DOHA (Kyodo) -- Another game, another hero for Alberto Zaccheroni's side. This time, it was Tadanari Lee.
Eleven minutes after he had come on, Lee ended a protracted stalemate of 109 minutes with a stunning left-footed volley for the lone goal of Saturday's Asian Cup final against Australia. It was the first strike of Lee's brief, two-match international career and it secured for Japan a record fourth continental championship.
"I don't think I'll ever score a more beautiful goal in my career," said Lee, who only made his Japan debut in the first-round draw with Jordan. "That I did it on this stage, in the final, makes it all the more special."
The 25-year-old Sanfrecce Hiroshima striker was completely unmarked when he hit a left-wing cross from Yuto Nagatomo past Mark Schwarzer. The shot was so well struck that even Schwarzer, widely regarded as Asia's best goalkeeper, couldn't react.
Socceroos coach Holger Osieck said his defense made a mistake, plain and simple.
"There was fatigue," said the former Urawa Reds manager, who conquered Asia at club level in 2007, when he won the Asian Champions League with the Saitama Club.
"It was the only positional mistake in the match and it was costly. It was not our regular positioning in the match."
Regardless of the defense lapse, Lee's finish was arguably the best of the competition, which will be hosted Down Under in 2015. Lee cannot remember what Zaccheroni told him when he took the pitch for Ryoichi Maeda.
"I made my move for the near post and they took the bait," Lee said. "It was a great ball from Yuto. I thought about trapping it at first, but my gut instincts told me to just go for it."
"I don't remember what he said to me," he said of the Italian coach, who remains unbeaten as Japan manager through eight games. "All I knew is that I wasn't going to mess around when I got in, and I think that mindset led to the goal.
"If I missed, I knew you would be all over me. That served as extra incentive."
The supporting actors delivered for Japan at this Asian Cup, starting with central defender Maya Yoshida in their first match against Jordan. Yoshida, who equalized in the dying minutes of that game with his maiden international goal, had all of one cap before coming to Qatar.
Yoshida was followed by Masahiko Inoha in the quarterfinals, a replacement for suspended right-back Atsuto Uchida who sent the team into the last four with his first strike for Japan in the 90th minute against the hosts.
In the semifinals, it was Hajime Hosogai and Yasuyuki Konno's turn. Neither had previously scored for the national team, but Hosogai scored Japan's second during extra time in a 2-2 draw with South Korea before Konno converted the winning penalty in the shootout.
On Saturday, opportunity knocked for Lee, and he made sure not to miss.
"I wanted to prove that this team isn't just about the first-XI players," said Lee, a South Korean descendant who was naturalized in 2007. "I haven't started yet for Japan and it's my goal from here on to become a starter for this team.
"There are a lot of people involved with this team who aren't in the spotlight and they helped me stay motivated. I had an opportunity to play with a great group of players, and we produced a great result in the end.
"(Zaccheroni) told me I was playing well and asked me to be ready at all times. I always believed I would get another chance before the tournament finished."
It was Lee's dream to play against Korea for Japan, but he saw the chance fly by him, remaining on the bench in the semis. Yet if Lee continues to perform the way he did in the final, he should have plenty of opportunities to face Korea in the not too distant future.
"Japan-Korea is a special game for me, but the final is pretty special, too," Lee said. "I was born in Japan and raised in Japan. The Korean culture is a part of me, too, but I grew up like everyone else in Japan.
"To win the Asian Cup with the Japan national team, there is no greater joy."
(Mainichi Japan) January 30, 2011