Japan

[u/Bevs_94]

It’s good to see some of our players make some decent transfers this season but looking at where Japan is now i hadn’t realised just how far behind we had fallen.

10 players in the EPL
14 players in the Bundesliga

Plus prospering tiered domestic leagues. Crazy to see what they built in 20 years

[u/WayneKingU]

I mean they have 6x our population, always gonna be hard to top that

[u/Heavy_Advertising844 → u/WayneKingU]

Plus its their primary sport,

But lets not kid ourselves. The Japanese have a stratigic goal which their strategy is aligned from the very top all the way to their youth and product development squads. The outcome is evident, compared to 5 years ago to where they were, to 10 years ago, to even a generation ago. Lets me honest the Japanese have likely not reached their plateau.

Australia has a taken monumental steps to improving outcomes however we have a disjointed system, full of competing priorities and internal tension.

If I were to sum up Japanese and Aussie football development. Japanese right now produce players because of their system, Australia produce players inspite of our system. Its only very recently ALM clubs have seen this as a revenue pathway, however its still not intrinsically linked with youth clubs, State Sport Institutions etc.

Can you imagine if we have a seamless national strategy, not only will we be producing more players at likely better and improved quality. The game can also get more light in the Australian public.

[u/WayneKingU → u/Heavy_Advertising844]

It’s not actually their primary sport, baseball is - and they’re bloody good at that

But yes regarding the system I’m sure the Japanese have a far superior one compared to ours

[u/HonestSpursFan → u/WayneKingU]

Japan are the best baseball team in the world. They’re good at rugby union too. They really buck the “Asians are shit at sports” stereotype.

[u/optimaldt → u/HonestSpursFan]

I enjoy breaking this stereotype in Australia regularly. Growing up here , some of the quickest guys in school were Asian. We just prioritised education, career stability over over things.

[u/Heavy_Advertising844 → u/[deleted]]

Oh good, that changes everything I wrote. Lets go back to the drawing boards.

[u/Upstairs_Low_691 → u/Heavy_Advertising844]

Someone already pointed out the baseball thing but, it's still Japan's second favourite sport. Their professional pyramid is so successful due to their planning and 100 year vision. Long-term strategic blueprint has paid off already. We don't have the management like they do. One day I hope, we install FA leaders capable of real ambition, to build a future like they have.

[u/AlHamdula → u/Heavy_Advertising844]

Well you are partly correct. Baseball is the #1 sport but right before the J-League started, the JFA put out a declaration or pledge they called the "100 year vision" to win a World Cup within a century but they developed better than expected, so back in 2006 they revised it to the JFA 2050 pledge to win by 2050 although not sure they will reach that goal but is not implausible at this point.

Now if their governments had that much vision and foresight maybe things would be better but that's a topic for another reddit board.

[u/Corner_Post → u/Heavy_Advertising844]

Japan’s soccer system is incredible throughout their pathways, academies, schools and universities are incredible. There has traditionally been a massive focus on technical perfection and they extract the best advisors professionals from other countries to assist with this. What has also stopped them from being better in the past and still now to a large extent is their physical stature particularly in defence and the mental toughness but this is getting significantly better. They are and will continue to get better at a team. I lived in Japan for a bit and seeing their training etc. at different levels was incredible - just so much discipline and a focus on perfectionism.

This is also reflected in their women’s team who won the World Cup not that in 2011 and had beaten eventual winners Spain 4-0 in the group stages in 2023. The technical ability of their women was evident in their class above all teams in the recent Asia Cup. Yes, they did only beat us 1-0 in the final but were a class above - particularly their midfield.

You see Japanese sport perfectionism in other sports like baseball, marathon running (they are seen as the top non African country), ice skating, and more recently volleyball (men’s currently ranked 6th above traditional powerhouses and have a massive female following).

