The 2007 J-League All-Star game might have thrown up a few challenges for those English commentators still fond of throwing about hackneyed clichés when describing football from parts of the world other than England.

In Thailand, I watched on TV as Manchester United battled to a 2-2 draw against a Urawa side missing its Asian Cup contingent, and like anyone familiar with Japanese football, I couldn't help but laugh as guest commentator Jeremy Walker tried desperately to smooth over some of the gaffes from his co-commentator, whose identity unfortunately escaped me.

While Walker retains close links to Urawa - he penned the homepage to Urawa's English language website, it was clear that his co-commentator was more than taken aback by Japanese football, or so it seemed, as every well-placed pass or piece of decent ball control was met with a gasp of astonishment and an admission that he was "surprised by the high level of Urawa's play. Our commentator in question would have been calling for an oxygen mask if he witnessed the All-Star game, where four of the five goals were scored through headers.

The fact that only Kazuki Ganaha managed to score with his feet during the All-Star game cast my mind back to Japan's disappointing Asian Cup campaign. For all their obvious talent, Japanese players at the Asian Cup seemed unwilling to shoot. 

Long gone are the days when Japanese players were simply brushed aside by brusque defenders. Naohiro Takahara had no trouble finding the net for Eintract Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last season, while Shunsuke Nakamura shrugged off claims that he was too fragile for the Scottish Premier League to claim the Player Of The Year crown. In the J-League too, youngsters like Robert Cullen and Mike Havenaar employ a mixture of technique and physique, while the likes of Hiroshima striker Hisato Sato and veteran Kobe man Yoshito Okubo possess both the pace and the wiles to slice through opposition defences.  

All of this begs the question: why aren't the Blue Samurai raining goals in on their opposition? The first hint of an answer probably comes with the striking personnel favoured at the Asian Cup. While Takahara is undoubtedly Japan's number one striker, he turned in some lukewarm performances in South-East Asia, and when the powerful Frankfurt striker is not firing, Japan usually struggle. Lanky JEF United striker Seiichiro Maki started on occasion, but generally Gamba Osaka midfielder Yasuhito Endo started in the hole behind Takahara, when surely Hiroshima's Sato or Albirex Niigata man Kisho Yano would have been better options.

Endo, at least, is a capable sharp-shooter from long range, demonstrated by his free-kick against Vietnam. So too is Kengo Nakamura, but he seemed to defer to his more famous namesake Shunsuke every time he received the ball. Perhaps the two Nakamura's were put off by the sight of Gamba Osaka defender Akira Kaji firing the ball into the crowd with monotonous regularity with attempted crosses, while JEF United midfielder Naotake Hanyu combined an astonishing miss in the opening match against Qatar by thumping the crossbar with an unstoppable drive in the third/fourth playoff defeat to Korea Republic.

Perhaps Hanyu was put off by his inexplicable miss in the opening game, but perhaps there is also some truth to the notion that Japanese players are concerned by the loss of face brought about by a missed shot at goal. Perhaps it's a cultural thing? While I'm loathe to add to some of the ill-conceived misconceptions bandied about in regard to Asian football, there certainly seemed to be a difference in attitude between Australia - whose legion of foreign stars at times employed a shoot-on-sight policy, and Japan, whose intricate build-up play was rarely rewarded. Japan, it appeared, were a team in search of the perfect goal.

The All-Star game seemed to reinforce that notion. Plenty of intricate build-up play in midfield, plenty of intelligent runs down the flanks, plenty of crosses - four headed goals. Nevermind that Jubilo Iwata veteran Masashi Nakayama opened the scoring by heading into his own net, he made up for that goal by scoring with a header at the other end later in the match. Indeed the other goalscorers arguably underlined Japan's goal-scoring problems at the Asian Cup - Hisato Sato, Kazuki Ganaha and Yoshito Okubo were all mentioned as potential Asian Cup players, yet only the free-scoring Sato made the squad, and he was used sparingly as a substitute.    

The current top scorers in the J-League make for telling reading. The top three goal-scorers are all Brazilian, Sato and Okubo are locked on nine goals with yet more Brazilians in Bare and Juninho, Norwegian Frode Johnsen continues to find the net for Nagoya, while Shimizu S-Pulse place most of their faith in Korean striker Cho Jae-Jin.

I once watched FC Tokyo spend at least half an hour on long-range shooting practice, before Norio Suzuki and Yuta Baba scored with two stupendous long-range strikes at Nihondaira Stadium. For all their intelligent movement and intricate build-up play in midfield, perhaps some good old fashioned shooting practice is also in order for Japan, if they are to ultimately make a greater mark on the international scene.

Japan's recent 3-2 loss to Saudi Arabia in their absorbing Asian Cup semi-final in Hanoi smacked of a team that had no Plan B. Plan A, of course, had been to beat Australia and avenge what had been a humiliating loss to The Socceroos at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Once that mission had been accomplished, Japan looked a team bereft of inspiration.

