6 Jul 2003(Sun)

Popular striker Atsushi Yanagisawa will become the latest Japanese export next week when he leaves Kashima Antlers to join Sampdoria on loan for one season.

I am sure that all Japanese fans, even those from Jubilo Iwata, will wish him all the best in his mission.

I do, that's for sure, because Yanagisawa has been one of my favorite players for the past several seasons.

I have defended him on numerous occasions when colleagues have talked about his so-called lack of goals.

Granted, Yanagisawa does miss some wide open chances, but so does every striker. Even Pele did not score every time.

The important thing is how you react to the next chance.

Overall, Yanagisawa's strike rate for a forward is satisfactory.

In 177 league appearances before Saturday's farewell game against Jubilo at Kashima, "Atsushi-Goal" had scored 70 times.

That's one goal every 2.5 games, when the accepted figure for a striker is one in three.

So Yanagisawa is ahead of the game in this statistic.

But this record was compiled in the J.League, where defenders are innocent, even generous, compared to those in Italy.

If Yanagisawa is to be deemed a success in Italy, there is only one thing he needs to do, and that is to score goals regularly.

But it's not easy against some of the more street-wise and clever defenders in the world.

Sampdoria have just won promotion back into Serie A, and their target next season will be survival, just like Reggina's last season.

Hopefully Yanagisawa will get a long run in the team, a chance to establish himself, and if so, a goal target of between eight and 10 in his first year would not be asking too much.

There are many qualities to Yanagisawa's game which suggest he could do well in Italy.

He runs well off the ball, dragging defenders out of position, and he has great acceleration.

He can also finish with both feet and with his head, and is fearless in the penalty box.

Above all, when the chances come in Italy, Yanagisawa must relax and not be in too much of a hurry to score.

The sign of a great striker, for example Gabriel Batistuta, is that when the goal presents itself, he relaxes rather than panics.

So just keep cool, Yanagi, and the Sampdoria fans may soon be singing the "Atsushi-Goal" song, too.

ends