Takahara scored twice for his nationa team, Japan, in their friendly with Germany this week. Will this be the Japanese striker’s World Cup?

Takahara began his professional football career in 1998 at Japanese club Jubilo Iwata and made an immediate impact, coming off the bench to score in the opening match of the J-League season. He rapidly became a fixture in a side packed with several top players, including Dunga, who captained Brazil to victory at USA 94.

He also represented his country at several major international competitions: the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship (where Japan came second) and the Olympic Football Tournament at Sydney 2000 (where Japan made the quarter-finals). He made his senior national team debut on 13 February 2000 in an Asian Cup qualifier against Singapore and went on to score five goals in qualifying, including a hat-trick against Uzbekistan, which helped Japan to the top of their group.

A transfer to Eintracht Frankfurt has already been agreed, so Takahara can look forward to his first FIFA World Cup from a new vantage point. It goes without saying that he is highly-motivated. “The World Cup has been my dream since I was a kid. The opposition will be tough, so we must have a powerful will to win. We have a great chance to advance to the knockout stage.”

For the man the German press dubbed the ‘Sushi Bomber’, he finally has the chance to replicate the feats of Gerd Muller, the original ‘Bomber’ on German soil.

Source: WCoffsite