National Team Match:
Japan 3 - 1 China

Date: 7 Aug, 2004 Location: Workers' Stadium, Beijing Japan 1 1H 1 2 2H 0 China Fukunishi (22') Nakata (65') Tamada (89') Scoring Li Ming (31') Suzuki Nakata Cautions Seong Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Makoto Tanaka, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Yuji Nakazawa, Koji Nakata, Takashi Fukunishi, Akira Kaji, Shunsuke Nakamura, Alessandro Santos, Takayuki Suzuki, Keiji Tamada Li Yunfei, Sun Xiang, Zhang Yaokun, Zheng Zhi, Wei Xin, Li Ming, Shao Jiayi, Zhao Junzho, Yan Song, Hao Haidong, Li Jinyu

When the Asian Cup began, everyone was well aware of the fact that many of Japan's "best" players were absent. Clearly the biggest problem that the team faced was their lack of creativity in midfield, due to the agsence of Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono and Junichi Inamoto, as well as their lack of finishing skill, due to the absence of Tatsuhiko Kubo, Naohiro Takahara and Atsushi Yanagisawa. In the early stages of the tournament, it looked like the absence of these individuals would send Japan home early. Indeed, after the final pool round match, against Iran, we commented that "Japan plumbed new depths of dullness . . . not only is (their performance) an insult to the beautiful game itself, but it is guaranteed to turn off the fans."

However, something interesting happened on the way to the finals. As anyone who has followed the tournament realises, Japan was subjected to brutal conditions in China -- not only in terms of oppressive weather, but also an openly hostile crowd and equally unfriendly officials. Zico and his players had every reason -- and indeed, every excuse -- to just throw up their hands, admit that they were up against forces far greater than just an opposing football team, and go home to concentrate on the more important business of winning qualification to the World Cup. But it is a great testament to this team that they refused to take the easy way out. Instead, the adversity seemed to bring out an element that had all but disappeared from the star-studded Japan teams of the 21st century -- a gritty determination and a sense of pride that refuses to admit defeat and struggles on, to the very last minute of the very final match. This element of determination, dogged perseverance and "faithfulness unto death" is the very essence of the Japanese character -- so much so that it even has a name, forged deep in the misty past: Yamato Damashi, The spirit of Japan. Perhaps for the first time since the tragic "Agony at Doha", over ten years ago, Japan's national team discovered and displayed the essence of Yamato Damashi. And over the course of the past three weeks, it seemed to transform the players into something greater than they they were before. To put it as simply as possible, they finally and truly became a TEAM.

In the press conferences prior to the final, a hostile Chinese press badgered Zico with questions that seemed aimed at provoking an angry response. One by one, Zico shrugged them off with a combination of diplomatic caution and Brazilian understatement. Then a reporter raised the issue of Japan's missing stars. "This is not Japan's best team, since you do not have key players like Nakata and Inamoto. If you lose to China, will you use this as an excuse for why you lost?" As the translator rendered this question in Portuguese, Zico's face grew stern, and his eyes flashed for the first time with what might have been true annoyance.

"I have been around football for a very long time, and believe me, I have heard enough excuses for 'why we lost' to fill many, many books. At the end of the day, the team that wins doesnt need to make excuses. Let me tell you this, and I truly believe it. You can say that this player or that player is missing, and that may be true. But in the end, the key to football is not this player or that player, but the team. I believe that this team I have with me, in China is Japan's best team. There will not be any excuses, because this team is not planning to lose."

And if Zico says it, who am I to claim he is wrong? This was indeed a great team. You could argue all day about how one player or another failed to perform as well as one of the missing stars "might" have performed. But at the end of the day, Japan came through this tournament with a degree of certainty, determination and belief in themselves which distinguishes true champions from talented pretenders. As soon as the two teams took the pitch at Beijing's Workers Stadium, on Saturday night, this was apparent to everyone watching. Japan -- star players or not -- was clearly a superior team.

A lot of people will complain, as they look at this tournament with hindsight, that Japan played very dull football in China 2004. That is a legitimate criticism, but one could just as easily reply that Zico was given a group of dull players, so there was little he could do EXCEPT play dull football. The important thing was that Japan played to their own strengths, and did so effectively enough to win matches. As the contest against China got under way, sure enough, Japan came out looking almost sluggish as they shadowed their opponents about the pitch on defence, andon offence played simplistic long-balls to the front line. It wasnt particularly beautiful, and on that point, we must agree. It was unfortunate Japan did not have its top players, because with creative individuals like Ono, Inamoto and Kubo, Japan surely would have been more entertaining to watch. But as the saying goes, the issue that REALLY matters is whether you win or lose, and Japan were clearly playing to win..

