ZCZC
BSP-17
FOOTBALL-JAPAN-COACH
Nishino’s spell as head coach of Japan over as national team return from
World Cup
TOKYO, July 5, 2018, (BSS/XINHUA) – The Japan Football Association (JFA)
announced Thursday that head coach Akira Nishino will not continue in his
position after his contract ends in July and his successor will be announced
before the end of the month.
The news of Nishino’s contract not being renewed came as the Japanese
national squad returned to Japan from Russia after being beaten in dramatic
fashion by Belgium in the group-of-16 knockout rounds in the World Cup.
“We the JFA will not persuade Nishino to stay on the job, as his time as
manager for the Japan national team ends,” JFA President Kozo Tashima told a
press briefing on the matter, after the team were welcomed homed by scores of
fans and media at Narita airport.
Nishino, 63, however, had won plaudits for guiding the Samurai Blue, as
underdogs, through to the knockout stages of the tournament for the first
time since 2010 when the World Cup was held in South Africa.
“I’ve coached the team with the thought that I will only do this until the
end of the World Cup. I think I’ve fulfilled my duties,” Nishino was quoted
as telling a press briefing. The former JFA technical director and Gamba
Osaka boss who took over from Vahid Halilhodzic in a shock replacement just
weeks before the World Cup kicked off, conceded that his team had only won
one game in the tournament, but said he was proud of his players.
“We were only able to win one game in the end and that signifies how hard
it is to score even one goal at the world cup. I am proud of my players for
being able to show their best at the highest level in Russia,” he said.
BSS/XINHUA/SG/MRI/1605 hrs