In the 2000/01 season, Hidetoshi Nakata won the Serie A title with Roma. The following year he moved to Parma in a deal worth a staggering €28.4 million. Parma were well-funded at the time, thanks to the sale of many of their players, including Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and French defender Thuram, both of whom were bought by Juventus.
Nakata arrived at Parma with a star-studded squad that included future Italian defensive captain Cannavaro, Ghanaian sensation Appiah, formerly of Juventus, '98 World Cup Argentinean back Almeida, '94 World Cup Italian left back Bernalivo, and Italian striker Di Vaio. Parma has also recruited power players such as legendary Brazilian goalkeeper Tafarel and Turkish striker Suk.
However, this was the year that Parma's record took a dip, mainly due to the loss of their key goalkeeper and center back. Nakata made 24 appearances during the season, scoring only one goal, and the team dropped from 4th to 10th place in the previous season. Nonetheless, Parma won the Coppa del Rey, with Nakata scoring a crucial goal in the final to help his team draw 2-2 with Juventus in the two-legged tie, eventually winning the title on away goals.
Nakata was once again the hero of the team. Without his crucial goal in the first leg, Parma might not have been able to beat Juventus. Nakata specializes in shooting from the right side of the box and has a long history with Juventus. He scored two goals against Juventus in his debut campaign, a goal and an assist to help his team win the Serie A title with a crucial draw at Roma, and a goal in the final against Juventus at Parma to win the title. Rather than being Juve's nemesis, Nakata was Juve's achievement, and the greatest moments of his career were associated with Juventus.
The season ended with the 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup kicking off.
In order to prepare for the 2002 World Cup, the Japanese soccer team made early preparations in the training system, including the creation and level of the J-League, youth training and education, etc. The Japanese team in the 2002 World Cup was regarded as a new generation of Japan, whose fighting strength was far better than that of the team in the "Miami Miracle" period. This generation of Japanese teams can be said to be the generation that has been truly developed since the creation of the J-League, and its achievements can be said to be extremely successful.
As early as 1998, Japan hired French head coach Jean-Marie Troussier, who had coached in Africa for many years and was known as the "white wizard". Troussier's tactical versatility helped Japan achieve excellent results. In addition to being the head coach of the national team, Troussier was also the head coach of Japan's U20 team, in order to take full control of the younger generation of players and adjust their form and tactics in preparation for the 2002 World Cup.
Troussier's Japan team used a 352 formation in the 2002 World Cup, boldly employing three defenders to provide ample time for players to adjust. This 352 formation was very successful for Japan, with goalkeeper Masayoshi Narazaki, defenders Huanjing Miyamoto, Naoki Matsuda, Koji Nakata, midfielders Junichi Inamoto, Hidetoshi Nakata, Kazuyuki Toda, Shinji Ono, Daisuke Ichikawa, Tomokazu Akegami, Lord Santoshi, and Kuan-Ko Morishima, and strikers Takayuki Suzuki, Atsuko Yanagisawa, Akinobu Nishizawa, and Masashi Nakayama. Unfortunately, original star striker Naota Takahara was unable to play due to venous thrombosis, and young Shunsuke Nakamura was left out due to a lack of dynamism and physical confrontation.
