Published: 01:41 AM, 27 July 2018 Last Update: 01:47 AM, 27 July 2018
Hajime Moriyasu Japan's new head coach
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu of Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima looks at his players before their Club World Cup quarter-final soccer match against TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Osaka. -File Photo
The Japanese Football Association (JFA) said on Thursday (Jul 26) that Hajime Moriyasu, coach of the men's Olympic side, is to take over at the helm of the national team. The move comes after Akira Nishino, who led Japan to the last 16 at the World Cup, stepped down from the role.
Moriyasu, who will also maintain his current assignment as the coach for Japan's under-21 team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, pledged to bring new blood to the top national side. "There will be generational changes. There will be integration of various generations of players," he told a press conference.
Former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann had been linked to the job, along with ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, but the Japan Football Association (JFA) went for a trusted insider.
Moriyasu's first task will be preparing Japan for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in January. Japan, who have won the competition a record four times, have been drawn in Group F alongside Uzbekistan, Oman and Turkmenistan.
The 49-year-old played 35 times for Japan during the 1990s, including in the 'Agony of Doha' match when they failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup following a last-minute equaliser by Iraq.
As a coach, Moriyasu guided Sanfreece Hiroshima to three J.League titles between 2012 and 2015 before resigning in 2017 following a run of poor results.
