Okazaki interviews, comments and pictures from the Japanese media

[Guest CityFan 06]

1 hour ago, Wolfox said:

Near SK4?

 

this lot?

 

the bloke is box office...  hysterical

 

get the chant going

 

That's them! They've been in the East Stand regularly too.

Edited 29 March 2017 by CityFan 06

[foxinsocks]

8 hours ago, kushiro said:

This was heard several times last night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN6IWSBEifI

 

 

Thus is great.... can someone sort this out.... 

Sounds like a few different sections...

[Wymsey]

Admittedly wasn't very keen on him initially, very sloppy and slow.

But he's upped his game now and possesses high-concentration and awareness now for the midfield and strikers.

[Nick]

That is quality - though some of the clapping is quite fast and sadly I don't think all of L1 will cope with that due to lack of coordination and inbreeding.

[Melbourne Fuchs]

I was thinking this earlier, but is Shinji truly one of a kind? Who on earth could replace his high energy play style that is so chaotic and yet so crucial?

[Nick]

2 minutes ago, Melbourne Fuchs said:

I was thinking this earlier, but is Shinji truly one of a kind? Who on earth could replace his high energy play style that is so chaotic and yet so crucial?

World class striker but just doesn't score goals or stay on his feet that much....

 

But World Class in nearly every other department apart from that.

 

And to us he's priceless right now oddly.

 

Footballs a weird mystery sometimes.

[kushiro]

14 hours ago, Melbourne Fuchs said:

That's brilliant!

 

Edit: Are they saying get the ball or get the goal?

It's getto go-ru (= ゲットゴール) - which - you guessed it - just means 'get a goal'. Japanese chants and football lingo generally are a wonderful pick and mix of European languages (Portugese, Italian, English, Spanish - probably more).

[StriderHiryu]

2 hours ago, Melbourne Fuchs said:

I was thinking this earlier, but is Shinji truly one of a kind? Who on earth could replace his high energy play style that is so chaotic and yet so crucial?

Yeah Shinji really is quite unique across the league. He oddly enough reminds me of Emile Heskey for England in that he doesn't score many or get assists but the team did better with him in the team. 

 

In the last couple of games when he's been subbed off his stats show that he runs an extra 1km or more than anyone else. With Shakespeare switching to a higher press, Shinji is worth his weight in gold for us. A real team player!

 

We would all love it if he could score more and stay on his feet but he's been great for us and I think finding a replacement is a very difficult task. Maybe Gylfi Sigurddson could do it as he is in the top 5 in the league for distance covered and currently the best in Europe for assists. However, barring us winning the CL I couldn't see us getting him. 

 

 

[UPinCarolina]

World Class striker who falls down and doesn't score goals.

I like that description. World Class for us. 

[kushiro]

Here's the updated list of Japan's all time top goalscorers:

 

 

The guy with 75, Kanamoto, was saying after the game on Tuesday that he wants Shinji to break his record someday. That might seem far-fetched, but maybe not when you look at the second guy on the list, the legendary Kazu Miura, who's got 55. He is still playing in the Japanese second division, aged 50! You may have seen coverage of him recently after he become the oldest goalscorer in the history of professional football, breaking Stanley Matthew's record: 

http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/12/japanese-star-kazuyoshi-miura-50-breaks-52-year-record-to-become-oldest-goalscorer-in-history-6505056/

 

By the way, here's the breakdown of Shinji's 50 international goals:

 

Right foot:   23

Left foot:     10

Head:          17

 

For comparison, these were Wayne Rooney's numbers when he reached 50 for England:

 

Right:     34

Left:         5

Head:     11

 

So while some claim that Rooney is the more well-rounded player (snigger), these stats suggest otherwise.

 

Another nice pic from the papers after Shinji's 50th. Caption? Maybe 'The Whole World Smiles With You'.

 

Shinji will be hoping that his performance against Thailand will mean he gets back his regular place in the starting line-up, even when Osako recovers from injury. Japan's next World Cup qualifier is scheduled for June 13th. Boss Halilhodzic (on the left in the picture) will be hoping the Champions League Final doesn't go to extra time.

[kushiro]

I love this. When NHK (Japanese version of BBC) covers a game, they have their own crew travel to the UK to provide an extra 'Shinji-cam'. This was at Stoke in December. Shinji and Shaqiri are warming up, and pissing themselves laughing. I'd love to know what they were saying. Something about lack of height, maybe? Because when they pass Musa, it just sets them off again.  

