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Japan Football: Zaccheroni, Samurai Blue, and general J chatter
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Tidbits Update
Bolton 1-0 Tottenham

Hidetoshi Nakata was on the bench for the first time in three games, substituting in at 59 min. It was a tight game, and Bolton managed a crucial win -- they are now in 3rd place.

Nakata's Nari-colleHide arrived back in Japan I think yesterday. I'm not sure if you already know this but his arrival at Narita airport and the subsequent comments in the sports papers about what he was wearing, characterizes each of his returns home. The fashion couture unveiling in Paris each season is referred to as "Pari-colle" (Paris Collection) in Japan; and when Hide walks out the arrival doors, it's unofficially called "Nari-colle" (Narita Collection), because he usually appears wearing quite the "outfits". In fact, some say that he actually gets off the plane and changes into his outfit before coming out the arrival area...but that's a rumor.

It was no different this time, the sports papers taking jibes at his ride 'em cowboy ensemble -- the hat, the poncho, the plaid shirt, the boots. I think it's a hoot. (click image to see enlarged original)

Anyway, really silly stuff, but it is one facet of Japanese football "news".

Celtic 2-0 Rangers

I know a lot of Celtic supporters were biting their nails ahead of this Cup game against their arch Glasgow rivals. I was able to catch the second half of the game, and it was quite a good show.

Frankie was kind enough to leave his comments >>click to see Frankie's comments about Celtic and Shunsuke Nakamura's performance in the previous entry, and I thank you Frankie for taking the time to tell us about it! I hear the second half was better than the first, so I was lucky to have been able to catch that portion of the game.

click photo to see originalClick photo to see enlarged original. It's a great shot of his right ankle/foot position.

Particularly interesting, with regard to Nakamura, was Frankie's comment that Shun seemed to be more aggressive about going after the ball. It's good to know that he has gained confidence and settled into the atmosphere. But more importantly, the team has really become something new in these past few weeks compared to the start of the season. The second goal came off of two Nakamura plays -- first, Shun took the ball up the right side, and took a very nice shot with his left foot from an angle. The keeper reached up in time to send the ball out for a Celtic CK. The kick was taken by Nakamura, a short corner which was then passed back to him, and he sent in a cross that ended up being the second goal. I say "ended up" because it was recorded an "own goal" by Rangers keeper Klos. Like Frankie said though, Nakamura contributed more in midfield, directing the ball to his mates.

Celtic are now in the semi-finals of the Cup.

Yanagisawa Warming Up at Kashima

Atsushi Yanagisawa has been out of play at Messina for a few weeks after hurting his ankle. But he returned to Japan early and has been spending time at his old club Kashima. His ankle seems to be ok now, but the problem is his fitness. Luckily he has the fortune of having the national team physical therapist Ricardo at Kashima with him (Ricardo is the pt for Kashima), so they are training and trying to build him up for next Wednesday's game against Angola.

Soma to Retire

34 year old midfielder Naoki Soma, now at Kawasaki Frontale, has announced this will be his last year playing in the J league. If you have been following the Japanese national team for a long time now, you'll remember him from the 1998 France World Cup squad where he played left sideback. Soma entered the J at Kashima Antlers, and has also played with Tokyo Verdy before going to Frontale in 2004. J1 total games played: 286, Goals:10. National squad games: 59, Goals: 4.

The Frontale website currently has a slideshow up of photos of him in action at Kawasaki >>Click to see website.
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