Zico facing tough selection decisions
TOKYO (January 26): Watching Japan's training match at Mitsuzawa Athletics Stadium on Tuesday afternoon makes you realise the problems Zico faces with team selection.
All the players were from the J.League, naturally, as the European leagues are in full swing.
And without the big stars, Zico fielded a compact and well-organised team, playing, of course, in a 3-5-2 formation.
Yoshi was in goal, and a very vocal Yoshi as he constantly encouraged and cajoled his defenders, and the back three was Tanaka, Matsuda and Nakazawa.
Matsuda filled in for Captain Tsune, who was resting a slight hamstring tweak in cold weather, and played a no-risks game by kicking the ball down field as far as possible at the slightest threat of danger.
The midfield had shape and balance, with Kaji on the right, Alex on the left, and Fukunishi and Koji Nakata in the middle. Koji was particularly impressive, and was the centre of attention with the media after the session due to his likely transfer to Marseille.
With such a stable four across the middle, Ogasawara had the freedom to roam across the pitch and to link up with the two forwards, Tamada and Takayuki.
The scoreline didn't matter against the team of high school boys, the most important thing was for the team to function as a unit ahead of this weekend's match with Kazakhstan.
The tough decisions for Zico come when his Euro stars return for the World Cup qualifier against North Korea on February 9 at Saitama.
Who's fully fit, mentally and physically?
Who's semi fit?
Who's playing regularly and who's on the bench?
Who's in form and who's going through a bad patch?
Does Zico stick with the 3-5-2 formation the players clearly prefer, or does he change to 4-4-2 and pack his midfield with the big names?
What Zico has surely learned from the first round of qualifiers is that it's better to field the players he knows are fit and in form rather than simply put out an all-star selection and hope for the best.
He has a few more days to make up his mind, but not long before the really serious stuff begins.
ends
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