Star performer

Japan pins World Cup hopes on Nakata

TOKYO (AP) -- More than anyone on coach Philippe Troussier's squad, playmaker Hidetoshi Nakata will be under the microscope as Japan bids to advance past the first round of the World Cup finals.

Fortunately for Japan, the Parma midfielder seems to thrive on intense pressure.

Nakata scored the first goal in Japan's recent 2-0 win over Poland and, after a slow start with Parma, is starting to make his presence felt with the Italian first division team.

Japan, which will co-host the May 31-June 30 World Cup with South Korea, will face Belgium, Russia and Tunisia in the opening round.

The team had a rough time in its World Cup debut four years ago in France, losing to Argentina, Croatia and Jamaica under coach Takeshi Okada.

Nakata was a member of that team but has come a long way since then, leaving Japan to play in Italy.

The 25-year-old wasn't an instant success at Parma. Getting off to a slow start, he was booed by the Parma fans earlier this season after coming over from AS Roma on a dlrs 26 million transfer over the summer.

He'd also had some difficulties fitting into Japan's national squad, but Troussier admits that had much to do with Japan's rigid hierarchy. Out of respect, younger Japanese players often defer to older or more famous players both on and off the pitch.

Troussier worried that Nakata's presence could actually be a burden as players began to lose their unity. Nakata would also come and go based on his commitments in Italy's Serie A and this also caused friction in the past.

In last June's Confederations Cup in Japan and South Korea -- a World Cup tuneup -- Nakata played brilliantly, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 semifinal victory over Australia that put Japan in its first final of a major FIFA tournament.

But the next day, Nakata opted to return to Roma, which had a chance to clinch the Serie A title, and he missed the Confederations Cup decider. Troussier was not impressed.

"For me, Nakata is not existing today," said the volatile Frenchman, who proudly predicted Nakata would be ineffective in his return to Roma because of the 16-hour flight to Rome.

But with his recent performance against Poland, Nakata looked more relaxed and the presence of another European star, Feyenoord's Shinji Ono, seems to have taken the some of the pressure off Japan's answer to David Beckham.

 

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