Nakata Retires

After the Japan v Brazil match, Hidetoshi Nakata lay on the pitch for ten minutes. From what I hear, the Japanese press have been worried that this was a bad omen. Today Nakata announced on his website that he is going to retire from football. Not just international footy, but domestic too. (his website isn't loading at the moment, probably as every footy fan in Japan is probably trying to access it at the same time. try these news sites: Lancashire Newspapers, ESPN, Google News.

I think it's a shame. I haven't really seen what impact he had a Bolton, but he was one of the better players for the Japan national side. Perhaps the new Japan national coach can have a word and presuade him to come back.