AFC: Japan's new national soccer coach, Javier Aguirre, arrived in Tokyo on Monday

"The Japanese player has very similar characteristics to those of the Mexican player which we can exploit. We will try our best so that he plays well with the ball, we will try to attack properly so that the team is balanced and has a good defence as well and that everyone is committed to recovering possession of the ball as soon as possible," Aguirre said at a news conference in Tokyo.

 

Aguirre coached Mexico at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups and was in charge of La Liga side Espanyol last season.

 

Japan's dismal World Cup campaign ended with a 4-1 defeat by Colombia after an opening loss to Ivory Coast and a 0-0 draw with 10-man Greece.

 

Aguirre, a former midfielder nicknamed "El Vasco" (Basque) who helped Mexico reach the quarter-finals when they hosted the tournament in 1986, steered his country to the last 16 on both World Cup appearances as their coach.

 

He is looking at a basic formation of four defenders, three midfielders and three strikers but will change the formation according to the match.

 

"I think that a normal game formation is four, three, three. From then on we can perfectly play with a line of five to get the ball out, and defence can be done with a line of three and two wingbacks moving in advance or even a three, four, three," said Aguirre.

 

Aguirre is aiming to qualify Japan for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

 

Japan will play two friendlies at home in September against Uruguay and Venezuela but Aguirre's first major assignment will be when the Blue Samurais defend their Asian Cup title in Australia in January.  — Reuters