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Japan aiming for third straight Asian Cup soccer title

Bidding for a third consecutive title, and to become the first four-time continental champion, Japan enters the Asian Cup recognizing that winning again has become a lot more difficult.
Japan won the Asian Cup in 2000 by edging then defending champion Saudi Arabia 1-0 at Lebanon, and defended the title in 2004 with a 3-1 win over the host China.
With Australia joining the tournament for the first time, Japan could face a bigger challenge repeating.
It was just over a year ago that Japan lost to Australia in its first match of the 2006 World Cup, conceding three goals from the 84th minute in a 3-1 loss.
The collapse in Kaiserslautern pretty much ended Japan's hopes of advancing beyond the first round in Germany and the team bowed out after a draw with Croatia and a loss to Brazil.
But Ivica Osim, who replaced Zico as Japan coach after the World Cup, said he welcomes the addition of the Socceroos to the Asian Cup.
"I think it's good for Asian football," Osim said. "It's good for Australia because they are in a stronger group and it's good for Asian countries because they will be competing against many talented players who play in Europe."
Japan is aiming to emulate Iran's three consecutive titles from 1968.
Iran's 1972 title in Thailand was wedged between triumphs at home in 1968 -- when the tournament was still in round-robin format -- and '76.
Saudi Arabia also has three titles, it's hopes of three in a row crashing to Japan in the 1992 final. The Saudis have won three of the last six tournaments, and reached five finals.
The Japanese have dominated recent editions, winning three of the last four tournaments.
This time, Osim named a provisional 30-man roster for the tournament that includes Europe-based stars Naohiro Takahara and Shunsuke Nakamura.
Eintracht Frankfurt's Takahara scored 11 goals in the Bundesliga this season. Celtic midfielder Nakamura earned both the Scottish Player of the Year and Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year awards for his outstanding performance throughout the season.
Japan could meet Australia in the quarterfinals should either side fail to top its group.
Japan goaltender Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who was in goal for the World Cup loss to Australia, said his teammates look forward to a chance at redemption.
"We'd like to face Australia again," said Kawaguchi. "That would be a very special game for us."
Osim's team has been drawn in Group B against 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
Unlike Zico, who had a habit of predicting Japan could win just about anything, Osim prefers to keep the expectations in check.
He has criticized Japanese soccer officials for not giving domestic players enough time to prepare for the tournament.
"Japan's players are tired and the motivation is down," said Osim. "I fear they won't have the time or strength to prepare properly."
Osim also said Japan will have a tough time defending its title as other countries will be motivated to topple his team.
"Other teams in Asian football are always motivated to beat Japan," said Osim. "For political reasons or whatever, other teams always try harder to beat Japan so we have to find a way to motivate ourselves."
(AP)