13 Dec 2004(Mon)

DECEMBER 11--It is a very smart move by Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi to return to Japan and play for Jubilo Iwata.

And it is a very smart move for Jubilo to sign him.

"Yoshi" has tried his best for three years to make a go of it in Europe, but his best just wasn't quite enough, at Portsmouth in England and then with FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark.

So, in the end, he decided to come home in order to play regularly and keep his place in the national team for the remainder of the qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup.

I am sure Yoshi has endured some hard and lonely times in England and Denmark, and there must have been moments when he was wondering why he had left the comfort zone of the J.League, where he was successful with Yokohama F Marinos and very popular with fans of all teams.

But these experiences will have helped to build his character and made him a stronger person and surely a better keeper.

He has tried to expand his playing horizons by going to Europe, and we should admire him for the decision he made.

It has not worked out how he would have liked, but we shouldn't regard him as a failure because it takes courage and ambition to move on when life is already easy and rewarding.

Under new coach Masakuni Yamamoto, Jubilo will be starting a new era next season, and they know they have a goalkeeper and a dedicated professional they can rely on for several seasons to come. That must be a nice position to be in for Jubilo officials.

Of course Kawaguchi is not perfect. Which goalkeeper is?

He tends to make errors of judgement when coming out for high balls, notably in the 2001 Confederations Cup final against France at Yokohama, and more recently at Muscat in the World Cup qualifer against Oman. On the latter occasion, Tanaka was there to clear off the line and Japan breathed again.

But Yoshi will be a big attraction to the J.League next year, and many people will be happy to see him around the country.

As I said at the start, the time was right for Yoshi to come home, and Jubilo will be stronger for his experience.

ends