"Passion'' is the story of Japan soccer
team coach Philippe Troussier, his struggle to make it as a player and manager
and his travels around France, Africa
and Japan. In the book, Troussier also
details his philosophy and thinking as he
prepares for the World Cup in June.
In this, the fourth of 10 extracts from
the book, Troussier tells how the influence of Hidetoshi Nakata and the merging of players from different age groups
into a single squad caused problems
with team harmony.
* * *
The 2000 Olympic squad, boosted by the youngsters who had finished runners-up at the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria, proved to be an overwhelming power in the Asian qualifiers.