Indomitable Spirit

The AFC Asian Cup is coming back. Japan is a four-time winner but hopes to lift the trophy again after 13 years. It’s been the longest drought since Japan won the first time, in 1992 – only at their second participation ever. Back then, Japan won the tournament at home, in an era where J.League still needed to play their maiden season and the only edition with eight teams.

2000 saw Japan winning their second cup, probably in the most dominant fashion. In eight years, J.League was launched, Japan debuted at the FIFA World Cup, and the first players arrived in European football. The Samurai Blue crushed Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in the group stage, before overcoming Iraq and China. Once again, a final against Saudi Arabia saw Japan prevail – despite missing Hidetoshi Nakata.

2011 was the last one, and one of the toughest. Especially because Alberto Zaccheroni – the man who succeeded Takeshi Okada – decided to start from scratch, with a new generation after a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup. That national team wrote history pages but overcame so many hurdles: the games against Jordan and Syria in the group stage, the agonic quarter-finals against Qatar, the penalties against South Korea and the winning goal of Tadanari Lee in the final against Australia.

Nevertheless, one of those four cup runs was the hardest. It took place in the toughest environment – China, who didn’t forget about history – against the odds and with a new manager after Troussier left after the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It was the Asian Cup which Japan should look to, to remind ourselves where we came from and how grit and awareness can bring you a long way. It was the 2004 AFC Asian Cup.

The build-up

Back then, Japan was on the rise. The 2002 FIFA World Cup – co-hosted with South Korea – saw the Samurai Blue getting their first win ever, going to the knock-out stage, and losing in the Round of 16 only against eventual third-placed Turkey. The 2001 and 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup gave other good signs, reaching the final in 2001 and doing a solid job in France two years later.

The squad was changing. After the 2002 tournament, some from the old guard were dropped – like Yutaka Akita, Masashi Nakayama, or Toshihiro Hattori – to make space for new protagonists. Shunsuke Nakamura was finally given his debut, while Yasuhito Endo, Yuji Nakazawa, and Daisuke Matsui were all debuting with the Samurai Blue. And the change came from above.

After Philippe Troussier, Japan picked a foreign legend to replace him. Probably Zico didn’t have any coaching experience, but he deeply knew Japanese football, whose pro world was about to celebrate its 10th anniversary. But while Zico was less strict than Troussier, he had his troubles to overcome – players left out because of drinking accidents, fans demanding his resignation, and stagnating performances.

All this happened before the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, in a radically different continent. Saudi Arabia was more relevant than now as a national team; China just qualified for their first-ever World Cup and wanted to seal a title at home. Japan hadn’t been for six years in a row “AFC Team of the Year”; South Korea just came fourth in the same World Cup where Japan had to leave in the Round of 16.

The journey

Last but not least, the 2004 continental tournament would have been played in China, which held a grudge against the Japanese team because of historical reasons. Nevertheless, the group ran smoothly, despite Iran being there – Japan handled Oman 1-0, defeated with decision Thailand 4-1, and then held to a solid 0-0 against Iran to top the group. This meant playing against Jordan in the quarter-finals.

Alongside Qatar-Japan in 2011, this is probably the most epic game Japan ever won in the continental tournament. The Samurai Blue barely held to a draw, so penalties. Japan went down 2-0, with Nakamura and Alex missing both. Incredibly, Jordan players froze and missed four consecutive shots, with Japan advancing thanks to an incredible performance by Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi between the posts.

And it’s not like the semifinal was less agonic. Japan faced Bahrain, who had their best result in the AFC Asian Cup in 2004, and they were a “dark horse” of Asian football throughout the 2000s. Japan went down, then up 2-1, then again down 3-2 and Bahrain almost scored the fourth before stoppage time. Only a miracle header by Nakazawa brought extra time, which Japan then won 4-3.

And what about the final? Japan played their third final in 12 years and four editions, only with one problem: this time they had to play against the home side, China. They were coming as well from an agonic semifinal – won only at PKs against Iran -, but they were playing for their life. Nevertheless, Japan contained their aggressive style and then won in style 3-1. But the defining moments didn’t come through lifting the trophy.

The defining moments

There were other crossroads. The penalties against Jordan, where everything seemed compromised after the first two mistakes. It’s difficult to win a PK roulette after four shots and being 2-0 down. But then captain Miyamoto exploited his charisma to ask the referee to change the side of the pitch because the grass was penalizing Japan. The Malaysian referee agreed and that switched the moment in a hardly replicable way.

Then, the extra time against Bahrain. Can a team come back multiple times? Zico’s Japan could, despite playing every game in a stadium that would blatantly cheer against them – no matter the opponent. Keiji Tamada’s drive and determination in the 4-3 goal is something that should be taught as a football tool, let alone will spirit in life. And Japan found all of this despite being one man down from minute 40 (Yasuhito Endo got ejected).

Last but not least, the final. Japan had the easiest part on the pitch (although Koji Nakata’s 2-1 goal was a handball), but they got the rough patch later – the team had to wait three hours to even leave the stadium after the ceremony. Due to tensions dating back to WWII and the injustice in the final, Chinese fans targeted not only the team but also supporters in the stands. It was unbelievable.

Today Japan is way stronger – but we need character to make it to the top of the world. And this Asian Cup will be a good test for it. Moriyasu and his players won’t probably face the same tension of that Summer of 2004, but they’ll be held dear to an expectation: the level is so good at the moment that Japan are expected not just to win the AFC Asian Cup, but to dominate. And to do so, you need that kind of emotional back spine we saw in 2004.