Saturday, July 28, 2007

4th

so, japan lost 5-6 on penalties to korea after a 0-0 draw. and the fact that naotake hanyu missed the last penalty says it all. the subs who came on were the same as in the saudi game.

so, everything was wrong.

not that it really mattered. sure, auto qualification for the 2011 asian cup. but other than that, it is inconsequential. anyway, maybe playing the qualifying round is better because at least it is competitive. but whether you are 3rd or 4th, it doesn't matter, because you are the loser in the semi-final.

but this tournament has revealed a few fundamental problems for japan.

why is it that the team that played the best football in the tournament lost?

-no subs to change the game. no squad depth.
-lack of emotions. you don't feel as though the players have the desire to win. just look at shunsuke nakamura. you never feel as though they fight hard enough.

sounds familiar. the second point in fact is related to the mentality. it's all the same, however you phrase it.

ivica osim has not addressed these problems. i think he doesn't even know they exist. i think his substitutions are crap. he put too much faith in useless players like yano, naotake and sato. his biasedness towards jef united players jeopardises the team.

for this, they say he should go.

maybe he really should. a tournament is not about 11 players. if it were, then why do you pay the air tickets of the other 12? it is good to have a settled starting eleven. but not good when you bring subs in who make your team worse.

even anotehr 10 months for osim won't help unless he realises that he has to pick players based on quality.

it's back to square one, because that first 11, most of them are in their prime now. 25 to 28. in a few years, they are too old. let's face it. footballers' expiry dates are brought forward nowadays.

so you have to go back and trawl for the next generation.

in the end, japan is left to rue at what it could have been.

you can only kick yourself when you wonder why you aren't the one playing in the final.

it is always terribly disappointing when you think about what it could have been.

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