 

 

 

[TJB-fox]

I always say to myself we can do better than Shinji and if we want to improve he will need replacing. But I don't even think I can believe that anymore, or maybe his cheeky little face has persuaded me otherwise. Individually he is bizarrely shit but we are so much worse without him. I just don't know how you can't love him. Will go down as a cult hero here for years and years and years to come

[yuta]

皆さんお久しぶりです。yutaです。

元気してますか？

 

今年は浮き沈みがすごいシーズンですね…。

CLではLeicesterが優勝する事を祈ってますよ！

出来れば岡崎が点を取って勝ってほしいと(笑)

 

以前サッカーのカードを乗せましたが、ついに今年Leicesterが入りました！！

 

Vardyもこの通りです。かっこえぇ…

 

kushiroさんすいません…皆さんにお伝え頂ければ幸いです…。

[kushiro]

Going back to the Stoke game in December again for another little cameo from NHK's Shinji-cam.

 

Picture the scene - you've been left on the bench, and then when the boss decides to make a change he brings on not you, but a rival striker. What do you do in that situation. Do you:

 

a) Go all mardy, like Diego Costa in that famous 'throw the bib at Mourinho' incident.

b) Call over your rival at the final whistle and give him all your love for getting the crucial equaliser.

http://[/URL]

 

By the way, in the post above Yuta was asking me to pass on a message to everyone - he hopes this up and down season ends in CL triumph with Shinji on the scoresheet. Makes me think of that moment at Old Trafford in May that no-one ever mentions - when he brought down that pass on his chest and hit such a sweet volley that I still think was heading for the top corner had the United defender not got in the way. It was 1-1 at the time - it would have been the title winning goal. Don't think I'd have ever recovered from that.

[kushiro]

On ‎2017‎年‎3‎月‎29‎日 at 21:37, Ric Flair said:

is Okazaki's wife and kids back in Japan or are they in England with him?

Bit late with this reply, but here goes. I'm pretty sure his wife and two kids still live in London. They certainly did last season. Shinji used to get the train down to see them after training, especially if they had a day off the following day. He'd often travel down on the train with Mark Schwarzer. After the Man U game (May 1st last year) he was going to head down to visit them, but then he heard about the party at Vardy's house the following night so he stayed in Leicester. We know what happened next.  

 

By the way, if @Walkers could post (or pm me) the original version of the interview, I'll post an English verison, because it looks an interesting read.

[Collymore]

On 02/04/2017 at 07:48, kushiro said:

Going back to the Stoke game in December again for another little cameo from NHK's Shinji-cam.

 

Picture the scene - you've been left on the bench, and then when the boss decides to make a change he brings on not you, but a rival striker. What do you do in that situation. Do you:

 

a) Go all mardy, like Diego Costa in that famous 'throw the bib at Mourinho' incident.

b) Call over your rival at the final whistle and give him all your love for getting the crucial equaliser.

http://[/URL]

 

By the way, in the post above Yuta was asking me to pass on a message to everyone - he hopes this up and down season ends in CL triumph with Shinji on the scoresheet. Makes me think of that moment at Old Trafford in May that no-one ever mentions - when he brought down that pass on his chest and hit such a sweet volley that I still think was heading for the top corner had the United defender not got in the way. It was 1-1 at the time - it would have been the title winning goal. Don't think I'd have ever recovered from that.

Amartay equalised in that game. He's hugging what looks like Ulloa .

Edited 14 April 2017 by Collymore

[Collymore]

On 30/03/2017 at 03:24, kushiro said:

Here's the updated list of Japan's all time top goalscorers:

 

 

The guy with 75, Kanamoto, was saying after the game on Tuesday that he wants Shinji to break his record someday. That might seem far-fetched, but maybe not when you look at the second guy on the list, the legendary Kazu Miura, who's got 55. He is still playing in the Japanese second division, aged 50! You may have seen coverage of him recently after he become the oldest goalscorer in the history of professional football, breaking Stanley Matthew's record: 

http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/12/japanese-star-kazuyoshi-miura-50-breaks-52-year-record-to-become-oldest-goalscorer-in-history-6505056/

 

By the way, here's the breakdown of Shinji's 50 international goals:

 

Right foot:   23

Left foot:     10

Head:          17

 

For comparison, these were Wayne Rooney's numbers when he reached 50 for England:

 

Right:     34

Left:         5

Head:     11

 

So while some claim that Rooney is the more well-rounded player (snigger), these stats suggest otherwise.

 

Another nice pic from the papers after Shinji's 50th. Caption? Maybe 'The Whole World Smiles With You'.

 

Shinji will be hoping that his performance against Thailand will mean he gets back his regular place in the starting line-up, even when Osako recovers from injury. Japan's next World Cup qualifier is scheduled for June 13th. Boss Halilhodzic (on the left in the picture) will be hoping the Champions League Final doesn't go to extra time.

