally ready to be 'challenged' by a team if an opponent stepped up. Congrats to UAE, best of luck to them against Australia.
Japanese football seems to be on the down (o points at the FIFA Confederations Cup, 1 point at the FIFA World Cup, and a disappointing quarterfinal loss to the United Arab Emirates at the AFC Asian Cup). I think the biggest problem is that Japan seems to waste so many chances!
I watched all your games in the Asian Cup and agree with you guys. Japan's performance was head and shoulders above the rest this time. UAE pulled off a miracle. Sometimes football is just unfair. We got cheated by Iraq and AFC too.
New Jersey New Manager New JNT I hope so. We are waiting for Usami the Miracle Man now it seems. Next friendly?
No one mentioned this but Okazaki had an off tournament. Anyways I hope Aguirre will stay in Japan. He is the right guy for the job. We can't blame him when Japan outshot UAE 35-3. Kudos for UAE for making their own talents (unlike Qatar).
I believe we had the best team of the tournament and played the most solid and cohesive football as well. With that said, I hope there's gonna be more than a change of coach (which I don't want), I wish for a revolution that would put individual skills at the core of the formation. Doing that, coupled to the current policy, would simply create a balance between the excellent "pass soccer" philosophy and the skill and individuality needed to take it to the next level. I like the way we play football. I don't want it to change. The ball needs to move the players, not the contrary, 1 on 1 situations must be avoided with intricate play, possession is the best defense etc. But we need to inject a dose of talent, a dose of arrogance, a dose of athleticism if we want it to work, otherwise it will be way too predictable. Only a fool would not select Nagai after his Olympics games. The qualities and the benefits of his game just explode at your eyes if you dare to watch. He's (was?) of the fastest strikers in the world and yet, scrubs like Toyoda or Minagawa were favored. I believed we missed something there and there's plenty other potential impact guys such as Usami, Minamino, Shibasaki, Nakatani, Saito, Kubo ... who need to be included in the National Team setup earlier if we want to build them as reliable national team players. The current U22 team is fairly terrible so there's a real urgency when it comes to renewing the core of our NT.
I prefer him to Minagawa and Toyoda but I think that there were better options than him back then (Mike wasn't one though) Even Otsu looked like a god against U23 players but overall he's not really NT material. However, I think Okazaki's alternative should be searched from scratch carefully in the next JLeague season, so in that sense I agree that Nagai should be looked at among others. Yeah. I wasn't against Endo at the AC but after it I'really m not sure what else he can offer. He's not needed for the WCQ and there's nothing else to play, esp. with no CC. I'd also drop Konno this year or the next one. Then Kiyotake\Inui\Muto\Kobayashi could be called up sometimes based on their performances but letting space for Usami and other players too. Also, Kagawa... sigh. That one's not going to be easy to handle.
There were no better options than Nagai back then. He put on the best performance ever for a japanese forward in a major competition. Everytime he wears that shirt, he's a possessed man. Top scorer at the Universiades, monster at the Asian Games, dynamo of the team in London. A speed almost unrivaled in the world. Not giving him a single look is plain incompetence. Otsu ≠ Nagai even though I think Otsu is NT material, he's a talented player with a different profile. He was successful before his injury.
Well back then I was still rooting for Sato so you hit a nerve haha. That said, even though Osako was still hit and miss I would've rather had him or Kakitani, Tanaka, Kudo, Koroki... I never saw any footage of the Universiades but it's not a serious competition, and he wasn't exactly a beast in the hardest matches at the olympics against Mexico or South Korea. The Asian games weren't in 2010? He didn't do much in the Jleague in those seasons from what I remember and he didn't score at the asian games past the group stage too if I recall but I don't remember much, I vaguely remember only the final. I would've wanted to see him at EAFF. Then the incompetence list goes on with Standard and Aguirre... Otsu was successful at Gladbach or Venlo? wut
The JFA's goal was to reach the top 10 in the FIFA Rankings by 2015, and win the World Cup by 2050. Well, looks like they won't reach their first goal.
lol I forgot about that one. Ooooh....the 2005 mission's going to have to redone. Lets go for 2025 & 2060 hahahaha.
Japan is being told that they will be a good team in the future quite a bit now. Don't feel alone, as a USA fan I keep hearing that there's potential for them to be a top team in the future, but I'm greedy and want them to be good now.
Just before he tore his knee with Venlo, he was scoring some beautiful goals and playing with a very nice technical touch. Universiades is a competition amongst others, another one in which Nagai was excellent and didn't disappoint, don't take it for granted. It's completely dishonest to judge him on his games against Mexico and South Korea, he injured himself against Egypt. Besides, it doesn't erase the games against Spain, Morocco and Egypt... But you're just looking for reasons not to call him up when a simple viewing of his game simply screams of it. You can hold the same enterprise of deconstruction with Usami, it's completely pointless and indefensible. Sheer success in the J.League brings you Havenaars, Toyodas and Kudos. Stat line scouting works all the time. I just hope the next guy will understand football and show more flair than his predecessors. But you're right to play the Devil's Advocate, recents results show everything is fine.
FIFA Rankings are anyway a clown act. Elo rankings are more valuable than those. About NT: Wataru Endo. Usami. Bringing back maybe Hosogai. Shibasaki as a starter. Higashiguchi as a starter. And absolutely find two CBs for the next World Cup. Otherwise we'll be slaughtered.