4 Sep 2006(Mon)

September 2, 2006: There's no doubt that Ivica Osim, in a remarkably short time, has revamped the national team.

Among the latest batch of new faces is Masahiko Inoha, who has gained a rapid promotion from the Under-21 team to senior squad.

It's the kind of move Philippe Troussier would have made, and it is a very exciting one for the future of Japanese football. The head coach sees a talented young player, a player with bags of potential, and does not hesitate to move him up the ladder of international football.

Without wanting to build up Inoha too much, I must admit he's one of the most mature, all-round players I have seen during my 10 years in Japan.

I first noticed him in Macau last autumn, playing for Japan in the East Asian Games in a team led by his FC Tokyo team-mate, Tokunaga. Inoha was playing "volante" and looked like he was born for that role, stroking the ball around and linking the play like a veteran.

Then, earlier this season, FC Tokyo manager Gallo used Inoha as an old-fashioned man-marker, a modern-day Claudio Gentile but without the violence! I saw him mark Ponte out of the game against Reds at Komaba, and Juninho against Frontale at Todoroki, although Gallo made a grave mistake on the latter occasion by redeploying Inoha with a few minutes to go, and Juninho revelled in the new-found freedom.

The last time I saw FC Tokyo, with Gallo now sent to the gallows (ie: fired -- if you will pardon the pun), Inoha came off the bench and played on the left side of midfield; and later moved into the middle. It was against Avispa at Kokuritsu, and he scored his first J.League goal with a thundering header to a right-wing corner.

To sum up, Inoha looks like he can play anywhere on the pitch, but especially at right back, libero and volante.

Whether or not Osim uses him in these two games is not the point at the moment.

It shows that Osim is ready to select players he feels best represent the strong characteristics of Japanese football, no matter their age or club. I have said before that results may suffer on occasions -- maybe in Saudi Arabia and Yemen -- but this is the price you pay when rebuilding a team from scratch.

Troussier suffered the same way, and came under intense pressure from within the JFA, but the end product was worth the sacrifice.

After the disappointment of Germany, Japanese fans must show patience, because players such as Inoha will give the team a bright future.

ends