8 Nov 2007(Thu)

November 6, 2007: What a weekend for Michihiro Yasuda!

What a season, actually, as the 19-year-old left back/wing back has really emerged for club and country, at least at the age-group level.

Surely it will be only a matter of time before Ivica Osim promotes him to the senior ranks, as the national team needs a natural left-footer in there. At the moment Osim has two solid right-backs, Kaji and Komano, but the latter has been forced to play on the left due to the lack of an outstanding candidate.

I still like Komiyama at Marinos, and think he would be worth looking at, but Yasuda has come through the ranks at Gamba and through the national teams, playing for the under-20s in Canada this year and now in the under-22 squad pushing for Beijing.

Yasuda plays at a high tempo and likes to push forward, like many left backs. Roberto Carlos and Ashley Cole spring to mind, but the player he most reminds me of is the former England left back Graeme Le Saux -- there is the same "buzz" about him as he forages up and down the left flank.

Going back to the Japan-Qatar Olympic qualifier in Tokyo a few weeks ago, I thought the match was set up perfectly for Yasuda to come on in the second half -- not to replace Inoha at left back but to help him out further forward; bringing some balance to the team and forcing the Qatari right flank to retreat, as they were swarming all over Inoha. (Japan won 1-0 with 10 men, so Sorimachi was proved right in the end with his own selections.)

With three points now needed in Hanoi, maybe Sorimachi will put the in-form Yasuda in his starting line-up. After all, his confidence must be sky-high after being named New Hero of the J.League Nabisco Cup, and then MVP after his match-winning goal in the final.

He had a solid game on the left flank, going head to head with Frontale fruitcake Mori, who can be extremely dangerous when he is in the mood -- and dangerous to his own teammates when he is not.

For the goal, Yasuda, now pushing forward, was in the right place at the right time, just in front of Mori, to slide in and meet Bare's low cross from the right.

ends