Japan 5 - Togo No Go-al

Best Friends Forever?

This show was over before the popcorn was done. Shinji Okazaki put the game away in the 8th minute by scoring... his second goal of the match, and he wasn't even done for the night. Goal 1 came in the 5th minute when Yasuhito Endo crossed into the box from the left side to find the inside of Okazaki's left boot. Okazaki expertly timed his run, Endo's cross was pinpoint, and then Okazaki made the one touch finish look easy to get the scoring started. Afterward, I witnessed one of the most bizarre goal celebrations I've seen, where Shinji began skipping sideways doing what I can only describe as... a chicken dance. I'm not kidding, it was revolting, surprising, and goofy as hell. The best thing that happened to him was when his fellow comrades swarmed around him to pin his wings... er arms to his body.

3 minutes later, Kengo Nakamura found a wide open space on the left flank and unchallenged, crossed in to find Okazaki "The Chicken Man" who very deftly back heeled the ball behind him with his right foot to find the back of the net. This one was an absolute beauty and probably the best of the match.

In the 11th minute, Takayuki "The Shining" Morimoto received the ball at the center of the top of the box. Being covered tightly by a Togo defender, Mori used his strength to turn on both defender and ball and slotted home for his first goal for the national squad to put Japan 3 ahead. Morimoto's body use looked very similar to how the 2nd goal of the Scotland match came to fruition when his shot deflected into the waiting Keisuke Honda.

Honda would bag a late deflection goal mimicking his last one against Scotland and finish off the scoring, but not before "Chicken Man" would get his hat trick in the 66th minute off a well placed header from a Makoto Hasebe cross. To my mixed emotion of disgust/delight he proceeds to grace us with an encore of the Chicken Dance! You can watch the match highlights here, but watch from 4:22 - 4:30 to get a really good look at Chicken Madness.

My Match Thoughts:

The Chicken Man - needs to develop much better dance moves if he's going to be scoring goals in bunches. Two hat tricks within a week... that can only be described as a striker's wet dream. Looking at his numbers that gives Okazaki 14 goals in 18 matches for a strike rate of .778 goals per match. Unreal figures that none of us can expect for him to keep up, and against better competition (as in real WC matches), I'd say 3 goals from the entire team let alone one man would be plentiful.

Hm, maybe Okazaki could drop the Chicken Dance and take up ballet

To get an idea of how impressive his current strike rate is, let us take a look at some other world class perennial strikers to see what their numbers are for their respective nations.

• Shinji Okazaki - Japan 14/18 .778

• David Villa - Spain 33/52 .635

• Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Sweden 22/59 .373

• Luis Fabiano - Brazil 25/33 .758

• Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal 22/68 .324

• Wayne Rooney - England 25/55 .455

• Lionel Messi - Argentina 14/40 .350

• Samuel Eto'o - Cameroon 41/86 .477
  

So there you go, I know that this is just a make shift list with current players that I feel are always going to score for their nations. The statistics buffs out there are going to tell me that 18 matches isn't a fair sample size to judge against people who have played more matches. They'll tell me that if a player scores 3 goals in his debut than he would have a strike rate of 3.00 at the time. Trust me, I understand. I am just pointing out that at the moment, Okazaki is looking damn good, with only Luis Fabiano behind him with 25/33 for a very impressive .758 goals per match.

And just for kicks, here is one more player of interest, that's right the sushi bomber:

• Naohiro Takahara - Japan 23/57 .404

Makoto Hasebe, the Unsung Hero - Hasebe plays the unglamorous defensive midfield position, and thus will only score goals on occasion. He may be overlooked often and under-appreciated but take notice folks, Hasebe is integral player to Japan's success. For years, fans have glorified Shunsuke Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo as Japan's midfield backbone. However, there is a reason why Hasebe's name has shown consistently on the squad list in recent international competition, and why he is a first team regular for Champions League team Vfl Wolfsburg. He tackles hard, plays with heart, and always seems hungry to improve. If you watch the highlight video, and can understand Japanese, there is an on pitch interview with Hasebe.

