Revisiting Shimizu Toshi: Runner-up at the U17 Asian Cup is not a failure

Written by Han Bing Despite falling 2-3 to Japan in the U17 Asian Cup final, Shimizu Toshi set a historic milestone for Japanese coaches managing foreign national teams—he is the first to guide a non-Japanese team to a continental final. Before him, the top achievement was by Ishii Masatada, who took Thailand to second place in the 2024 Southeast Asian Cup.

During this U17 Asian Cup campaign, Shimizu Toshi faced immense pressure. The team's consecutive losses at the start of the group stage sparked fierce criticism from media and fans. However, three straight wins later, China advanced to the final for the first time in 22 years, completely reversing public opinion. Yet the final itself once again put Shimizu under the spotlight, as a 0-3 halftime deficit drew widespread doubt about his decisions.

Debates over Shimizu's tactics and player selection may continue, but no one can deny that this represents the peak of China's U17 team in the past 21 years. Rather than focusing solely on the outcome of one match, we should pay more attention to the youth football philosophy he has instilled over two years with this national youth team and the transformation he has brought to the U17 squad.

In early 2024, former international Gao Sheng, who has been deeply involved in Chinese football's youth development, recommended Shimizu Toshi as the coach of China's U15 team. From 1991 to 1995, Gao Sheng and Shimizu were teammates at Fujitsu (the predecessor of Kawasaki Frontale). After retiring, Gao Sheng worked in Kawasaki Frontale's youth system, while Shimizu coached at Yokohama FC and Shonan Bellmare's youth academies and U18 teams. Gao Sheng was well aware of Shimizu's excellent ability to coach young players.

During his four years in Yokohama FC's youth system, Shimizu transformed the club's football school into one of Japan's top youth development institutions, producing numerous Japanese internationals across age groups. He also coached J1 League side Shonan Bellmare twice, leading them to promotion to J1 in 2012 before returning to youth development as head of Shonan Bellmare's youth academy, simultaneously managing both U15 and U18 teams. Shonan's youth setup has produced many J1 players and Japanese national team members, winning the J1 Best Youth Club award. The U15 team once reached the semifinals of the National U15 League, and the U18 team reached the quarterfinals of the U18 League twice. From 2014 to 2015, Shimizu also served as a technical advisor in the Japan Football Association's youth development department. His achievements in youth coaching place him among the elite in Japan.

When Shimizu took over, he brought along his assistant coach from Shonan Bellmare's U18 team, Ishikawa Keishi, and analyst Nikaido Yu, who had helped Kawasaki Frontale win the J1 title. He also recruited the Japanese-Brazilian goalkeeper coach Masataka Adato, who was then working at Wuhan Three Towns. Beyond language and lifestyle differences, Shimizu encountered numerous issues stemming from China's youth football system. He noted that China lacks a well-established youth league system and a weak scouting network. Some players have no club affiliation, others play only at school, and even those belonging to a team may rarely participate in national competitions, making it difficult for him to get a full picture. Additionally, the many overseas Chinese youth players add further challenges to information gathering.

Despite these obstacles, Shimizu led China's U17 team—ranked 10th and placed in the third pot for the Asian Cup draw—all the way to the final. The last time a team from outside the top two pots reached the U17 Asian Cup final was in 2018, when Tajikistan, then in the fourth pot, reached the semifinals for the first time in 12 years and finished as runners-up. Since then, Tajikistan has made consecutive quarterfinal appearances in the last two U17 Asian Cups and qualified for the U17 World Cup. Therefore, for China's U17 side, the key is not the outcome of a single final, but rather using this final as a stepping stone to secure consistent U17 World Cup qualification.

In a 2017 interview with Japanese media outlet Soccer-King, when serving as head of Shonan Bellmare's youth academy, Shimizu outlined his philosophy for developing young players. He emphasized that the most important thing for minors is to learn ball control and enjoy the joy of football. More high-quality matches abroad can rapidly improve young players' individual technique, physicality, and tactical understanding. In his view, the primary criteria for selecting players are: for attackers, goals and overall ability including dribbling, accurate crosses, and through balls; for defenders, he values the ability to quickly regain possession.

Shimizu has always stressed the importance of encouraging young players: "Pointing out a mistake to a child with poor technique is meaningless. What matters is discovering their potential and motivating them to improve. If a player has a talent for tackling, focus on developing that. The key to development is building the child's confidence." Shimizu said it takes five years to train a player; if starting at age 12, by 17 their future path becomes clearer.

China's U17 men's team had only two years under Shimizu. Last year, he led the team through 21 international matches, including the Montaigu Tournament, facing strong opponents such as France, the Netherlands, Cameroon, Mexico, as well as Asian powerhouses Saudi Arabia, Australia, Uzbekistan, Japan, and South Korea. These matches helped boost the players' confidence. Shimizu places great value on teamwork and cooperation. He uses the African wild dog as an example to illustrate the importance of collective effort. African wild dogs are renowned for their high hunting success rate, surpassing stronger lions and faster cheetahs. Their individual endurance and tenacity are remarkable, and they have clear division of labor, enabling them to hunt together. He believes goals are not the work of one person—someone wins the ball, someone passes it—that's coordination. Defense is the same: "I don't single out individual performances. Goals and conceded goals are everyone's responsibility."

Before the final, Shimizu admitted that the first two group matches placed him under great pressure, but he adhered to his principle of developing young players: continue encouraging rather than criticizing. Regarding the opening match against Indonesia, Shimizu said there was no fundamental difference from the semifinal against Australia. After the final, he explained in detail his tactical and personnel decisions, as well as the halftime adjustments. In his philosophy, he valued more the experience the players gained from the six matches, and how the final experience would impact their future football careers.

A Japanese youth coach who has worked in China for many years believes that a coach should not be judged solely on the final. In the two matches between China and Japan, the Japanese team fielded a substitute lineup first and then the starting lineup, showing a clear gap in team strength. It can be said that the gap at this age group is narrowing, but Chinese players lack match experience and mental toughness—once in trouble, their performance deteriorates. For Chinese football, reaching the final can already be considered a success. However, more important than this success is the future development of these players: who among them will still be around for the U20 Asian Cup in three years? That is what really matters.

Despite the controversy, Shimizu Toshi led China's men's national youth team to the country's second Asian runner-up finish of the year. In the congratulatory letter from the General Administration of Sport, the team's performance was highly praised, with warm congratulations and sincere regards extended to all athletes, coaches, and staff. It is believed that the General Administration of Sport and the Chinese Football Association will give an objective evaluation of Shimizu's coaching during this Asian Cup.