20 Jul 2009(Mon)

July 18, 2009: Wandering along Boat Quay in Singapore the other night, I was attracted by the noise, colour and spectacle of a football match on three TV screens outside one of the riverside bars.

The striking red shirts on a pitch of dazzling green under the stadium lights...the roar of the crowd...the applause and groans of the bystanders watching the game outside the bar.

From a distance I thought it must be a Manchester United game, a replay from last season to keep their legions of Singaporean fans happy, but on closer inspection I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was, in fact, Urawa Reds against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, live from Saitama Stadium.

It was on the Football Channel, and I joined the audience just in time to see Takahara's through-ball to Edmilson for 1-1, followed by the Stoyanov foul on Takahara and Edmilson's penalty against the post, and finally Ponte's free kick and Edmilson's header for 2-1 Reds. An action-packed last 20 minutes or so, and the locals at the bar seemed pretty impressed with the J.League.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I read that the JFA president, Motoaki Inukai, had described the J.League as "boring" because Japanese players did not shoot enough.

Not only that, but he produced the preposterous statistics that a Brazilian player on average will have taken 300,000 shots on goal before turning professional, compared to 5,000 by a Japanese player.

How old is the "average" Brazilian when he turns pro -- 16? 18 at the most? That's a lot of shots at goal!

Do they include shots on the beach with their grandmother in goal on a Sunday afternoon, and shots in the street after dribbling round their two sisters and firing past the pet dog sleeping between two jumpers on the floor?

Really, to say that these statistics came from the Brazilian FA is ridiculous, and to use them against the J.League amounts to treason for the president of the JFA.

Of course Japanese football can be frustrating to watch when players take one touch too many and miss the chance to shoot. Almost as annoying (but not "boring") for me is when players get into good positions down the wing and refuse to cross.

I wonder how many times a Brazilian crosses the ball into the box before he turns professional compared to a Japanese player? The Brazilian FA will be able to tell you, I'm sure.

Not shooting and not crossing when it seems obvious suggest a lack of feel or lack of sense for the game when it should be natural -- but that is not the point at issue.

No, Inukai's observations and comments were ill-advised, and would not find too much support within the football community itself -- inside or outside Japan.

Certainly not down the Boat Quay the other night in Singapore.

ends