Hong Kong, didn't your mother ever tell you to turn off the laser lights when you're not using them?
If history is any indicator, Japan should walk all over Hong Kong like Chuck Taylors on a New York City sidewalk. Just over a month ago, Japan handed Hong Kong a spanking befit for a drunk father catching his son's hand in the cookie jar. The 6-0 win for Japan, where Shinji Okazaki recorded a hat trick, could have actually been worse as Japan squandered a few more golden scoring opportunities. What does this all mean leading up to tomorrow's AFC Cup 2011 Qualifier? Well, it means that I'm not going too much time with formation or squad predictions on this one. I will, however, predict the scoreline: 5-0 with a standard deviation of 3 goals. Yep, 3-0 if Japan plays its worst, 8-0 if Japan comes out hot and heavy.
In other news, the JFA has apparently joined the ranks of irate football nations and asked for a World Cup ban on the trumpet "fly noise" instrument, known as the vuvuzela, common in South African football matches. If you watched any of the Confederations Cup or Japan and South Africa's match a few days ago, then you know the instrument I speak of. The loud buzzing noise drowns out so much sound that players on the pitch are unable to hear each other communicate.
They say that one vuvuzela makes the noise of 1 million flies simultaneously reaching orgasm; okay I made that up.
Broadcasters hate the noise because it makes annoying television, and some football fans argue that the instrument detracts from fans' contributions to momentum as the buzzing takes a constant non-partisan stance that drowns out any chants, songs, or sounds of encouragement from the live audience's impact on the game.
Japan coach, Takeshi Okada, even went as far to make this comment, "Perhaps if (South Africa) play good football (the fans) will be quiet and watch." That's quite a dig from a team who only succeeded in attaining a goalless draw. While I understand the sentiment of the players, broadcasters, fans, and insulting coaches, its my opinion that the point of varying host nations is for the sporting community to embrace the host's sporting culture as guests. In South Africa, the vuvuzela is just how the fans roll. They shouldn't be asked to change in order to accommodate their guests.
Also, making news: Japan and Urawa Reds Center Back Marcus Tulio Tanaka has announced his intention to leave the J-League for a Middle East or European club and will "make up his mind by November 25." Good move? Bad move? More on this to follow when details become evident.
What can I say, the guy has weird hair.
Let me know, as always, what you think of Hong Kong's chances, Japan's outrage over the obnoxious fly kazoo, and/or Tulio's indecision to leave or stay in Japan. Post a comment or send me an e-mail.
Okada-san: "Perhaps if they play good football (the flies) will be quiet and watch." Giant Fly: "Look me in the eyes and say it, douchebag!"
Well this one was a wake up call for the Nihon Daihyo. Coming off of a 3 match stretch where they outscored their opponents 13-0, the team from Japan failed to find the back of the net yesterday. In what appeared to be a throwback to the offensive-inept team of old, Japan controlled the majority of possession, but the Blue Samurai could not pull the trigger and capitalize on all of their hard work.
Give credit where its due, the South Africans were no push overs and disrupted the passing attack of Japan time and time again. To be perfectly honest, this was a fairly boring match, as there wasn't much offense from either team, and anytime a match ends in a draw I think you wind up wishing that you had just rest about the outcome in the paper the next game instead of having wasted 90 minutes of your time. Japan had a few chances that if not for some fine keeper play from South Africa could have easily altered the score line. Bafana Bafana's best chance for goal came in the 68th when a clever cherry picking play left Yuji Nakazawa to head the ball back to Kawashima, Japan's goal keeper, a split second before the Bafana striker could put a toe to it.
I don't really have much to say in terms of analysis. Takayuki Morimoto was sorely missed and its hard to imagine Japan getting anywhere without him alongside Shinji Okazaki up front. Okubo and Koroki played opposite Okazaki and looked just as invisible as they have in the past. Its becoming more clear with every match that Japan has absolutely no depth at forward. If either Okazaki or Morimoto have fitness issues come next June, don't count on Japan scoring many goals.
Another realization was the importance of Shunsuke Nakamura's presence on the pitch. Not making his appearance until the middle of the second half, Shunsuke came in and inspired a very flat team. Keisuke Honda, whom Shunsuke replaced, was responsible for a countless amount of stolen passes and was guilty of holding the ball in many situations when passing opportunities presented themselves. Honda still has more to learn in terms of team-play.
All in all, a decent but not extraordinary effort from team Japan. If this match served any purpose, it brought the Nihon Daihyo back to Earth from a marvelous string of previous performances and highlighted the places where we still have room for improvement. We will take on Hong Kong on Wednesday in a rematch from the last 6-0 win for Japan.
Also, the site of the match, Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth was built just for the World Cup. Hats off to the South Africa for building a beautiful stadium and doing it on time.
Oh, and the Blue Samurai decided to sport their new jerseys today. They would probably have looked better if they had played better.
The Blue Samurai are getting acquainted with South Africa early and will play a friendly against the South African "Bafana Bafana" squad tomorrow. Hopefully, the Japanese players are scoping out the local food joints so that they'll know where the best deals on shrimp scampi are when they're back in town next year. I also think that they are tuning their ears to the incredibly hilarious English spoken by the South Africans. Please, if you are South African, do not take offense. I mean "incredibly hilarious English" in the best way possible.
