The Young Guns

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The instant European success of Nagatomo, Uchida and most notably Kagawa has raised interest in the younger Japanese brigade. There is talk that Okazaki is on Stuttgart's radar (not the most prolific striker in the J-League however in internationals he is unstoppable) and 17y.o. sensation Miyaichi who is 18 in a couple of weeks.

One player who probably isn't going to Europe but should is 19 y.o. Ahmed Khalil from UAE. He has an abundance of talent, however as a well paid striker for Al Hilal he also has the golden handcuffs. At some stage talented youths from the Gulf need to break from the comfort zone of home and strive on the European stage. Ahmed has the ability, but does he have the will power? UAE have a wonderful youth development programme however unless the kids leave home this isn't going to fully translate into a strong national side.

Expect a youthful and dangerous Samurai Blue to visit Qatar in January. The game against Argentina wasn't an aberation, it was an indicator.

[blahblah]

Now it seems CSKA Moscow are ready to let Honda take a step up

http://www.goal.com/en/news/553/russia/ ... -on-report

[Steelinho]

Honda and Slutski really don't get along, it's fairly well-documented. Honda continually complains about being played in a position he doesn't enjoy (a restrictive, defensive/holding/sit-back-and-don't-do-much midfield role) and Slutski just doesn't play him very often, or just off the bench.

Honda has his own blog and likes to have a whinge every now and then (a lot). He's very much a diva.

Regardless, I'm sure CSKA would still be looking for big money, considering he's hot property and has another three years left on his contract. Over 10m quid/15m euro, I'm sure.



Ryo Miyaichi has already signed a contract with Arsenal that will start when he turns 18. He currently has a broken leg that he received during a trial at Ajax (just a week or two after his Arsenal trial), which will put him out until at least late January.

[blahblah]

Ienaga is off to Mallorca. It will be interesting to see how he fits in and if he can make it into the starting line-up. Still, a big loss for Cerezo but yet another big gain for Samurai Blue

[Steelinho]

Ienaga is on a five year deal and won't actually be playing with them until the pre-season (will be on loan for the remainder of this season).

It's interesting, especially to be given such a long contract, when Japanese players have a record of failing in Spain (including those considered top players, like Shunsuke Nakamura). The jury in Japan is still out on this one.



Also, while it hasn't been officially confirmed anywhere, it's a well-known fact now that Hajime Hosogai (24) will be going to Bayer Leverkusen in January and will be initially loaned out to Ausburg in 2. Bundesliga until the new season. Great move for him and hopefully he'll succeed. I'll definitely miss him, however.

[blahblah]

It's interesting, especially to be given such a long contract, when Japanese players have a record of failing in Spain (including those considered top players, like Shunsuke Nakamura). The jury in Japan is still out on this one.

That's my feeling as well. The Japanese seem to thrive in the Bundesliga and much less so in La Liga. Hopefully Ienaga can buck the trend however it will be very much case of wait and see.

[Mad Red Fan]

This really shows the gap between us in Japan. Oar dubbed the next Harry Kewell can't even get any game time for a mid-table dutch side, where atleast 5 Japanese players go from the J-league to regular bundesliga matches.

[Steelinho]

This really shows the gap between us in Japan. Oar dubbed the next Harry Kewell can't even get any game time for a mid-table dutch side, where atleast 5 Japanese players go from the J-league to regular bundesliga matches.

You could argue that in reverse only 10-15 years ago, when we had Viduka, Kewell, Zdrillic and co. all playing top flight European football. These things go in cycles and currently, Japan is having a decent one with three (not "at least five") players currently getting regular playing time in the Bundesliga (and Yuki Abe at Leicester, Honda in Russia).

Don't forget we also have players who are regulars in the Premier League and our league, in comparison to the J. League, is still very much in its infancy and the fact that we even have A-League players already getting attention from Europe is a huge deal and shows a much faster progress than Japan has seen in its 17 years.

[blahblah]

The Okazaki - Stuttgart rumour won't lie down. Kyodo news agency are in on the act now.

[Steelinho]

They either picked it up from me or Sponichi, I'm not sure. But Stuttgart have supposedly offered Okazaki a contract.

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Apparently Bayern Munich have approached Gamba and are trying to get Takashi Usami on a trial. Gamba seem reluctant to let the 18 y.o. go which is understandable. The Germans really seem to be having a close look at Japan following Kagawa's rise from J2.

So in Germany currently there is:

Hasebe - Wolfsburg
Kagawa - Dortmund
Okazaki - Stuttgart
Uchida - Schalke
Yano - Freiburg
Hosogai - Bayer Leverkusen/Augsburg
Makino - Köln

...... it's starting to add up

[blahblah]

I don't know if anyone caught it however Nagatomo had his Inter Milan debut against Roma coming on at the 75th minute. For the next 20 minutes he absolutely terrorized the Roma right flank. He certainly looked like he was enjoying himself.

Ryo Miyaichi also had his first hit out with Feynoord where he is on loan from Arsenal. The 18 y.o. certainly didn't look out of place for his first match at this level.

[Steelinho]

So in Germany currently there is:

Hasebe - Wolfsburg
Kagawa - Dortmund
Okazaki - Stuttgart
Uchida - Schalke
Yano - Freiburg
Hosogai - Bayer Leverkusen/Augsburg
Makino - Köln

...... it's starting to add up

Takahito Soma at Cottbus, let's not forget.

... And I guess you could cheat by saying Chong Tese at Bochum.

Talk's slowly dying down, with Usami being the only target left (Bayern President is apparently annoying the Gamba supporters to no end, with his continual comments). Might see a re-spark in the Bundesliga off-season/J. League mid-year break, but it'll probably depend on who we see coming through this season at clubs (Mu Kanazaki, Haraguchi, Gonda and perhaps Inui may be my tips).

But there's also a few who have recently gone to Holland (Yasuda) and Belgium (Kawashima), not to mention those few that went to Russia last season.


I got a bit of a gut-wrench when Bernd Stange said during the Asian Cup that Kagawa had gone from J2 straight to Dortmund, because it's just not true. He was tearing up J1 before he moved to Dortmund. They're trying to make it seem more of a Cinderella story than the reality.

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Miyaichi scored in his 2nd game and played a full game for Feynoord. I'm sensing this kid is fast becoming a fan favourite in the Netherlands.

Sarota had 70 mins for Utrecht but no sign of Oar.

[Steelinho]

Miyaichi's goal: