Akira Nishino
Akira Nishino is the newest manager who will be appearing at this year’s World Cup. Nishino comes in to replace Vahid Halilhodzic just two months before the World Cup starts. Halilhodzic’s job had been in question for a while as his performances in World Cup qualifiers had been poor, and after he went 3 wins in 9 games, Halilhodzic was finally fired in the second week of April. Nishino comes in now with a team of faces looking for a new leader, having lost faith in the last. Nishino spent his entire senior career in Japan and was capped 12 times for Japan, scoring once. He began his managerial career in 1991 with the Japanese U-20 team, and since has coached the U-23 team and 4 Japanese clubs. He won seven major titles in his time as a club coach and is the only coach to have won four different titles with Gamba Osaka, one of the Japanese Premier league’s perennial powerhouses. Since Nishino’s team hasn’t really been seen, many are questioning whether his team has a chance. Japan will have three friendlies against Switzerland, Ghana, and Paraguay before the team plays its first game against Colombia at the World Cup. Three chances for Nishino to adjust and learn his team before he’s thrown into the deep end.
Works Cited
“Akira Nishino (Footballer)”. En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Nishino_(footballer)#Career. Accessed 28 Apr 2018.
Duerden, John. “Akira Nishino Tasked With Getting Japan Right”. ESPN.Com, 2018, http://www.espn.com/soccer/club/japan/627/blog/post/3450315/can-akira-nishino-get-japan-on-course-in-time-to-make-world-cup-impact. Accessed 28 Apr 2018.
“List Of International Matches｜Competitions｜JFA”. Jfa.Jp, http://www.jfa.jp/eng/international_match/. Accessed 28 Apr 2018.
Mckirdy, Andrew. “Japan Names Akira Nishino To Replace Vahid Halilhodzic Just Two Months Before World Cup | The Japan Times”. The Japan Times, 2018, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2018/04/09/soccer/international-soccer/vahid-halilhodzic-axed-helm-japan-soccer-team-two-months-world-cup-finals/#.WuP4OdPwZQK. Accessed 28 Apr 2018.
