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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.
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By
Fred Varcoe
Japan vs. India
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| Tatsuhiko Kubo |
A curious thing happened on the way to Japan's
next World Cup qualifier: The national team beat the Czech
Republic, one of the strongest teams in Europe. This was made
even more curious because some of the "stars"
of the team-specifically, Japan's Europe-based
players on whom coach Zico has shown such reliance-were
absent due to club commitments. Zico (motto: "If he
plays in Europe, he's on the team.") was therefore
forced, against his better judgment, to use untried players
and even grant a new cap or two. Result: A team that played
like it had something to prove.
But still a team that makes hard work of scoring goals. While
Japan has always produced plenty of talented midfielders and
some decent defenders, the strike force has always been lacking.
Yes, they did have Kazu Miura and Takuya Takagi and Nobuhiro
Takeda way back in the '90s, but in recent years, their
predators have lacked teeth. And for Japan's World
Cup qualifier against India at Saitama Stadium on June 9,
Zico will have a full range of nearly-men to choose from:
Tatsuhiko Kubo, Atsushi Yanagisawa, Naohiro Takahara, Takayuki
Suzuki, Keiji Tamada and Masashi Motoyama.
Three of these (Yanagisawa, Suzuki and Motoyama) have played
for Kashima Antlers, with whom Zico has such a close (some
would say suffocating) relationship. Yanagisawa (Sampdoria)
and Suzuki (Heusden-Zolder) are currently failing to set Europe
alight, while Motoyama, famously referred to as the "Ryan
Giggs of Japan" by former Japan coach Philippe Troussier,
seems never to have grown up as a player-a fate not
uncommon among Japanese footballers. Yanagisawa was voted
one of the five worst players in Italy last season, while
Suzuki has that rare ability to help his clubs get relegated.
Suzuki has struggled with his infamous tactic of falling over
and clutching his knee every time he loses the ball, while
Yanagisawa just isn't good enough to play in Italy's
Serie A (which he reached on the back of one good goal against
Italy in a friendly at Saitama a couple of years ago). Along
with Motoyama, all three also fail to make the grade at the
international level, although Suzuki, to his credit, is willing
to battle like a man. Zico presumably has to struggle to prevent
the other two from taking their handbags onto the pitch.
So, clear them out, and what are we left with? Takahara and
Kubo? Takahara was a great J. League player in his time with
Jubilo Iwata and he was expected to make the grade in Germany
with Hamburg. Unfortunately, like many other Japanese, too
much was expected of him too soon and he found himself a little
out of his depth and on the bench. His lack of playing time
may prevent him from being at his sharpest for Japan, although,
paradoxically, it could also spur him on. Takahara is an honest
player and a real fighter with some decent skills, and he
should be the first-choice striker against India, but he's
never played for Kashima, and that seems to be of vital importance
if you are Zico.
After his cracking winning goal against the Czechs, Kubo will
probably expect to get a starting slot, but his former boss
at Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the late, lamented Eddie Thomson,
did not refer to him as a "space cadet" for
nothing. Thomson, nice guy that he was, refused to confirm
or deny that there was a moratorium on Kubo running for more
than five minutes in each half, but if you study Kubo carefully-and
use a stopwatch-you'll find that five minutes
is about all you'll get. As a result, the Yokohama
F. Marinos striker tends to blow hot and cold. He does have
a decent left foot and can occasionally dazzle on the ball,
but he can't be relied upon, and Japan needs a reliable
striker.
At 23, Tamada is, perhaps, one for the future. More likely,
though, he's just filling a space left by two of Japan's
brightest hopes: Yoshito Okubo and Tatsuya Tanaka, who have
been assigned to the Olympic squad. Zico must feel that India
is not likely to present much of a problem in Japan, so he's
comfortable leaving out two of his sharpest players, although
with the Asian Cup around the corner (and the Olympic soccer
tournament being a waste of time), this argument doesn't
make much sense. Unfortunately, Singapore (not to mention
the Maldives' draw with South Korea) has proven that
even teams considered weak can put up a fight. Japan was extremely
lucky to win in Singapore and even luckier to beat Oman in
its first qualifying match, thanks to a Kubo goal in injury
time. Zico needs convincing wins, and the team as a whole
has been anything but convincing so far this year. The Czech
game provided a ray of hope, but did little to help the nagging
feeling that Japan achieves success more by luck than judgment.
Possible answers to the striker problem could be to play with
just one or to move someone like Shinji Ono up front. It probably
won't happen. Zico's lack of imagination and
unwillingness to experiment means that his options are limited.
And the current formation and choice of strikers aren't
producing the right results. Something has got to change.
Any slipup against India, and the change should be obvious.
Japan plays India at Saitama Stadium
on June 9. See listings for details.
Photos by Masaaki Kato
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