Commander change in the middle of the final qualifying.Japan national team coach spit on-October 4, 1997

It was a quiet incident.

The place is Ortalyk Stadium in Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan (at that time).

Shu Kamo, the Japan national team coach, was waiting for the car to pick him up at the entrance, which was slightly off the main entrance.

The final Asian qualifying for the France World Cup. The Japanese national team seemed to have made a good start by winning the match against Uzbekistan at the first match home with four goals, but after that, they drew with the UAE and lost to South Korea, and they went dark.

In particular, Yamaguchi's loop shot took the lead, but the shock of the match against South Korea, which was defeated by consecutive runs just before the end, was great, and supporters also expressed anxiety and distrust.

Meanwhile, it was the match against Kazakhstan on that day.

Japan took the lead with Yutaka Akita's goal. However, he lost a goal in the loss time. Once again, he couldn't keep the lead and ended the game with a draw game against his inferior opponent.

After the press conference after the match, Kamo stood at the entrance at around 7 o'clock in the evening. Still, there was no sign of dusk, and I feel that the surroundings were bright.

For a few minutes before the car arrives, there are only three or four reporters near Kamo (maybe there was an association public relations), but I'm trying to figure out how to talk right after the shocking match. It was such a short time that I had no choice but to stand in my place.

At a distance, there were several Japanese supporters who rushed all the way. Even so, the Kazakhs were passing between such supporters and Kamo just by looking at them in a long distance.

There was no disturbing appearance that something was about to happen.

It was then that one supporter approached.

He didn't feel like he was heading, nor was he running up. I walked closer as if I were passing by. So no one controlled it.

And he spit on the face of the Japanese national team coach.

It was a quiet incident. A man approached, spit, and then moved away. But that's it.

So there were no angry voices and no guards. We, who were by our side, were stunned by the unimaginable events and their natural consequences.

Still, I saw Kamo's palm clasped at that time.

I don't know if it was a fist trying to confront the young man who spit on himself or a fist to endure his anger.

However, although he never expressed his feelings, the Japanese national team coach certainly clasped his palm at that time.

And-about four hours later, when the date changes, Kamo will be dismissed. It was the first change of director during the tournament in the history of the Japanese national team.

It was in Central Asia, which had just become independent from the Soviet Union, on October 4, 1997, when Japan had never participated in the World Cup.

* The dismissal of Japan national team coach Moriyasu has been announced.

This is usually posted on the date when the event happened, but I remembered the quiet incident more than 20 years ago due to the rise of such dismissal theory, so in terms of diary It's a little off (one week, though), but I'll spell it out.

Click here for the case book from Doha to Johor Bahru, including the "spitting case" → "Replacement of director Kamo in the rotten orange turmoil"

The final qualifying for the France World Cup is a battle that ends with "Johor Bahru's delight".

The previous American World Cup qualifying was "Tragedy of Doha". In other words, Japan has not yet passed the Asian qualifying round and, of course, has never participated in the World Cup.

The "J League" was established in 1993, and the soccer boom occurred. In 1996, he participated in the "Atlanta Olympics" for the first time in 28 years, and in addition, the "World Cup" in 2002 was decided. It was 1997 when it began to grow rapidly and show its presence both inside and outside the stadium.

If you broaden your horizons outside of soccer, it was also the time when the digital era that led to the present began.

However, the penetration rate of "mobile phones" is still around 25%. With Windows95, the computer became a "personal computer" (mainly desktop type, not notebook), and "Internet" became common, but the connection was "dial-up" (like FAX, "Phi-Hara-Hara-". It's the one that is converted with the sound, just in case).

Looking at the world, the Cold War between East and West ended and the Soviet Union collapsed. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which will be competing in this final qualifying, are also lacking in information immediately after independence, and whether it is cold or hot, how about moving and eating locally? I didn't even understand that.

(By the way, my acquaintance's cameraman brought a down jacket, but it was actually hot enough to spend with a T-shirt. I ate at a Korean restaurant, but the night road was pitch black without street lights, and there was a huge hole in the sidewalk. Was depressed and dangerous)

Departing from Kazakhstan was a small aircraft that could be sprinkled with pesticides (and the boarding pass like a piece had a handwritten seat number of "12"), and the exchange partner in Uzbekistan that I arrived at was a taxi. Was the driver of.

Masami Ihara lamented, "The (stadium's) toilet is too dirty to use," and I think there was no shower room in the Kazakhstan stadium where Kamo was spit.

Therefore, there are only a few supporters who rushed in. Central Asia was so unknown, it was a "long-distance" country.

That was 1997, and it was the final qualifying at that time.

It was due to such times and environment that coach Okada succeeded Kamo.

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are in the middle of two away battles. Since it is difficult to call a new director from Japan, the only option was "internal promotion."

Don't be afraid to misunderstand, I don't think there was anyone who thought Okada was a great director at that time. At that point, he didn't even have the experience of leading a club team, let alone a representative. There was no way to evaluate it.

In fact, at the beginning, he was just a "provisional director."

Okada himself took over as a successor, saying, "I can't call other people, so I'll play the (next) Uzbekistan match for the time being." It is only after he returns to Japan that he decides to continue to command the rest of the final qualifying match.

And under the new director Okada, the Japanese national team wasn't revived like a phoenix.

Both the first match against Uzbekistan and the match against UAE who returned to Japan were drawn (a riot occurred in Kunitachi after the match. It was a sight that I could not think of Japan).

When Kamo was dismissed, "1 win, 2 draws, 1 loss" became "1 win, 4 draws, 1 loss", and not only "1st place missing", which is decided to participate in the World Cup, but also "2nd place" that connects hopes to the playoffs. The possibility of "on its own" has disappeared.

The World Cup was no longer a wind-blown light.

It is only Okada's courage to finally get the chance to participate in the World Cup.

Beginning with Hidetoshi Nakata being removed from the starting lineup for the first time, he tried to inspire the players and change the team with a technique that could be called rough treatment. No, before I changed players and teams, I changed myself (it really changed like a different person, it was like a demon).

Then, they won in a row with South Korea and Kazakhstan and moved up to 2nd place (Korea has already decided to break through 1st place, and UAE has not been able to increase the points).

Finally, the playoffs with Iran (third place playoff) were already a miracle. Masayuki Okano, who had never been allowed to participate in the game before, was sent to the pitch of overtime, and the right to participate was drawn with a V goal.

(Click here for Johor Bahru's delight → "Midnight V Goal")

Twenty-four years have passed since then.

What will the Japanese national team do in 2021? Of course, the situation is quite different from 1997.

First schedule. At that time, during the two months from September to November, home and away battles continued almost every week.

In order of match, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Tokyo, Almaty (Kazakhstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Tokyo, Seoul, Tokyo, and Johorbal.

Specifically, after finishing the national game, I headed straight to Narita and flew to the Middle East and Central Asia for the match. When it was over, he became a person on the plane again and returned to Tokyo to play the match. Once that is done ... It was such a busy day to come and go.

This time it's not such a roller coaster. There is an interval between games, so there is plenty of time.

Of course, I am not in a distant and unknown country like Central Asia at that time, so I have the option of replacing it.

Speaking of which, after Johor Bahru, every time he was lifted up as a "master," Okada replied, "I'm a manager who has only commanded five games yet." Certainly this is all.

It goes without saying that the decision was a big bet, even though it was successful as a result.

However, this time there is no need to gamble to leave the national team to such an inexperienced person.

On the other hand, there are many "overseas groups" who did not have any in 1997. At that time, he was playing the J-League during the final qualifying, but the representative players were excluded. Okada was also able to go to the training camp and rebuild the team.

The formation of such a team that was possible when there was only a "domestic group" would not be hopeful now.

Also, the "participation slot" is different.

The French tournament is "3.5", this time "4.5". In the final qualifying at that time, I had to be 1st out of 5 teams (2nd place is the playoffs), but this time I can be 2nd out of 6 teams (3rd place is the playoffs).

When the manager changed from Kamo to Okada, there were only 4 games left with "1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss". However, even though Director Moriyasu is "1 win and 2 losses", he still has 7 games left.

If you think about it that way, it doesn't look like it's a crisis like a "cliff" yet, and no, that's why it seems like an opportunity to change directors. troublesome.

Either way, it's a big decision. And it is not known until the result is obtained whether the change of director will be good or bad. It's such a world.

So, in the end, to say the decent thing and the sloppy thing-because it's a big decision, "who made the decision" must be clarified. Before "who will leave it to me".

In Kazakhstan, Chairman Ken Naganuma (at that time) directly told Kamo that he would be dismissed, and at the press conference he clearly said, "I will be dismissed." He once said, "If I can't go to the World Cup, I'll quit." I think that responsibility and determination are the minimum conditions for creating courage and leading to good luck.

And a sloppy person. Some people say that if you can't play in Qatar, Japanese soccer will end, but that's not the case.

Four years later, the Asian frame for the 2026 (co-sponsored by the United States, Canada and Mexico) World Cup is "8". If by any chance this time ... but the next one will come out.

Perhaps the World Cup will be held once every two years (for → "About the World Cup biennial plan")