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National Team Match: |
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You knew it was bound to happen eventually, since North Korea seems to approach every match against Japan as if it is a matter of life or death (who knows. . . maybe it is), whereas Japan always seem to be incapable of matching the intensity, or even coming close. That wasnt the reason why Japan was set up to lose this contest, however. Zico had a perfect opportunity to FINALLY field some new faces, and perhaps get some energetic performances out of youngsters who are eager to show what they can do. With all of Japan's overseas players unavailable, and several other regulars like Tatsuhiko Kubo and Atsuhiro Miura pulling out due to injury, Zico did overcome his ingrained conservatism by calling up a few new faces, including Tatsuya Tanaka, Seiichiro Maki and Yuichi Komano. And whith that rsevoir of youth and energy at his disposal, which players took the pitch when the match began? You guessed it -- the exact same bunch of mediocre slogs he has been calling up for the past three years.
There isnt really much point in exploring the reasons why Japan lost. North Korea were playing like a bunch of greyhounds on amphetamines, while the Japanese players spent most of the 90 minutes walking. Alex Santos had a horrendous match, passing the ball to opponents almost every time he touched it, yet for reasons only Zico can explain, he continues to play every minute of every match. Mitsuo Ogasawara was not that much better, creating a few good opportunities with passes into the N.Korean box, but offsetting that by sending an errant pass to a Korean player deep in his own end, and setting up the lone goal of the match. Keiji Tamada was at his typically ineffective and impotent best, yet was left in until late in the second half, and Takashi Fukunishi was so quiet and uninvolved that we forgot he was even on the pitch in the final 20 minutes of play, and kept looking around trying to find out who had been brought in as his replacement..
After North Korea scored, it was one-way traffic for almost the entire 60 minutes remaining in the contest. The second half was played almost entirely in the North Korean end of the field. But the lack of any real intensity, coupled with furious efforts by the North Koreans to stave off the equaliser, and a liberal amount of asistance from the officials, helped keep Japan at bay.
Late in the contest (far too late, as it turned out), Zico FINALLY brought on Tanaka and Maki, and both players created good chances over the final 15 minutes or so. It would have been interesting to see what might have happened if they had come in at half time. But we will never know.
About the only comment that that is really worth making, about this pathetic waste of a Sunday evening, is that Japan's football association needs to quit picking their noses and lay down the law to the AFC and other Asian federations. The national team is well known and admired in Europe and South America, and would have no difficulty getting plenty of offers to play competitive matches from opponents who will give them a decent outing. They dont need to show up for a tournament that is designed solely for the purpose of allowing other Asian countries to feel good about themselves. While lack of intensity and poor preparation are indeed a problem, and play a role in Japan's less-than-impressive performances, it is also painfully obvious that one clear and unmistakeable factor goes a long way toward explaining why Japan performs so much better against non-Asian opposition than they do against members of their own confederation.
When Japan plays a team like Brazil, Greece, or Mexico, and one of the Japan players is fouled by an opponent, the refere blows his whistle and awards Japan a free kick. When the ball goes out of bounds off an opponent, they get a throw in. When they make a pass to a teammate who is in an onside position, the linesman's flag does not suddenly pop up. When an opposing player is standing three meters offside and the ball is passed to them, the linesman's flag DOES go up. The whistle does not suddenly blow every time Japan gets the ball into an area in front of net, and a free kick awarded to the other team for reasons inexplicable to anyone with a grasp of the rules of the game. In other words, when Japan plays a European or South American opponent, they know that the officials will apply the same set of rules to both teams.
For some reason which the AFC, EAFC and other Asian footballing bodies have never adequately explained, this is not the case when Japan plays against members of its own federation. We have already covered this matter once, providing video evidence to demonstrate what sort of tomfoolery the Japan NT faces every time they take the pitch in an AFC sanctioned match. We hesitate to rub the AFC's faces in their own dirty laundry yet AGAIN, but there was certainly an abundance of material for a similar highlight reel, in the match against North Korea. Interestingly enough, Iran has very similar complaints about the "unusual" officiating standards that are employed in Asia. Odd, isnt it, that two of the continent's best teams should get the impression that they are repeatedly falling victim to erroneous calls. Why might that be the case?
The same problem is readily apparent in Asian club tournaments, to the point where Marinos coach Takeshi Okada has even said he does not see the point in taking part in next year's Asian Champions League, even if the Marinos should win the J.League title this year. While he was careful not to use the word "rigged", he pointed out the "unusual" circumstances which his team faced in every match during the ACL and A3 tournaments this year, and said that he now views these tournaments as nothing more than a distraction and a waste of effort.
Lets not even discuss the feelings that this writer (and no doubt many others in Japan) receives at hearing his country's national anthem booed by "fans" in a country that is supposed to be "hosting" the tournament. We doubt that the definition of "host" carries the same connotations in Chinese or Korean as it does in English. If it did, the organizers of last summer's Asian Cup and this year's East Asian Championships would be committing ritual suicide to atone for the shame of this contemptable spectacle.
Since it is clear that the AFC cant be bothered to do anything about this situation, the time has come for the JFA to take action on its own. Though Japan's loss against North Korea might very well have occurred regardless of the officiating quality, for the reasons we discussed at the top of this report, that does not excuse the atrocious officiating which essentially ruins any enjoyment that a fan of the Japan NT might have in watching its team play. Where isthe fun in watching every dangerous offensive thrust brought to a halt by the referee's whistle, or by a deliberate and dangerous foul which more often than not goes unpunished. At the end of the day, there is nothing to be gained by Japanese fans, players, coaches or corporate sponsors from sham tournaments of this sort. It is high time for the JFA and Japanese corporations to pull the funding out from under the EAFC, the A3 tournament and the ACL. If these tournaments manage to survive on their own, so much the better. There wont be anyone to complain about getting a raw deal.
But as the many other international matches (from the Confederations Cup to the friendlies with many top European opponents this summer) have shown, there are plenty of other options for providing good, clean football entertainment which will entertain fans, allow players to demonstrate their abilities, and not leave anyone feeling the sort of disgust that we have expressed in the paragraphs above. By all means, it is time for the JFA, J.League and other football-related organizations in Japan to start putting their money to uses such as these, and quit wasting it on these ridiculous tournaments where people stand and boo the national anthem of the people who are actually footing the bill for the whole damn show.
National Team
Overseas Players
Japan 0 - 1 North Korea 