I have decided to base my team on players who have already retired from international football as it would be tough for me to choose from those still playing. Ideally, I would have Shusaku Nishikawa in goal as I prefer passing football and his distribution – both long and short – is excellent, but that would already be breaking my own rule so I will pick Seigo Narazaki. He was always a stable performer who never really had peaks and troughs. He was just consistently solid and ready.

I want to get as many midfielders in as possible, so I am going for three at the back. The first choice is Tulio. He was not the quickest but he was tall, strong in the challenge, and a really composed passer of the ball. He was certainly quite the shouter, but his passion and leadership created a positive atmosphere for the rest of the team.

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Yuji “Bomber” Nakazawa also gets in because his partnership with Tulio was probably the strongest Japan have ever had. The pair of them generally won their aerial battles at the 2010 World Cup, and you always sensed they could get a goal too when they came forward for set pieces.

For the third defender, I perhaps ought to pick my old team-mate Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, but it has to be Masami Ihara. He played so many times (122) for the national team and he was such an intelligent player. You could just imagine him calmly controlling the game alongside the raw intensity of Tulio.

There are so many choices for midfield but I want to pick Ruy Ramos to play alongside myself. That would likely make me the focus for his anger during play, but he was such a good player to watch and he understands the game so well.

A partnership of me and Ramos at the base of midfield would be a strong foundation for our passing football. Ahead of us, the three attacking midfielders will be Shunsuke Nakamura, Hidetoshi Nakata, and “Zono” – Masakiyo Maezono. I would get into trouble if I didn’t pick Hide – when you think of world-class Japanese players, the first name is still Hidetoshi Nakata.

Maezono is our dribbler, Nakamura the technician, and Nakata can do anything. Nakamura and Maezono might not be great defensively, but Ramos and the three centre-backs can cover. I want this team to be attacking, and one that prioritises technical skill over speed or strength. There would be no long balls; I would be playing short passes to feet and trying to give the best possible service to the more offensive players in front of me.



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I did wonder about playing Nakata as a forward in order to squeeze in yet another midfielder, Hiroshi Nanami, but there are two strikers that simply cannot miss out. They are Kazuyoshi Miura and Naohiro Takahara. The latter is another player capable of doing anything. He scores goals, he works hard defensively, and he is physically strong too. In my impression, Takahara is the most talented all-round forward Japan has ever had. He is very clever, too, and adapts well to the traits of his team-mates.

“Kazu” was, for me, originally a player that I watched on television. I remember watching him in awe at the age of 13 or 14 when the J-League first started, then later on, enjoyed two years playing with him at Kyoto Sanga. He always worked incredibly hard. It was from him that I really learned what it is to be a professional – everything from his approach to training to his mental preparations for matches and his hunger for victory.

He has carried on playing past the age of 50 and he is still a really good player. He was the clear star of the national team and I remember how he would do a little stepover, score, and then celebrate with his Kazu Dance. It is fantastic that we can still watch him playing today.