National Team Match:

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Japan 0 - 0 Croatia

Date: June 18, 2006 Location: Frankenstadion, GER. Japan 0 0 1H 0 0 2H 0 0 Croatia Scoring Cautions Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Akira Kaji, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Yuji Nakazawa, Alex Santos, Takashi Fukunishi (Junichi Inamoto 45), Hidetoshi Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura, Atsushi Yanagisawa (Keiji Tamada 61), Naohiro Takahara (Masashi Oguro 85) . TBA

Dont expect any tears.

This is what we have been predicting for over a year, and to see things unfold before our eyes exactly as we anticipated may leave a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth, but it is hard for us to summon up any more emotion for something that we ranted and raved about for so long. It seems that some segments of the Japanese sports media (and nearly all of swooning fanboys and fangirls that show up at these types of events) are just now waking up to the fact that Zico Japan lacks coherence, pride, heart and a killer instinct. Where have they been for the past four years?

Those who were paying attention -- even if they tried desperately to remain positive -- could not have missed the signs. The most instructive comments we have seen from the mainstrem media this year came at half time, when guest commentators Masashi Nakayama and Yutaka Akita (two players who truly DO know what it takes to win at this level) faced the cameras and were asked to comment. As Akita visibly ground his teeth and strugled to restrain some colorful retort that would not have been appropriate for kids under 18, Nakayama jumped to his rescue by noting that Japan were not running hard enough. "They need to be one step faster to every ball. . . . no, check that . . . two steps faster".

Exactly.

Dont expect a long and detailed analysis of this contest either. Do we really need to mention for the 9,275th time in the Zico era that Alex Santos cant defend? That Atsushi Yanagisawa cant shoot? That Tsuneyasu Miyamoto cant jump? That Hidetoshi Nakata cant pass? Come on. If you didnt know that by now, I dont have the time or the patience to explain it all to you, now.

The only two players who really showed that they deserve to be playing at this level were Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and Yuji Nakazawa. Both played with style, energy, and . . . most importantly . . . a lot of heart. The rest? Well, at least we wont miss them when they get the boot from NT duty, in July. In the most bizarre incident of the day, Hide Nakata was named man of the match. Thats right. The same guy who was firing passes that had all 21 other players on the pitch looking around and wondering who he was aiming at. Were the ball boys wearing blue? Honestly. . . . . . Perhaps Nakata paid somebody off, or perhaps this was just FIFA's way of ensuring that he doesnt end his NT career with NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS WHATSOEVER (for those of you who werent paying attention, Japan has won several titles during the Zico era, but "oddly enough", every one of these accomplishments came when Nakata was not in the team. Now why would that be?).

Lest anyone think that The Rising Sun News is incapable of saying anything positive, let us close with an interesting story and a prediction. About two weeks before the World Cup kicked off, a reader posted a message on our message boards asking what our honest assessment of Japan's chances were. We responded by noting that the team did have some talent and could occasionally turn in solid performances such as they did against Germany, but that the team inevitably played down (or up) to the level of its competition. That being the case, we thought that with just a bit of luck, Japan would be able to claim four points. Unfortunately, they would probably do that by losing to Australia, drawing Croatia and beating Brazil. Contradictrory as that might sound, that is Zico Japan in a nutshell. Capable of the occasional flashes of sheer brilliance, but plagued by the inability to win the matches that they NEED to win.

So when Japan beats Brazil, on Thursday, just remember where you heard it first.