20 Oct 2005(Thu)

October 19, 2005 ・It's nice to see the JFA getting tough by replacing Ivory Coast with Togo for the Tokyo friendly on November 16.

Ivory Coast should have been coming, but said they would not have a full team, notably Didier Drogba, so Japan invited Togo instead.

I'm sure Chelsea will be delighted by that, as the last thing they need is for one of their millionaires to be travelling to Japan and back in the middle of the season, risking injury in a friendly international.

On the other hand, the Ivory Coast Football Association will be missing out on a big pay day, as the JFA, I'm sure, would have been paying them a hefty fee.

I am sure that the JFA have learned their lesson from the Nigeria fiasco a couple of years back.

The match, won 3-0 by Japan, was a joke, a complete waste of time for all concerned except Takahara, who improved his goals per game ratio for the national team significantly.

If I remember correctly ・and forgive me readers, I am approaching another birthday! ・Nigeria did not even have enough players to fill the five substitute slots. I think they had only four players on the bench, including a reserve keeper, which was a real slap in the face for Japan.

The only memorable thing about the evening was the traditional Nigerian headgear worn by the man who sang the national anthem, and I half-expected him to remove it, put on the No. 16 shirt and sit on the bench.

This time, however, the JFA have cracked down, and told Ivory Coast to forget it ・and full credit to them for doing so.

Togo will be interesting opposition. Like Ivory Coast they have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in an African revolution which has seen the likes of Senegal, Cameroon and Nigeria all fall by the wayside.

Togo have also promised to send their best team, but would anyone really notice if they didn't? The point is they will take it seriously, and will be grateful for the experience, the exposure and, of course, the cash.

Hopefully there will be no more friendly farces at the National Stadium.

ends