Japan 0 - 0 (PK 3-5) Paraguay
Eiji Kawashima, Yuichi Komano, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Yuji Nakazawa, Yuto Nagatomo, Yuki Abe (Kengo Nakamura 81'), Makoto Hasebe, Yasuhito Endo, Daisuke Matsui (Shinji Okazaki 65'), Yoshito Okubo (Keiji Tamada 106'), Keisuke Honda
|
 |
As the sun crept slowly into the hazy late-June sky, this morning, more than a few bleary-eyed fans of the Japan national team greeted it with disdain and disappointment. If only we could spend a few more weeks, or even months, in that hopeful twilight that filled us with wonder and inspiration, and allowed us to enjoy the happy dreams of success without being forced to look too carefully into the harsh light of reality. Now that the dream has finally ended, it is no surprise that many fans of the Samurai Blue feel disappointment and anguished unfullfillment, as poignant as the pain of interruption you felt, when your mother knocked on your teenaged bedroom door and stole from you that promised rapture of release and completion. Surely this is a feeling that all true fans of the Japan National Team can understand, in the hot, stifling dawn of the morning after.
And yet, as this writer lay awake in sweat-damp sheets on the morning of Jun 30, watching the feeble light creep into the sky, it was impossible to summon up any feelings of anger, or accusations of blame. As the passing days permit writers to examine Japan's performance at the 2010 World Cup with the perspective of history, some are bound to compare this performance to that of Troussier Japan - in both cases, though new marks in success were achieved, the result somehow fell short of what we all believed was possible.
Before those regrets and recriminations can even be voiced, we need to accept some simple truths about Okada Japan: the Sequel. For all the critiques and criticisms that the Rising Sun News has expressed over the past three years - and there have been many - it is time to recognise Okada Japan for what it was, and to close the book on this stage of Japan's football history with a slightly poignant, but nevertheless positive final chapter. Because the truth is, Takeshi Okada did all that could possibly be expected of him, and perhaps more. Sure, there will be some who may point to the self-defeating pattern of substitutions in this final match, against Paraguay, and insist that Japan could have achieved more, if only . . .
But at the end of the day, that criticism is not justified . Because there is one simple truth that EVERYONE must admit - Takeshi Okada has always been true to Takeshi Okada. Whether it be in his player selections, his choice of substitutions, or his general approach to football strategy, Okada has always been flawlessly consistent. The JFA are the only ones who can accept any blame for the strategies and footballing philosophies adopted. For three long years, those who could see the shortcomings of Okada-ism (including this writer) complained loud and long. But the JFA made the decision to stick with Okada, and thus accepted all responsibility for the style and strategy that the team adopted. And even if it DID make more sense to bring in Takayuki Morimoto in the final minutes, rather than Keiji Tamada, anyone who has followed Okada for any period of time knew full well who would be coming off the bench.
Okada never wavered from his vision, and once we accept the vision that has animated Okada Japan from the start, the only possible conclusion is that the coach and his players implemented that vision with a flair and an unflinching determination that nobody dare fault or criticise. This was the very best that Japan could, or ever will achieve using the simple, safe and conservative strategies that have been the basis of Okada's football from day one. And lets be clear about this - Troussier's football was no less conservative, and Zico's only marginally more ambitious. The accomplishments of the National Team in South Africa must be viewed in that light. And in that light, Okada Japan's exploits must be viewed as an unqualified success.
But as the title on our front page indicates, this should not be viewed as the end of the story. It isnt a conclusion or a climax, and it certainly is no time to roll the credits and get ready to leave the theater. On the contrary, Okada Japan has proven - far better than any failure might do - that it is time for a new beginning. It is time for the National Team to start pursuing a style of football that breaks the mold that constrained the team's accomplishments in this World Cup.
Fans of the J.League understand that the teams which now dominate the scene have long since discarded the safe and time-tested strategies employed by Okada. The Kashima Antlers, Kawasaki Frontale and Gamba Osaka - clearly the three most dominant teams in the domestic league - play a far more ambitious, less cynical, and quite uniquely Japanese type of football which is not only beautiful to watch, but also highly successful when implemented properly. But it is a style of football which departs dramatically from the Okada-era model. Ity is no coincidence that the only player from either Kashima or Kawasaki who saw playing time at this World Cup was Kengo Nakamura - a late sub who entered the Paraguay match with just a few minutes left in regulation time.
Now that Okada has shown how far Japan can go, under a safe, cynical, "European" strategy, the only hope that we have of ever advancing further lies in discarding the foreign model, selecting only the good features from other teams' models, and beginning to refine the unique, aggressive and risk-taking style of Japanese football that we see on a weekly basis in the J.League. The proponents of that philosophy, and particularly the Japanese ones (Gamba's Akira Nishino, Shimizu S-Pulse's Kenta Hasegawa, former Frontale coach Takashi Sekizukia, and FC Tokyo's Hiroshi Jofuku) should be at the top of the list when the JFA starts looking for Okada's replacement.
For the past several months as the buildup to the World Cup has progressed, many of the football shows on TV - both SkyPerfecTV and the terrestrial channels - have devoted extensive amounts of time to a discussion of one key question: "What is Japan still lacking/what does Japan need to do, in order to become 'World Class'". Ivica Osim's pithy, and often insightful observations on this issue have been a regular feature at half time on every J.League match that SkyPerfecTV has broadcast, this season, and nearly every player, coach and commentator who could be dragged in front of the camera has been asked this same question. Although many of the comments and observations have been insightful, and offer potentially useful prescriptions which may help Japan improve in the years ahead, for my money, the best comment of all came from Shinji Kobayashi, currently the head coach of Montedio Yamagata.
When asked "what does Japan still need to do in order to compete at the 'World Class' level", Kobayashi frowned, wrinkled his nose in disgust, and said: "First of all, they need to stop asking that question. Self-confidence is perhaps the most essential part of football - and of any sport. Until you start to believe in yourself, and trust that you CAN compete at the top level, you will never succeed at the top level. I think Japan is very close to the top level already - in every area except the mental one. Once the players start to believe in themselves, and BELIEVE they can compete with any team in the world, then they WILL be able to compete with any team in the world.
Perhaps the story of Okada Japan has ended. But the story of Japanese football is just beginning. And if players, teams, and the executives of the JFA can begin to follow coach Kobayashi's perscription, the story is sure to become more enthralling, and more successful with each new chapter. So let it be written. So let it be done.
