The coming J. League season will be a voyage into the unknown for Machida Zelvia, but the newly promoted second-division side couldn't wish for a more experienced hand on the tiller than manager Osvaldo Ardiles.
Machida lost 2-0 to Ehime FC on Sunday to begin its first campaign as a J. League club, joining J2 after meeting membership requirements and finishing third in the Japan Football League last season.
On the sidelines is Ardiles, the genial Argentine who won the World Cup as a player in 1978 and whose coaching resume includes stints at Shimizu S-Pulse, Yokohama F. Marinos and Tokyo Verdy. Ardiles has lost none of the easy charm that made him such a cult hero in England during his 10 years at Tottenham Hotspur, and the 59-year-old is hoping to sprinkle a little of that stardust on Zelvia.