Halilhodzic: It's My Job to Fix Japan's Confidence
TOKYO (FIFA) - Vahid Halilhodzic promised to repair Japan's shattered confidence and restore fragile egos as the Franco-Bosnian was unveiled as the new Blue Samurai coach.
"I was extremely honored to accept the offer to coach Japan," the 62-year-old told a news conference a few hours after arriving in Tokyo. "Japan have slipped since last year's World Cup and certain things need to improve. But they have some quality players with good technique and discipline, so I'm optimistic about getting back to winning ways."
Halilhodzic, who steered Algeria to the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil, called for patience after replacing Mexican Javier Aguirre, who was sacked last month following Japan's AFC Asian Cup flop amid allegations of match-fixing dating back to a previous tenure in Spain.
"Clearly the team is low on confidence," he said. "One or two of the players were better a few years ago than they are now. It's my job to fix this. I will talk to all the players about my philosophy and remind them of their abilities. There's a lot of hard work to be done and it will take time - please be patient."
The former Yugoslavia striker insisted he was the man for the job, despite confessing he was not a fan of sushi. "My family are more into sushi than me," he said with a brief smile before adding: "Japan have fallen to 52 in the FIFA rankings but I was in a similar situation in Algeria. In three years I took them to 17th in the world. I'm convinced I can do the same with Japan."
Japan exited Brazil 2014 with barely a whimper under Italian Alberto Zaccheroni before their Asian Cup defence ended in a quarter-final defeat to the United Arab Emirates on penalties. Halilhodzic warned that no player's place would be guaranteed under his regime. "Nobody has a right to be selected," he said.
"The door is open and the team will be picked on merit. I won't stand for negativity and I hate losing so much it makes me feel sick. I think only of winning and I am fully confident of turning things around. Obviously Japan can perform better than their current form. It's a huge responsibility but I'm optimistic of success."
"I was extremely honored to accept the offer to coach Japan," the 62-year-old told a news conference a few hours after arriving in Tokyo. "Japan have slipped since last year's World Cup and certain things need to improve. But they have some quality players with good technique and discipline, so I'm optimistic about getting back to winning ways."
Halilhodzic, who steered Algeria to the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil, called for patience after replacing Mexican Javier Aguirre, who was sacked last month following Japan's AFC Asian Cup flop amid allegations of match-fixing dating back to a previous tenure in Spain.
"Clearly the team is low on confidence," he said. "One or two of the players were better a few years ago than they are now. It's my job to fix this. I will talk to all the players about my philosophy and remind them of their abilities. There's a lot of hard work to be done and it will take time - please be patient."
The former Yugoslavia striker insisted he was the man for the job, despite confessing he was not a fan of sushi. "My family are more into sushi than me," he said with a brief smile before adding: "Japan have fallen to 52 in the FIFA rankings but I was in a similar situation in Algeria. In three years I took them to 17th in the world. I'm convinced I can do the same with Japan."
Japan exited Brazil 2014 with barely a whimper under Italian Alberto Zaccheroni before their Asian Cup defence ended in a quarter-final defeat to the United Arab Emirates on penalties. Halilhodzic warned that no player's place would be guaranteed under his regime. "Nobody has a right to be selected," he said.
"The door is open and the team will be picked on merit. I won't stand for negativity and I hate losing so much it makes me feel sick. I think only of winning and I am fully confident of turning things around. Obviously Japan can perform better than their current form. It's a huge responsibility but I'm optimistic of success."