Japan comes together under Zaccheroni at Asian Cup

Nice goal to put the nail in Australiaa coffin! Australia were lucky not to lose by more! The Australian team are like a female tease! They promise you a lot, show you a lot of leg and cleavage, but you always end up going home to work the right bicept, and play the skin flute! The Japanese are just too good! The Aussie boys should worry less about the popeye tattoos and concentrate on football. And what about Tim Cahill..... it didnt stop complaining all night. Oh ref he did this and he did that! Pff! Disgusted with the Aussies performance..... Long live rugby league, rugby union and AFL!

I should also mention the fantastic goal and how perfectly it was executed by Nagatomo, and the ball taken on the full by Lee and banged into the Aussie goal! To all those kids who think it is a negative being short....." It ain`t the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog!"

Zaccheroni is taking Japan to new heights. This was an enjoyable moment. Also, agree with the bad sports of the Aussies. Stop the bickering, whining and grow up Australians. This was a great victory for Japan but more than that to the game of football. Unlike some racist Korean or some whiny Aussie, Japanese let the football do the talking. The kangaroos should get a new name for their football team and stop the bickering if they want international respect. Extra sweet it was that a Zainichi Korean scored the deciding goal. You got Japan´s respect and Korea´s respect. Lee. Amazing finish.

Japan won because they played with the cold brain and warm heart...

Experiences are the cold brain ( Zaccheroni, Kawashima, Nagatomo, Endo, Hasebe... )

Youth are Warm hearts... ( all players of the rest... especially Defenders ) I love the very young Japanese team this time. They listen and obey from the coach training completely...

Only that, it is enough to make dream come true...

:) :) :)

Nippon gambarai...

I think the Japanese did well. Australian coach admitted that not covering Lee was a big mistake and it was beautiful goal.

End of the day the better team of the day won.

To be fair to Cahill and the rest of the Aussie team, they showed great respect by lining up to shake the hands of the Japanese at the end of the game. Cahill even made a point of walking over to congratulate the Japanese just before they received the cup.

Agreed with North London. Some petty stuff was not quite enough to tip the balance the wrong way. Showing generosity of spirit, the Aussies still came away looking good overall.

A steep learning curve for both sides, I suspect.

they showed great respect by lining up to shake the hands of the Japanese at the end of the game.

That's pretty much the norm in every soccer game.

Unlike with Okada, and I think Zaccheroni and Japan make a good team. With Okada, I'm sorry, but it seemed like blind luck that they won their first game in WC after doing so poorly under pre-WC. After THAT they gelled as a team, but all of the nation was giving credit to Okada, who to his ACTUAL credit said that he did nothing different before or after.

On the other hand, Zaccheroni seems to have really given Japan the power to grow THEMSELVES. He's a true leader in the word that he simply gives them the tools to do what they have the power to do. His words, the words of the team, and the tone of a lot of the media reflects that. The article isn't 'Zacc-Japan', it's about how the team came together under him.

There really is no contest in the Asian group -- Japan, SK, and Aus, with no power besides -- but Japan is moving up in the overall soccer world, and it's nice to see. Zaccheroni is right, they are a young team, but that's no reason they can't do well (win). I'm looking forward to seeing how they do in upcoming tournaments.

Why does the story need to say that Lee is an ethnic Korean? It has nothing to do with his performance.

That's pretty much the norm in every soccer game.

I have rarely seen the losing team line up in full and shake the hands of the winners. Formal handshakes before kick-off, yes. But at the end of a game you'll just have a few random handshakes on the pitch as they walk off. The Aussies made a point of doing this formally. And Cahill was very generous in his congratulations.

This is what I wrote a few seconds after the final whistle, and as an Australian and football lover, I stand by it.

