Isn't It Time For Japan To Stop Talking Of A Last Four Finish?

Posted Monday, March 15, 2010 by Goal.com

It's gone on long enough...

It is a major topic of conversation just west across the water from Japan. It is hard to move in football circles in Seoul without being asked whether South Korea can make the second round in South Africa.

Any utterance by a player, whether Korean or not, is well reported as, of course, is any statement by Huh Jung-moo. Huh, in his second spell as national team coach, talks of the Taeguks trying their utmost to reach the last 16 for the first time ever on foreign soil.

That is the party line for all concerned but, to be honest, it is also a fair reflection of the situation for all Asian teams. As Park Ji-sung said last week, if one Asia’s qualifiers makes past the group stage, that would be success.

Japan is no exception. Takeshi Okada is leading the team to a fourth consecutive World Cup and is looking to lead Samurai Blue over the first hurdle for the first time overseas.

Okada knows all about the World Cup. Huh may be in his second spell but his World Cup experience is that of a player in 1986 and an assistant coach in 1994. Okada however has been the main man on the global stage before. He took Japan to their first ever World Cup back in 1998 only to taste defeat three times.

The performances weren’t as bad as the results suggest but the history books care little and focus on the facts. Pointless World Cups do not look good.

With Okada’s past record and relatively low profile, it was something of a surprise when he succeeded the ill Ivica Osim at the end of 2007. It was a bigger surprise when, not long after, he declared to the press that the team’s target in South Africa was a last four finish. “If South Korea can do it, why can’t we?” he asked.

His critics in the Japanese media - Okada is not well-liked by the press pack and the feeling is mutual - were quick to say that one reason was due to the fact that he is no Hiddink. Undeterred, Okada repeated the statements at fairly regular intervals.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom. The major one is all about setting sights high and increasing confidence. During his time with the national team before retiring after the 2006 World cup, Hidetoshi Nakata often talked of the need to improve the Japanese mentality when playing the big boys.

Nakata Stressed The Value Of Mental Strength

Okada’s talk is supposed to help his players believe that they can beat the likes of the Netherlands, Cameroon and Denmark. Talking of a successful World Cup, the theory goes, will help to make it happen – though even Okada doesn’t really expect a place in the last four.

He would never have expected that the story would take on a life of its own in such a way. Such statements make for great headlines around the world and at Goal.com, we can’t deny that we have been an exception when it comes to publicizing the comments.

It is all good copy. Every time Okada is interviewed, he is asked to reaffirm his commitment. Every less than satisfactory warm-up result is compared to the lofty target. Every time a national team player is interviewed, he is invited to disagree with his national team boss. It is a nice, easy and no-lose tactic. The player, such as Shunsuke Nakamura just last week, is hardly likely to publicly disagree with Okada - that would be a story in itself - so what we have is another round of incredulous international headlines.

This constant chat of progression is just piling on the pressure on a team that is still not at its best. The focus is only going to get worse as the World Cup approaches.

Okada now probably wishes he had never mentioned the semi-final. What he should do now, though it may already be too late, is to tell his players not to answer questions on the subject and refuse to do so himself.

“We’ll do the talking on the pitch” is a cliche but is now the best response and he may find that newspapers in Japan, and overseas too, make for easier reading.