Why do some players in that list have red stars and others don't? 

 

edit - because they're still playing I think...

Edited 14 April 2017 by Collymore

[kushiro]

Just now, Collymore said:

Why do some players in that list have red stars and others don't?

Still playing  - including the 50 year old Kazu!  (And thanks for the Stoke correction. Yep - Ulloa got the first goal not the equaliser)

[MC Prussian]

13 minutes ago, kushiro said:

Still playing  - including the 50 year old Kazu!  (And thanks for the Stoke correction. Yep - Ulloa got the first goal not the equaliser)

Who's No. 4 on that list?

 

EDIT: Just found him - Hiromi Hara.

Edited 14 April 2017 by MC Prussian

[kushiro]

2 minutes ago, MC Prussian said:

Who's No. 4 on that list?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_national_football_team#Records

[Collymore]

43 minutes ago, kushiro said:

Still playing  - including the 50 year old Kazu!  (And thanks for the Stoke correction. Yep - Ulloa got the first goal not the equaliser)

I just watched him on Youtube. I hope I look that healthy and move as well as him when I'm 50!

[Collymore]

47 minutes ago, kushiro said:

Still playing  - including the 50 year old Kazu!  (And thanks for the Stoke correction. Yep - Ulloa got the first goal not the equaliser)

Are there a lot of old player playing in the J league? when I say old, I mean 40+?

 

You're deemed "old" in the Premier League these days when you hit 30 and it's becoming rarer seeing players playing much past 35, this is probably because of the frantic pace of the game where the emphasis is becoming more on athleticism rather than skill and technique. In Sere A for example, players can play well into their late 30s early 40s without a problem as the game is so much more laboured. 

 

I wonder if it's the diet, way of life or just pace of the game allows for it in Japan? We eat a lot of processed foods in the West and alcohol is ingrained into our culture. I presume this would be different in Japan? 

[kushiro]

1 minute ago, Collymore said:

Are there a lot of old player playing in the J league? when I say old, I mean 40+?

 

You're deemed "old" in the Premier League these days when you hit 30 and it's becoming rarer seeing players playing much past 35, this is probably because of the frantic pace of the game where the emphasis is becoming more on athleticism rather than skill and technique. In Sere A for example, players can play well into their late 30s early 40s without a problem as the game is so much more laboured. 

 

I wonder if it's the diet, way of life or just pace of the game allows for it in Japan? We eat a lot of processed foods in the West and alcohol is ingrained into our culture. I presume this would be different in Japan? 

There have been a few playing until 41 or 42, but mostly in the second and third division. This guy is one of them - Teruyoshi Ito. He scored the winning goal in possibly Japan's greatest ever result in international football - v Brazil at the 1996 Olympics. Thanks for the question - you've made me look back at this great clip - amazingly strong Brazilian team:

My 'local' club Consadole Sapporo, currently in J-1, have two 37 year old veterans you might know still playing - Shinji Ono and Junichi Inamoto. I say 'local' club because they're the nearest professional team - 300 km away. Any of you far flung foxes live further away from the nearest pro team?

 

[MC Prussian]

17 minutes ago, Collymore said:

Are there a lot of old player playing in the J league? when I say old, I mean 40+?

 

You're deemed "old" in the Premier League these days when you hit 30 and it's becoming rarer seeing players playing much past 35, this is probably because of the frantic pace of the game where the emphasis is becoming more on athleticism rather than skill and technique. In Sere A for example, players can play well into their late 30s early 40s without a problem as the game is so much more laboured. 

 

I wonder if it's the diet, way of life or just pace of the game allows for it in Japan? We eat a lot of processed foods in the West and alcohol is ingrained into our culture. I presume this would be different in Japan? 

The oldest J-League players I can find are Yukio Tsuchiya (42, Ventforet Kofu), Katsuya Ishihara (38, Ventforet Kofu), Yuji Nakazawa (39; Yokohama Marinos), Shunsuke Nakamura (38, soon to be 39; Jubilo Iwata) and Mitsuo Ogasawara (38, Kashima Antlers).

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo have about three players at age 37.

[kushiro]

Love this video of all Shinji's 50 goals for Japan. Goal number 7 (against Uzbekistan that clinched Japan's place in the 2010 World Cup) is his favourite - coz it's a typical 'dorokusai' ('reeking of mud') goal. There's quite a few against low ranked countries, but you could say the same about Rooney, who scored so many of his 50 against the likes of Andorra, San Marino and Scotland. Plus, unlike Rooney, Shinji's doesn't include any penalties. (edit - whoops!  - one penalty)

 

 

 

Edited 18 May 2017 by kushiro