I think they did stop pretending. The Kurogo didn't start the match and then when she came in Momii ignored her. That must have been an ego blow
I wonder how she will respond
They finally realise but its getting too late now. I hope they win against Dominican republic. If not please Nakada step down. Japan team deserve better coach. I’m so happy to see koga play and gets all those swings. And 28 points! Thats coming from someone who got injured and didnt played for few matches.
Ishikawa choked at the end but really cant take it against her when she's been the only consistent player and the last thread of their stability.
Ishikawa choked at the end but really cant take it against her when she's been the only consistent player and the last thread of their stability.
Yeah, Japan had 5 sets to win the match if that's what they would have chosen
Kumi Nakada misled everyone by saying Kurogo will be the center of offense. Noburo's theory that Kurugo will be able to repeat Nagaoka's high efficiency in attack during Rio 2016 using sheer power. What could possibly go wrong? Nakada gave her Nagaoka's number, they made her do a boy cut, they tried to give her Nagaoka's identity therefore the transformation is complete. A colossal failure in every aspect. Where was it reflected during VNL when she was behind Ishikawa? Shorter girls like Ishikawa and Hayashi revived Sakoda and Shinnabe's spirit without the need to be cloned. Kurogo added nothing special other than make people realise how useful Hayashi can be during a crisis. Okumura was also unnecessary but that's that.
fun stat. How May spike attempts by the middles for Japan through 4 matches?….86. 6 ish a set.
Total spike attempts for Japan……521. 16.5% of spike attempts go to the middles.
Yuki Ishii hitting 0%, that 20k, 20e, 19 in play.
Kurogo at 17.3% with basically 20% of spikes.
I saw some Japanese fans saying Nakada already gave up on this team the moment she chose Kurogo to be the lead ace despite all signs pointing to Koga. You can still see traces of it when Koga got injured and everyone was in panic mode. Nakada doesn't seem to have much faith in Kurogo to begin with, Aihara Noboru probably did, but Nakada not so much. She yanked her out of the game during the friendly match with China and just let her do whatever during VNL as long as she didn't get injured. It's also incomprehensible that she wouldn't utilize Ishii (her only Hisamitsu daughter) as much as possible considering she proved to be more capable than Kurogo.
Momii is listed as 177cm but she looks like she grew an inch or 2. She looks like she lost some weight and got taller.
Also it doesn't help that Kurogo always looks mad after every game, win or lose. She wasn't always this dislikable and obvious with her frustration. Like Nagaoka, she started out cheerful, mischievous and a moodmaker, both of them are now extremely withdrawn. I have an idea what changed it after 2019 but that's an entirely different matter. It's not a vibe you get from Japanese athletes in general. I think Nishida does it too but I don't follow the men's team as much however you will never ever see the likes of Yuki Ishikawa pouting. Composure has always been everything.
Yep, Nishida does it too but less often than Kurogo
momii looking like she's about to burst into tears. she does look leaner
Momii is listed as 177cm but she looks like she grew an inch or 2. She looks like she lost some weight and got taller.
Also it doesn't help that Kurogo always looks mad after every game, win or lose. She wasn't always this dislikable and obvious with her frustration. Like Nagaoka, she started out cheerful, mischievous and a moodmaker, both of them are now extremely withdrawn. I have an idea what changed it after 2019 but that's an entirely different matter. It's not a vibe you get from Japanese athletes in general. I think Nishida does it too but I don't follow the men's team as much however you will never ever see the likes of Yuki Ishikawa pouting. Composure has always been everything.
I always thought that the Japanese ladies were not as meaty as the Koreans, but here the cuts on their muscles show a lot. Even with the uniform on, I can tell that Araki's lats are super-solid (not to mention her traps).
momii looking like she's about to burst into tears. she does look leaner
In an spanish interview she had recently she said she had pressure as she was the "different" and feel everyone blame her,i think they did ,( not in NT,before)
So she need to give her best to be at pair with others
I feel like there is a shift coming. For all these years, Japan’s volleyball has always been carried by the women when we talk about internationally. But now it feels like the men are starting to take over. They might e playing their first QF in Olympic in dunno how long while the women might miss it. And then the arrival of social media darling Ran Takahashi that is performing good, and Ishiikawa and Nishida that are making wave already.
Also it doesn't help that Kurogo always looks mad after every game, win or lose. She wasn't always this dislikable and obvious with her frustration. Like Nagaoka, she started out cheerful, mischievous and a moodmaker, both of them are now extremely withdrawn. I have an idea what changed it after 2019 but that's an entirely different matter. It's not a vibe you get from Japanese athletes in general. I think Nishida does it too but I don't follow the men's team as much however you will never ever see the likes of Yuki Ishikawa pouting. Composure has always been everything.
Insecurity coupled with pressure is a lethal combination. That's what it looks like. When Nakada wasn't able to get what she wanted she just set up the team for failure by making Kurogo "The Ace"
Oh well.
I do have to say, if it's possibly gonna be that damaging I think it's best to leave labels such as ''The ACE'' out completely tbh... It's generally clear who the ACE is in any team anyway without assigning it. (Egonu Italy, Boskovic Serbia, Gabi Brazil, Eda Turkey, Kim Korea, JT USA etc.)
When it comes down to it, I agree that Koga is the real ACE here, but during a finals or semi finals do you think anyone will care who is appointed the ACE of a team, nope. The best player/scorer gets MVP and that's it.
I just hope Kurugo isn't being silently bullied by her teammates as well for not being able to be "the ACE".
Kurogo seems stressed on court. Do you guys think her deteriorating performance on court is due to this ACE issue?
Kurogo seems stressed on court. Do you guys think her deteriorating performance on court is due to this ACE issue?
It has largely to do with that since she is the face of the NT. I'm sure the pressure must be eating her up.
It has largely to do with that since she is the face of the NT. I'm sure the pressure must be eating her up.
isnt this is like her first olympic? why are they doing this to her? Poor Kurogo
isnt this is like her first olympic? why are they doing this to her? Poor Kurogo
it’s all nakada’s fault
isnt this is like her first olympic? why are they doing this to her? Poor Kurogo
It is.
Nakada chose Kurogo because she believed Kurogo's strength is comparable to that of foreign spikers as she mentioned in volleyball magazine. But Nakada has said a lot of things that doesn't really go with what's really happening.
Oh well.
I do have to say, if it's possibly gonna be that damaging I think it's best to leave labels such as ''The ACE'' out completely tbh... It's generally clear who the ACE is in any team anyway without assigning it. (Egonu Italy, Boskovic Serbia, Gabi Brazil, Eda Turkey, Kim Korea, JT USA etc.)
When it comes down to it, I agree that Koga is the real ACE here, but during a finals or semi finals do you think anyone will care who is appointed the ACE of a team, nope. The best player/scorer gets MVP and that's it.
Japan has always had an ace system because that's how their promotion works. It may not matter to the rest of the world but within Japan they heavily rely on it. It's part of the team's branding.
