GUWAHATI: 1993 was the best time to be a football fan in Japan. The Japanese Football League (JFL) gave way to the J-League, clubs became more professional, and they were renamed after localities and communities. It was also the year when Japan, with South Korea, bid for the 2002 World Cup.
1993 was also the worst year for anyone associated with the Samurai Blues. They came within three minutes of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup. In their last qualifying match against Iraq, they were leading 2-1 with just injury time to go. That's when Jaffar Salman scored, condemning the Japanese team to the 'Agony of Doha'. Watching on, with his head buried in his hands, was Tom Byer, who had recently retired from football.
He had undertaken a youth development project to slowly transform Japan into a footballing nation. He quickly got over the 'Agony' and stayed on course to turn the fortunes of the sport in the country. The way he spread the message is so fascinating — and true — that one wants to put it through a lie-detector test.
“In 1998, I became a host for a TV show (Oha Suta) meant for children,” says Byer, who will be in India later this week to address a conference. “That programme wasn't based on football one. It was born out of the Pokemon craze. On it, I presented a technical one-point lesson. This went to households across the country for 14 years.
One of Japan's best-selling comic books (KoroKoro Komikku) also gave me two pages where I demonstrated some of the finer aspects of the game.”
He also created content through DVD and VHS videos, apart from doing nearly 2,000 events for children.
While his messages were one among many — Captain Tsubasa was incredibly popular too — Tomsan (his nickname) gradually became the face behind the reinvention of the sport in the Land of the Rising Sun. The effect his programmes had on Japan's Generation Z was evident at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium on Sunday.
They have won four of the last six Asian Cups, but they have never been high on flair. On Sunday, though, dizzying attacking triangles, running at the defense with pace, and scoring at will was the order of the day.
Japan's Class of 2017 has been hailed as the best bunch of boys in Asia in this age-group, and you can see why. There is unity, attacking verve and killer instinct. They also have a sprinkling of stardust in Takefuso Kubo, nicknamed 'Little Messi'.
Coach Yoshiro Moriyana was guarded when talking about the 16-year-old. “Kubo is good at finding space, and his determination is a big plus. But he has to improve his physical aspect. I am sure that opponents will try to mark him, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. That means other players might become free and can score.”
That's exactly what happened against Honduras. They tried to put bodies on Kubo, and Keito Nakaumara gladly accepted the gift and scored a hat-trick.
That's the other thing about the Japanese team; their efficiency, discipline and putting the team above the individual. “That is the culture created after the Second World War,” Byer says.
“Japan needed to have a government and business, and they needed to have them in the same bed. So there was close cooperation."
That cooperation was also evident among defenders, midfielders and forwards against the Los Catrachos.