3 Dec 2007(Mon)

November 30, 2007: Safe and logical are two buzzwords in the coaching philosophy of the ever pragmatic Takeshi Okada.

And that was my reaction to the news that Okada – barring any late snag – will succeed Ivica Osim as coach of the national team. It is a very safe and logical appointment by the JFA.

Okada, of course, has been there, done that and got the World Cup T-shirt, from France 1998. He has had a long break from top-level coaching so should be refreshed and ready for battle when Japan start their campaign in February to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In 1997, Okada was assistant coach to Shu Kamo – and was promoted when Kamo was fired during a two-game swing in Central Asia. He revived the team, recorded a crucial win in Korea, and then steered Japan past Iran in the play-off on that unforgettable night in Johor Bahru.

This time he is also taking on a job that was half-finished, but in much more traumatic circumstances than before after the stroke that felled Osim.

Osim was well on his way to rebuilding the team and creating a new style of play when tragedy struck, and Okada’s job will be to maintain that creative momentum while adding his own touches in terms of team structure and personnel.

And Okada, of course, knows everything there is to know about the J.League players and those overseas from his days of plotting campaigns with Yokohama F. Marinos.

Yes, he is a logical and safe choice, and there was absolutely no need for the JFA to look outside of Japan when there were a couple of other candidates who would also have been sound appointments: Nishino and Osieck, the latter supported by his Japanese-speaking assistant coach Engels, thereby doing away with the need for an interpreter on the training pitch and in the meeting room.

Under the tragic circumstances, though, Okada fits the bill at a time when the JFA was thrown into shock like the rest of the football world.

ends