Express News Service
CHENNAI: There is a longstanding link between German football and Japan. The tap was first turned on by Yasuhiko Okudero, a midfielder who moved from Japan to FC Koln in the 1970s. Since then, a string of players have made the switch from Japan to the Bundesliga. In May 2019, Bundesliga acknowledged this transfer of knowledge. The league posted a three-minute video. The video finished with the names of all the players who had swapped Japan for Germany to continue their football career.
This trend has continued in the last three years or so. So, it wasn’t a surprise when Japan announced their 26-man roster for the World Cup. Eight of the 26 were playing their club football in Germany (seven in the top tier and the other in the second tier). To put that into some sort of perspective, only six came from the J League (Japan’s top-tier).
The crown prince is Daichi Kamada, a roving, all-action, oxygen-supplying midfielder, who plays his club for Eintracht Frankfurt. In May, he scored in the shootout to give the club a second Europa League title. He has also begun the season in stellar fashion, it was something Germany coach Hansi Flick noted during his pre-match press conference. Kamada is ‘having an outstanding season’, he said. He also name-checked Wataru Endo, the proverbial engine in Japan’s midfield. Endo is, he said, ‘one of the best midfielders in Germany, in the Bundesliga, over the last two years’.
Flick, who was hired by the German FA to breathe new life into the die Mannschaft following a disappointing run of results that marked the end of Jogi Loew’s reign, also professed his love for the way Japan play the game. “I have to out myself as a bit of a fan of Japanese soccer,” he said. “You have a team, players who are very well developed, technically as well as tactically. They’re really, really good. And we see that quality in the Bundesliga.”
At the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday, Japan showed what Flick said they had in their locker. In the process, the Samurai Blue engineered a sensational take down of the four-time world champions.
Germany took the lead via a penalty but Japan, who had pace to burn on the break, were not overly frazzled. As long as Germany kept missing chances at 1-0, they knew they were always in with a chance.
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They had a small window but before that, they had to stop giving up those chances. That’s what they did, firstly by bringing on Takehiro Tomiyasu at half-time. Secondly, they made an offensive change by bringing on left-sided attacker Kaoru Mitoma for left-back Yuto Nagatomo. Mitoma is an aggressive dribbler who likes nothing more than driving at the defense. Coach Hajime Moriyasu also brought on forward Takumo Asano in the same substitution window. Like Mitoma, Asano is pacy and likes a dribble. Good traits to have against a team that maintains a high-line.
Twice in the next four minutes, Mitoma and Asano had chances but couldn’t take them. The momentum had already swung and Antonio Rudiger was struggling to contain Japan’s energy. Flick hadn’t helped matters as he removed goal-scorer Ilkay Gundogan. There was a noticeable hole in Germany’s midfield and Japan were willing to test the integrity of that shaky foundation. What was one-way traffic in the first-half had become an end-to-end game of basketball. Another attacking substitution saw Ritsu Doan, who has the moniker of the Japanese Messi.
A switch had been flicked and Japan went for the jugular as Moriyasu threw on Takumi Minamino. A minute later, Mitoma, Minamino and Doan combined to score. With all those attackers on the pitch, Japan knew they had to keep going as they sensed a chance for a winner.
So, Ko Itakura launched a long ball and Asano chased it. He beat Nico Schlotterbeck before burying his chance from the tightest of angles. Cue Pandemonium. Delirium. Bedlam. Mayhem. Germany had chances to draw level but fluffed their lines on a night when the roar of the Samurai was heard around the world.
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Before their match, Doan was asked about playing in the Bundesliga and his relationships with them. He said: “I don’t contact them when I’m here. I spoke with them before I left Germany,” he said. “Of course I’m happy to play against them but we’re not friends anymore until the new year. I will give everything for my country.
“Germany have many players from Bayern, and we play against Bayern, so I know the individual quality from them. Of course, everyone knows they are good but I think we should play with confidence and believe in ourselves.”Indeed.
Byer’s touch
After retiring from football in the late 1980s, Tom Byer, an American by birth, settled in Japan. He decided to dedicate a major chunk of his post retirement life to give Japan a fighting chance at becoming an elite football nation. So, he opened a raft of academies apart from giving out football clinics to kids in the most popular comic book at the time (KoroKoro Komikku).
There were three kids who came to Byer’s football school. Minamino, Doan and Endo. It was understandable that Byer was lost for words on Wednesday. “Tears of joy from Japan’s comeback victory,” he told this daily. “We had 3 players on the pitch at the same time from our schools, Endo, Doan & Minamino! Doan scoring the tying goal off the bench! Words can’t describe the emotions. The remarkable result after 35 years working in Japanese Football.”
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