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National Team Match: |
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Following the drubbing that Japan suffered at the hands of Argentina, last month, Zico made a concerted effort to round up the best players that were available, for Japan's away match against India in the first round of World Cup qualifiers. But anyone who wqas hoping for a repeat of the 7-0 goalfest that Japan enjoyed in the home leg was in for an unpleasant surprise as the team spent 44 minutes sleepwalking through the evening at Kolkota's Salt Lake Stadium. In a bit of fitting irony, the power went out in the stadium at half time, plunging all 100,000+ fans into total darkness. It shouldnt have affected the Japanese players, though, since they looked like they were stumbling about in the darkness for the entire first stanza.
It was only when the power finally came back on that Japan started to show their superiority in footballing skill, but India can count themselves unlucky not to have come away with a closer score line. Their performance in the first half was superb, and though Japan was at fault for not doing a better job of playing to their strengths, India's players knew just what to do to keep Japan on the back foot. Some brilliant work in the net by Sandip Nandy very nearly held them level with Japan until half time, and though they dropped their heads a bit and lost their composure following Shinji Ono's bubble-bursting free kick just after the break, they did enough in the opening half to prove themselves a worthy opponent.
Though India certainly did their part, Japan's limp performance in the first half can be blamed largely on their own failings. Naturally, the list of problems has to start with Zico's continued failure to show some imagination and insight in player selection. Nobody with unimpaired vision can be fooled into thinking that Akira Kaji is capable of playing football at the international level, while Makoto Tanaka proved once again that the only thing he excels at is thuggish fouls and collecting yellow cards. Once again, Takashi Fukunishi managed to look like the most untalented hack on the pitch for 89 minutes, only to show up in front of goal for a cherry-picking header in the 71 minute that will probably convince Zico to start him again in the match against Oman.
But poor player selection tells only half the story. A more serious problem lies in the lazy and disorganised style of play that Japan continues to demonstrate. While India deserve credit for their hard work and tireless running on defence, it was clear from the outset that Japan had the technical skill to overwhelm the opponent. In such conditions, the way to win matches is to take the match directly to the opposition -- use your dribbling and short-passing skills to beat opponents, one by one, and force the ball through the packed defence. But Japan spend 44 minutes dancing about on the fringes, trying to be too fancy and too clever in their exchanges when simplicity and crisp execution were called for. It was only in the final ten minutes of the half that Japanese players FINALLY began trying to take on their defenders and beat them on the dribble, or pull them out of position before releasing a crisp, short pass.
Naturally, once the technically superior Japanese players began to challenge their opponents one-on-one, it was no longer a contest. The best two or three scoring opportunities of the period all came in the dying minutes of the first half. When Japan finally challenged the Indian back line, it snapped. With a minute to go in the half, Alex Santos carried the ball up the left sideline and played a looping pass to Masashi Motoyama. Motoyama drew the first defender and put the ball into space with a back header. Santos cut through to collect the ball, then dribbled straight at defenders Debjit Ghosh and Samir Naik. This was the sort of play that Japan should have been demonstrating from the outset, and sure enough, Santos' dribbling moves sliced cleanly through the gap, giving him a clear shot on goal from just oustide the left post. The keeper, Nandy, very nearly pulled his team out of the fire yet again, but his deflection of Santos' shot fell right at the feet of Takayuki Suzuki, who stuffed it home and gave Japan a bit of a lift going into the break.
But as soon as both teams were back in their locker rooms, the evening began to take a farcical turn. As the crowd was moving into the coridoors for a rest room break and a "Tumbs Up Cola", the power suddenly went out, plunging the stadium into blackness. Though one bank of lights came back on shortly afterward, the entire stadium was cast into an eerie half-light and the players were trapped in their locker rooms, unable to exit the electric-powered lifts that lead up to the playing field. For 30 minutes, the crowd milled about in growing annoyance and TV viewers watched in amazement, while Japan's reserves entertained each other by demonstrating their juggling techniques, on the sidelines.
When power was finally restored, the two teams resumed play, not knowing whether the lights would remain on or whether they would once again be plunged into the dark. No doubt, the blackout caused some jangled nerves for the Japanese team as well, but it was India that seemed to suffer the greatest blow to their concentration. After playing excellent football over the opening 45 minutes, they started to lose their heads in the second half, plowing into opponents with unnecessary fouls and losing their concentration in the back line. Japan quickly began to exploit these lapses, though once again, a failure to keep things simple and precise probably allowed India to escape worse punishment. The killing blow came fifteen minutes after half time, when a rash challenge at midfield gave Japan a free kick about seven meters beyond the top of the penalty arc. Shinji Ono took the kick and played a perfect ball, which curled just over the wall and dipped sharply, bouncing inches from the line, just inside the left post. The keeper never had a chance, and you could see the Indian players drop their heads in dismay as Ono's scalpel sliced their hearts out.
Thereafter, play disintegrated even more as the Indian players lost their composure and began making even more rash challenges. Japan, for their part, failed to capitalise on the affray as much as they might have done, though they did produce another goal about ten minutes after Ono's strike, as Tatsuhiko Kubo split the defence with a stutter-step and a through pass to Santos. Alex lobbed for the far post and Takashi Fukunishi -- who had done little up to that point except pass the ball to opposing players -- was in perfect position to head the ball into the wide-open back door.
The farcical air to the match which had prevailed since half time was very nearly taken to another level, ten minutes from full time, as Toshiya Fujita raised his studs to an Indian midfielder, and earned a yellow card. For a moment, the referee seemed unaware that Fujita was on as a replacement for Makoto Tanaka (perhaps all Jubilo players look alike?), and pulled out his red card to send Fujita off. A bit of frantic intervention by designated English-speaker Tsuneyasu Miyamoto convinced the ref that Fujita was not the player who had earned a yellow in the first half, and the ref allowed him to stay on the field.
With time running down, Japan put the cap on their evening with their lone goal from 14 corner kick attempts. Shinji Ono played a line drive for the near post which was headed on by Yuji Nakazawa. The ball ricocheted for the far post and Miyamoto was on hand to volley it home and close out the scoring
Though the final score line may look respectable, this was not a good performance by Japan. Half of the problem lies in player selection, and if Zico is still not able to see the obvious weak links, it does not bode well for the team's future prospects. The other half of the problem, however, lies in the inexplicable complacency and lack of competitive fire from Japan's leading members. Unless there is a very dramatic change in this attitude, the team could receive a very unpleasant shock next month in Oman.
Japan earned some well-deserved congratulations following their victory in the Asian Cup, but the team seems to be wearing their success poorly. The eam seems to be completely lacking in both spirit and energy, not to mention leadership. Some may view this as nothing more that a rhetorical display of bravado, but The Rising Sun News hopes that some JFA official out there will read this and take the challenge seriously: Let Zico name his best team, and name the venue, and I will put together a team that will kick some religious epiphany into their sorry asses. The Rising Sun News has been consistent in its support for Zico over the past two years, even at times when a large segment of the public were calling for his head. But it he is still incapable of recognising that several of his starting players have no business in the Japan National Team, then perhaps it is time to revise that stance. Up to now, most of the criticism leveled against Zico has been either misplaced, or unfair, fosucing on things that he cannot control. But player selection is the one thing a coach has total control over, and if Zico cannot do a better job of choosing a national team, perhaps it is time for him to step aside.
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Japan 4 - 0 India 