27 Jul 2006(Thu)

Tokyo, July 25, 2006: Good luck to young Morimoto!

What has the teenager got to lose by joining Catania on a one-year loan deal from Verdy?

I would think absolutely nothing, and feel the experience can only benefit him.

It's not like he is near the national team or anything, and a move overseas would rule him out of selection.

He is still very young and his career is at the beginning, so a move overseas is unlikely to prove a setback in any way.

It could even "make" him as a player, if he does well for Catania and attracts the interest of bigger clubs, but it will certainly not "break" him as his current status is Japanese second division, with only age-group football for Japan in the near future. And this is not a good enough reason to stay in Japan.

For all the media, and fans, planning trips to watch Morimoto, I envy them!

I visited Catania in the early 1990s, not to watch football but to cover the Hong Kong rugby team in the Sicily Sevens, which was a qualifying tournament for the World Sevens to be held in Scotland.

It is a lovely place, as most of Italy is, with so much sightseeing to do, and so many restaurants to fill in the gaps between sightseeing!

I am sure Morimoto will have a wonderful time there, not just from a football point of view but also from the view of a young man just setting out in the world.

As for his chances of success; well, very difficult to say.

Catania will surely struggle to stay in Serie A, like many clubs do who come up from Serie B, so he could be in for some long, hard Sunday afternoons.

But there is no doubt Morimoto has the raw materials to improve as a player. He is quick, physically strong, aggressive with the ball at his feet, and knows how to score goals.

Former Verdy manager Ossie Ardiles once told me that Sir Alex Ferguson was a big fan of Morimoto's after seeing him play in a youth tournament. Ardiles said Manchester United were monitoring his progress, but obviously nothing has come of that...yet.

A season in Catania, in Serie A, will attract more attention than had he stayed in J2 with Verdy, so there is no pressure on him at all.

He can relax off the pitch, train hard, play hard and enjoy Italy. All in all a good move for the talented young forward, and maybe for the long-term future of Japanese football.

ends