14 Feb 2005(Mon)

TOKYO (February 11): Masashi Oguro emerged as the most unlikely of heroes for Japan against North Korea on Wednesday night.

A relative newcomer to Zico's squad, Oguro was winning only his second cap when the coach sent him on with just 11 minutes remaining and the score locked at 1-1.

A few minutes later and he was the saviour, as he turned and fired home Japan's winner in injury time.

Twelve months ago it was Kubo against Oman; this time it was Oguro, the modest and unassuming striker from Gamba Osaka.

Oguro became the Invisible Man in the North Korean penalty box, pouncing from close range as he has done so often for his club.

The ball's loose, Oguro's there, the net bulges and suddenly it's a goal! Did anybody see who scored it?

Off the pitch, too, Oguro seemed invisible during the training camp, not just to me but to most members of the mass media.

This statement is not meant, I hope, to offend Oguro.

It's just that he was ignored for much of the time by the media in the "mixed zone"--the area through which the players must walk from dressing room to team bus, past all the hungry media.

The players can stop and talk if someone asks them, or they can just keep going.

Certain players are mobbed, SMAP-like, but others just wander through, Oguro-like.

To me, Oguro is very similar to Naoki Soma, in both appearance and mannerisms.

Just watch the way Oguro runs with his bandy legs. It could be Soma, couldn't it?

In the mixed zone, Oguro seemed to have a couple of media friends with whom he spoke on a frequent basis.

But it was very much chit-chat. The pens were not scribbling frantically, the pages weren't flying over in the notebook, and the spotlights of the TV crews were not shining on him.

He looked, and seems to be, a very down-to-earth guy. His manager at Gamba, Nishino, has trumpeted Oguro's cause for a couple of years now, and there's no doubt Gamba have another "star" name now for next season.

Maybe his short-lived days as the Invisible Man, on and off the pitch, are over after his priceless goal on Wednesday.

ends