'Flying Dutchman' lifts Japanese soccer hopes

i wonder if he "kept" his dutch passport in case he makes the move to Europe to play over there.

How can you be both 'Dutch-born' and 'born in Hiroshima' ...?

How can you be both 'Dutch-born' and 'born in Hiroshima' ...?

Born into a Dutch family in Hiroshima.

Japan's own Peter Crouch and Josh "Jesus" Kennedy...

Samurai Blue ~ I thought JapanToday had gotten over 'The Blue Samurai' already.

Height will be useful in Asia, but against European teams it would be better to have a tall defender than a tall striker.

The media running this 'tall striker/ highest header' nonsense are totally out of touch with the trend in world football today and are just running some typical tabloid headline. The Japan national team have been extremely successful ever since their impressive World Cup campaign and they have been successful playing with short but technical midfielders and strikers. Take a look at Barcelona and Spain. They are untouchable and playing the short game with small players. In fact I would say that Japan have been the biggest improvement in world football since the World Cup. Kagawa, Nagatomo, Honda, Lee, Kawashima, Okazaki, Usami. And with the number of brilliant young players coming through such as Miyaichi at Arsenal, the future looks bright. This story is just a space filler.