Daisuke Matsui has been starting on the bench for the past couple games at his club Le Mans in France's Ligue 1. From the gossip I hear, it has a little to do with the fact there is a little butting of heads between him and the manager. Nothing to worry about, at least not now. Dai has changed greatly during his time in France, and the biggest change lies in his moment to moment play choices. Before, he would throw in a little tricky thing here or there randomly but that play would have nothing to do with any intention to get a goal. Now, he throws in little colorful moves that lead directly to creating opportunities. I think he is currently trying to assert (or even find) his own style while also trying to incorporate what the manager says. But the manager might want him to listen to what he is told more than what he wants to express on the pitch (his own "personality").

In this friendly game between the club and Ligue 2's Laval this past week, Le Mans won 3-2, with three assists from Matsui -- he kicked two corners and sent in a short corner for the third goal.

>>Right-click and Download for the video highlights of this friendly.

Hopefully Matsui will work out his problems with the strategy/manager, and get back to starting soon. If it is true that Zico is going to call him for the next game against Latvia and the Ukraine, Dai will need all the game experience he can get at the Ligue.