Former Yugoslavian coach Ivica Osim will replace Zico as coach of Japan national team.

The 65-year-old Bosnian, currently coach of Japanese club JEF United Chiba, indicated he was ready to accept a deal and said he hoped to build a team with a style suited to the Japanese players.

“I think I received this offer because of what I’ve done for Chiba and their players and it’s a wonderful thing,” Osim said a day after talks with Chiba and Japan Football Association (JFA) officials.

Osim and the JFA are expected to formally sign a contract early this month at the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup, Japanese media reports said. “Japanese people are disappointed that the team was defeated in the World Cup, but they should feel lucky just to have been able to play there at the current level,” he said. “Japan needs to know there are much stronger teams out in the world.”

Osim is under contract with Chiba until the end of January and the club has reportedly voiced its frustration to the JFA for trying to snatch him up before that date. But after two hours of negotiations late on Saturday, Osim and the JFA agreed that he would take over the helm of the national side well before then, the Sports Nippon daily reported.

“We wanted him to stay until the contract finishes, but it would drive him into a corner if we try to insist on it,” Chiba president Takahiro Yodogawa was quoted as saying by the paper. The JFA was not immediately available for comment.

Source: WCoffsite