For a long time, for Asian players, being able to stay abroad to develop in the Europa League is a key part of their progress. In recent years, in particular, countless players have gone to Play in Europe in the Japanese League. The Japanese team, which is about to compete with the national football team in the round of 12, is able to arrange a set of all-overseas league lineups. However, this summer, a number of Japan internationals and former internationals have chosen to return to the J-League development. This includes the main members of the "Blue Samurai", Ōki Akira and Hiroki Sakai. Does returning to the Asian League mean a decline in levels? These 2 players are eager to be able to break this spell.
Since staying in the west has become the mainstream of the development of Japanese players, the phenomenon that some positions can still be occupied by local leagues in the past in the starting lineup of Japanese teams seems to be gone. Especially after a veteran like Yasuhito Endo faded out. However, this summer, with the return of Daisuke and Sakai, people began to discuss the topic again.
Last week, former Japanese coach Ossim said he would be worried about the future status of the two players. In his own experience, the only player who can continue to maintain his excellent form after returning to the J-League from Europe is Shunsuke Nakamura. However, although the veteran has performed well in the league, he has faded out of the national team since the World Cup in South Africa, and that tournament is no longer the main force. The reason for this is also due to the age of the players and the huge gap in the level of the Asian league and the European league.
Will Ōtsuki and Hiroki Sakai be able to break this spell? The former said that it took him 40 minutes to get from his home in Kobe to the national team's training station in Osaka, and this feeling has not passed since leaving Kashima, which is really refreshing. In fact, this is an advantage, the core members of the team no longer have to affect the state and life because of the jet lag. Former Japanese captain Makoto Hasebe once revealed that in order to cope with club and national team competitions, he often needs to start using Asian time to rest a few weeks in advance, so that he can adapt to the impact of jet lag as soon as possible, which is really hard.
Of course, one of the advantages of Daisuke coming to Kobe to play is that his position can return to the front. After all, in the past few seasons, he has always played the role of a front-back in Bremen, which has affected his goal efficiency and feeling in front of goal. Hiroki Sakai also said that even if he plays in the J League, he will always be strict with himself and use his experience to help the team. However, although they are all South American players, they have recruited Messi and Neymar in Ligue 1 and some second- and third-rate foreign aides in the J League, which gives people a completely different feeling.
Since the 2018 World Cup, japan has always been discussing the gap between Asian football and European football, and as far as the current situation is concerned, the gap between the two is still widening, at least in a short period of time, there is no trend of narrowing. At the competitive level, the technical and tactical level of European football, the intensity of physical confrontation and the rhythm of the game make Asian football difficult to match. This is also why after the two main internationals who stayed in the West returned home, the core of the problem of concern expressed by the outside world is. As for whether Ōtomu and Hiroki Sakai can break the spell, it can only be left to time to test.
Text/Supine Braces - Yangyuan Zhang