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SOUTH AFRICA 2010: Japan coach Okada under pressure from Osim, soccer chief

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has come under pressure from his predecessor Ivica Osim and the nation's soccer chief after the former Asian champions' 1-0 defeat to Bahrain in a World Cup qualifier.

Osim, who has recovered remarkably from a stroke that cost him his job in November, was meanwhile offered a position to train Japanese youth with his method focused on "running while thinking," press reports said yesterday.

The 66-year-old Bosnian and Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi met on Thursday, the day following Japan's away defeat that left the team three points behind Bahrain on the Asian Group 2 points table after two qualifiers each, the reports said.

"I agreed with Osim that you cannot win a football game unless you run while thinking," Kawabuchi told reporters after the meeting.

"There was zero running-while-thinking. He [Osim] said that I needed to give the players a harsh lecture as president," he said.

The soccer association is expected to announce Osim's new job in May, reports said.

Osim, who led the former Yugoslavia to the 1990 World Cup quarter-finals and became Japan's coach after the 2006 World Cup in Germany, also plans to observe Euro 2008 matches in Austria and Switzerland in June, the reports said.

Okada, 51, was blamed for a timidly defensive game against the Gulf side.

Japan, playing without their Europe-based stars including Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, suffered their first defeat to Bahrain in five encounters. It was also Japan's first loss in their seven matches under Okada.

Against physically superior Bahrain, Okada used three backs in a cautiously defensive system for the first time.

The coach also did not use Yasuhito Endo, who had been a playmaker and regular in the starting line-up, until the 57th minute for a "tactical reason."

Japan managed only two shots on goal in the first half.

"It was the worst match since Mr Okada took over," Endo told reporters on Thursday.

Osim, a former Strasbourg striker known for his elaborate training methods and his penchant for pithy remarks, was somewhat premonitory when he issued a statement to fans the day before the Bahrain match as he was released from hospital.

"Come over to the stadium and put a lot of pressure on the players. Tell them to run more and quicken up the speed of play," he said.
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