16 Oct 2006(Mon)

Tokyo, October 14, 2006: The problem with a weak opponent is that it can bring down the level of a vastly superior team.

Add to this a poor pitch in Bangalore, floodlight failure and a runaway dog halting play, and, in such circumstances, Japan could not have done much better than win 3-0.

These Asian Cup qualifiers are giving Osim's new team a gentle introduction to international football. The travel, the lifestyle on the road, the different conditions on and off the pitch, the ability of the opponents...Japan's players will be looking and learning all the time. Further down the line, in tougher circumstances, they will be able to draw on this experience and use it to their benefit when the pressure is on.

Osim, too, will be learning a lot about his players, not just their ability but also their attitude and mentality.

After the game against Ghana, I pointed out the fact that Osim would have loved Bando's angry reaction to his missing a good chance to equalise near the end. I am sure Osim would have preferred Bando to score, but, in missing the chance, Bando displayed his passion and his intensity -- and won a place in the starting line-up against India. In this game he scored twice, could have had more, and has quickly established himself in the squad. It depends on Bando, and no one else, how long he stays there.

I also liked Kengo Nakamura's goal, and celebration, against India. It was a magnificent strike with his right foot, and then he kissed the JFA crest on his shirt! Again, it shows a bit of pride and personality, and Kengo has put himself in the picture for the long-term.

I noticed on TV last Saturday night that Kengo was getting the "Shunsuke" treatment, with a couple of mushy, sugary interviews following the Ghana game. The TV people in question were clearly trying to promote Kengo as the new "fantasista" -- the new Shunsuke, in fact -- but let's not get carried away too quickly, or forget that other, less glamorous roles in football are equally important, if not more so.

Finally, wasn't that an amazing moment in the India-Japan game? No, not the dog, which I actually thought was India's most dangerous player, the way it eluded Japan's markers and found so much space on the pitch. I am talking about Alex's cross for Bando's diving header. I know the stadium lights were bad, but was that really Alex's right foot in action -- hitting an expert cross on the half-volley?

I wish he would use it more often. Just think how more dangerous he would be with two feet instead of one!

ends