3 Nov 2008(Mon)

November 1, 2008: Individual awards within a team game can often produce intense debate, but there cannot be too much argument over the announcement of the Nabisco Cup New Hero.

On the eve of Saturday's final between Shimizu S-Pulse and Oita Trinita at the National Stadium, the J.League declared 19-year-old Mu Kanazaki as the competition's rising star. There were several other candidates from either team, but Kanazaki was a worthy winner.

The attacking midfielder won't turn 20 until February 16, but he has already made his mark with his flashy futsal skills and the high tempo at which he plays the game.

Another advantage is his physique, a sinewy frame of 1.80 metres that suggests he could catch the eye of talent scouts from Europe.

By all accounts he is already on the winter shopping list of several top J.League clubs, as is his team mate, Masato Morishige, with Nagoya Grampus among the admirers of Kanazaki.

This would make sense, as Grampus manager Dragan Stojkovic likes his players tall and likes them to be confident and full of ideas on the ball.

Kanazaki fits the bill perfectly on all fronts, and is the kind of player a manager like Stojkovic could improve further with his knowledge and vast experience.

Credit, therefore, must go to Trinita's Brazilian boss, Pericles Chamusca -- surely a candidate for Manager of the Year at the J.League Awards Night on December 22 at Tokyo Dome.

His two Brazilian midfield players, Edmilson and Roberto, provide a solid base on which Kanazaki can weave his magic in the last third of the pitch. With these two, playing in front of a back three anchored by Morishige, keeping the shape and the balance of the team, Kanazaki is virtually free of defensive responsibilities as he roams the pitch looking for openings and linking with his two strikers.

Kanazaki is an exciting talent and has scored too many remarkable goals this season for them to be a fluke. This New Hero award acknowledges his contribution, and the club will be hoping it is not the last piece of silverware they pick up this season.

Going into Saturday's Nabisco Cup final against S-Pulse, there is a possibility of a domestic treble in terms of League Cup, league championship and Emperor's Cup, so Chamusca will need the creative talents and energy of Kanazaki more than anything from this point on.

ends