Waiting to see Japan's 'rough diamond' Ao Tanaka compete with Quang Hai
(Baonghean.vn) - In his first match for the Japanese national team, the Japanese U23 player scored a goal against the Australian team. Young midfielder Ao Tanaka is considered a "rough diamond" of Japanese football.
Ao Tanaka was born in 1998 but has played 4 years in J1-League for Kawasaki Frontabe, has 7 goals and is a member ofJapan Olympic Team. Ao Tanaka, who was voted young player of the year in J1-League 2019, is an important player for Frontale.
Currently playing Bundesliga 2
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| Ao Tanaka was voted young player of the year in J1-League 2019. Photo: CNN |
A relatively successful performance at Tokyo 2020 has caught the attention of Fortuna Dusseldorf, a team playing in the German second division. In early July, the member of the Japanese Olympic team at the Tokyo Olympics this summer joined the team that finished fifth in the second division last season. This is a 1-year loan contract, with an option to buy the 1.80m tall, right-footed player of Japanese football.
Currently, Ao Tanaka has been given 7 appearances by the Fortuna Dusseldorf coach, including 2 from the starting lineup. Fortuna Dusseldorf is currently ranked 12th out of 18 teams in Bundesliga 2 with 3 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses. Ao Tanaka plays on the right wing in a 4-1-4-1 formation and mainly plays attacking duties. This is the position that Quang Hai of the Vietnam national team often takes on, but the number 17's mobility is wider.
Under pressure to win,Coach Moriyasu HajimeAo Tanaka was sent onto the field from the start against the visiting team Australia, replacing his senior Asano.Moriyasu Hajimeswitched from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 4-3-3 formation to take advantage of Ao Tanaka's attacking play from the flank. It took only 8 minutes for number 17 Ao Tanaka to score the opening goal, creating momentum for the home team Japan to win 2-1 against their direct competitor.
Professional level
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Ao Tanaka scored the opening goal 1-0 against Australia. Photo: CNN |
Ao Tanaka plays quite simply but is extremely effective, right from the first touch of the ball, number 17 has several options to handle the ball, leaving the opposing defenders behind if they are not quick. If they just improve the overlapping option with their seniors Skai and Endo, Japan's right wing will be extremely dangerous. Especially in the context of Van Hau not playing, Mr. Park will have a headache when coming up with this option to cover the wing.
The match statistics show that the 23-year-old deserves to be a starter in the national team when he made 66 passes, passing the opponent 40/44 times (91%). In 90 minutes, Ao Tanaka launched 2 shots, scored 1 goal, successfully intercepted 2, and successfully launched 4/4 long passes. Sofascore gave Ao Tanaka 7.7 points and became the best player of the match (along with Australia's Ajdin), far exceeding the average score of the Japanese team of 6.91 points. Regularly facing defenders from Bundesliga 2 has helped Ao Tanaka gain experience in the game and not have a nervous mentality in his first appearance for the national team. A promise for the future of Japanese football, that is indisputable, the goals and technical statistics say it all.
After the successful debut of the Japanese team, there is no reason toCoach Moriyasu Hajimenot putting Ao Tanaka on the field from the start in the match against the Vietnam team. We will have the opportunity to see Quang Hai and Ao Tanaka, the two best young football players of the two countries at the moment, demonstrate their talents./.