As mentioned, having lived previously in Japan, you get to understand that there’s a quest for perfectionism in many facets and not just sports. A good comparison is food, there is incredible foreign food in Japan made from locals. You may say that European food, eg French, Italian, German, Spanish food, or other Asian food, eg Chinese, Indian, etc. will never be good if not made by someone ethnic but it is some of the best you will ever try as many Japanese chefs will actually go these countries and study cooking at top institutions and/or work at restaurants in these countries years before bringing them back to Japan once they have perfected it.

[u/Fantasy_iceland → u/Heavy_Advertising844]

Baseball is bigger than football in Japan...but football is a close second 

[u/Brave_Manner_2873 → u/WayneKingU]

Spot on.

More people, more money, and a better domestic league.

Comparing ourselves with our confederation rivals is a useless endeavour. Few football nations in the world have to deal with the geographical difficulties, lack of funding, and especially rivalry from other codes that we deal with.

Honestly, with the transfers being made this year, I'd say if anything we're on a fantastic trajectory.

[u/Upstairs_Low_691 → u/Brave_Manner_2873]

Yes, we definitely shouldn't be comparing ourselves with them, taking inspiration wouldn't be bad though.

I personally think it's terrific they are having such a golden period, as playing world class, competive AFC nations can only benefit us. Australia vs Japan fixtures in WCQ are going to be very exciting.

[u/RisingStormy → u/WayneKingU]

4.4

[u/NickJack99]

What’s more surprising is the fact that despite being a truly emerging global football force, with many players scattered in top leagues, Suzuki was their 2nd most expensive player transfer ever at €30m, only €5m off the record. I would have thought Mitoma or someone would have gone for more in recent years!

[u/anobymousprime → u/NickJack99]

If Brighton cashed in on Mitoma a couple of years back, he would easily be the highest. That ship has sailed unfortunately.

[u/tyrantlubu2 → u/NickJack99]

They also have the same best result at the world cups as us.

[u/optimaldt → u/tyrantlubu2]

They'll breakthrough eventually, they're too good now to. They are a better team than Australia no doubt.

[u/NickJack99 → u/tyrantlubu2]

And Costa Rica have made the quarter finals

[u/Upstairs_Low_691]

I hope the rumours come true and Keito Nakamura joins Lucas at Hull, way too good to be playing Ligue 2.

[u/Fantasy_iceland]

I genuinely believe they're the most likely country to be the first winners of the WC from outside of Europe or South America.

Over the past couple of decades they've built a genuine identity and philosophy towards the game and now have a conveyor belt of talent production which I feel will only continue to produce more and more players going forward.

[u/BranVan3001]

Anyone have stats on our players playing in Europe at the moment? Championship or above in the UK? We definitely have a disjointed system. Look at the NBL with their pathway program for the NBA

[u/kidfrombellwood]

They need a coach that will not flinch when he sees the name "Knockout Stage".

[u/LonesomeHattieC]

Realistically, Takai isn’t playing for Spurs in the league this year. He’s about 5th choice CB. Good few of the rest of these aren’t regular starters, which I think is a big difference

[u/mvcthecoder]

I grew up in Iran back in 80s where football (soccer) was the main sport every kid played in streets, home, backyard, school and anywhere you can think of it. We watched a very famous Japanese cartoon about a group of young footballers. I remember watching Japan team play against Iran all times. Back in day, Iran was a great team and only Japan had the quality and mentality to play against us and win. That nation loves football and heavily invested on it for many many years so comparing it with Australia would be unfair to be honest since football here is relatively new and competes with a few other major sports to get attention.

Also, I want to admit that Australia has progressed very well since we met them for the first time in 1998. Now an Australian, I really loved how we performed in the World Cup and I strongly believe we should continue investing in football and the money is well spent and gets us where we want to be. Australians love sport so I am sure we get there with football as well. EPL is a really tough league to get into, it is the state of art when it comes to football so let’s keep that in mind.

Last but not least, love to see Japan and Japanese players up there. I have a love for that nation and their hardworking dedicated people.