Japan coach Ivica Osim’s increasingly bizarre behaviour reduced the team’s interpreter to tears after the holders were held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar in their Asian Cup opener.
The 66-year-old Bosnian flew into a rage and blasted his players as “amateurs” in a tirade his official interpreter Zen Chida was unable to translate as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Osim, who led Yugoslavia to the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup, has shown distinct signs of a siege mentality in the build-up to the Asian Cup after being asked about his future should Japan fail to reach the last four of the tournament.
Japan gave away a late equaliser in their opening Group B game in Hanoi, sparking a furious reaction from Osim.
“He was in a rage,” Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura said with a wry grin. “He called us amateurs. We need to pick ourselves up in a hurry.”
Alastair Himmer is covering Japan for Reuters at the Asian Cup
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I like the sound of this osim dude. didn’t he announce the japan squad in the middle of the night as well?
- Posted by Rafa