Yoshida: "We'll have to believe what the manager
says"
Thursday, 17 June 2010
 |
| Maya Yoshida at the 2008 Olympics |
For a football team with the nickname
"Blue Samurai" Japan has instilled little
fear in it's opponents in recent months. But right in
the first World Cup game the Japanese showed something
of the old fighting spirit.
The victory over Cameroon strengthened
manager Takeshi Okada in his opinion that Japan can
go a long way at this tournament. "And when the
coach says so we have to believe it," says Maya
Yoshida, Japanese warrior playing for Dutch side VVV-Venlo.
The 21-year-old would have loved
to be there at the World Cup, but a broken foot, sustained
during a training camp in January, rudely ended his
dream. A few weeks before he was transferred from Nagoya
Grampus Eight to VVV the defender made his debut for
the national team of Japan.
"That game against Yemen was
more than a chance. A few young players were given the
opportunity to show themselves in that game. What Okada
thought of my performance? He never speaks about individual
performances, only about the team."
Fracture
A nasty fracture in his foot kept Yoshida from profiling
himself with the Blue Samurai again. "I got a few
calls from the Japanese FA asking after my recovery,
but I wasn't fit in time for the World Cup."
A few weeks ago Yoshida needed
surgery again. He is now recovering in Japan.
From Venlo Yoshida had been watching
how Okada got under increasing pressure on the way to
the World Cup. The Japanese manager, after two hopeful
friendlies in Holland, had said last year that Japan
could make it to the semifinals. But the results during
the preparation campaign for the tournament didn't fit
a team with such ambition.
Okada
Although the Japanese football fans called for Okada's
resignation, the players backed their coach. Yoshida
is cautious about the subject: "I don't know if
it's realistic to aim for the semifinals, but when the
coach says so we have to believe in it. We have to have
the same goals and go down the same path," Yoshida
argues, knowing any wrong statement might hurt his chances
in the national team.
"Many people said that the
manager wasn't doing a proper job and that he had to
go. But this wasn't the time point the finger at the
manager I believe. I was time to focus on the World
Cup. That's what it is about."
After the surprising victory over
Cameroon Okada is firmly in the driver seat. On Saturday
it's Holland in Durban for the Asians. Last September
Holland beat them 3-0 in a game in which they had been
the better side over long stretches.
"It will be tough, but of
course Japan have chance to win it. In that friendly
Japan played very well before the break. After that
the pace dropped. Holland were waiting for that to happen
and they scored two goals from two chances. Holland
have players who can decide a game just like that."
|