Interviewer: "You really ran a lot today didn't you?"
Hasebe: "No, that is not the case. I need to run more."

I love that attitude, and you cant tell that he means it. There was an interesting aspect of the broadcast that measured how much each player had run. By the account of the measuring device, Hasebe had clearly run more than any other player. He was then asked:

Interviewer: "You say that you need to run more, but you ran the most today didn't you?"
Hasebe: "No, I don't believe so."

You have to love that in an athlete regardless of position or even sport for that matter.

Again, Why the 4-5-1? - After securing a large lead, Okada made several substitutions and instated his well liked 4-5-1 formation. I have stated my disdain for this formation, when Japan looks much more fluid in the 4-4-2, but I can understand that Okada would want to play slightly more defensive after gaining a lead. It seems like good coaching and I don't have a problem with dropping a striker for a midfielder when we are up by 3 goals. However, in Okada's 4-5-1 formation, he still plays 4 midfielders and two strikers with one striker playing midfield. Today, that role was given to Yoshito Okubo who looked out of sorts and was largely invisible in the match. If Okada wants to play a 4-5-1, bring in another midfielder like Inamoto, Matsui, Hashimoto... midfield is our deepest position, utilize it.

When Okada made his changes, one of the announcers suggested that the new formation could look like:

Okubo - Okazaki

Honda

K. Nakamura - S. Nakamura

Hasebe

Awesome, right? Hasebe playing lone DMF; Honda playing AMF/SS. Looks really good to me, but no, Okada ignores the announcer as much as he ignores me.

South Africa - We play them next in one months time. South Africa have clinched a place in the World Cup by default, and will be the first WC team we have played since last months 3-0 loss to the Netherlands. While the South Africans don't have the world class punch that the Netherlands pack, they will prove to be a much better test than our recent competition. We have beaten our last 3 opponents by a 13-0 margin. That statistic blew away my expectations and I hope and believe that we can carry on our success to next month's match and beyond.

For once, our striker position seems solid with the emergence of Okazaki and Morimoto. If we have any question marks that linger, it would still be our 2 center backs that may need improvement if we are to reach our Semi-Final goal next June. But for now, no complaints here. All is well in the football realm of the Nihon Daihyo.

Oh, except one thing. Cluck Cluck.

Damn.

Japan versus Togo Preview

Japan faces FIFA ranked 71 Togo tomorrow in a friendly match that will help prepare at least one side for the upcoming World Cup. Togo was eliminated from World Cup qualifying last Saturday with a demoralizing 3-0 loss to Cameroon. Togo will also be without Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Aston Villa midfielder Mustapha Salifou. Without their main attacking threat and midfield general, Togo will be sending out a much weakened side with low morale and little international experience. Expect Japan to jump all over them.

The Togo match will conclude the 3 match series that Japan began with a 6-0 AFC Qualification win against Hong Kong, followed by a 2-0 victory over a second rate Scotland side. They will hope to add to the already 8-0 score deficit and will very likely break the double digit margin.

While Japan have continued to hone their skills, none of the 3 teams they have faced this past week have been of World Cup caliber and may be providing false positives to the success of Japan. The next match against South Africa, the host WC nation, will be a much better indicator of how much Japan has improved or declined since the last WC in Germany.
What to Look for:

Depending on Takeshi Okada's agenda, we may see the full first team take the pitch or he may give way to the fringe players to give them more playing time.

Expect Eiji Kawashima to fill the keeper role left vacant by an injured Seigo Narazaki. Depending on Kawashima's play, he may supplant Narazaki as the first team keeper.

On defense, I would like to see more of Daiki Iwamasa who made his international debut in teh last match against Scotland. Playing the whole 90 minutes, Okada may choose to give way to the more rested Tulio Tanaka or Yuji Nakazawa, the two most familiar faces in the back line.

In midfield, Okada has a whole array of options, but I wouldn't expect to see any new surprises or combination. Most likely, he will start the players from the Hong Kong match: Shunsuke Nakamura, Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe, and Daisuke Matsui.