About 20 minutes into the match, Japan finally started to pick up the tempo slightly, and an attempted overlap on the left wing by Alex Santos produced a corner kick. Shunsuke Nakamura sent the ball for the far post, and Takayuki Suzuki outmuscled a defender to head it back across the face of goal. With the keeper and all the Chinese defenders reacting to the far post, Takashi Fukunishi was left completely unmarked, in the dead center of the goal mouth. He had only to twist his body enough to make contact, and his header dropped lazily into the back of the empty net.

China deserve a great deal of credit for determination, since the goal came on a play that looked too easy. Some teams might have dropped their heads, at least for a moment. But with a huge crowd cheering them on, China struggled to fight their way back into the contest. As the half-hour mark passed, Japan's defence made their only major blunder of the entire match, and China managed to exploit it. Fukunishi and Akira Kaji both shadowed a Chinese wing down the left side, but in a rare example of lazy play, Fukunishi stopped chasing when they were level with the top of the box. The Chinese wing spotted the opening, and quickly cut back, slipping just between Kaji and Fukunishi, then delivering a rolling pass tothe top of the box. striker Li Ming drilled a shot just inside the left post, and China were back on level terms.

Following the goal, Japan regained their concentration and intensity, and though the score remained unchanged through half time, it was once again apparent that Japan were in control of the tempo. If not for some extremely shoddy officiating, they might have even extended their lead, but Takayuki Suzuki was being called for a foul every time he touched the ball -- even if there were no Chinese players within fouling distance -- and in general, the refs were exercising extreme caution, probably in hopes of avoiding abuse by the partisan crowd.

From the opening minute of the second half, though, you could almost see Japan's second goal coming. Though they continued to use almost maddeningly simplistic tactics, Japan stuck to their game plan and slowly their superior technical skill began to overcome their weaker opponent. In the 65 minute Japan again won a corner kick, this time on the right side. Nakamura sent a beautiful looping line drive that cleared the packed defence and dropped right at the far post. Koji nakata was in position to bundle it into the net. Initially, the Chinese players claimed tht it was a hand ball, but a careful look at the tape suggests that it was Nakata's hip that sent the ball into the net. While the ball *may* have brushed his arm as well, Nakata was surrounded by a jumble of Chinese players and considering the position of the referee, there is no way that he could have seen the contact even if Nakata's arm did brush the ball. Based on their dominance over the preceding ten minutes, Japan clearly deserved the lead.

Thereafter, all the pressure was on China, and Japan simply pulled down the shutters and locked the doors. Some may question why Zico failed to bring on any substitutes, even in the final seconds. However, a more careful consideration of the strategic situation shows that this was actually a very clever move. Japan had a defensive, "dull" lineup on the pitch already, and all the main substitutes available were players who would have made Japan a more offensive, attacking squad. China's coach was forced to go to his bench early, and if China had managed an equaliser in the dying minutes, Zico wold have been able to bring on three fresh, energetic and offence-oriented players during the 30-minute extra time, while China's players all steadily ran out of gas. As it was, Zico never needed to play his trump cards. China grew more desperate with each passing minute, until they became their own worst enemies. The referees, after letting China get away with a lot of physical play earlier in the match, were now less likely to overlook blatant fouls, and by the final 15 minutes of the match, blatant is probably an understatement. Japan demonstrated their superior technical skills by moving the ball constantly away from pressure, and screening it with their bodies while in possession. Much as the crowd might have objected, the referees simply were not going to turn a blind eye as a Chinese midfielder practiced kung fu moves on Shunsuke Nakamura's backside.

With time ticking away, and play turning into just an endless series of free kicks for Japan, the Chinese back line pushed all the way to the midfield line, trying to create pressure. But this was clearly a mistake. Despite a relatively lackluster performance in this tournament, Nakamura has the passing touch to shred a defence at any time, and as the regular time clock hit zero, he did just that. Collecting a pass from Kaji, who had just taken a free kick on the right sideline, Nakamura made eye contact with Keiji Tamada, who turned towards goal and -- startingfrom the midfield stripe -- began a dash for goal. Nakamura's pass was perfectly timed and perfectly placed, ripping China's back line asunder and sending Tamada and Suzuki off on a 2-on-zero break. Suzuki shadowed the play on the right side, but in the end Tamada needed no help, fakingthe keeper to the ground and then tucking the ball into an empty net to seal the victory once and for all.

In the awards ceremony, the AFC chose Nakamura as the tournament MVP, though we felt that defender Yuji Nakazawa was far more deserving of this accolade. There does seem to be an unwritten rule that the MVP has to be an offensive player, but Nakazawa was simply the best man on the pitch for Japan, throughout this tournament, and it is a shame that the AFC failed to recognise his tremendous performance. Then again, the AFC also chose to select China as winners of the "fair play" award . . . .

. . . perhaps they just have a keen sense of irony.

Below is the full roster for the match against China: