Japan’s men’s team was left in a spot of bother in February when Dagur Sigurdsson decided to move on as coach and take over Croatia. After almost seven years together, Japan needed to scramble and act fast to get a suitable replacement to lead the team towards Paris 2024 and that they did – recruiting Barça coach Antonio Carlos Ortega.
We meet just outside the Olympic Village on Thursday and settle down for a chat, opening with a thought that if anyone asked him in January or February what his plan for the summer was, this probably wouldn’t be on his mind.
“I didn’t think about the Olympic Games. But you know sometimes things change that will decide to live with liberty. As you know I had previous experience with Japan in 2016 and 17 and for me, the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games is unbelievable. I played twice in the Olympics but you never know if that chance will come again.”
No time to waste
Decisions had to be made quickly and compromises came with it to make this ambitious signing a reality.
“I suppose when they lost Dagur, it was a shock for them and maybe they wanted a name for this event because they lost a big name. They contacted me but as my contract is only with Barça, I had to ask for permission. it was not so easy but they agreed if I only do this while on my holidays.
“So in fact, I was not with the team in March and we only got together on 16 June. We had one full month of training but I only had 9 or 10 days to select the players. That is the only thing that I am not really satisfied with because maybe nine days is not enough but okay, we are here already, we’ve played several matches and I think we get a little bit better every day.”
The short time together makes the challenge of getting these underdogs Olympics-ready difficult enough and the added obstacles of language and a bit of shyness mean that it’s a slow process.
“Nobody expects anything of us but I want to see the spirit of my players and see them give everything. It is not easy because the communication is so slow and meetings are so long. For coaches, getting feedback is really important, asking how do you feel about this? Do you think this can work? But the players don’t give much feedback and I have to go with my translator to us about their feelings.
“But honestly, I feel really good training these players, they have a lot of respect and they try to give their best. You know, the main reason I came back is because I have good memories with my first time with the players. In fact, there are still four players who were with me at the time.”
Finding the balance
Although time is of the essence, Ortega has some ideas of how this Japan team can make life difficult for their opponents in Group A, featuring Spain, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia and Sweden.
“Of course, it’s not the level of Europe, but they are really fast and we’re trying to play some facets with this weapon.
“If you play fast and always concede goals, it’s not going to be easy, so we’re going to move a lot, we’ll be called for passive play a lot and we’re going to have to take some balls in defence as well. We’ll need continuity and at times maybe play 7vs6 to rest some players and score easy goals.”
It’s Orgeta’s first active participation at the Olympics since 2004. At Sydney 2000, he played a big role as Spain claimed bronze but it was agony four years later in Athens as they fell to Germany in a quarter-final penalty shootout and that is the memory that sticks out to this day.
“Yeah, of course, the quarter-final. We lost in seven meters and I remember that I was out for that much. I had a problem with my patella in the knee all season long, so for that match I was out and it was tough for me. You always remember something as bad but of course, the medal in Sydney was a dream for us as well.
“It’s fantastic to be here again after 20 years. You meet a lot of friends, a lot of old players and new, plus your own players with their national teams.”
“We can win in other ways”
With Ortega’s winning culture as a player and a coach, need I say more than his eight Champions League titles, taking this pack of underdogs to the big show is a different scenario.
“I am ready to lose but in the way that I want to lose. If we lose by 20 goals in every match, I am not ready for that. I am a winner and I know that we cannot win here but we can win in other ways and this is our objective.
“If we can win a match and stay in some matches, it will be a success. Nobody is waiting for us to do something as the gap between us and the rest is huge. Forget medals, forget championships, a medal for us would be to give our best and close the gap and this is the spirit we should have.”
In a classic twist of fate, Japan open their Olympic campaign on Saturday against former coach Dagur Sigurdsson and Croatia, perfect Saturday afternoon viewing at 14:00 CEST.