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Japan's National Team

The J.League will begin a six-week break following the matches on June 30, and football fans throughout Japan will switch to National Team mode. Indeed, the U-20 national team has already departed for Canada, and will arrive in Vancouver some time on Monday (local time) to begin their preparations. Therefore, it is an appropriate time to make a long-overdue updater to our National Team pages, beginning with a look at the three teams that will be in action over the next two months, and some of the players who could use this opportunity to attract global attention, both to themselves and to Japanese football in general.

So sit back, pull out your tip sheets, stick some fresh tapes or DVDs in the recorder, and lets start preparing for a Samurai Blue summer!

On the other hand, Osim has had more than enough time to develop a comfortable relationship with the domestic sports press. Essentially, it involves reporters meekly asking the usual stock questions, and Osim either basting them in sarcasm and then roasting them with dismissive one-liners, or else launching into long and frequently witty deconstructive analyses of the Japanese game. Initially, this created a rather prickly and uncomfortable atmosphere at press conferences, but the situation has become less tense as both the coach and his interviewers gradually develop a degree of mutual understanding (though respect would be too big a word). The reporters now seem to recognise that Osim is not claiming to have all the answers, and his constant, tongue-in-cheek heckling is aimed more at getting the reporters to lighten up, rather than to insult them. Meanwhile, Osim may still have a low opinion of the football knowlege displayed by his questioners, but he seems to recognise that these guys (many of whom would rather be covering baseball or sumo, anyway) are just doing their jobs and dont mean any real harm by asking him, for the 500th time, whether he will be calling up any players from Europe or whether he has decided his formation for a match that is still two months away.

It was interesting, however, to see the reaction (or should we say, overreaction) of the foreign press when they got their first taste of "Osimism". The most immediate result was a bit negative, since several reporters in Europe seemed to treat Osim's comments about the preparation for the Asian Cup as if they were dead serious. Big headlines splashed across the sports pages in Europe described Osim's "fury" at the JFA for "not giving him enough time to prepare". Apparently, nobody asked themselves why Osim had waited until late June to suddenly notice that the J.League schedule ran through June 30. Did they really think that this was something that caught him by surprise? After all, the J.League consulted with Osim personally when drawing up their league schedule, and officially announced all the dates in mid-February.

Of course, those who have been following every press conference Osim has given since becoming NT coach are well aware that Osim has two stock answers to the question "how are your preparations going", which he seems to alternate depending on the day of the week. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays Osim rants about how little time he is given to prepare the team, and openly wonders how the JFA can expect him to build a team effectively, when he has so little time. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, he rails at the JFA for scheduling "meaningless friendlies" or scheduling a NT training camp with no clear goal or no theme, because there isnt a key match to prepare for.

In some ways, it was funny to see the European papers give this "angry clash between Osim and the JFA" so much attention, when most of the local press just looked up, cocked an eyebrow, and thought to themselves: "Oh, thats right . . . its Monday, isnt it."

But apart from the sensational headlines about Osim's "anger" at the lack of preparation time, the biggest topic of discussion outside Japan involved Osim's decision to exclude most of the players who ply their trade in Europe. Only Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura and Eintracht Frankfurt's Naohiro Takahara made the list. For most of those who have been following the situation in Japan over the past year, that didnt even raise an eyebrow. But since this is something that is not widely understood overseas, and we expect many people to visit the Rising Sun News as a first step in trying to find out more about the Japan NT, it may be a good idea to address this topic first. Besides, it offers a good lead-in to our analysis of the players that Osim DID select for the Asian Cup team. So it seems as good a place to start as any. (If you are a J.League fan, feel free to skip down to the player thumbnails)

If you havent heard a thing about the Japan NT since last year's World Cup, the first thing you need to understand is that the Zico Japan probably reached its apex of success and quality at the last Asian Cup, in 2004 -- a good two years before the World Cup. Those who follow the Japan NT closely were well aware that the players who formed the core of that team were past their prime, and had been bypassed in quality by younger players, as early as 2004 or 2005. Those who took the time to look closely were sell aware that the team Zico took to Germany was going to have a rough time of it. Indeed, the Rising Sun News was saying as early as mid-2005 that without major changes to the squad, Japan would bomb out of the World Cup, and in March 2006 we made that a formal prediction.

Some sportswriters in Japan have blamed Zico's coaching style and tactics for part of this failure, but the team's success earlier in his reign (at the Asian Cup, as well as the Confederations Cup), followed by some decent success in Turkey, suggests that Zico's "style" was not as much a problem as his decision to stick with players who were no longer the best that Japan had to offer. The first thing that Osim did, upon taking the reins, was to correct that error and start bringing in younger (and more talented) players. The Europe-based players that Osim did call up have proven their abilities at the highest level. There might be some debate about HOW MUCH difference there is in the abilities of Shunsuke Nakamura and, for example, his namesake Kengo Nakamura, but most people will agree that Nakamura and Takahara deserve their spots in the NT roster.

On the other hand, the same can not be said about players like Junichi Inamoto, Koji Nakata, Alex Santos, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto and the like. There are better players in Japan. That is a hard, cold fact that few people who follow the J.League would question for even an instant. The only reason why people in Europe do not know their names is that Zico never called them up, and they have not yet had an opportunity to prove themselves on the World stage. That is one reason why this year's Asian Cup will be extremely interesting and exciting for football fans -- it may mark the "birth" of several stars who will go on to a more global level of success after being "discovered" at this tournament.

Of course, no human being is perfect, and while we are generally pleased with the players that coach Osim has selected, we do think that he has an unjustified preference for individuals who played for him at JEF United. Given JEF's recent performance in the J.League (they are currently in the relegation zone), we do not think that it makes sense to call five players from that team. Be that as it may, we think the current squad is superior to Zico Japan, even at its peak. The team has not had enough time to gel, or to absorb Osim's football philosophy completely, so it may be too soon to expect them to perform with brilliant results at the Asian Cup. Nevertheless, we are expecting a great deal from these players, and in the paragraphs below we have provided thumbnails of some of the players who will probably get playing time at the Asian Cup.

Goalkeepers

Kawaguchi will surely get the start, barring injury, due to his superior experience and strong, vocal presence. Technically speaking, Kawaguchi is an excellent "reaction" keeper, who makes good decisions, gets of his line quickly when needed, and has a gift for somehow getting some part of his body in front of a shot. However, he has always had a bit of difficulty with the high cross to the middle. For years, his height was listed at 178cm, but for some reason his recent data says 180cm. Either he was wearing well-padded socks the last time they measured him, or someone is trying to downplay his lack of "stature". In his younger years Kawaguchi might have been able to offset this disadvantage through athletic ability, but at age 31, he isnt likely to set any high-jump records this summer. He will have to depend on experience and smarts, as well as support from his back line, to offset his weakness in the air.

In addition to Kawaguchi and Narazaki, Osim has named Kawasaki Frontale keeper Eiji Kawashima to the squad. Kawashima was a top prospect in the U-20 team, several years back, but in what was surely the worst career decision of his life, he moved to Nagoya in 2004 and spent the next three years as a permanent understudy to Narazaki. Kawaguchi and Narazaki may not be able to continue at the international level for much longer, and Kawashima is definitely a good option as an eventual replacement. However, by the time Kawaguchi retires from international duty, there is a good chance that the 193cm university student Akihiro Hayashi, who will be in net for the U-20 team this summer, will have bypassed other contenders as Japan's "keeper of the future".

Defenders

The responsibilities of the central defenders are therefore crucial. The "Osim System" does have some benefits in terms of easing the "physical burden" on the central defenders (generally speaking, one-on-one matchups should be limited, so the team is less likely to be hurt by any disadvantage in size or speed), but conversely, it requires them to work hard, move constantly, and make quick and intelligent decisions on which player or what area to cover. In our view, this system is extremely well suited to Japanese players, who may fall short of international standards for physical size and speed, but who tend to be technically gifted and good at understanding their responsibilities. Nevertheless, it could be a weak point at first, until all of the players have grown fully accustomed to playing this system.

From that standpoint, Osim's decision to call up two relatively young defensive players from JEF United -- Hiroki Mizumoto and Koki Mizuno -- seems justified (though we are less thrilled about some of the other JEF players that Osim has called). Both Mizumoto and Mizuno, as well as the Urawa Reds' Yuki Abe, have played for years under this same system. Therefore, even though there might be a few "better players", from the standpoint of pure ability, these three players should be able to make up for their shortcomings because of their familiarity with Osim's system.

The crucial player in defence will be Yuji Nakazawa, who ticks all the boxes when it comes to fitting into his role. He is big, strong in the air, intelligent, fairly quick, and has played together with goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi for nearly eight years. We have no doubt that Nakazawa will be a permanent fixture in the back line and a key contributor, throughout the Asian Cup campaign. Recent reports suggest that Marcus Tulio Tanaka, another tall, quick and powerful central defender, may not be able to take part in the Asian Cup due to damaged ligaments in his left leg (the trainer's prognosis is three weeks).

Some newspapers have reacted to this news with panic, but in this writer's view, it is not necessarily a major loss. First of all, given Tulio's past medical history, a prognosis of "three weeks" to recover means that he will probably be ready to make a full contribution even before the pool round ends. In other words, Osim may name him to the squad despite his injury. Second, Tulio's physical and athletic gifts are partly offset by an occasional lack of poise, and the tendency to race wildly after a play, and sometimes get pulled out of position. His speed, power, and ability to dash forward in support of the attack, make him a valuable "wild card", but at times he can be just a bit too "wild", and become a defensive liability.

In our view, both Keisuke Tsuboi -- a very intelligent player with blazing speed and quick reactions -- and Yuki Abe -- who probably understands Osim's football philosophy as well as anyone in Japan -- combine with Nakazawa to form a better "team" in the central defence than Nakazawa and Tulio, who are both very similar players. In our view, all three of these players (Tsuboi, Abe and Tulio) will see at least some action at the Asian Cup, with Osim selecting a partner for Nakazawa based on the opponent and the evolving match situation.

The greatest uncertainty, at the moment, involves the side backs. Regular readers of the Rising Sun News are aware that we consider Yuichi Komano as perhaps the best player in the entire squad (if you really have to ask, yes, that does include Nakamura). Komano will definitely start every match; the only question is whether he will play on the left, or on the right.

Komano is the Japanese definition of "wing back", combining toughness, defensive skill, speed down the sideline and tireless stamina, with attacking flair, an accurate cross, and a powerful shot. And most important of all, he has a gift for making good decisions on the attack -- when to cut to the middle, and when to take the ball into the corner. This writer was once discussing members of the Japanese NT with a sportswriter for a vernacular Japanese football magazine, and he happened to describe a youngster on the U-20 team as the "Japanese Roberto Carlos". I scoffed, pointed out that the local press dubs a new person "Nihon no Robe-Caru", about once every three months. Why, I asked, dont they just admit the obvious, and assign that moniker to Komano. "Well. . . " he conceded, "Komano is probably the best, but he doesnt play on the left".

Right. As if "sided-ness" ever stopped them from comparing Nakamura to David Beckham.

In this writer's opinion, at least, Komano is the only Japanese player whose playing style -- and more importantly, his quality -- really merit comparison with the Brazilian veteran. His ability to play solid defence, and yet constantly pop up in dangerous areas around the penalty box, can truly transform a match. The only problem . . . if it can be called a "problem" . . . is that while Komano has excellent skill with either foot, his right foot is the more accurate, and his left, the more powerful (making him a mirror image of Roberto Carlos). But since he is at least capable of playing on the left, coach Osim has frequently stuck him there, in order to use Akira Kaji on the right.

Kaji is a decent wing back in his own right, though in our view, not nearly as effective on the offensive end as Komano. Moreover, Kaji is not capable of playing on either side, or for that matter, of moving up to midfield wing. If he doesnt play at right side-back, he cant be used at all. If Osim does decide to start Kaji on the right and Komano on the left, we think this could have an adverse impact on Japan's attacking effectiveness, since balls into the box are likely to be less accurate. On the other hand, in a few recent matches (when Kaji was injured), Osim played Komano in his "proper" position, and used either Yasuyuki Konno or Yuki Abe on the left. This seemed to be far more effective than the Komano-Kaji combination. We should note that Osim has also called up two left wing-type players from the U-22 squad -- Keisuke Honda and Akihiro Ienaga. If either one of these players survive the final cut, and are taken to Vietnam, it may be a sign that they have proven their worth on the left, and convinced Osim to keep Komano on the right, where he belongs.

Midfielders

Naturally, this also creates a certain amount of risk, and one of the key responsibilities of all midfield players (though particularly the holding midfielders) is to watch what their teammates are doing, and adjust their own position to guard against dangerous counterattacks. Based on this philosophy of play, it should be apparent that all midfielders need to possess a few key skills. First, as we already mentioned, they require flexibility (the ability to play more than one position). Second, they must be reasonably quick, mobile and hard-working. The failure of Junichi Inamoto and Koji Nakata to demonstrate this second set of skills, more than anything else, explains why Osim decided to drop them from the squad. Finally, the players need to have a good positional sense, the intelligence to understand not only their own role, but the role of every other player on the pitch, and a quick mind which can react instantly to the constantly changing situation. Osim has a number of unique practice drills, using multi-coloured uniforms, which instil these qualities into his players. However, if a player does not poseess the basic ability to begin with, their chances of winning a spot on the roster is infinitessimal.

Naturally, Shunsuke Nakamura's contributions will be a key to Japan's success, though that does not necessarily make him the "top" player in midfield. All of his teammates (with the exception of other recently-called players, who will play no more than a peripheral role, this summer) have more experience with the Osim system than Nakamura, so he will be playing catch-up, at least for the first few matches. His basic skill set is a near-perfect match for Osim's style of football, and as Coach Gordon Strachan has observed, he is a very quick learner. Nevertheless, one possible concern for Japan will be the fact that their "ace" playmaker will be learning as he goes. In Japan's match against Colombia, Nakamura nearly cost his team a draw due to one blunder, which seemed to be the result of inexperience with the "Osim system".

It is still anybody's guess who will be joining Nakamura at midfield, though we would be willing to place bets on seeing Keita Suzuki in the deepest midfield slot. Suzuki is a hard tackler, a tireless runner and a very nimble player who can react swiftly and move around the pitch in a hurry. The only other player who can match Suzuki in these castegories of skill would be Masahiko Inoha, a member of the U-22 team who just received his first call to the full national team, and therefore is not likely to see much playing time, except in the event that something happens to Suzuki.

Since Osim took charge of the national team, his most frequent choice to pair Suzuki in deep midfield has been Yasuhito Endo. Endo's merits are his depth of experience, poise, and "winning mentality. Though by no means a "star player", he is very competent on both offence and defence. However, in this writer's view, Endo is a potential weak link because his ability to read and react to the flow of play seems to be one gear slower than the rest of his teammates. We have often been frustrated by his tendency to "hold up" the team's offensive progress, because it takes him a second longer than everyone else to see where the flow of play is going. Be that as it may, we would not be surprised to see Endo get the call, at least for the majority of matches. Osim seems to value his veteran presence enough to overlook any shortcomings.

Nevertheless, if Osim DOES decide to replace Endo, he has a number of very good candidates to take over the role. Kengo Nakamura possesses a very similar skill set to that of his namesake, Shunsuke (no relation), but on his club team he plays a more defensive role. In the match against Colombia, Kengo often filled the deep midfield slot alongside Suzuki. The advantages he would bring if he does take over this role, include superior speed, elusive dribbling skills and a powerful shot, not to mention a right boot which -- on set plays -- is very nearly the equal of Shunsuke's left.