Actually, there have been reports coming from the Japanese media that the players are on lock down with a "be in bed by sundown" curfew as South Africa has been known to have a high murder rate, vampire to human ratio, and District Nine. The South Africans were, of course, offended by these reports, claiming that the country is reasonably safe as long as you walk around carrying a loaded gun with silver bullets to deter the werewolves.
Its reasonable that the South Africans would show disdain for a Japanese contingency too afraid to dance in the moonlight. As they are hosting the biggest sporting event in four years (maybe the Olympics are bigger?), the country does not want to highlight its dangerous side in the wake of a massive immigration of the World's best football teams, their fans, and most importantly -the money and tourism boost they bring along with them.
Apparently, the Japanese players are suggesting the rumors of a curfew were fabricated. I'm not sure, and think it could just be a ploy to save face; but what does any of this matter? Let us move on to why you are really here. Football Talk.
What we are looking at here is essentially the same squad that we have seen in recent matches, but with a few major differences. On defense, we will be without sideback Yuto Nagatomo. Most likely, we will see Yuichi Komano filling in as he has played very nicely in the opportunities that he has been awarded when either Nagatomo or Uchida have been missing. In midfield we lose Kengo Nakamura to injury. While Kengo Naka has played very consistently well, it would be a far stretch to claim that he is in-expendable, as midfield is very deep for Japan. Expect Keisuke Honda to get the call up in his place. Takayuki Morimoto is nursing an ankle injury and is doubtful to play this match. Probably the most disappointing news of all, Mori looked so promising in the last couple matches that I'm sure all of Japan's fans have been salivating to see more.
Probable Formation:
Barring Okada going mental and reverting back to his ineffective 4-5-1 formation, I think he has learned his lesson and will stick with the 4-4-2.
Kawashima
Uchida ------ Nakazawa ------ Tulio ------ Komano
Hasebe ------ Endo
Honda ------ Nakamura
Okazaki ------ Tamada or Okubo
A decent line up for Japan. Obviously if you could substitute Morimoto's name for Tamada/Okubo the team would seem much more threatening in attack. Still I would say that this is very close to the starting eleven for next year's World Cup with question marks at keeper which could go back to Narazaki, side back: Komano or Nagatomo ftw, and striker opposite Okazaki as we discussed previously.
Bafana Bafana:
The South Africans will hopefully put up a better fight then their African compatriots Togo did in our last 5-0 thrashing. You can never count out the importance of home field advantage, and the 12th man will surely play a factor in this match.
Still, the Bafana Bafana have reason to worry as they have won only one of their last 8 matches, and face a Japan team that has been steam rolling opponents as of late. They have much to prove in front of their home fans.
Playmakers and Everton midfiedler, Steven Pienaar has been scratched from the squad due to injury. Probably the most signifiant blow to South Africa, they will have to look for other players to step up to fill the void. One such player could be Benni McCarthy, striker for the Blackburn Rovers. McCarthy, at only 27 years of age is South Africa's all-time top goalscorer and second most capped player. His caps lag only behind captain and defender Aaron Mokoena of Portsmouth. These two have had plenty of experience playing in the English Premier League and will not be intimidated by a team of mainly J. League status.
My Prediction (for what its worth):
Japan have been playing far too well lately to expect any less. I say Okazaki continues his hot streak by netting once. Also, I say that Nakamura inspires us with a great set piece either from a free-kick or he finds the head of Tulio or Nakazawa. Benni McCarthy does his thing and finds paydirt but its not enough for Japan's possession midfield.
The JFA has released the new jersey that we will wear for our "home" matches in South Africa. At first I didn't really know what to think of the design, but its been growing on me little by little. The biggest difference with this new jersey relative to the old, is the addition of the Japanese flag above the JFA emblem, and the red bit on the neckline. The flag is a welcome addition, but I can imagine that the red may be a point of contention for the fashionistas out there. I'm going to go ahead and say that I like it, it breaks up the monotony of the blue and seems to give the jersey an edge that it didn't have before. Leave comments or send e-mail feedback and let me know what you think. Also, if any of you have an idea of where one can purchase reasonably priced Blue Samurai apparel, please send me a link. I've had a number of readers asking about where they could make wise purchases.
We're still waiting on the release of the "Away" jerseys.
Also, the Blue Samurai take on the South Africans in South Africa this Saturday the 14th. More on that to follow.
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.
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.
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.
I am a fan of Japanese football and can't find enough outlets to speak to people who share the same passion. In anticipation for World Cup 2010, I will keep this blog constantly updated on the affairs of the National Squad, as well as provide pre and post game analysis, and player profiles. Please leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail with an opinion or question you may have. Cheers!
E-mail: nihon.daihyo.int@gmail.com
Hong Kong, didn't your mother ever tell you to turn off the laser lights when you're not using them?
They say that one vuvuzela makes the noise of 1 million flies simultaneously reaching orgasm; okay I made that up.
What can I say, the guy has weird hair.
Okada-san: "Perhaps if they play good football (the flies) will be quiet and watch."
