20 Jul 2006(Thu)

Tokyo, July 19, 2006: Not surprisingly considering Japan's poor showing at the World Cup, there has not been a glut of transfer stories linking Japanese players with clubs in Europe.

And that, in the current situation, is not a bad thing.

One of the biggest problems Zico faced was that so many important players were in Europe, but several of them were spending more time on the bench than the pitch.

When they played for the national team, therefore, they were not match fit -- as training every day is much different to actually playing competitive football.

Zico always insisted that the Japanese players in Europe were better than the players in the J.League, otherwise they would not have been signed by a European club in the first place. While he may have a point to some extent, it did not excuse Zico from showing such blind loyalty to players from European clubs who were so lacking in form, rather than taking a wider look round the J.League and expanding his horizons.

According to comments I have read from JFA president Kawabuchi, Osim will not adopt the same approach as Zico. He will follow the line that Hiddink took with South Korea in 2002, that a player must be a first-choice selection for his club, no matter where that club was. (Ahn Jung Hwan, for example, was very close to not being selected for the 2002 squad, and would not have been had he stayed with Perugia rather than returning to Korea).

This policy from Osim can only be good news for the J.League and for the players. Unlike Zico, Osim will be able to identify the players who can make the step up from Asian level to a world level, and he will encourage young talent in the same way Troussier did.

It will also make players (and hopefully their agents) think more carefully before accepting the first offer from Europe that comes along.

Why should the national coach pick a player like Takahara, struggling to make an impact in the Bundesliga, over a player such as Maki, who is playing, scoring and confident? At the highest level, with very little to choose between the technique of individual players, confidence and form makes the world of difference.

I expect Osim's selections, therefore, to be fresh and adventurous, and this approach will inject the same qualities into the game in general here. Osim brings hope, a ray of light after the dark, depressing days of Zico.

A passport to Europe should not be a passport into the national team, and Osim will not sacrifice his principles to keep a so-called "fantasista" in the team just because female fans think he's handsome and because he's popular with the TV stations for giving melancholic, "little boy lost" interviews. His style will have to fit the Osim style, the Japanese style, and that means he's going to have to run, keep running and then run some more. There will be no room for players who are not prepared to give everything for the team, as Osim demands this work ethic and, indeed, receives it.

Europe is not the only answer for a Japanese player who wants to be successful at the highest level. Not any more.

ends