8 May 2003(Thu)

I have always been a big fan of Daisuke Matsui.

I remember him breaking into the Kyoto purple sanga team long begore they went down to the second dibision two seasons ago.

It was not difficult to notice his natural talent, his skill on the ball and his bright and clever mind.

When he was in possession of the ball, his body movement reminded me of one of my all-time favourite England players: Peter Beardsley, of Newcastle United and Liverpool.

But these days I am becoming worried about Matsui, and beginning to wonder if he will ever fulfill his true potential.

I noticed it during the Asian games in Pusan, South Korea, last autumn, and again playing for the olympic team against Myanmar in the recent qualifying series for the Athens games.

Of course he still has the skill and the trickery, but I feel he lacks discipline in his game.

There are times to do the simple thing, such as control the ball, keep possession and play the easy pass to a teammate.

And there are times for showboating, for example if you are leading 3-0 with the clock ticking down and you want to give the fans something to cheer about.

I feel Matsui, for all his natural skill and talent, is showing off too much instead of getting his head down, concentrating and playing team football.

A few days with Philippe Troussier would have been a good medicine for Matsui, as the frenchman would never have allowed him to get away with some of the ill-disciplined play we see too often for club and country.

When the going gets tough, much tougher, in the later stages of olympic qualifying, a casual piece of play in a dangerous part of the field may prove crucial for Japan's chances.

So it is vital to stamp out this kind of play before it really matters.

As I said before, I really admire Matsui's skills, but against more ruthless opponents from more experienced, cynical countries, his desire to be flamboyant could get him into trouble by way of injury.

It is a sad reflection of the game, but I am afraid an opposing coach who has done his homework on the Japan national team may single out Matsui for special attention in the early stages of the game: And that means to foul him and reduce his effectiveness.

Myanmar fouled him a few times, including one incident which produced a red card.Visions of Shinji Ono being scythed down by a Philippines player at national stadium in July 1999 came back to me, as it was an injury from which he could not fully recover in time for the Sydney olympics over a year later.

I think Gert Engels and Masakuni Yamamoto should take a hard stance in the case of Matsui. Not just for the good of their team, but also for the player's long term future.

ENDS