National Team Match:
Japan 1 - 1 Romania

Date: 8 Oct, 2003 Location: Bucharest, Romania Japan 1 0 1H 1 1 2H 0 1 Romania Yanagisawa (58') Scoring Mutu (16') Cautions Yoshikatsu, Nobuhisa Yamada, Keisuke Tsuboi, Yuji Nakazawa, Alex Santos, Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Ono, Shunsuke Nakamura, Hidetoshi Nakata, Naohiro Takahara (Yoshito Okubo 77), Atsushi Yanagisawa TBA

Zico Japan took their show on the road this month, with a two-week tour of Europe and North Africa. In the first match of the trip, Japan managed a win in Tunisia, but looked a bit disorganised. Despite a result that should prevent any embarassment, the second match of the tour will leave lingering questions about the team's ability to produce victories -- and questions that deserve to be laid at the door of the players, not the coach. The one point that probably will be raised when the press inevitably begin carping at Zico will be his decision to start Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who may be the only Japanese goalkeeper playing overseas, but clearly would have difficulty holding down a starting spot in the J.League if he played the way he has in recent national team matches. A horrendous blunder which provided Romania with their first goal surely cost Japan a victory in this match. Given that this is the second consecutive appearance in which Kawaguchi has cost his team the contest, one certainly hopes that we will not be seeing him again.

Japan played reasonably well in this contest, against a team that provides a very good matchup in abilities and character. Like Japan, Romania is a team that thrives on smooth passing work at midfield and carefully constructed attacks. Though a few players failed to shine in this contest, in general, the Japanese players demonstrated a fine ability to stymie the Romanian attack and create good scoring chances of their own despite a very clear "home advantage" for Romania in the officiating category.

But a horrendous blunder in the early stages of the match put Japan at a disadvantage and forced them to struggle uphill for most of the afternoon. In the 16 minute, Romania used the one weapon that succeeded throughout the afternoon -- playing a lead pass to Adrian Mutu and allowing him to create room for himself on the dribble. But Keisuke Tsuboi actually did a fine job of shadowing Mutu and forcing him wide of the net. As his angle on goal quickly disappeared, Mutu fired off a quick, desperate shot for the near corner. But the shot was not particularly powerful, and would have been saved by just about any competent goalkeeper. Unfortunately, Kawaguchi no longer fits that description. Though a lowered knee would have ensured that the ball could not slip past, Kawaguchi tried to snatch the ball with his hands, and allowed it to slip through and across the goal line. Mutu seemed as surprised as anyone else in the stadium, and his reaction when the ball went in was like that of a person whose number came up in the lotto drawing.

Japan struggled for about the next 15 minutes, as the disappointment of giving away such an easy goal seemed to sap the players' initiative. But by the final 15 minutes of the half they were putting together some very dangerous attacks and nearly equalised on two occasions. The first opportunity came in the 31 minute, when a pass from Shinji Ono shredded the Romanian back line, and both Naohiro Takahara and Atsushi Yanagisawa beat the back line for a two-on-zero break on goal. But Romania were rescued by the linesman, who raised his flag and stopped the play, though replays provided conclusive evidence that BOTH Yanagisawa and Takahara had been onside.

Then, just before the break, Japan got their best chance of the first half on a corner kick from the left side. Ono played the ball into the pack, and after an inconclusive battle in the air, it fell at the feet of Yuji Nakazawa, who drilled a shot at the low left corner. But the Romanian defender guarding the near post managed to clear the ball off the line, preserving Romania's lead at half time.

Though Japan's midfield play was somewhat sloppy during the first half, and lacked the crispness and precision one normally expects fromthe so-called "golden quartet", their performance in the second half was considerably tighter. From the second half kickoff through the final whistle, Romania were forced onto the back foot, and spent the entire 45 minutes struggling to protect a result. Apart from two or three counters, Japan had all of the initiative and most of the scoring chances. Immediately after the restart, A cross from Nakata gave Takahara a good chance at a header, but he failed to make decent contact. Moments later, Nakamura took a nice through pass from Inamoto that split the Romanian defence wide open. Unfortunately, the ball was a bit too long and when Nakamura tried to loop his shot over the ourushing goalkeeper, it was a bit too low, and was punched clear by the keeper. Five minutes later, Yanagisawa dashed into the box for a lead pass and was knocked off his feet, but the referee waved play on. Nevertheless, there was a clear sense that a goal was not far off.

Finally, in the 58 minute, Japan scored the equaliser on a brilliant play that showed what the team is capable of when all members are expending a 100% effort. Ono and Nakata played a fine exchange in midfield, putting together three passes that stretcheded the Romanian back line ont of shape. As Ono returned the ball to him two meters beyond the penalty arc, Nakata looped a pass over the defensive line that was timed perfectly to meet a dash into the box by Yanagisawa. The Sampdoria striker had to wait for the high lob to come down, leaning away to let it drop over his right shoulder. But he showed excellent patience, waiting even as the defenders closed in from behind, to catch the ball on the short-hop. His shot was a rocket that the keeper had no chance of saving, and Japan were back on level terms.