Saudi Arabia threw everything but the kitchen sink at the two-time defending champions and in the end goals from Yasser Al Qahtani and a double to Malek Maaz were enough to see off the Japanese, who equalised twice through defenders Yuji Nakazawa and Yuki Abe.

The latter celebrated his goal as though it was some kind of catharsis. Well may it have been, since it was Abe who looked the weakest link in Japan's back line. His hesitant defending caused constant panic in the Japan defence, and against Saudi Arabia the finger of blame could surely be pointed at Abe for at least one of the goals. Yet the finger of blame will surely be pointed at coach Ivica Osim instead, who insisted on playing his former protege at JEF United out of position, while leaving Urawa Reds' experienced central defender Keisuke Tsuboi on the bench.

The issue of JEF United players in the Japan squad will no doubt rear its ugly head again, and although substitute Naotake Hanyu smacked the crossbar with a thunderous strike late in the match, the performances of Hanyu, Maki, Mizuno and Yamagishi in this tournament will surely draw further scrutiny in the post-mortem to this defeat.  

So Japan trudge home failing to claim the third straight Asian Cup crown that they claimed they desired. Like Australia before them, they now experience the sting of unfulfilled ambition, but one can't help but wonder if it wasn't that quarter-final victory over Australia that took the wind out of Japan's sails and ultimately saw them blown off course by a proud Saudi outfit.

The performance of Sydney FC defender Mark Milligan, and to a lesser extent team-mate David Carney in Australia's 4-0 win over Thailand at the Asian Cup, has presented Australia coach Graham Arnold with somewhat of a quandry ahead of Australia's Asian Cup quarter-final clash with Japan.

West Ham defender Lucas Neill - who has endured a miserable tournament so far, returns from suspension, posing the question of who will partner Neill in defence - Milligan, or 1.FC Nürnberg stopper Michael Beauchamp.

Beauchamp has usurped Leicester City man Patrick Kisnorbo in the central defensive pecking order for Australia, although Beauchamp has at times looked shaky in an Australia jersey. He memorably came off the bench in the last minute of a friendly against Paraguay in Brisbane, and then promptly scored an equalising own goal, to send the crowd of 50,000 home in dismay.

Nevertheless Beauchamp turned in a solid performance against Thailand, even opening the scoring with his first ever goal for the national team - at the right end of the pitch, at any rate. Yet it was the performance of the small and agile Milligan that dominated the headlines.

Sydney FC coach Branko Culina has urged Milligan and Carney to consider their options in Australia, before rashly signing for one of Europe's lesser lights. Who could blame him? Culina obviously wants to keep his star players at the club, but in highlighting the fact that Milligan and Carney are both good enough to play for the national team, he has a valid argument.

Michael Beauchamp is a case in point. At Central Coast Mariners he was regarded as a defender with undoubted potential, but it took a move to the German Bundesliga for him to receive a serious look-in with the national team.

That no longer needs to be the case. Milligan and Carney's performance proves that if you are good enough, you should be in the team, regardless of where you play your club football. 

Of course one match is unlikely to be the basis of a monumental shift in attitude, but it has certainly given Australia coach Graham Arnold food for thought.

The 14th Asian Cup has kicked off amidst a blaze of spectacular football and upset results. Vietnam recorded their first ever Asian Cup finals victory, beating the United Arab Emirates in front of 40,000 fanatical fans at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi. Indonesia scored a stunning 2-1 win over a powerful Bahrain, whilst Thailand chipped in with their first ever win at the finals, beating Oman 2-0 with a clinical display of precision counter-attacking football. The so-called giants have all struggled - Japan were held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar, Australia came within a whisker of losing to Oman before a late Tim Cahill equaliser, and it was then the turn of the Qatari's to conjure a late equaliser, to snatch a 1-1 draw with a rampaging Vietnam. The football has been pulsating, the goals have been glorious, the stars are on show. So why has the world's media turned their backs on the competition?

Undoubtedly the fact that both the Copa America and the FIFA under-20 World Cup have been taking place at the same time that the Asian Cup kicked off, has not helped. Yet to read some European newspapers you would think that the only competition going on in world football is between English Premier League clubs trying to outdo each other with their next over-the-odds purchase of another mediocre B-grade star. It's not as if European football is not represented at the Asian Cup - several Iran stars ply their trade in the German Bundesliga, Celtic's Player Of The Year Shunsuke Nakamura is the star man in the Japan midfield, Oman goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi is on the books at Bolton whilst virtually the entire Australian team is cobbled together from players who ply their trade in England, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands or Turkey.

Co-hosting the event in four nations - Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia has diluted support somewhat, particularly with Thai and Malay fans having offered only lukewarm support of the tournament so far. Yet with Thailand set to clash with Australia in a match of monumental significance in the final game of Group A, Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium could be rocking to the tune of 60,000 hitherto indifferent Thai's. Likewise crowds at Indonesia's Gelara Bung Karno Stadium will only get bigger - and there were some 60,000 in attendance when Indonesia beat Bahrain, whilst Japan have the most uncomfortable-looking final matchday encounter of all, at a zealously sold-out My Dinh Stadium where they will face an exuberant Vietnam.

