Arsène Wenger
'If Japan qualify, Okada deserves a statue'
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By Nick Teale
Arsène Wenger believes Japan's World Cup group is so tough that their manager will deserve a statue in the middle of Tokyo if they qualify for the last 16.
Takeshi Okada's side are in Group E along with Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon. As a result, Wenger feels the nation where he spent part of his managerial career could struggle in South Africa.
"I said to Okada 'if you get out of this group, they will have to build a statue of you in the middle of Tokyo'," Wenger told the Official Arsenal Magazine. "He would deserve it.
"I still follow Japanese football of course having worked there, and they qualified quite easily through the Asian section.
"But they don't have a team at the moment who I think are capable of fighting at the top. The big names from the last generation have gone - Nakata, Nakamura.
"Now it's down to people like Keisuke Honda who plays for CSKA, but there's not enough there to really say that they are going to create a surprise.
"They will behave as a team, who works for each other, but it's quite a lightweight team and they could struggle on set-pieces."
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[Monday, June 14, 2010]