Of course, we have already mentioned Inoha, though his youth probably precludes a starting spot. Yasuyuki Konno is quite versatile, and can certainly handle the defensive requirements of this position, and Yuki Abe -- though his most probable role would be in defence -- can also cover the defensive half responsibilities. However, in our view the most exciting possibility would be Yoshiaki Ota, of Jubilo Iwata. We have been hankering to see him in a national team uniform for months, and though his lack of experience with the Osim system may prevent him from seeing action in this tournament, he definitely is a top prospect for the future. Ota's versatility is unmatched. Last season he played at least one match for Jubilo in every outfield position except central defence. Ota has blazing speed, good ball skills, and a nose for goal, but he also defends well enough to have been used by Jubilo at side back in a three-back lineup. His youth and lack of experience with Osim's style of play are obvious liabilities, but he would make a very useful "wild card" to bring off the bench, since he can be sent in for virtually anyone else on the team except Nakazawa and Kawaguchi.

Osim also has several options to join Shunsuke Nakamura at the attacking midfield position. Kengo Nakamura, who we have already mentioned, is our favored option, but Osim has shown a high degree of faith (more than is justified, in our view) in his former JEF players, Satoru Yamagishi and Naotake Hanyu. Both are clever dribblers, reasonably good at deistributing the ball, and thoroughly at home with Osim's game plan. Therefore, we suspect that neither would be a MAJOR disappointment at the Asian level. However, both of these players fall short of what we view as "international quality". Of the two, Yamagishi has the better skills, and we think he is probably the co-favourite (with Kengo) to start. However, Yamagishi lacks both physical and mental toughness. He frequenly squanders good scoring opportunities by blasting the ball off into never-never-land, or by losing his focus and stumbling over the ball. When not under pressure, he can deliver some top-notch passes or shots, but in the intense environment of a continental championship, we worry about his ability to stay focused. If Yamagishi's toughness is in question, then Hanyu's is even more so. Mentally, he may have a narrow edge over Yamagishi, but on a physical level, he does not seem to have what it takes to play at the international level. Again, he can do some very good things with the ball, on occasion, and against Asian competition, he probably will not embarass himself. Nevertheless, if he is still in the NT picture a year from now, it will be a sign that Osim is suffering from the same sort of misplaced loyalty that ruined Zico's legacy.

Kengo remains our favourite to join Shunsuke up front, but two other players may force their way into the mix , if not in this competition then at least in the longer term. One we have already mentioned -- Keisuke Ota. The other is U-22 winger Keisuke Honda. Like Nakamura, Honda is a lefty, but there the similarities end. Where Nakamura is a lithe, nimble orchestrator, Honda is a brawny, hard-charging bull of a player, with a thunderous shot and plenty of size to hold his own at the international level. Despite his physical presence, however, Honda still has an excellent touch and technical ball skills that, even at this early stage of his career, are not far behind those of Nakamura. The only area where he still falls short, in our view, is in his vision and ability to read the opposing defence. Honda is still a rough, unpolished stone, and there is a good chance that he will not even make the final group of 23 players that Osim takes to Vietnam. However, he definitely is a strong candidate for the future.

Strikers

The betting favourite, at the moment, is Seiichiro Maki, whose play under Osim at JEF United has earned him what some view as unjustified loyalty. Maki certainly has the raw skills to do the job. He is big, quick, strong in the air, and at least back when Ivica Osim was the coach at JEF United, he had a pretty good record as a goal scorer. However, Maki has been in a scoring slump for the past year, and despte scoring two goals in a recent J.League match, it would be difficult to claim that this has somehow "broken the slump". Perhaps Osim will maintain his faith, and start Maki alongside Takahara in Japan's first pool match, on July 9. But in our view, Osim is too experienced a coach to let loyalty blind him to a player's current form (or lack thereof). Unless Maki fills the net with goals during the team's preparatory matches, we suspect that he will start on the bench, and be used as a late substitute (probably for Takahara).

