Japan had a heartbreaking end to the 2018 World Cup campaign after they lost their Round of 16 clash vs Belgium 3-2.
The Asian team though were in the driver’s seat for most of the game and took a shocking 2-0 lead before the half-hour mark. But as Roberto Martinez’s side shifted gears, the Japanese crumbled under pressure and eventually bowed out of the tournament.
Despite that harsh exit, plaudits have been pouring out for the Japanese side but it seems that the Blue Samurai are looking for an upgrade.
Just two months before the World Cup, the Japan Football Federation chose to sack their manager Vahid Halilhodzic after the manager allegedly failed to win the trust of the players.
So it was former Japanese midfielder Akira Nishino who took the Blue Samurai to the World Cup and came out with a decent result.
Now though, if reports are to be believed then the JFA are looking to bring in a new manager and they have turned to former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
Wenger ended his 22-year-old association with the Gunners at the end of the 2017-18 season and since then the Frenchman has been without a club.
Many believe that the manager wants to take charge of one final club before he can call it quits and it might very well be the Japanese national team.
Wenger was in Russia for the past month attending the World Cup both as a guest for FIFA and also as a pundit for French television. But many believe that his time around the former Arsenal boss had another agenda.
Reports are of the view that Arsene Wenger had a series of meeting with the members of the Japanese board in order to take up the job and the Blue Samurai are confident that they can lure in the Frenchman to Asia.
Wenger himself though is not a 100 % sure about taking charge of a national team as he said:
‘It is a question I’ve been asking myself if I should become a national team manager. A national team manager takes charge of ten games per year. In a club, you take charge of 60. My drug is the next match, so…’
Many believe that Arsene Wenger will probably take up a coaching job in Europe in order to keep himself familiar with the environment and even the JFA are aware of this hence they are reportedly also looking at former Germany boss Jurgen Klinsmann as an alternative.
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