18 Aug 2005(Thu)

TOKYO (August 17): Once again Zico is showing a remarkable amount of faith and loyalty in his "shadow" squad.

For tonight's World Cup qualifier against Iran at Yokohama, he is going back to the team that lost 1-0 to North Korea in the East Asian Football Championship in South Korea.

He looks set to sideline his "third-choice" team, despite improved results against China and then South Korea.

Personally, I think Zico is wrong again.

Or maybe he is giving certain players one last chance to impress in the national team shirt before he starts to think about mixing the European players with the J.Leaguers for the final months of preparation.

I'd like to have seen at least Moniwa, Konno and Murai still in there and being given a chance to press their claims for a regular place.

As I've said before, there aren't many arguments about Zico's first-choice team when all the senior players are available, but I think there is plenty of room for these East Asian Championship players to fill out the squad, and put more pressure on the established players.

It's like Zico has already decided his first team, and his reserves, and it's a "closed shop" from now until next summer, no matter how well the new players perform when given a chance.

For the East Asian Championship, Zico had no choice but to call up some new faces, as the senior players were with their clubs in Europe, but it looks like he's going backwards by overlooking them against Iran.

If Zico did not want to recall his European players for this game -- which is quite understandable -- then why not go the whole way and test the East Asian Championship players in such a hard match.

Japan must try and win this one, as it's a World Cup qualifier, and there won't be many more pressure games in the months to come.

Iran will be fast and physical, and it would have been a good test for the likes of Moniwa, Konno and Murai. If they didn't perform, then Zico would be right to doubt them, but he is very slow, reluctant almost, to put his trust in players from outside his "family."

ends