14 Jul 2008(Mon)

July 12, 2008: Japan have already won their first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics -- in the sport of how to completely mis-manage the overage issue.

All this preparation, all these matches for the Olympic hopefuls, and yet an embarrassing ineptitude in the selection of Japan's overage players.

Make that non-selection, in fact, as the official withdrawal of Yasuhito Endo leaves Japan with no overage players at all.

The JFA were asking for trouble in the bungling way they went about it, and have been served up a double dose of disappointment as the drawn-out selection process reaches its conclusion.

First of all, the Yoshito Okubo incident.

Vissel Kobe were furious with the way the JFA tried to secure his release. They felt the JFA had sent the "invitation" through the back door, not the front, and would have nothing to do with it.

The concern over Okubo's fitness, after his knee operation in February, was, I feel, a smokescreen -- but whatever the reason, the fact is Vissel are
perfectly within their rights to say "no" to the JFA.

This is not being selfish by the club; it is not treason against the country.

The bottom line is Vissel need Okubo, their captain, in J1. They need his presence, his goals and they need points, as they are hovering just above the relegation zone.

Vissel pay Okubo's wages (a substantial amount I would imagine) and have every right to keep him at the club.

As for Endo, again you wonder at the JFA's thinking.

He had an exhausting June, both mentally and physically, with those four World Cup qualifiers; Gamba have a busy domestic schedule in July and August with J1 and Nabisco Cup quarter-finals; in September it's the start of the World Cup final qualifying round, as well as the AFC Champions League quarter-finals...surely the last thing Endo needed was to play three matches in seven days in the heat and humidity of Tianjin and Shenyang, and possibly more should Japan get out of the group.

Again, I can't believe the JFA did not think about this, no matter what a fully-fit Endo could have brought to the Olympic team in terms of midfield
organisation, set-piece expertise and a sound penalty kick technique should they be in a shootout.

As I said, the JFA have been asking for trouble, and could not have handled this overage issue worse if they had tried.

Thankfully it is now over -- and coach Sorimachi will name his 18-strong squad on Monday. Can anything else go wrong?

Looking on the bright side, this can't happen again in 2012, as the OFT in London will be exclusively for players aged 23 and under.

Let's face it, though, the whole Olympic football programme is a mess, as evidenced this week with FIFA statements to clarify the rules at this late stage and protests and questions from clubs in Europe over the release of players.

Japan, I am afraid, has created its own problems.

ends