Japan goes back to the future on Saturday night as Takeshi Okada oversees his first match back in charge of the national side with a friendly at National Stadium against Chile.
The 51-year-old coach returns to the helm after guiding Japan to its first World Cup in 1998, and although the circumstances of his second coming are far from ideal, the timing has proved grimly convenient.
Okada was called in to take over for previous incumbent Ivica Osim in December, shortly after the Bosnian suffered a stroke that convinced the Japan Football Association (JFA) he could not continue in the job. With 2010 World Cup qualification matches beginning in early February, the onus was on the JFA to act quickly and give Osim's replacement time to prepare before the new campaign began.