Moriyasu’s dual roles carries hint of Troussier era

HONG KONG: Twenty years after Philippe Troussier was tasked with moulding Japan’s footballing future, Hajime Moriyasu takes the reins of Asian’s most successful national set-up aiming to continue the country’s continental dominance.

Like Troussier before him, Moriyasu has been asked to lead both Japan’s Olympic and senior teams as the country builds towards the next World Cup, the first time a coach has been asked to double-up since the Frenchman’s departure at the end of the 2002 finals.

But while Moriyasu sets out along a path comparable to the one followed by Troussier two decades ago, the similarities between the pair are few.

Troussier arrived in Japan with an endorsement from Arsene Wenger and a reputation forged in African football.

Known as ‘The White Witch Doctor’ during a successful stint in Ivory Coast, he landed in Tokyo with a reputation for being bombastic and possessing little knowledge of the Japanese game, country or culture.

Moriyasu, by contrast, is an understated, uncontroversial character who has built his entire coaching career on home soil.

The task he has been given, though, is similar to that taken on by Troussier: to oversee a generational shift and build towards the next World Cup using the Olympic squad as the foundation for a new period of success for Japanese football.

Japan’s run to the knockout phase of the World Cup finals in Russia marked the end of the road for a number of country’s most illustrious players, with captain Makoto Hasebe and star Keisuke Honda among those calling time on their careers.

That leaves Moriyasu with the task of finding a new blend for the national side along the road to Qatar 2022.

“While I’m in charge of the full national side and the Olympic team, we need to start bridging the gap between the Olympic team and the age groups below them.

“We have to merge one generation with the next.”