That high quality of football on offer makes the relative lack of interest from the European media in particular, somewhat of a shame. While European clubs fall over themselves to "exploit" Asian fans with off-season junkets to the Far East that are little more than an exercise in selling shirts, it's a pity that the cross-cultural exchange of football is not yet a two-way street.

What the hell is wrong with Tokyo Verdy? They crashed to an embarrassing 1-0 loss at home to lowly Ehime FC in J2 last weekend, when the rest of Japan was transfixed by the national team's exploits in the Kirin Cup. One look at Verdy's squad - which includes the likes of ex-Jubilo Iwata veterans Hiroshi Nanami and Toshihiro Hattori, Brazilians Ze Luis and Diego, and last season's J2 top-scorer Hulk - signed from Consadole Sapporo at the start of the season, suggested that Tokyo Verdy would have no problem challenging for promotion back to the top flight this year. Instead Verdy are currently lying in eighth place in the thirteen team Second Division, having won eight, lost eight and drawn two of their eighteen fixtures so far. Their problem seems to come in the form of coach Rui Ramos. A legend in Japanese football, Ramos was brought in as the supposed saviour of Tokyo Verdy after they were relegated from the top flight at the end of the 2005 J-League season. Ramos virtually "guaranteed" promotion at the first attempt, but after a disappointing first season in J2, the Tokyo club splashed out the yen this season in a bid to propel themselves back into J1. Yet after a series of embarrassing defeats - including a stunning 5-1 loss to bottom club Mito Hollyhock at the National Stadium in Tokyo, the club that left Kawasaki to rebrand as Tokyo Verdy in 2001 look likely to spend another season in the bottom tier of Japan's professional game.

Consadole Sapporo, on the other hand, appear set to grace the top flight again next year for the first time since 2002. They've raced out of the blocks in J2, opening up a ten point gap on nearest rivals Vegalta Sendai. The two popular northern clubs are joined in the top three by unfashionable Montedio Yamagata. While Sapporo and Sendai were expected to challenge in 2007, Yamagata's form comes as somewhat of a surprise, particularly with the likes of Cerezo Osaka, Kyoto Sanga FC and Avispa Fukuoka - who were all relegated from J1 at the end of last season, also involved in this season's title race. Cerezo Osaka must be wondering where it all went wrong. On the final day of the 2005 season Cerezo Osaka were leading the J-League going into injury time. They conceded an injury-time equaliser to FC Tokyo with virtually the last kick of the season, however, dropping down from first place to fifth in the process and handing the title to cross-town rivals Gamba Osaka. Despite signing the likes of Yoshito Okubo from Mallorca and the aforemented Hiroshi Nanami for the 2006 season, Cerezo were amazingly relegated for the second time in their history. They bounced straight back up to J1 after playing the 2002 season in the Second Division, but given that they are currently lying in tenth on the J2 table - a massive twenty-four points behind leaders Consadole Sapporo, they look unlikely to repeat that feat in 2007. 

One side effect of relegation is that clubs in J2 do not take part in the Nabisco League Cup. Speaking of the League Club, six sides booked their places for the quarter-finals in late May, joining AFC Champions League participants Kawasaki Frontale and Urawa Reds. Those sides are Gamba Osaka, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Ventforet Kofu, Kashima Antlers, FC Tokyo and Yokohama F. Marinos. Not surprisingly, the J-League keeps flogging that dead horse meaning that Gamba Osaka will take on Urawa, with the other match-up's consisting of Kawasaki Frontale vs Ventforet Kofu, Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Kashima Antlers and an intriguing match up between FC Tokyo and Yokohama F. Marinos. The latter booked their place in the quarter-finals after finishing equal on points, goals scored and conceded with Shimizu S-Pulse in their League Cup group. Yokohama went through on the basis of possessing a better head-to-head record over Shimizu.

As for Japan, they lifted the Kirin Cup after putting in two excellent performances over Montenegro and Colombia. They beat Montenegro 2-0 at Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi thanks to headers from Yokohama F. Marinos defender Yuji Nakazawa and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Naohiro Takahara, while for Montenegro Igor Burzanovic rolled a spot-kick wide in the second half. Three days later Japan turned in an even more impressive performance against Colombia, but despite overwhelming the South Americans in the second half, they failed to break the deadlock as the two teams ultimately played out a 0-0 draw. That was enough to see Japan lift the trophy, and fire a reminder to their opponents at the upcoming Asian Cup that the defending champions are not to be taken lightly in South-East Asia. "Osim's Japan" may have been misfiring in the past, but they suddenly look like rediscovering their best form - no doubt to the concern of South Korea, Saudia Arabia, Australia et. al.