21 Apr 2010(Wed)

(Continued from Back to a back three?)

 

Once we have established that it would be plain foolhardiness for Japan to switch to a three-man defence at the World Cup, there are three main conclusions we can draw right away. The first is that the current back four should likely remain unchanged, since however much the pace (or lack thereof) of Yuji Nakazawa may worry us, his experience and status as captain means dropping the Yokohama F Marinos stopper is a gamble unlikely to curry much favour with coach Takeshi Okada. Secondly, therefore, Marcus Tulio Tanaka will need to put any disciplinary problems behind him, and dominate the defence with the kind of performances that will have people talking up a transfer to Europe again. Finally, the true key to the national team’s fortunes this summer will be the make-up and – crucially – the shape of its front six, but fortunately, midfield is an area in which Japan are at least blessed with plenty of options.

 

Okada has traditionally preferred a double volante pairing at the base of his midfield, but the combination of Yasuhito Endo and Makoto Hasebe often fails to provide sufficient defensive cover and leaves the back four overly exposed. This suggests that – rather than panicking and throwing in another centre-back – it might be better to have just one volante, but with a stricter remit to protect the defence. Hasebe could be used in this role himself, but Junichi Inamoto would appear the more suitable candidate. Adopting a central midfield threesome, then, could allow responsibility to be distributed more efficiently without stifling Endo’s and Hasebe’s creative instincts.

 

The idea of fielding Inamoto as an additional defensive player has attracted a certain amount of criticism in the Japanese media of late for its apparent negativity, but this betrays a limited understanding of tactics. Such a switch would not only attend to defensive vulnerability but also allow attacking moves to be developed throughout the midfield. The prominence of 4-3-3 or 4-5-1-based systems in Europe has coincided with an overall increase in goals, with the potential for spectacle exemplified by the UEFA Champions League-winning teams of Manchester United and Barcelona in the last two years. Indeed, it is worth remembering that while fans at Old Trafford angrily chanted ‘four, four, two’ as the influence of Carlos Queiroz provoked a shift away from the traditional style, the best United team in recent years featured an all too short-lived forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Carlos Tévez – none of whom serving as out-and-out strikers in a formation that could therefore be described as 4-3-3-0.

 

The potency of the Japanese national team is obviously not quite in the same league, with the painfully familiar complaint being that attacking players merely pass the ball around with no end product. As a lone centre forward, Keiji Tamada works hard and holds the ball up well, but this too is part of the problem as he rarely scores himself and Japan lack a real outlet as a result. The player with the most genuine goalscorer’s instinct, Shinji Okazaki of Shimizu S-Pulse, is often stationed out wide, and though he might cut inside to great effect for his club, the 24-year-old tends to look far too isolated on the flank against better opposition for his country. Okazaki should therefore be trusted in the role as Japan’s main striker instead. Playing two up top is certainly an option – personally, I’m not necessarily against this, as the team needs all the goalscorers it can get and I’d love to see Takayuki Morimoto of Catania given a chance too – but starting with a single striker would allow Okada to make the most of his choices in attacking midfield.

 

Alongside Endo, Shunsuke Nakamura is still probably the first name on the Japanese teamsheet, but his teammates can tend to just look desperately to him in times of trouble, and this over-reliance is both pressurising and unhelpfully transparent. The overall potential of the side could be best realised if Nakamura were part of a fluid partnership. This would be conducive to positional variation within the same 90 minutes, with the attacking midfield pair stationed behind Okazaki and allowing the full-backs to get forward; moving wide to enable Endo or Hasebe to advance; or breaking symmetry with one serving as second striker while the other attacks his flank. There are many candidates for this final position, but what Japan really need is a player with a certain ‘plus alpha’ – freeing the likes of Nakamura and Endo to do their jobs while adding something different of his own to boot.

 

That man is Keisuke Honda. The CSKA Moscow midfielder is the one Japanese player capable of shaking things up and striking fear into top-level opponents, following a meteoric rise that has seen his impact spread from the Dutch second division to the latter stages of the Champions League in less than a year. Honda’s versatility has seen him trusted with set pieces and in a number of different midfield roles during his short time in Russia, and the naturally confident Osakan has thrived on such opportunities thus far. His national team career has enjoyed similar progress with four goals in 12 months taking him from the bare fringes to an apparently guaranteed place in Okada’s squad of 23, but this must now be capped with an important function in the starting eleven as well. Japan’s problems mean there is no time for conservatism; the availability of Honda means there is no need.