17 Aug 2006(Thu)

Tokyo, August 15, 2006: No one can say they were surprised that Ivica Osim picked four JEF United players for his squad to face Yemen.

And no one can say the players did not deserve it, either.

Two of them, Maki and Abe, were certain to be selected once the A3 Champions Cup was out of the way. Maki, of course, played at the 2006 World Cup -- but not enough in my opinion. He should have been sent on after 60 minutes against Australia when it was clear Takahara and Yanagisawa were exhausted and when the game could still have been won...by Japan I mean.

Abe did everything asked of him by Osim in the months leading up to the World Cup, and Osim was bitterly disappointed when his young leader was not selected.

So those two, Maki and Abe, were quite predictable; the other two JEF selections, Hanyu and Yuto Sato, not so.

But Hanyu and Yuto epitomise the JEF "ekiden" style and the JEF spirit. They run until they drop and just never give up, often surprising opponents with their tenacity and aggression.

When the opposition has possession deep in their own half, just watch Hanyu and Yuto put the pressure on them. They take it in turns to dash from midfield, and spring on their adversary like a jack-in-a-box, or like a Venus Flytrap in those nature documentaries. Watch, pounce and retreat -- all in the blink of an eye.

One coach who will be particularly pleased about Hanyu's selection is former Aston Villa and Celtic manager Jo Venglos. When "Doctor Jo" was manager at JEF, he raved about Hanyu, only wishing he had been able to coach him from 16 years old instead of 22 out of Tsukuba University.

Yuto, too, is a terrific little player who, like his twin brother Hisato, knows where the goal is.

I don't know what Osim's team will be against Yemen, but a top three of Maki, supported by Tatsuya and Hanyu, could be very tasty indeed. There would be so much movement and pace that Yemen's defenders would not know what day it was, or whether they were in Niigata, Nigeria or Naples.

Expect, therefore, the visitors to slow the game down as much as possible. This is how they will try and deny Japan, so it could be a frustrating night for the home team, needing patience as well as pace.

ends