Eccentric Osim picks 12-man squad for Japan friendly

TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) Eccentric Japan coach Ivica Osim has triggered more dismay with his decision to call up a bare-bones squad of 12 players for next week's friendly against Cameroon.

The Bosnian continued where he left off after a string of bizarre incidents at last month's Asian Cup by naming 12 players -- and not one striker -- for the Aug. 22 game in Oita.

The Japanese media today called Osim's latest squad selection a ''new record'' after he picked just 13 players for his first match in charge against Trinidad &Tobago last year.

The 66-year-old is expected to add another five or six players to his party to face Cameroon although Japanese officials were left scratching their heads after yesterday's announcement.

''I don't think a half-baked selection is necessarily a good thing,'' Japan Football Association (JFA) technical director Kozo Tajima was quoted as saying.

Japan's bid for a third successive Asian Cup title came unstuck when they were beaten 3-2 in the semi-finals by Saudi Arabia.

Their lack of thrust in attack was underlined when they failed to find a way past 10-man South Korea in the third-place playoff and subsequently lost in a penalty shootout.

Osim typically took a dim view of questions about why he opted not to include a single striker in his provisional squad for next week's Cameroon game.

''We'll see what happens in the J-League games,'' he said, jabbing his ball-point pen at his inquisitors. ''Scoring goals is important but we have to think of other things too.'' Osim's cryptic replies have become a staple while one verbal volley he launched at his players during the Asian Cup reduced his interpreter to tears.

JFA officials were hoping they had weathered the storm but Osim's latest demonstration of his single-mindedness suggested more turbulence may lie ahead.

REUTERS BJR BD1654