20 Mar 2008(Thu)

March 18, 2008: After the unrest of Saturday and the turmoil of Sunday, Monday was just like any normal day at the Ohara training ground of Urawa Reds.

With Holger Osieck now history, ruthlessly fired the previous day, Gert Engels was the man in the spotlight -- again.

In his fluent Japanese, clipboard in hand, Engels was attempting to put the team back on track after the chaotic start to the new campaign.

He didn't have too many players to work with, as the squad was depleted by national team call-ups and injuries, but the foundations of the team for the Nabisco Cup were clearly in place.

The highlight of Monday's session for me was the set-piece expertise of new signing Tsukasa Umesaki. He was whipping over some wicked free kicks from the left flank, struck with pace and swerve and causing havoc for the keeper on each occasion. Has he been studying the technique of David Beckham? It certainly looked like it.

After training, Engels held two informal press conferences, first in Japanese and then in English, and was looking remarkably relaxed after his sudden elevation to manager of Asia's champion club.

There was a human touch, too, in his recollection of the dizzying events of the previous day, as he said his morning promotion and afternoon preparation for the official news conference at 4pm had scuppered his plans for a kickaround with his two children after training!

"I spoke to my kids and told them what had happened," he said.

"The first thing they asked was, 'What about Holger?' That was quite sweet of them, because they knew how I felt when it happened to me. I just said that business is like this."

On a more practical front, it is going to be an enormous help having a Japanese speaker in charge of the training; no need for an interpreter to try and get the message across on the practice ground, in team meetings and on the pitch.

And Engels is going to make sure that the players air their grievances to him rather than to the media, as criticism of Osieck from senior players led to the breakdown in communication.

"They know there is nothing to hide," said Engels.

"They can speak to me directly or to a coach who will then speak to me. I am available 24 hours a day for them."

It is highly unlikely there will be any criticism of Engels, though, as it is time for the club to put its house in order. Besides, the new manager is regarded as a good, all-round guy who has the respect of the players.

He has had setbacks with the closure of the Flugels and being fired by JEF United and Kyoto, but has proved he is a survivor -- all the way to the top of Japanese football.

ends