26 Dec 2005(Mon)

December 24, 2005 -- The Christmas and New Year holidays are always an enjoyable time for movie fanatics, as the big screens at the cinema and the small screens at home entertain us with past and present offerings.

With this is mind, Verdy’s favour ite movie must be “Back to the Future” following the appointment of Ruy Ramos as the new head coach.

The move was not unexpected, and had been talked about after he became Hayano’s assistant at Reysol midway through the season.

I must admit I thought Ramos could have helped save Reysol from relegation, due to his inspirational and motivational qualities, as well as his knowledge of the game and his experience.

But he couldn’t, and now he has taken up the challenge of rebuilding Verdy into a J.League force once again.

It will not be easy for Ramos the coach. For a start he won’t have the goals of Washington, who is set to sign for Urawa, and pre sumably he won’t have the biggest of budgets to work with.

There will inevitably be lots of new faces at Yomiuri Land next season, and Ramos, a star of the past as a player for Verdy Kawasaki, must bring them together to from a unit.

With 13 teams in J2 next season, and four rounds of games, this gives each team 48 league matches, so Ramos will have time to rebuild Verdy.

Who knows, he might even need more than one season to bring Verdy back into the top flight, and I am sure the Verdy management will not expect him to work miracles overnight.

His team must have the right balance of steel and flair, and, if anyth ing, his experience as a beach football coach is a disadvantage, not an advantage, as they are two completely different games.

Ramos has been given a wonderful opportunity to make his name as a coach in Japan, and Verdy need his experience and influence more than ever.

ends