Up top, I would be surprised if Takayuki "The Shining" Morimoto doesn't start alongside the proven Shinji Okazaki. Okada stated after the Scotland game that he "was surprised" by Mori's attacking play, which suggests to me that he hasn't seen as much of Morimoto playing for Catania as I have. I'm sure Okada will want to give him more time to work on his chemistry with the first team midfield and fellow striker. He's the real deal, and will be in Japan's starting eleven in South Africa 2010.
My Prediction:

A demoralized team missing its two best players = No Problem for a fit, confident Japan side. I'm going to go a little wild with my guess this time, but I'm going to say we grab a header goal off a corner, our strikers each get a goal apiece, and maybe Naka or Endo gives us a free-kick beauty as well.

Japan 4 - Togo 1

Japan 2 - Scotland 0, Morimoto Shines

The Blue Samurai really handed it to a depleted Scotland side in an unsurprising fashion. Scotland came out with mainly untested players with several finding their first footing on the pitch for the senior national side. Japan also played the debut of a couple members: center back Daiki Iwamasa of J. League side Kashima Antlers, and of course the much anticipated first showing of Catania Calcio striker Takayuki Morimoto (below). Both played well, but Morimoto, who entered the match in the 56th minute proved to be the game changer.

Morimoto did not score either of the two goals, but one could argue that both goals could be attributed to him. The first came from an own goal from Christophe Berra who deflected a Komano cross straight into goal. Mori was in perfect position to be on the receiving end of the pass, and of the two (Berra or Mori) was going to score.

The second goal came with 2 minutes left in regulation when again Komano crossed from the left side into Morimoto. This time, the big baldy made a very quick and classy (very unusual for a Japanese striker might I add) turn on the ball and took a shot. The shot was deflected, but the positioning of the defenders and the floundering keeper made it very easy for Keisuke Honda to receive the deflection and rifle home to secure the match at 2-0.

Dude, Takeshi Okada really has that "Intimidating Samurai" look well- practiced. He needs to smile. Somebody get the guy a candy bar.

Okay Scotland was playing a B side, but that wasn't the fault of the JFA, Okada, or any of the players. So while one can remark that a win against a B side means nothing, here are a few thoughts that I had about the win, and what it means for Japan.

1. Eiji Kawashima - He made the best play of the night by stopping a one on one with a truly brilliant save by doing a "split" and using the studs of his left boot to knock the ball out of the feet of striker Steven Fletcher. Kawashima played well against Scotland, and though losing 3-0 to the Netherlands, most of the goals were of the "unsaveable"caliber, and I think he did the best he could. Until Narazaki returns from his injury, Kawashima has certainly established himself as the clear backup, and could challenge the starter if Narazaki has rust.

2. Side back depth - Yuichi Komano has looked good at every opportunity given to him. Yuto Nagatomo and Atsuto Uchida are the two usual suspects on the starting eleven, but Komano has worked himself into that discussion. Nagatomo and Uchida are both good attacking players, and net regularly, but have lagged on defense at times. Komano will find chances to cross from the flank but will be reluctant to make his way into the box and crack a shot. Still, he looks more comfortable defending than the other two players. Stamina-wise, I would probably give the edge to Nagatomo, as he is probably the most fit of any on Japan's side and is running all over the pitch. Take your pick, depending on what Okada's strategy is for each match, we should see some for of combination between the three.

Yasuyuki Konno should never start.

3. Daiki Iwamasa - He makes his debut and in arguably the toughest position in international football, plays admirably. Sure, he made a few mistakes here and there, but Tulio and Nakazawa are prone to making errors. I don't think Iwamasa played well enough to unseat the twin towers, but its good to know that we have somebody capable on the bench.

4. The Shining - I have a number of nicknames for my favorite Japan player (yes, after only one national match), that include: "The Future", "The Big Bald Wolf", "Mr. Conehead", "Cueball", "The Good the Bald and the Ugly," the list goes on and you get the picture. But I think my new favorite nickname for Takayuki Morimoto is "The Shining," based on how well the light shines off his ginormous bald head and sparkling braces, but also on his supernatural ability to score goals and see dead people.

