World Cup semi-final miracle 2002 Korea was the only one in Japan, but Japan's quarter-final? Realistic goal of the semifinals. Confidence of an Italian master's confidant

Aug 04, 2025

The E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) match between South Korea and Japan at Yongin Mir Stadium in Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 15th. Japan won the championship with a 1-0 victory. Director Moriyasu is holding the trophy at the awards ceremony. Yongin = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.15/

Did Japanese soccer really become a team that can reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Gianpaolo Colauti, who worked as a technical assistant under Alberto Zaccheroni, who led Japanese soccer in the past, had an interview with Japanese media Football Zone on the 3rd. Looking back on his time as coach of Zacquerotti in the past, Zanpaolo talked about how he currently evaluates Japanese soccer.

Italian coach Zaccheroni took the helm of the Japanese national team in 2010. It was the landing of Zaccheroni, who led Italy's top Serie A clubs such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, and Udinese, but Japan was skeptical at the time. However, Zaccheroni has developed Japanese soccer into an attractive one.

Photo = Japanese Football Association

Immediately after taking office, Japan won the 2011 Qatar Asian Cup and ranked at the top of Asia. He also led Japan to its first East Asian Cup championship. However, he resigned after failing to advance to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup.

Looking back at the time, Zanpaolo said, `Certainly, the Japanese national team led by Zaccheroni was special somewhere. He made a tangible result, including a friendly match against Argentina in his debut and an Asian Cup championship right away. Thanks to those results, he immediately became a beloved figure of players, associations, and supporters. At first, there were some people who looked anxiously because they were 'Italian directors', and it is also true that there were those who welcomed them and those who did not. But that's because I didn't know Zaccheroni. I often said, 'He's more than a Japanese coach."

Under Zaccheroni, Japan began designing future-oriented projects. He made an ultra-long-term plan to win the World Cup, not the round of 16. The Japanese Football Association, which was trying to change with coach Zaccheroni, was a perfect match.

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Gianpaolo also contributed greatly to Japanese soccer in terms of economics, such as tickets sold out and many sponsors gathered. Japan accepted him wholeheartedly because he was a coach with a great personality. Zaccheroni's time was a time when the Japanese Football Association itself tried to change, and I think the right person was there at the right time" he evaluated.

It was under coach Zaccheroni that laid the foundation for Japanese soccer to develop rapidly. Ten years later, Japan became the strongest in Asia in name and reality. Now, the World Cup round of 16 is no longer Japan's goal.

Zanpaolo is also the president of the Japan Football Association, Miyamoto Tsuneyasu, a former captain of the Japanese national team who knows how the players feel both inside and outside the stadium. At the same time, it also has the power to move the organization now. This is a big opportunity for Japan. It is a very positive thing that a person who knows the scene well stands above. I think that advancing to the quarterfinals or the semifinals at the World Cup can be expected as a realistic goal"Japan can achieve tremendous results at the World Cup."

The Asian nation's World Cup semifinal is a feat that no other country has achieved except for the Korean miracle shown in the 2002 World Cup. Can Japan really try to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.