The good news is that Japan put in a stunning performance in an unfriendly friendly against England in early June. The bad news is that it may have saved Coach Zico's job. The match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, showed a level of play and grit not seen in a long time - if ever - by the Japanese.
Following a 3-2 win over Iceland two days before, Japan looked to get in a good outing against Portugal-bound England. After a slow start, in which the Blues appeared overwhelmed by England's pace, Shinji Ono and Shunsuke Nakamura took the match to England. Without Hidetoshi Nakata or forward Naohiro Takahara, little was expected. J.League replacements Tatsuhiko Kubo and Keiji Tamada, however, filled in brilliantly. Also, the back line kept Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and company in check.
Japan v India
In a World Cup qualifier against India at home, Japan thumped the hapless Indians 7-0. Tatsuhiko Kubo was first on the scoresheet, scoring his sixth goal in as many games. Japan is now comfortably in first place in its qualifying group.
Kirin Cup
The national team defeated Serbia & Montenegro 1-0 to win the Kirin Cup. Played on July 13th at International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan won thanks to Yusaku Endo's second half goal. This followed a 3-0 thumping of Slovakia three nights earlier. This was the final warm-up before the Asian Cup. Following the Kirin Cup success, the Blues are now in China for the quadrennial tournament to crown the champion of Asia.
Asian Cup
Japan has been drawn in Group D, along with Iran, Oman, and Thailand. Defending champion Japan will kickoff its campaign against Oman on July 20th. Group D will play in Chongding where temperatures are expected to hit 40 C. In addition to the heat, Japan also must face the issue of missing players. Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Ono, Junichi Inamoto, and others who will be out due to injury. Look for Iran or South Korea to take the Cup.
In the England match, Junichi Inamoto broke his ankle in a collision
with Nicky Butt. He is expected to be out of action for three months.
This is a blow for Inamoto, who was in impressive form for the Cottagers
of late, in marked contrast to the disappointing spell he had at
Highbury three years ago where he failed to force himself into Arsene
Wenger's first-team plans.
Fulham manager Chris Coleman has been ringing the midfielder's praises:
"He has been magnificent. We went to watch him against the
Czech Republic for Japan. He played in a holding role and was brilliant
- quite possibly the best player on the pitch".
I have been delighted with him all season. He is a manager's dream.
If he is left out of the team for whatever reason, he never complains.
He always works hard in training and integrates well with everyone
else in the dressing room and is very popular with the fans. It
would be a good move for us to keep him and hopefully that will
happen."
In other news, striker Naohiro Takahara has been laid low again with economy class syndrome, the same lung infection that kept him out of the World Cup in 2002. The Hamburg SV forward complained of chest pain prior to the England friendly and went to hospital for tests. It is not certain when he will return to action.
Olympic Team: Men
The under-23 team continued its preparations for Athens with three friendlies. Against, Turkey's A squad, in late May, Japan struggled. The pace and strength of the Turks kept Japan on the backfoot for much of the match. A late header from Yasuyuki Konno drew the score even at 1-1, which was how it ended, but Turkey was clearly the stronger side.
A few days later, in Sapporo, Japan faced off against Mali. And once again, Japan pulled one back to draw. Cerezo Osaka forward Yoshito Okubo scored with fifteen minutes to go to pull a ragged Japan side even. After a solid first half, Japan began to tire as the pace of the Africans picked up. This was the final opportunity to impress Coach Masakuni Yamamoto, who still has yet to reveal his final list of players that will travel to Greece in August.
Overage keeper Hitoshi Sogahata's blunder cost Japan in its 1-0 loss to Tunisia on July 14th. Added when none of the previous under-23 keepers performed well enough to satisfy coach Masakuni Yamamoto, the Kashima Antlers's goalie bobbled an easy ball right onto the feet of Tunisian Amine Ltaief, who slotted home. A disappointing mistake in a disappointing evening in which Japan rarely threatened. Japan will play against Korea away on July 21st, then at home against the Red Devils on July 25th and 30th.
The full squad that will travel to Athens next month has been announced.
The big "surprise" was that economy class syndrome victim
Naohiro Takahara was dropped from the squad for medical reasons.
Japan has been drawn with Italy, Paraguay, and Ghana.
The Japanese women's side tied the US on June 7th. A win would have been nothing short of a miracle; however, it was Japan that got on the score sheet first. The US came back to even things in the second half, after what the American players could only refer to as a 'laughable first half in which everything went wrong.' Mia Hamm came close to becoming the first woman to score 150 goals but remains at 149.
In late May, the FIFA executive committee confirmed that the six continental club champions will vie for a world club championship to be held in Japan in December 2005. The new competition is set to replace the annual World Club Cup held in Tokyo between the champions of Europe and South America. After a few cultural miscues involving hosts Japan and FIFA - and the as yet unresolved opposition of the G-14 clubs - match dates have been set. On December 11th, the tournament kicks off. The champions of Asia, Oceania, Africa, CONCACAF will be drawn in a group. The winners will meet the champions from South America and Europe in a semi-final on December 13th. All participating teams will play two matches. Prize money of $15 million should assuage any doubts that the Manchester Uniteds and Real Madrids of the world have.
The Galacticos will swing through Japan again on a five-day money-making tour of Japan from July 27th to August 1st. It will play in two exhibition matches, on the 29th against JEF United and a second match, against Tokyo Verdy, on August 1st. David Beckham and new coach Jose Antonio Camacho will lead the team.
The great ponytailed one himself will join Brescia on an August tour of Japan, marking his farewell to the game.
Yokohama F Marinos clinched its third consecutive stage title with a 1-0 win over Kashima Antlers on June 26th. This guarantees the Marinos a spot in the end-of-year playoff against the second stage winner. In winning against the Antlers, the Marinos finished two points ahead of second place Jubilo.
Turkish Delight: Ilhan Returns, Briefly, Then Leaves Again
Turkish international Ilhan Mansiz returned to Japan following
surgery in Italy. He arrived back in Japan on the 20th of May following
knee surgery and rehab in Bologna, and is expected to rejoin his
club team, Kobe Vissel, in action in June.
Whither Ilhan? As of mid-June, Ilhan still had not returned to action.
Water was found on his knee, so he was scratched from the Jubilo
match on the 16th. According to the Vissel trainer, "it was
nothing major, just some water on his knee - there was no pain or
anything irregular." He will follow a separate training routine
for several days. Coach Hasek said, though, that "We are still
not sure of when he will rejoin the team."
On June 20th Ilhan took a leave of absence from Kobe Vissel. He
returned to his home, in Germany, without permission from the club.
In spite of not getting Vissel approval, Ilhan cited family problems
and left Japan anyway.
To date, he has only played three matches after being signed to
a multi-million dollar contract. Rumors have the club dismissing
the Turkish star and tearing up his contract. Watch this space.
As one Turkish World Cup star seems to be leaving Japan, another one is on the way. Turkish international Alpay Ozalan will be joining Urawa Reds until the end of the current season. The physical Turk will join the club from South Korea's Incheon United on a $1 million contract. He is perhaps best known for an altercation involving David Beckham during a Eurocup qualifier, which ultimately led to his release from Aston Villa in the Premier League after upsetting the British tabloids.