Honestly though, after only less than a 1/2 of match time, its clear that Morimoto adds a completely new element to Japan's game and should be a no-brainer starter. Coupled with the cool finishing of Shinji Okazaki, we could be in for a very exciting WC showing and beyond.

5. Please the 4-4-2 - Okada likes to play around with the 4-5-1 formation. I'm fine with that really, if you have a Luca Toni on your team that can scare the Jesus out of opposing players with his presence and mob connections. Sadly, Japan does not have a striker of that stature that can play alone up top. Also, why does Okada play a 5 midfield formation then throw in a striker as the 5th midfielder? It makes no sense. If you are going to start the match with two strikers on the pitch, let them both play in the striker position. Clearly, Japan has looked much better with a 4-4-2, and once the Shinji Morimoto - Takayuki Okazaki tag team gets going we should stop experimenting and start polishing.

6. Who should take the set pieces? - Obviously S. Naka right? I'm not so sure. With Shunsuke out, Honda took the left-footed free-kicks and didn't look so bad. Endo should definitely have teh right-footed role over Kengo Nakamura, but what if the free-kick chance falls in the center of the pitch? I'd like to see S. Naka, Honda, and Endo keep the opposing teams off balance by mixing it up a bit, and maybe throwing in a few feints here and there.

Naohiro Ishikawa gets a rare start and makes the best of it by winning the "jumping in the air and looking cool" picture of the day

Watch the match highlights here. And as always, e-mail me your opinions or write comments below. Cheers and Go Nippon.

Japan Versus Scotland Preview

Don't you just hate it when you order your favorite pizza (mine is: italian sausage, onion, green peppers, spinach, roma tomatoes, and basil) and the pizza delivery guy shows up at your door with an extra anchovy abomination? Well, that's how Japan coach, Takeshi Okada, feels about tomorrow's friendly versus Scotland.

Scotland will play tomorrow with a fraction of the first team originally announced before their Japan arrival. Okada and the JFA were expecting Scotland to bring their very best, including Darren Fletcher of Manchester United, Alan Hutton of Tottenham Hotspur, and many Celtic and Rangers standouts. As of now, I believe 10 out of the original squad have dropped out due to varying excuses.

I understand Okada's frustration as he had prepped his taste buds and practiced his digestive system in anticipation for Scottish pizza. He issued angry remarks to which Scottish coach was forced to embarrassingly issue a formal apology.

Still, this upcoming match against a Scottish B side could afford a good opportunity for Japan's fringe players to get a start and display their promise. Okada has already declared that the players who played 90 minutes against Hong Kong will sit. Which rules out another Scottish sensation in Shunsuke Nakamura.

I decided to leave out my "What to Look for" section as I don't have a clue who will play for Scotland, and can really only tell fans of Japan to watch for Morimoto who will surely make his debut (how many times have I said that) and also to see who Okada plays at Center Back, as Tulio and Nakazawa have been holding down the fort for quite awhile. If i had to make a guess, I would say that the starting eleven for Japan may look like...

Kawashima

Uchida ------ Iwamasa ------ Abe ------ Konno

Hashimoto ------ Inamoto
Honda ------ K. Nakamura

Morimoto ------ Sato

Obviously, I've been wrong before, so don't send me death threats if Okada plays a completely different side.

My Prediction:

It seems like many of Scotland's side will be first timers. That doesn't bode well against an irate Okada playing at home, the giant bald conehead of Morimoto, and classy Japan regluars in Inamoto, K. Naka, and Honda. Expect Japan to play very agressive. Honda, Morimoto, and Kengo all score.

Angry Japan 3 - Scotland B team 0

Okazaki hat trick, Japan Rout Hong Kong 6-0

If you google search Okazaki, one of the first search results will be on Okazaki fragments. As a former Biology student, I know a little bit about Okazaki fragments and can tell you that an Okazaki fragment is the "slower replicating" or "lagging" half of a DNA strand during DNA replication.

