THE VITALS:

Team: Japan

Brand: Adidas

Era: 2002-03 (Used for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This gem of a shirt still remains in excellent condition as it approaches its 20^th birthday! The material bares very little sign of wear and as this is one of the authentic replicas; this edition features an embroidered crest and Adidas crest – both of which are in excellent regard also.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Small

Pit to Pit Measurement: 18.5 inches

Shirt Length: 26.5 inches

Made by Adidas in their ‘ClimaLite’ range of shirts which they introduced in 2002; this shirt defies the norm of the era in that it is a true to form size small shirt!

DESCRIPTION: 

Adidas’ 3^rd home shirt for Japan would be a special one for the proud nation as this would be the shirt worn as they co-hosted the World Cup in 2002! After the previous editions featured white prominently and thick collars; this strip was almost exclusively a deep shade of blue with a deep v-neck collar accompanied by minimal red piping. While the Dual-Layer edition of this shirt creates a 2-tone effect with the main body of the shirt almost shining; the official replica edition however maintains the same shade of blue across the entirety of the shirt. The other difference is that the Adidas logo and club crest were printed on, whereas this edition features the embroidered version of the applications. This shirts first appearance at the 2002 FIFA World Cup on 09/06/02 when Japan defeated Russia 1-0 in front of over 66,000 fans at the International Stadium Yokohama in what was the nation’s first ever victory at a World Cup Finals, and would be the last home shirt to worn by legendary Blue Samurai – Masashi Nakayama, Yutaka Akita and Hiroaki Morishima!

THE SEASON(S): 

After a fantastic 2001 that featured the legendary run to the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup; the countdown began in earnest in 2002 as the nation prepared for the historic co-hosting of the World Cup in June!

Philippe Troussier’s ‘Blue Samurai’ would continue preparations in March with a pair of friendlies against Ukraine and Poland; winning both fixtures by 1-0 and 2-0 respectively. From April 17^th, the national side would enjoy 4 more friendlies ahead of their World Cup curtain raiser against Belgium on June 4^th. Performances were mixed as they defeated Slovakia 1-0, held to draws by Costa Rica and Honduras, and were beaten comprehensively by Norway – 3-0.

55,256 fans packed into the Saitama Super Arena on June 6^th as Japan hosted Belgium to kick off Group H at the World Cup. A frantic second half would see all 4 goals scored in a thrilling 2-2 draw. 3 days later, Japan won their first ever game at a FIFA World Cup Finals when they defeated Russia 1-0! In their final game of the group in Osaka on June 14^th; Japan would earn a 1^st place berth when they defeated Tunisia 2-0! Sadly for the ‘Samurai Blue’, their adventure would end in the Round of 16, when they were beaten 1-0 by Turkey in Rifu on June 18^th.

Philippe Troussier would step down as manager having led Japan to their best ever finish at a World Cup and he would be replaced Brazilian legend – Zico, in what was his first ever assignment as a manager. He would oversee Japan’s last two games of the year in the Kirin Challenge Cup where they drew 1-1 with Jamaica and then lost 2-0 to Argentina in the final game of the year.

A minimum of 16 games lay in wait for Japan in 2003 with the Confederations Cup in France to look forward to in the summer. Zico wouldn’t have to wait long for his first win in charge of the national team when Japan defeated South Korea 1-0 on April 16^th. A month later, the two rival nations would rematch in Tokyo, where South Korea returned the favour with a 1-0 win of their own. Japan would battle in the Kirin Cup against Argentina and Paraguay before they travelled to France for the Confederations Cup; and they would be beaten 4-1 by Argentina, before drawing 0-0 with Paraguay on June 11^th.

They would kick off their Confederations Cup adventure with an all-AFC affair with New Zealand at the Stade de France on June 18^th. They would make a statement with a 3-0 win, however, in a rematch of the 2001 Final against France on June 20^th, they would again fall just short of a shock win when they were beaten 2-1 in Saint-Etienne. In the qualification decider versus Colombia, they would be defeated 1-0 to condemn them to a Group Stage exit just 24 months after reaching the final of the competition on home soil.

The national team would reunite two months later and defeated Nigeria 3-0, however, Senegal would come away from Nigata with a 1-0 win on September 18^th. In spite of what was a disappointing year at the 3^rd quarter; Japan would enjoy a fantastic end to 2003 as they went unbeaten in their remaining 6 fixtures – claiming wins over Tunisia, China and Hong Kong!

The notable players that season(s) were:

Yuchiro Nagai, Naohiro Takahara, Yoshito Okubo, Akinori Nishizawa, Masashi Nakayama, Takayuki Suzuki, Atsushi Yanagisawa, Hiroaki Morishima, Shunsuke Nakamura, Mitsuo Ogasawara, Shinji Ono, Kazuyuki Toda, Yasuhito Endō, Hidetoshi Nakata, Toshihiro Hattori, Junichi Inamoto, Kōji Nakata, Daisuke Oku, Alex, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Yutaka Akita, Naoki Matsuda, Ryuzo Morioka, Toshihiro Hattori, Akira Narahashi, Keisuke Tsuboi, Seigo Narazaki, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi