EOC to vote on European Games

ROME — After years of debate, the European Games could be about to become a reality.

The European Olympic Committees was set vote on the proposal Saturday, with Baku — the capital of Azerbaijan — the sole candidate to host the multisport event in June 2015.

Other continents already have regional competitions, such as the Asian Games and Pan American Games. The biggest obstacle to a European Games has been the fact that two major sports — athletics and swimming — already have established continental competitions.

"We are the only continent without a games," EOC president Patrick Hickey said Friday. "So what are we doing that's different to anyone else? Why are people saying we shouldn't have it? There is a great interest in Europe to see European champions. So let's do it. Let's give it a go."

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Zaccheroni needs European contingent to hit ground running

Teenage kicks: Ryo Miyaichi is expected to be named in Japan's squad for next Wednesday's friendly against Azerbaijan after impressing on loan for Bolton Wanderers this season. AP

Alberto Zaccheroni may have blotted his copybook with defeats in Japan's last two competitive matches, but the national team manager will only have eyes for the here and now as he begins his preparations for the final round of World Cup qualifiers this week.

Zaccheroni on Friday names his squad for next Wednesday's warmup friendly against Azerbaijan in Shizuoka, with the Italian set to draw heavily from his Europe-based contingent ahead of next month's qualifiers against Oman, Jordan and Australia. Losses to North Korea and Uzbekistan at the end of the previous round cost Zaccheroni the unbeaten record he had held since taking over in September 2010, but with the majority of his players arriving straight from the end of the European club season, the dynamic this time will be significantly different.

Where Zaccheroni stands to gain most is with the seemingly unstoppable momentum Shinji Kagawa has picked up over the second half of the German league season. The forward was instrumental in helping Borussia Dortmund to its first-ever domestic league-and-cup double, and with Manchester United now leading a host of elite clubs competing for his signature, there could never be a better time to establish himself as Japan's undisputed key player.

Keisuke Honda was the man who filled that role until his career was interrupted by injury last year, but after returning to action with club side CSKA Moscow, the midfielder is now set for his first international appearance in over nine months. Honda will feel he has something to prove having been out of the spotlight for so long, and with the qualifiers providing the perfect shop window for a transfer to a bigger European league, the 25-year-old will be determined to make the most of the opportunity.

Zaccheroni must also decide what to do with teenage attacker Ryo Miyaichi, who was disappointed not to make his debut after being called up for the first time against Uzbekistan in February. Miyaichi's explosive early performances on loan for Bolton Wanderers tailed off slightly as the demands of the Premier League season began to take their toll, but the 19-year-old is nevertheless a rare talent who the manager must be keen to take a look at sooner rather than later.

Strikers, as always, will give the Italian more food for thought, with Tadanari Lee injured and Mike Havenaar not getting as much playing time as he would like at Vitesse Arnhem. Hisato Sato leads the J. League scoring charts with nine goals from 11 games this season, but with Zaccheroni's preferred system favoring a taller target man, a place in the squad may be the best the Sanfrecce Hiroshima player can hope for.

Zaccheroni will, then, be looking for answers in Wednesday's friendly, and with his team having been in cold storage for almost three months since losing to Uzbekistan, it is impossible to predict how smoothly it will function. Intense concentration on the final stages of the European club season has consumed attention during that time, but with a strong start to the World Cup qualifiers imperative, the manager must make sure focus shifts quickly back to the international arena.

There is little Zaccheroni does not already know about his players' capabilities, but where their form, fitness and ability to come together as a team currently stand are the factors that will make the difference.

If everything is in working order, an early claim on a ticket to Brazil is there for the taking.

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Plushenko second after short program at European C'ships

SHEFFIELD, England — Evgeni Plushenko got upstaged by his own training partner.

Artur Gachinski snatched the lead from the 2006 Olympic champion at the European Figure Skating Championships Thursday after Plushenko opted not to do a quadruple jump in the short program.

Gachinski completed a quad and he finished with 84.80 points, a mere 0.09 points ahead of Plushenko. Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic, the 2008 European champion, was third (81.14 points), just ahead of emerging star Javier Fernandez of Spain (80.11).

"I'm pleased with the performance considering the circumstances. A program without a quad was like a trip into the past," said Plushenko, who returned to competition last month for the first time since 2010.

The three-time world champion has a long history of knee and back injuries, and he decided to start his program with a triple lutz rather than the quad so as not to aggravate them.

"When I do the quad toe, I need three or four minutes to recover from the pain," Plushenko said. "Therefore we decided not to do the quad today. It was either doing a program without the quad or not competing, and I want to finish this competition."

