Japan picks Okada as coach</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> TOKYO (AFP) - The Japan Football Association said Friday it has picked Takeshi Okada, who coached Japan at their first World Cup in 1998, to return to the job to replace the ailing Ivica Osim. Okada, 51, becomes the first Japanese national to coach the team since he quit the job in 1998. He takes charge as Japan prepare for next year's campaign to win a berth in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Okada will be formally appointed by an executive board meeting on December 7 after the technical committee, which handles the national team, approved the choice. "I don't think Mr. Okada will care much about terms of the contract. Talks are under way with him," Takeshi Ono, the committee's director, told reporters. Ono has been entrusted by the association president, Saburo Kawabuchi, to find Osim's successor. Kawabuchi told reporters on Thursday, "I thought there would be no one else but Okada to take the job. I think he is the most appropriate choice." Bosnian Osim, 66, who led the former Yugoslavia to the 1990 World Cup quarter-finals, suffered a serious stroke on November 16 and is only now emerging from a coma. Osim, a fatherly figure with a penchant for gruff aphorisms, had launched a drive to "Japanise" the team by focusing on their strengths -- agility and collective unity. Under Osim, Japan have won 13 matches, lost five and drawn two. But they failed to win a third straight Asian Cup in July. Osim's predecessor, Brazilian legend Zico, was criticised for trying to adapt a Latin American style of football to Japan. Zico stepped down after Japan's winless exit from last year's World Cup in Germany. Okada was first appointed Japan's coach in 1997 during the final Asian qualifiers for the World Cup in France, succeeding Shu Kamo who was fired due to mediocre results. Despite limited experience at the time, Okada developed a reputation for being able to take tough decisions and sideline senior players if necessary. He quit after Japan were ousted from the 1998 World Cup with no wins and three losses, and was replaced by Frenchman Philippe Troussier. After coaching the national team, Okada managed Consadole Sapporo in the J-League second division in 1999. It took him only one year to lead his club to promotion to the top flight. Okada then moved to the Yokohama F Marinos, winning two championships before he stepped down last year. He is currently the Japan Football Association's special envoy for environmental conservation.</div></p>
