21 Mar 2005(Mon)

TOKYO (March 19): Guus Hiddink is a well-known coach in this part of the world.

In most parts of the world, in fact.

So nobody should be surprised to see his club, PSV Eindhoven, in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

After steering South Korea to the World Cup semi-finals in 2002, Hiddink later took two Koreans, Lee Young Pyo and Park Ji Sung, back to Holland.

Park, of course, had been an outstanding success for Kyoto Purple Sanga, and he is finding his best form again this season for PSV.

Another very interesting member of the Eindhoven squad is American flyer DaMarcus Beasley.

I watched two United States games in Korea-Japan 2002, and was very impressed with the quality of their football and the maturity and ability of the individual players.

They played really well to beat Mexico 2-0 in the "CONCACAF derby" in the second round, and were unlucky to lose 1-0 to Germany in the quarter-finals.

As J.League clubs continue to throw money at third-rate Brazilians, or at players who are not fit and/or committed to the J.League cause, maybe the United States could become a new market to plunder.

I was chatting about this recently at the Marinos training ground with goalkeeper coach Dido.

The big Dutchman took his coaching badges in the United States, and was amazed at the skill level and football knowledge of the young players he came across.

He said he had suggested to his boss, Takeshi Okada, to go over and take a look at some of the American talent, and maybe Oka-chan will do that when he has a break in his hectic schedule.

I think the Americans would be a big success over here.

First, they would be determined to do well as they would be representing their country, and trying to win respect for the United States as a football (make that soccer)-playing nation. Their attitude would be first-class.

The players would be fit and well coached, and would relish playing at this level. They would also offer a physical challenge to the Japanese players.

On the financial side, I am sure they would be much cheaper than many of the Brazilians, and would provide more value for money.

With the strong links between Japan and the United States, it's a surprise that J.League clubs have not switched their attentions to the Major League Soccer market.

Well, there is always hope that some of them might show some imagination in the transfer market.

ends