"Devastated for Holger's Aussies, it has truly been an incredible tournament, true coming of age for the Socceroos. No arrogance or false pride, but hard work and humility was the hallmark of this Asian Cup campaign. So proud of the boys, it was a damn good match and both teams were so evenly match. So rare to see such an important match played in so hard fought a manner and stay clean and fair from both sides."

The Aussies are notoriously bad at taking a loss in anything, they whine all the time. Japan were the better team by miles and miles in this game, was surprised it took until extra time to win it. Great goal by Lee though - really pleased for him!

BoratLikeBarry - I'm not sure what game you watched, but the Asian Cup Final that everyone else watched was a very even hard fought match that Australia had more possession and far more actual chances in. Japan did not come close to being the better team. It was such a good match because it was so even. Neither team were the better by miles and miles.

That was a beautiful game !

kolohe:

Why does the story need to say that Lee is an ethnic Korean? It has nothing to do with his performance

True. However it is good they identify Tadanari Lee's Korean ethnicity. And personally I am very HAPPY thet Lee scored the winning goal for Japan. This kind of thing helps to rehabilitate ties between these two sister nations ( who have a lot more in common historically ) - which is important.

Because human love to see the beautiful soccer

We have to grow the good player

And Alberto Zaccheroni is one of the best teacher who i have seen...

Thank you a great teacher !

:)

It's a good thing the Japan team had that Korean guy Tadanori Lee, who scored the only goal, playing for them.

Couple of points here from my observations. 1). Yes the aussies whinged to the press about this and that, BUT, the game was a tight one and they had every chance to win as did the japanese. It may have been a difference of a few calls, but their sporting spirirt was there at the end. Nothing but respect from me.

2). Zaccheroni madea huge difference and has proven his tactical worth. Pushing nagatomo up and bringing on Lee were brilliant strokes of genius, which were proven correct with hindsight, but nevertheless spot on.

3). Already people are bashing Okada. Come on guys, I use to bash Okada up to the hilt, but not after the World Cup. The way he used Honda in a more attacking role and by having the courage to go with kawashima ahead of narazaki...he contributed tactically to a great world cup by the Samurai Blues. Quit bashing him guys, he's earned my respect at the least.

4). Tournament MVP....Honda? Personally Kawashima was the one for me who really made the difference for japan.

yeah it was aussie aussie aussie bye bye bye!!! man they were whingers.That Chaill guty never stopped moaning. Japan are nice to watch but still a bit clueless at times

Sarge, Lee's 4th generation here and made a conscious decision to come up front, break the mold and take Japanese nationality. His father is behind him in this. He says he has no regrets, but he does have loyalties in his heart to both backgrounds. I agree with semperfi. Someone like this can help heal the differences between these two cultures.

If Japan did not have Kawashima who keep clean the net, for Nagatomo going up to pass ball to Lee...

Who could score ?

Soccer is a sport that need to fasten in group very much...

Because many peoples love Soccer...

I think the vid on Youtube explains everything how the "SamuraiBlues" CHANGED.

Just look it up on youtube, the vid # is gDoB3Gtcr-k or do a search on Samuraiblue Change Yoshida MONKEY MAJIK.

Well done Samurai - 4th Asian Cup, eclipsing the Iranians who had a share of the record. It all came together under a world-class manager - they should ALWAYS stick to Europeans.

And well done the boys in green and gold, making the final at the second attempt, after not really making a decent crack in 2007 as we all know. I'm proud of them, they got some decent press coverage back home too, where Aussie Rules, Rugby League and Cricket dominate the sports pages. And how good was the great Schwarz? Like a fine wine that bloke, just keeps getting better!

What a revelation Osieck has been, allowing the boys to express themselves unlike under Verbeek. Heck, he even played a couple of kids from our A-League (McKay and Kruse)- unthinkable under Verbeek. Looks like the big boys in Osaka, Tokyo or Seoul clubs are gonna come knocking for McKay now...press reports suggest there may be quite a few Aussies gracing the J-League next season, which can only be a good thing for Asian soccer.