Well, there was nothing lagging about a different Okazaki earlier today. Shinji Okazaki, striker for team Japan, came through with a hat trick against outgunned opponent Hong Kong. Okazaki's hat trick was his first for the national squad, and the 23 year old now has 11 goals in 17 caps, the best strike rate on the current team with 65% goal efficiency. Okazaki has been a breath of fresh air for a team that has notoriously struggled with finishing, and he put on a clinic today.

Shinji started off the scoring with a cooly taken shot from just inside the box into the bottom left corner of the net at the 17th minute. He would later score the last two goals in the 75th and 78th on a header and one touch deflection to complete the other half of the book end. The other 3 goals for Japan came from 3 different defenders: side-back Yuto Nagatomo with a whizzing bullet in the 28th, a header by CB Yuji Nakazawa in 51, and a goal off a corner kick by CB Tulio Tanaka in 67. The 3 goals by defenders attests to Japan's attacking style of football, and shows how effective the game plan can be when executed well against weaker opponents. In the past, the style of play has back fired when the defenders push up too much and expose gaps in defense.

If you didn't see this match, and just saw the score sheet, you could go ahead and assume that it was a class ass whooping; it was, but it also could have been much worse for Hong Kong. I don't know if Japan has ever beaten another national squad by a 6 goal margin, I'll have to check on that, but there were so many missed opportunities for easy goals, including a missed shot by Okubo from a meter away, that suggest Japan could still use some work. If everyone on the team could finish like Shinji Okazaki did today, we could have beaten HK by the mercy rule and gone home at half time. Yes, it was that bad.

The biggest disappointment in the match was not seeing a giant bald head running around the pitch. Today's match was supposed to be the unveiling of Takayuki Morimoto, but he was not even to be found on the bench. Also, Honda never entered the match and thus never took a pass from Shunsuke Nakamura and vice versa. What I'm trying to say here, is that everything that I told you to look for in my earlier post was a flat out lie. I'll admit my mistake there, but will continue to make predictions because its fun to write and hopefully fun to read.

Its tough getting into Takeshi Okada's head, but if I had to guess why there was an absence of a few of his key players, I would say that he planned on playing 1/2 of his regulars today, and the other half against the Scotland friendly in two days. This strategy allows for Okada to experiment with fringe players, while still being able to play strong sides on both days without sending out an entirely depleted starting eleven against Scotland.

All in all, great game for Japan today; it was really good to see Japan's game plan in full effect, but again I don't think we can use this game as a measure for success in the World Cup as every team will clearly be

Japan Versus Hong Kong Tomorrow

(above) Typhoon Melor and her buddy Parma threaten Japan's chances of playing... at least in Shizuoka. Can anyone say DOME

The Blue Samurai continue their AFC 2011 campaign tomorrow by facing off against an entirely domestic Hong Kong squad. While seemingly a "walk-over" team, Japan has struggled in recent matches against "weaker" opponents, most notably losing to Bahrain 1-0 in the last AFC Qualification match back in January. Japan should be coming into the game full of swagger, however, after their latest dramatic comeback win against Ghana.

Things to Look for:
Keisuke Honda and Shunsuke Nakamura "Getting Along"

Takeshi Okada has announced that he would like to experiment with using both the young Honda and veteran Nakamura simultaneously. Both are considered to be of the "playmaker" breed, but rarely share time on the pitch as they both play the same position on the right side of midfield. When they have both played, the Japanese media has been quick to point out a "difference of opinion" between the two players that began in a friendly match against the Netherlands last month. Apparently, Keisuke asked Nakamura if he could take a shooting range free-kick that was awarded to Japan right outside the box. Keisuke Honda is the specialist for Eredivisie club VVV-Venlo and has shown an impressive ability on the dead ball. Still, everyone who follows Japanese football knows that the dead ball taker on Japan is Shunsuke Nakamura, the man who "could open a can of beans with his left leg." (Note: Sometimes Endo gets a chance too) The play resulted with Naka taking the shot, and nearly scoring before the Dutch keeper cleverly punched the ball away. For the remainder of the match, Honda's body language suggested disinterest and he lacked the usual intensity that we have come to expect.