Ten minutes later, Yanagisawa had a chance to double his tally, as a pass fropm Nakamura sent Takahara down the left sideline and he crossed in to his cutting strike partner. Yanagisawa managed to fend off a challenge from his defender and fire off a shot, but a fine dive by the keeper pushed it around the post.

Japan had three or four more opportunities to go on top, but the referee continued to whistle even the most marginal of Japanese infractions while waving on challenges by the Romanians, making it much easier for the home team to defend their result. By the final ten minutes, Japan's midfield seemed to pack it in and accept the 1-1 result. This was perhaps the most disheartening feature of the match -- even more disappointing than the sluggish play early in the first half. Though Japan's "golden quartet" showed occasional sparks of genius, particularly early in the second half, the general impression was that they have imbibed the European attitude towards friendlies: Inamoto, Ono, Nakamura and Nakata (yes, ESPECIALLY Nakata) were not about to give their all, and risk a possible injury, in order to get the win in a "meaningless" friendly. While some European fans might find this attitude understandable, the Rising Sun News views it as a serious concern. If players are not going to give a full effort for their country, Zico should quit calling them up. There are plenty of other Japanese players who would be more than happy to step into their shoes, and on the evidence of this match and the one against Tunisia, some of them probably could have acquitted themselves better than the Europe-based players.

Looking back at the two matches of Japan's overseas tour, the final results will probably be viewed as acceptable. Several players made comments after the Romania match to the effect that "that the tide was so strongly in our favour in the second half that I feel like we actually won". Nevertheless, there are a few points of concern mixed in among the sources of optimism.

Yuji Nakazawa probably earned himself a spot in Zico's "core" team as the result of this tour. He put in two excellent performances, winning the air battles better than any NT defender since Yutaka Akita. There are still some doubts about his ball control, and particularly his distribution into the front line, but even after players like Miyamoto and Matsuda return to health, he probably will continue to receive invitations to the team, at least as a reserve.

The other newcomers to the squad produced marginally acceptable results, but nothing that will cause existing starters to worry about their positions. Teruaki Moniwa acquitted himself well against Tunisia, but cant begin to match Keisuke Tsuboi in terms of overall solidity on defence. Tsuboi repeatedly demonstrated his speed and instincts in the Romania match, to snuff out counterattacks. Thoug he failed to prevent Mutu's crucial shot, that is something that even most Premiership defenders have been unable to do. And the goal can hardly be laid at his door, since he did enough to ensure that any "competent" goalkeeper could make the save. Akira Kaji and Atsuhiro Miura may get future calls to the team. Kaji seems have better instincts than Nobuhisa Yamada, but he would probably be a liability unless he can tighten up his defensive play. Miura showed better defensive qualities than Alex Santos, but was not able to contribute as much to the midfield passing game.

Of the four Europe-based midfielders, Inamoto had the weakest performance, making almost no impact abainst Tunisia, and producing only a marginally successful result against Rumania (and that mainly on the defensive end). He probably will continue to be viewed as one of Zico's starting unit for the time being, but only until Koji Nakata recovers from injury. Shinji Ono also has looked better, particularly on offence. When he does get involved in the midfield passing game, his scalpel-sharp through balls slice open defences like fresh sashimi. But for much of the Tunisia match, and several long spells of the Romania contest he seemed to be just going through the motions.

Hidetoshi Nakata also had a few moments of excellence, particularly his pass to Yanagisawa for the equalising goal. However, he seemed even more lethargic than Ono if you consider that his responsibility was to marshall the offence. By comparison, Nakamura was a lot more active. Although he does not have the body control and strength on the ball that Nakata demonstrates (when he feels like it), it might make sense for Zico to give him at least a chance to replace Nakata as the playmaker. If only because the threat of being benced might get Nakata to show a bit more fire.

The most heartening performance of this tour came from Atsushi Yanagisawa, who broke out of his National Team goal slump and put on a truly impressive performance in both matches. In point of fact, Yanagisawa has played well in most of his national team appearances of recent years. He shows excellent movement both on and off the ball, and is better at supporting the midfield passing game than any other striker Japan possesses. Only his apparent inability to find the net has made him a disappointment. Perhaps the move to Europe has jolted him out of the mental rut that made him such an inefficient scorer in recent years. If so, this is very good news for the national team.

The other strikers were something of a disappointment. Takayuki Suzuki really does not add much to the Zico concept, and it is hard to see why he belongs in the national team. Under Troussier, his post play and physical presence were useful, but with the style of football Japan is playing nowadays, he simply cant keep up with the swift attacking thrusts. Takahara looked a bit more effective in this regard, though he failed to make much of his opportunities. Then again, his eye injury probably did not allow him to function at 100%. His value remains a question mark. Yoshito Okubo, meanwhile, did not see enough action to make an impression either way. Despite Yanagisawa's return to form, Japan's front line still is a source of slight concern.

As for Kawaguchi, the less that is said, the better. Time to strap him to his horse and send him riding off into the sunset. Based on the performance against Romania, it seems highly unlikely that anyone will run after him, calling "Yoshi, come back!"

Below is the full roster for Japan's tour of Africa and Asia: