The new head of Taiwan’s national soccer team yesterday said he would demand that players improve their game and boost their skills through each tournament.
Kazuo Kuroda told a news conference that his agenda would begin with games in Hong Kong from Sunday as he outlined preparation and planning strategies.
The Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) yesterday officially announced Kuroda’s appointment to a one-year role with the national team, replacing countryman Toshiaki Imai, who was dismissed last month.
Photo: Jason Pan, Taipei Times
Kuroda has been in Taiwan since 2012 taking care of youth development as part of a deal with the Japanese Football Association.
“Kuroda has helped to develop Taiwan’s youth soccer program and we have seen good results,” CTFA general-secretary Chen Wei-jen said. “He has a wealth of soccer knowledge and experience. He is highly respected by all coaches and players. Everyone looks up to him.”
Kuroda said that the governing body for soccer in the nation had made several approaches for him to take the helm of the national squad, but he had turned them all down.
“Later on, I thought it over after sensing the strong desire expressed by the CTFA,” he said “I also received lots of help from many Taiwanese, so to express my gratitude, I agreed to take the job.”
He said it was important that the CTFA continue the youth develop programs he set up without interruption so grassroots soccer would improve.
Kuroda said he plans to “built up a Taiwan national squad, in which players can showcase their talents.”
“I want them to be united as a team and they should interact and move around as a unit of 11,” he said.
The veteran Japanese coach said he would like to see players put on performances while having fun, allowing spectators to enjoy attractive soccer.”
However, “if the opposition is strong, it can be difficult to achieve that goal,” he added.
Kuroda is to lead the team to Hong Kong today for Round 2 of qualification for next year’s East Asian Cup.
Taiwan’s first opponents are powerhouses North Korea on Sunday at the Mong Kok Stadium.
They face the hosts on Wednesday next week before playing Guam on Saturday.
The women’s national team is also playing Round 2 qualifiers.
Women’s team coach Masayuki Nagira said they went to Japan last month, playing seven matches against local teams.
He said they tried different formations and gained valuable experience in his homeland.
“I wanted to build up the players’ physical conditioning to minimize mistakes that have allowed oppositions to score late in games and steal wins,” Nagira said. “The team are in good shape, but they are not 100 percent yet. Still, we expect good results from this tournament.”
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS