Zaccheroni: Japan players should move abroad
Reuters - Thursday 09 June 2011, 08:22
TOKYO - Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni has
encouraged his players to seek moves abroad as the Italian looks
to build a team to make an impact at the 2014 World Cup in
Brazil.
The 'Blue Samurai' had 11 Europe-based players in their
squad of 25 for the just-finished Kirin Cup, with strikers
Takashi Usami and Tadanari Lee set for moves to Germany.
Shinji Kagawa, reported to be a target for Manchester
United, was left out as he is still recovering from a fractured
metatarsal suffered while helping Japan win a record fourth
Asian Cup in January.
Midfielder Yasuhito Endo of J-League side Gamba Osaka said
Zaccheroni believed Japanese players had to play abroad to take
their abilities to a new level.
"I've heard all about Italy from the coach," Endo told
Thursday's Nikkan Sports.
"I leave those things up to my agent but I'm not the only
one getting that sort of advice from the coach. He wants us to
be playing at the highest club level."
Zaccheroni, who played a key role in full-back Yuto
Nagatomo's move to Inter Milan, wants all his players to have
the same conditioning when they meet up for Japan duty.
"Unlike at club level there's only a limited period when
they come back for Japan games," said Zaccheroni. "Because of
the different schedules of the European and J-Leagues their
conditioning is all over the place.
"I want them all to be at the same level when they're on
international duty."