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Preview: Jubilo Iwata vs Suwon Samsung Confrontation between club Jubilo Iwata and Japanese national team head coach Philippe Troussier has been settled down. A compromise has been reached. Instead of six players to be called up, only three Jubilo players will play the friendly game against world champions France while the other three will defend Jubilo Iwata at Asian Champions Cup quarterfinals. "I only need defender Toshihiro Hattori, Midfielder Hiroshi Nanami, and striker Naohiro Takahara. Jubilo can take the other three to the Cup," said Troussier. Experienced attacking midfielder Masashi Nakayama, along with other stars like Toshiya Fujita and Daisuke Oku will play against South Korean champions Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Wednesday (2/21). This Jubilo team is also under the guidance of a foreign coach, Gjokica Hadzievski. Masashi Nakayama will surely be one of the stars of the tournaments that the Makassar public has been waiting for. Nakayama, along with Hidetoshi Nakata and Hiroshi Nanami, is one of the brightest Japanese players at the moment. Jubilo Iwata is perhaps the most decorated team in this tournament. Not only are they J-League multiple-times winners, they were also Asian Champions Cup winner in 1999. Suwon Samsung, on the other hand, aside from their local achievements, hasn't had too much to talk about in Asian level. Their best achievement in Asian scene is getting the second place at Asian Winners Cup in 1998. Nevertheless, the meeting between Japanese club and South Korean club is always interesting to see. Not only to prove who's the better one on the eastern side of Asia, but also to raise each other's country's reputation for the 2002 World Cup. from BolaNews Sportsline
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