Players On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo via Yahoo: Nakata fears Japan could suffer mental meltdown at World Cup
Hidetoshi Nakata fears Japan could suffer a mental meltdown at the World Cup and has demanded a more professional attitude...Bolton Wanderers midfielder Nakata claims the mood in the camp is not what it should be..."I think the atmosphere is the main problem at the moment," Nakata told Kyodo News after Monday's training session..."I could be wrong but the atmosphere in the team seems to me a little bit too friendly still".

[dimwit]

Sounds a teensy bit ominous for those predicting a second round showing.

[canman]

For a big let down. Better to say now that the team will be beaten handily, than to go in spouting claims of whipping all three members in your group. I still would like to know who made up these rankings. I mean come on, nothing against Mexico or the US but IMHO there is no way they can be ranked ahead of some of the powerhouses of soccer. eg
1 Brazil
2 Czech Republic
3 Netherlands
4 Argentina
5 France
6 Spain
6 Mexico
6 USA
9 England
10 Portugal
11 Turkey
12 Nigeria
12 Italy
14 Denmark
15 Sweden
16 Cameroon
17 Egypt
18 Japan
19 Greece
19 Germany

Egypt and Japan ahead of Germany and Greece, Italy ranked number 12, weird stuff.

[kurohinge1]

. . . Kyodo via Yahoo: Nakata fears Japan could suffer mental meltdown at World Cup
Hidetoshi Nakata fears Japan could suffer a mental meltdown at the World Cup and has demanded a more professional attitude...

. . . [Nakata said] "Tomorrow's game will show whether we are ready or not."

. . . Japan were brushed aside 3-0 by Germany in Yokohama in December 2004 in the only previous meeting between the two teams and although the game is only a tune-up Nakata thinks a four or five-goal defeat could serve as the perfect wake-up call.

"The point of the game is to find out where we are at and what we can do because Germany are obviously high quality opposition," said the 29-year-old Nakata.

They may be in better shape than he thought, or Deutschland is in bad form, or both, because they tied 2-2:

Germany Ties Japan in World Cup Warm-Up]

May 30 (Bloomberg) -- Germany, preparing to host soccer's World Cup, rallied to draw 2-2 at home with Japan in its second- to-last warm-up match. England beat Hungary 3-1 and made 17- year-old Theo Walcott the youngest player in team history . . . [url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=aqVAUeqwhlmA&refer=japan]more

[canman]

But watching I felt that the it wasn't as rough and tumble as it is going to be during the world cup. A couple of plays the Japanese player wlaked through two German defenders. I'm sure that they would have flattened him if it was a real game. None the less, it was a much better showing than Japan has had in the last couple of friendlies. I just hope that last nights game wasn't their best effort, and they will suffer a let down in their first game.

[dimwit]

Someone didn't get much sleep last night.

[Mulboyne]

Their shirts seem to rip a bit too easily.

[kurohinge1]

. . . Their shirts seem to rip a bit too easily.

Maybe that's their new yukata-style uniform. ]http://www.beppu-navi.jp/manual/gif/yukata.gif[/IMG]

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]Japan's "Blue Samurai" shivering in Bonn
Sat Jun 3, 12:58 PM ET
BONN, Germany (Reuters) -Japan's "Blue Samurai" are complaining of blue fingers and numb toes at their World Cup base as they struggle to get to grips with the German weather.
The samurai warrior spirit has been dispensed with in the rush for thermal gloves and many Japan players have been throwing on four layers of clothing to practice in the low temperatures....
...Japan's players have been shocked at how cold it has been since their arrival last weekend, with temperatures rarely climbing above 10 degrees Celsius.
Nakamura, not known for possessing samurai levels of toughness, has been battling a fever since landing in Germany, blaming the cabin pressure for giving him a sore throat......... _

[AssKissinger]

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-worldjapannakata_picture&prov=reuters&type=lgns


[SIZE="5"]World-We're a shambles, fumes Japan's Nakata [/SIZE]

By Alastair Himmer

BONN, Germany, June 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata has labelled Zico's side a shambles a week before their opening World Cup game against Australia.

Nakata blasted his team mates for lacking heart after Sunday's stuttering 1-0 win over Malta in their final warm-up game.

[AssKissinger]

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fblwc2006jpninjurieskajisant&prov=afp&type=lgns

[SIZE="5"]Japan in right trouble as wingers join injury list [/SIZE]

AFP
June 5, 2006
TOKYO (AFP) - Brazilian-born left winger Alessandro "Alex" Santos has joined fellow right winger, Akira Kaji, on Japan's injury list ahead of their World Cup opener against Australia on June 12.

"I might have sprained my left ankle lightly," 28-year-old Santos told Japanese reporters after the team's lacklustre 1-0 win over minnows Malta in Dusseldorf on Sunday, in Japan's final warm-up match.

[canman]

First off, I don't like to hear that anybody was hurt, but in my opinion this is only good news for Japan. With the rough and tough style of play that both Australia and Croatia play it would have only been a matter of time before Santos got carded for one of his typically boneheaded tackles or rough play. I don't like the way he plays, don't think he belongs on the team, and can only figure that Zico likes to have another translator on the pitch.
Secondly, as much as I like Nakata, and respect his fire to win, I think he should tone things down a bit just before the world cup. If he keeps attacking the team, whether justified or not, all he will do is weaken their already fragile minds. The first attack was valuable, but now he is only causing trouble. And this is allowing Nakamura, who for some reason is the darling of this team, although he has no prior World Cup experience but Nakata has played in two, to become the defacto leader.
Nakata was right Japan played crap against Malta, but he is only one of 11 and if the rest don't care then there is not a lot he can do but hope they will play better on a bigger stage.

[Mulboyne]

This sounds like something from a bukkake porn video:

Lighter, faster, though capable of generating immense power; as the female Japanese journalist who took one full in the face from a John Terry shot yesterday can testify...

Actually from a an article about the new ball being used in the World Cup.