Football International Friendly: Japan vs. Argentina- Full Time Report (Part 2)
The Japanese kept on pressing in on the counter attacking football, while the Argentineans were desperate to score a goal against the Asian side. If the Japanese would win, it would be for the first time in the history of the game that this side would defeat
the South Americans.
During the second half, the Japanese changed two things round as they wanted to change the cause of the game. With Maeda already in, Shinji Kagawa went off to watch the bench while Kengo Nakamura came on for the Blue Samurais.
The Argentineans were going through a lot of problems. Early on Diego Milito and Esteban Cambiasso went off as they pulled off a muscular strain. During the 82nd minute, the attacking midfielder Mario Bolatti pulled off a muscle as well and Angel
Di Maria was the one who came on for the fellow Argentinean.
With only minutes left, the Japanese found another opportunity as it was 2 against 2 and the Argentineans were busy attacking and the Japanese came on for another counter attack. With Angel Di Maria trying to snatch the ball away from Honda, it was simply
too hard; however, with a one-on-one chance the Japanese did not capitalize and Honda only managed to find the goal keeper’s gloves.
The Japanese goalkeeper Kawashima was taken off during the 85th minute, while Hawashima was the one who came on for the “blue samurais.” This was after a year of rest that Hawashima appeared for the Japanese side and it was definitely a “moment”
to cherish for the goalkeeper.
During the 91st minute, the Argentineans won a free kick right outside the 18 yard box as a challenge on Carlos Tevez was not allowed by the referee. The free kick was taken by Lionel Messi but the ball was deflected out for a corner. The corner
was not allowed by the referee as he blew the final whistle and the South American side suffered a loss against the Japanese for the first time in the history of the game.
Despite such great tactics from the Argentineans, the newly signed Italian coach proved to be worth it and the former AC Milan manager Alberto Zaccheroni was the one who shook his hands with Sergio Baptista after his team emerged victorious on a night that
the Japanese football fans are never going to forget.
The crowd was fully covered in blue as they chanted for their team and sung the Japanese national anthem while the Italian coach was the one who was hailed as a hero in Japan. The “over impressive” start by the Argentinean coach was simply shattered to pieces
as now his future was definitely hanging by a thread. Even though Lionel Messi wanted Baptista to stay as their coach, his team lost the game against the Japanese.
To add more to Argentina’s suffering, three of the players suffered a bad injury during the match. Esteban Cambiasso, Diego Milito and Mario Bolatti were the three who had to warm the bench throughout the latter half of the match because they pulled their
muscles.
Despite such great players playing for the South American side, the Japanese proved to be well organized and emerged victorious. The match was won by Japan as they were the ones who wrote their names down in the history books as they were the ones who defeated
the Argentineans for the first time in the history of the game.
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