That leaves us with two leading candidates, and two possible wild cards. Kisho Yano is the second-tallest player in Japan's roster (and if Yuji Nakazawa shaved his head, that disparity might disappear). He also is in excellent form with his club team, and he did a fine job of pairing Takahara in the match against Montenegro. At this precise moment, we view him as the most likely to take the pitch alongside Takahara on July 9. On the other hand, Hisato Sato offers a very different type of option, which Osim could choose depending on his view of the opponent. Sato is a small, speedy, penetrating sort of striker who might offer a good balance for the taller post-playing Takahara, and the two have played together extensively in the past, under Zico. Furthermore, while Sato has never actually played for Osim, he is a former JEF player and his twin brother, Yuto, is an Osim favourite. At least in the handful of appearances he has made, since the start of the Osim era, he seems to have a good feel for the style of play.

The two outsiders are Ryuji Bando and Ryoichi Maeda. In terms of their physical qualities and skill set, they could be viewed as roughly equivalent to Sato (Bando) and Yano (Maeda), respectively. The shortcoming which prevents them from being viewed as a top prospect is that neither one has much experience playing for Osim (for Maeda, it is his first NT call-up), but the impressive energy and combativeness that both players exhibit (plus the fact that both are in fine form this season, for their club teams) could win them a spot in the roster, all the same.

That pretty well summarizes the team that Japan will take to this year's Asian Cup. In conclusion, we have provided a graphic showing the lineup which we think is MOST likely to take the field when Japan kicks off its Asian Cup campaign on July 9, followed by a full roster of the players called up to the provisional squad of 30 players (which will be narrowed to 23 next week).

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Japan National Team Roster
Pos.	Name	Birth	Team	Ht	Wt
GK	Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi	8/15/1975	Jubilo Iwata	181	75
	Seigo Narazaki	4/15/1976	Nagoya Grampus	187	80
	Eiji Kawashima	3/20/1983	Kawasaki Frontale	185	80
DF	Yuji Nakazawa	2/25/1978	Yokohama Marinos	187	78
	Keisuke Tsuboi	9/16/1979	Urawa Reds	179	67
	Akira Kaji	1/13/1980	Gamba Osaka	177	73
	Marcus Tulio Tanaka	4/24/1981	Urawa Reds	185	82
	Yuji Komano	7/25/1981	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	171	71
	Yuki Mizumoto	8/12/1985	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	183	72
MF	Shunsuke Nakamura	6/24/1978	Celtic	178	69
	Hideo Hashimoto	5/21/1979	Gamba Osaka	173	68
	Naotake Hanyu	12/22/1979	JEF United	167	63
	Yasuhito Endo	1/28/1980	Gamba Osaka	177	65
	Kengo Nakamura	10/31/1980	Kawasaki Frontale	175	66
	Keita Suzuki	7/08/1981	Urawa Reds	177	67
	Yasuyuki Konno	1/25/1983	FC Tokyo	178	73
	Yoshiaki Ota	6/11/1983	Jubilo Iwata	175	68
	Masahiko Inoha	8/28/1985	FC Tokyo	179	73
	Koki Mizuno	9/06/1985	JEF United	173	62
	Keisuke Honda	6/13/1986	Nagoya Grampus	182	74
	Akihiro Ienaga	6/13/1986	Gamba Osaka	173	70
FW	Naohiro Takahara	6/04/1979	Eintracht Frankfurt	180	77
	Ryuji Bando	8/02/1979	Gamba Osaka	171	65
	Seiichiro Maki	8/07/1980	JEF United	184	81
	Ryoichi Maeda	10/09/1981	Jubilo Iwata	183	80
	Hisato Sato	3/12/1982	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	170	64
	Kisho Yano	4/05/1984	Albirex Niigata	185	74

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