Interview with Shunsuke Nakamura: There is a gap between Japan and Europe and the United States, and now is the most difficult time

Tiger Poker August 20, 2019 In the Olympic football competition held in Tokyo in the middle of summer, following the London Olympic Games, the Japanese Olympic Games once again rubbed shoulders with medals and won the palace army. How does Shunsuke Nakamura, who currently plays for J-League side Yokohama FC and is over 43, see what The Olympic Games will show on the pitch and what the future holds?

"Japanese football is definitely improving, but the progress will not be as great as it is all at once, and the result will not be completely negative."

As Shunsuke Nakamura said, how you look at the current state of Japanese football will depend on the frame of reference you choose.

Looking back, 19 years before Shunsuke Nakamura moved to Serie A Regina, it was an era when whenever Japanese players moved to Europe, the birthplace of modern football, the country would be in a frenzy. Now, almost all of japan's Olympic players have improved to the point where they can seriously say "our goal is to be a gold medal".

At the Tokyo Olympic Games hosted by japan, the performance of the Japanese National Olympic Games was beyond doubt. However, in the final semi-finals and third-place battles, Japan lost to Spain and Mexico respectively. This sentence of Japan's National Olympic Midfielder Tanaka Bi, who has just transferred to Bundesliga Düsseldorf in the summer, further deepens the memory of the defeat at the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.

"From a personal point of view, there is nothing to point out. But in a 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 situation, the opponent's strength will increase, and we will not change anything. I don't know if I should attribute this phenomenon to combination or culture, but I still don't know enough about football. We know they know football very well, but we are still playing 1-on-1, which is probably the biggest difference between Japan and the European and American powers. ”

"The Japanese don't know much about football." What is Shunsuke Nakamura's feelings about the views expressed by the young player Tanaka Bi?

"I think 'I'm trying my best' is a good attempt. Of course, if you can't get the result, you will be pointed out by the people around you. In the third-place battle against Mexico, everyone rushed into the box and crossed, only to save face by the substitute Kaoru. It is true that this is the case, and I don't think the act of rushing into the penalty area is good or bad. ”

"But when choosing a breakthrough, I think it's not impossible to think a little more or take advantage of the teammates plugged in the outside." At this Olympic Games, right-back Hiroki Sakai had several assists on the back side but could only wait, if the edges could be matched. At this point, Mexico and Spain have done a great job, and I think Japanese football is worse than that. ”

The source of Nakamura Shunsuke's pursuit of progress in football is to feel the gap between him and the world's strongest teams.

At the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, Nakamura shunsuke was selected for the Japanese national team. In order to improve his level, he began his career in Serie A Regina. He then gained experience in the Soviet Premier League Celtics and ushered in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. But in the final match of the group stage against Brazil, a huge gap with the world's top level teams was revealed.

"The level feels completely different from Brazil, so the phrase 'football has left its mark on Brazil' was used. All in all, that game led to a lot of stuff. The Japanese olympic players at the Tokyo Olympics should have the same feelings as me. ”

Japanese football changed dramatically after the establishment of the J-League in 1993, as evidenced by reaching the round of 16 three times at the World Cup.

On the other hand, in the case of becoming a regular in the World Cup, there is a wall that cannot be crossed no matter what. Last year, Uchida Takatoshi (formerly Kashima Antlers) mentioned the gap between the world and the J-League at the retirement press conference, and this was also mentioned in an interview with Takatoku Sakai (Kobe Victory Ship), which has become a topic in Japan. Looking further ahead, Harihodžić, who coached the Japanese national team from 2015 to 2018, strongly demanded that the players "Duel" (literally, duels, specifically as the players fighting for the ball on the field, fighting hard, defending, etc.).

So how did Nakamura Shunsuke see the "gap with the world"?

"First of all, the Japanese national team is different from the J-League, not to mention that the current Japanese national team is almost all foreign players. I think that in the process of staying in the West, the players of the Japanese national team can gradually understand the way of thinking about football in Europe and the United States. For the example of 'Duel', it doesn't matter if the opponent has been in possession of the ball, as long as the ball is intercepted during the opponent's pass, it has nothing to do with 'Duel'. ”

"The strength of the Japanese national team is improving, and it has also reached the stage of impacting from the round of 16 of the World Cup to the top 8. But I think this stage, which is now, is the most difficult. ”

Although you can faintly see the back of the world's TOP team, at the same time, everyone also feels this gap that cannot be crossed. That's why unpleasant remarks are everywhere.

As far as individual players are concerned, as described above, the environment in which Nakamura Shunsuke crossed the ocean 19 years ago and now has indeed changed dramatically. Young players are rightly starting to play in Europe, but is that really proof of the improvement of Japanese players?

"At that time, if the transfer market had been more open, I believe there would have been a lot of Japanese players staying in the West. If you transfer at 'zero yen' as you are now, the opportunities will naturally increase. I think there were also a lot of capable Japanese players of my time. After saying that, Nakamura Shunsuke's eyes looked into the distance.

"There are a lot of players who are able to play overseas, which is a really good thing. Because if the environment in Europe changes, you will have to go hungry, so there will be players who can stand on their own and are full of strength? The J-League can't produce players like that. ”

"In overseas leagues, the speed of defense is completely different, and everyone plays with a 'I'm the first' mentality. In contrast, Japan's training is somewhat lax. ”

When Nakamura played for Regina, the team suffered a three-game losing streak when he was scolded by fans while shopping at the supermarket. Back in the parking lot, it was undoubtedly a fan's outrage at the team's poor performance. During his time with the Celtics, after the unwinnable games, Nakamura Shunsuke also reduced eating out. Winning is an obligation for fans, and even relaxing outside is a daunting thing to fail to score three points.

"Compared to the strength of the desperate Samurai, the environment in Japan is completely different. However, there is no way to change this environment per se, so players and coaches can only keep going out. In this case, if we continue one step or two, Japanese football will go further. ”

Although Japan finished 4th at the Tokyo Olympics, the gap in strength compared to Spain and Mexico is very obvious. From the perspective of goals, this is definitely not a satisfactory result, but Nakamura Shunsuke believes that there is no need to bow his head and blame himself.

"Although I didn't win a medal this time, Japanese football is improving little by little, and even the Japanese Olympic Games are still foreign players." Depending on the specific situation, Japan is constantly improving, and I think it is doing a good job. There are more and more hopeful examples, so I think it's all right. ”

For the Players of the Olympic Games in Japan, the Olympics are just a transit point. Just like Tanaka Bi, who personally felt the gap with the world's top teams at the Olympic Games, this summer transfer window shifted his active stage to Germany. The Europa League has become an active stage for Japanese players, and there should be a lot of re-feeling.

Whether the experience accumulated at the Tokyo Olympics can become the spiritual food for more players in the future. If this can be done, the memories of this summer's reluctance will become more meaningful.

(Editor: Yao Fan)