"The Japanese are disciplined, hard-working and obedient toward the team. They have speed, technique, and discipline" - Felix Magath
For many football fans, Japanese starlet Takashi Usami is not exactly a household name. While most Asian youngsters continually dream of plying their trade amongst Europe's elite in the near future, the versatile attacker has been there and done that. For a player who is only 22 years of age, the realisation of his potential no longer lingers upon the hypothetical 'if', but the imminent 'when'.
How the tables have turned.
Nowadays, there seems to be an air of expectancy when it comes to producing talented footballers for the European stage. One does not need to look any further than Yasuhiko Okudera. While many may know of him as the former president of English side Plymouth, in the eyes of Japan's footballing fraternity, Okudera was a pioneer for the local game — a Messianic figure in many respects.
Indeed, Okudera's feats most notably at FC Koln, Hertha Berlin, and Werder Bremen opened the floodgates for the continual influx of local talent on the European stage. Japanese football, for that matter, is all the better for it.
The consistency of Keisuke Honda and the meteoric rise of Shinji Kagawa at Borussia Dortmund are just two modern examples of Okudera's legacy in action.
So while in some respects the aforementioned duo continue to struggle with consistency on the pitch, it seems almost coincidental, if not fateful, that their natural successor, Usami, would be creating shockwaves back home. With each performance, the attacking phenomenon finds himself edging closer to a permanent European move.
Read the rest of my analysis on FourFourTwo
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