Still, it speaks volumes that Plushenko is in contention for his seventh European title without even trying that hardest of jumps in his showy routine, set to the emotional "Storm" by Yanni. A master at thrilling audiences, Plushenko hasn't lost the art of playing the showman.

Enticing the judges by circling in front of them before his routine, the triple world champion was all smiles as he gave a performance full of energy and expression. At one point, he aimed a kick in front of a TV camera at the end of the rink, with his mouth wide open.

His jumps were largely spot on, too, with a triple axel particularly impressing the judges.

At 18, Gachinski is 11 years younger than Plushenko. He has drawn comparisons to Plushenko because of his eye-catching shock of blonde hair and also training with Alexei Mishin, Plushenko's longtime coach. He showed Thursday he is a worthy successor to Plushenko. He was the only skater among the top men to do a clean quad, which is a must-have jump for male competitors these days.

Not only did the teenager score 15.83 from his dazzling opening quad toe-triple toe combination, the bronze medalist at last year's world championships received the highest levels for his spins.

Defending champion Florent Amodio of France, who is fourth with 78.48 points, wobbled after a quad salchow.

SAN JOSE CALIFORNIA — Agnes Zawadzki sure knows how to shake things up.

The U.S. junior champ only two years ago, Zawadzki outskated not one, not two, but three former winners Thursday night to claim the short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

One of the few women to skate cleanly, her sultry routine to a blues medley earned her 66.24 points and put her three points ahead of defending champion Alissa Czisny going into the free skate Saturday. Ashley Wagner was third.

Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 U.S. champ, was fifth after botching her opening jump. Rachael Flatt, the 2010 winner, was way down in ninth after a lackluster performance in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd.

"I'm really excited," Zawadzki said, still grinning 15 minutes after she got off the ice. "Everything's finally clicked."

Earlier Thursday, Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker took a big lead in the pairs competition, winning the short program by more than four points.

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Strikers looking to blaze new goal trail in European leagues

Ryoichi Maeda will be disappointed that his proposed move to West Ham United broke down last weekend, but the growing overseas interest in Japanese strikers is nevertheless an encouraging sign for the national team.

Jubilo Iwata forward Maeda failed to win a deal with West Ham after spending three days training with the London club, but fellow national team strikers Tadanari Lee and Mike Havenaar have both left the J. League for European teams this winter. Lee joined English Championship side Southampton while Havenaar signed with Dutch first-division outfit Vitesse Arnhem, and although both clubs are hardly among the continent's elite, the transfers are far from insignificant given Japan's dismal record in producing strikers capable of making their mark abroad.

From Akinori Nishizawa's brief stint at Bolton Wanderers to Masashi Oguro's struggles in Italy with Torino, the list of failures is extensive. Naohiro Takahara could be considered the exception after his goals earned him the nickname "Sushi Bomber" during five years in Germany with Hamburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, but even he did not enjoy the same level of success as midfielders like Hidetoshi Nakata and Shunsuke Nakamura.

That distinction between provider and finisher highlights the traditional strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese game. Skillful midfielders with the technical ability to set up chances have never been hard to come by, but strikers who can be relied on to put the ball in the back of the net have always been in shorter supply.

In demand: Tadanari Lee (right) has left Sanfrecce Hiroshima to join English Championship side Southampton in what has been a busy winter for Japanese strikers. KYODO

The national team has had to shoulder the burden over the years, with former manager Takeshi Okada so unwilling to place his trust in a recognized forward at the 2010 World Cup that he fielded an attacking midfielder, Keisuke Honda, as the focal point of the attack. Maeda, Lee and Havenaar have all been given a chance in current manager Alberto Zaccheroni's team, but as yet no one has been able to make the position his own.

All three, however, certainly have the talent to do so. Lee has improved immensely since leaving Kashiwa Reysol for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2009, while Havenaar also impressed last year by scoring 17 goals and making his international debut while playing for a Ventforet Kofu side headed for relegation.

West Ham fans will miss out on the chance to enjoy Maeda's refined touch and intelligent movement, but he remains an outstanding player and it is no surprise that he showed up on the Londoners' radar in the first place.

Of course it is not only the individual qualities of the strikers in question that has made them such an attractive proposition for European clubs. The J. League still remains a rich hunting ground for cheap talent, and when 26-year-olds with international experience like Lee are among the bargains on offer, who can blame them?

But a change in perception has also aided the prospects of Japanese strikers abroad. Where once Asian forwards were considered too small physically to hold their own, a succession of players from Takahara to Sunderland's 187-cm South Korean Ji Dong Won have helped to explode that myth.

After years of doubt, Japanese strikers have earned the chance to prove themselves overseas. Now it is up to Lee and Havenaar to make the most of that opportunity.

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