| | | | | GAME
PLAN | | Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
| By
Fred Varcoe
Masami Ihara
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If you're looking for a player to
define the J. League era, you don't really have to
look any further than Masami Ihara. Ihara isn't just
a guy who hung around for a long time, he was "Mr Japanese
Football" for the better part of a decade, and that
decade marked the transformation of Japan from amateur soccer
nation to World Cup hosts. When Ihara retired at the end of
the 2002 season after 14 years in the sport, it marked the
end of an era. His achievements in Japanese football will
be marked on January 4 in a testimonial game at the arena
he graced so often, Tokyo's National Stadium. It's
a fitting tribute to a giant of Japanese soccer who played
a record 123 times for his country and appeared in 297 J.
League games.
Former Japan team manager Hans Ooft (who also coached Ihara
in his final season at the Urawa Reds) says Ihara was a model
player. "He was a real professional," Ooft told
Metropolis. "He took care of his body, he took care
of what he ate, his nutrition, he took care of every little
detail for his professional life, even going to bed early.
For me, it was astonishing. On top of that, he trained hard
and always concentrated on all the things he had to do. I
was lucky to have him then (the early '90s) because
he was in full bloom as a player; he was fast, he was tough,
he was a real team player."
Ihara first played for Japan on January 27, 1988, against
the United Arab Emirates in Dubai. The beginning of the Ihara
era was hardly auspicious. Japan drew in Dubai and it took
Ihara nine games before the national team won with him in
the defense. It was not a happy time for the national team.
Ihara played 30 games for Japan prior to the 1992 Asian Cup
and the team's record for that period was seven wins,
nine draws and 14 losses. But Ooft took over the national
team before the Asian Cup that year and suddenly things began
to click. Japan started to get results-in no small
part thanks to the central defensive pairing of Ihara and
Tetsuya Hashiratani. Here were two giants of Japanese football
and a few months later together they helped turn Japan into
the champions of Asia.
But while Ihara's career has had its highs, it's
also had its lows. One of the highs came on May 15, 1993,
when he played for the Marinos in the opening game in the
newly formed J. League against archrival Verdy Kawasaki. The
Marinos won 2-1 as the soccer boom exploded upon Japan.
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But that same year, also marked the lowest
point in Ihara's career. "The Tragedy in Doha"
left Japanese soccer fans stunned and Ooft without a job as
Iraq's 90th-minute equalizer in a qualifier in Qatar's
capital sent South Korea to the 1994 World Cup instead of
Japan. While it was a trauma for the national team, the J.
League nevertheless continued to boom.
As a club player, Ihara reached the pinnacle in 1995, when
he led the Marinos to the J. League Championship title. For
the national team, the ghosts of Doha were finally laid to
rest when Japan qualified for the (1998) World Cup for the
first time and not even three defeats at France '98
could take the shine off that historic milestone. But post-France,
Ihara's star began to dim slightly. He was released
by the Marinos and joined Jubilo for a season before finishing
off his career with two years in Urawa.
He will be remembered for his magnificent professionalism,
calm demeanor and solid defending. "He's the
type of player that young players of today could learn from,"
says Ooft, who is delaying his departure from Japan to stick
around for Ihara's testimonial. The respect on January
4 will be universal for a man who was everything a good soccer
player should be.
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