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Japan Disappoints in World Cup 2006

John Herbert

The Post Mortem

Japan's 2006 World Cup was a short-lived adventure. After losing 3-1 against Australia in what turned out to be the decisive first game, it was always going to be an uphill struggle. This last gasp loss was followed by a scoreless draw with Croatia (with spectacularly bad finishing), and then a heavy 4-1 defeat to Brazil. One point from three games, and bottom of the group. An unsatisfactory, although not totally unexpected result.

What went wrong?

Quite a lot really. Basically Japan were an average side with an average coach. Most observers feel that Zico just didn't get the job done. He talked up Japan's chances before the competition, presumably to give a shot of confidence to his team. Unfortunately, the confidence cocktail was soon to be watered down with a heavy dose of reality. If you are an average player it is difficult to feel like a world-beater.

The only way it can be done is to have a few "characters" sitting in the dressing room with you. When you feel nervous, or lacking in confidence, there is nothing better than looking around at your teammates and thinking, "Thank God he's in my team and not in theirs". Japan had nobody of that stature in the squad. These "characters" don't necessarily have to be incredibly skillful, but need something that makes them stand out, a fear factor, menace, or nuisance value at the very least.

Many teams' "characters" are the defensive midfielder, the one whose job it is to harry opponents, rough them up a bit if necessary. The World Champions, Italy, have Gattuso. Japan would like to have him. France have Viera and Makelele. Japan would like either of them. Instead they have Fukunishi, with choirboy looks and choirboy manners. I'm loathed to admit it, but for the 2002 World Cup, Japan had a "character" of sorts.

Kazuyuki Toda (aka "the toad") is possibly the most annoying player ever to have set foot on a football field. He is a disruptive and unlikeable bloke (he's the one who upset Beckham so much in a game when Real Madrid marketed themselves in Japan the other summer). Almost totally bereft of positive footballing talent, Toda did what he did (being a "character") very well. The current Japan side needs some "characters", and fast. Hopefully they can find some who are more palatable than Toda, but choirboys need not apply. Japan has plenty of them already.

The Autopsy

An autopsy of the 2006 World Cup performances will leave new coach, Osim, feeling decidedly queasy. Let's start between the sticks with goalkeeper Kawaguchi. He is the master of the spectacular save (as witnessed by a great penalty stop against Croatia), but has almost no command of the penalty area.

This creates periods of mass panic in a defence that needs all the help it can get. Unfortunately, he is also prone to one jaw-dropping blunder per game, thus making his post-World Cup comments ("I feel I have done everything that has been asked of me but I can't do everything on my own") a bit rich to say the least.

The defence looked very vulnerable. Presumably the idea was that the diminutive captain, Miyamoto, should follow the lead of another pint-sized skipper and central defender, the Italian Cannavaro. Alas, leaping like a salmon, reading the game with aplomb, and tackling like a whirling dervish may be attributes of the Azzurri captain, but they are not in Miyamoto's repertoire.

Nakazawa alongside him did somewhat better and will presumably figure in the plans of the new coach. The shaven-headed Tsuboi may yet come good, but disappointed by getting cramp at a very early stage of the Australia game … the catalyst for the spectacular collapse perhaps.

Further forward, Kaji looked solid down the right side, appearing welcomingly unfazed by the grandeur of his surroundings. I can now understand why Zico was so agitated when he was injured in a warm up game. The big boys in the midfield, Nakata and Nakamura, just didn't have the desired impact. Nakamura was totally ineffective (and many Troussier haters can now understand why he left the darling Shunsuke out of the 2002 World Cup squad).

Nakata tried to get things going, and at least he wasn't invisible, but he just couldn't make any impact. Ono and Inamoto didn't really get a chance to shine, but Inamoto's tackling ability from deep midfield was sorely missed.

We all knew that the forwards had been firing blanks for years, and it was no surprise that their performances were distinctly underwhelming. Presumably, after his comical attempts at finishing in the Croatia game, we have seen the sun set on the international career of Yanagisawa. For others there may be a few hours of respite. But under coach Osim, what will the new dawn bring. Will he base his attack around the all-action, Maki, a striker the coach knows well from his days at JEF Chiba?

The Future

The start of Osim's reign as coach is in early August with a game against Trinidad & Tobago. Although fellow World Cup participants, this friendly game will be very different from the unforgiving arena of a World Cup match. It is an ideal opportunity for Osim to get the ball rolling with a bright and positive performance.

He did a very good job at bringing his JEF Chiba side up through the ranks, and the Japanese Football Association must be hoping he can do the same for the national side. Japan has now dropped to 49th in the world rankings following this summer's games. Osim will be expected to take them much higher than that. But just how he will manage it, and around whom he'll base his team, is anyone's guess.

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John Herbert

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