Japan name Zaccheroni as new coach

Alberto Zaccheroni

Japan on Monday ended a two-month global hunt by naming Italian Alberto Zaccheroni as their new national coach following their best-ever World Cup on foreign soil.

The former AC Milan and Juventus coach will be officially unveiled on Tuesday.

"The national coach has been finally decided," Japan Football Association (JFA) vice-president Kuniya Daini told reporters as he announced the appointment without giving details, including the length of the contract.

The association said it would hold a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday with the 57-year-old Zaccheroni, the sixth foreigner and first Italian to manage Japan, the three-time Asian champions.

Zaccheroni, who won the 1998-99 Serie A title with AC Milan, replaces Takeshi Okada, who guided the Samurai Blue to the World Cup last-16 in South Africa but left after the tournament.

Three foreigners - Philippe Troussier, Zico and Ivica Osim - have coached Japan after Okada led Japan to a winless World Cup debut in 1998 in his first stint as national coach.

Unable to obtain a work visa in time, Zaccheroni is expected to watch from the stands for Japan's first post-World Cup international match -- against Paraguay in Yokohama on Saturday.

It was Paraguay who sent Japan packing from South Africa after a penalty shoot-out on June 30. They face Guatemala in another home friendly in Osaka three days later.

Zaccheroni, famous for his attacking style with three forwards, has been coaching Italian sides since the age of 30 and took over struggling Juventus last January on a four-month contract. The Turin side finished the season seventh.

The Italian's first major task will be the AFC Asian Cup in January in Qatar in which Japan hope to regain the title.
Source: the-afc.com