After the match, Nakamura told the media that Keisuke Honda has not "found his place" on the team yet, and hinted that Honda should put the interests of Japan over the interests of Keisuke Honda. What will be interesting about tomorrow's match will be seeing if the two playmakers have reconciled, and if Okada proves true on his hint that both Honda and Naka will start together. If a free-kick opportunity arises, look to see who hovers over the ball, and for those of you who can read lips in Japanese, what is being said between the players. Early on in the match, I suspect Naka will assume his normal role as the hit man, but if Japan take an early lead, and are awarded a late free-kick opportunity late in the match, I wouldn't be surprised if Honda is given a chance to prove his mettle.

Besides free-kick opportunities, watch for any link up play or lack thereof between the two players. Japan's 4-4-2 formation relies heavily on the front two midfielders providing scoring chances; stacking up goals against an easier opponent like Hong Kong may be the perfect fix to the Honda/Naka marriage.

Takayuki Morimoto's Debut

Finally, the nation of Japan will witness the unveiling of its new and not so secret weapon. Heralded as the next big thing in Serie A, Takayuki Morimoto, the 21 year old striker for Calcio Catania, will take to the pitch wearing the senior national jersey for the first time. We gush over this kid on this blog, and have nothing but great expectations for him. I am assuming that Okada wants to test out his new toy just as much as we want to see him, so a starting spot alongside Shinji Okazaki will be very likely.

While Taka "the Future" Morimoto has performed admirably for his Italian club, I am anxious to see how much better he will be for Japan. You read that correctly. He will perform better. The reason being is that communication is one of the most important aspects of team play. Nothing against Mori's Italian, but for a Japanese player to communicate with his European teammates with nothing being lost in translation seems almost impossible. Its like expecting the foreign exchange student to do just as well in school as the rest of us. Yeah some critics will suggest that he hasn't had time to "gel" with his teammates or learn Okada's system in depth. I say just look at the size of his enormous bald head and imagine the size of his gargantuan brain on the inside. I'm sure he has learned everyone's name by name and what does he need to known about Okada's game plan but to score goals? Look to see a very comfortable and effective Morimoto.

Typhoon Melor

A powerful typhoon is currently ripping through Japan and has left at least one person dead. How will the affect the match? Well, JFA officials are saying that a change of location or dare I say cancellation may be necessary. No word yet as to where or when the match will take place if not in Shizuoka tomorrow afternoon. If they do play in Shizuoka, the pitch conditions will surely have an impact on the game. No broken ankles please.
Team Hong Kong to Give Japan trouble

Okay this last one was a joke, Japan will steamroll them.

Okada's Squad:

GK: Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Kaito Yamamoto (Shimizu S-Pulse), Shusaku Nishikawa (Oita Trinita)

DF: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuhei Tokunaga (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Keisuke Iwashita (Shimizu S-Pulse), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

MF: Shunsuke Nakamura (ECD Espanyol), Hideo Hashimoto (Gamba Osaka), Junichi Inamoto (Rennes), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble), Naohiro Ishikawa (FC Tokyo), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Keisuke Honda (VVV Venlo)

FW: Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania)

Kawashima


Uchida --- --- Nakazawa --- --- Tulio --- --- Nagatomo


Hasebe --- --- Endo

Honda --- --- Nakamura


Morimoto --- --- Okazaki

Expect Japan to play a starting eleven similar to the one above. Okada may decide to give some of his more unproven players a chance, or to experiment with proven starters like Matsui or Inamoto. However, Okada did name his best team, so I see no reason why he wouldn't play his best team. If Japan take an early lead, all substitutions are likely to be used with some coming as early as the half.

My Prediction:
Morimoto and Okazaki both net. One more goal comes from a set-piece that finds the head of Tulio. Hasebe grabs a garbage goal at the end when Hong Kong sends every man forward.

Japan 4 - Hong Kong 1