JAPAN COACH:Zico

Brazilian-born Zico replaced Philippe Troussier as Japan coach in July 2002 and, after a slow start and despite some rumors that he would quit, moved the team in the right direction. He received a rather unusual offer to play with Garforth Town, an English non-league team. He opted to remain as Japanese coach, although there have been a number of fans calling for his head. He's probably happy he did, guiding the team to the Kirin Cup and Asian Cup in 2004 and of course, to a berth in the World Cup in 2005.

Born on March 3, 1953, Zico enjoyed a marvelous career, being named one of the world's best 125 players by Pele. Zico played most of his career with Flamengo in his native country, scoring 508 goals in 731 matches. He went on to play for Udinese (Italy) and Kashima Antlers (Japan) -- becoming an icon with the latter club -- before turning to coaching with the Antlers. For all competitions, including the Brazil Masters team, Zico has scored an amazing 826 goals in 1,180 games. He also played for the Brazilian National Team (66 goals in 88 appearances) and in three World Cups (1979, 1982 and 1986). Zico has said that he will retire from coaching after the World Cup.