ZAC has Luck – 負けないザック

勝ち残れそうにないと言った日本がアジアカップ4度目の優勝を果たしたので、朝の3時まで盛り上がった。オーストラリアにとっては、あらかたゲームを支配しながら勝負に負けたお手本みたいな試合で、無念だったろう。とにかく日本は動きが悪いし、細かいミスが多すぎて、やはり香川の離脱が大きかった感じだ。
テレビの前で「岩政を出せ!」「李がいるだろう!」と怒鳴っていた僕としては、ザッケローニの采配はまさに沈着にして妥当。ベンゲル、オシムに続き、僕の好きな監督になりそう。控えの選手が出て来て、結果を出し続けるというのは、これまでの日本チームにはなかったことだし、監督就任以来負け知らずというのも強い運の持ち主かも知れない。


I said earlier that it was difficult for Japan to remain, but our team magically won the Asian Cup championship for the fourth time. The excitement was in its peak around 3 a.m. here! For Socceroos, the game was within their hand for the most part, but the result was against them regretfully. Japan players could not move much making too many small mistakes, and the loss of Kagawa was apparently significant.
I was shouting in front of the TV to “bring in Iwamasa!” and “replace with Lee!”, and Zaccheroni literally managed it cool and adequate. He will surely be one of my favorite managers along with Bengel and Osim. It has never been the case that the players who joined the game later as replacement continue bringing vital results in Japan national team, and the fact that Zac so far has not lost a single game since he came to Japan may indicate some kind of luck with him.