The Japanese football federation have made Luciano Spalletti their number one choice to succeed Javier Aguirre as the coach of the national team.
Spalletti has been out of work since he was sacked by Zenit Saint Petersburg in March of last year, although he has been continually linked with the coaching position at AC Milan in the event that Filippo Inzaghi is sacked.
However, Nikkan Sports reports that the 55-year-old is now in the running for the Blue Samurai job. The Japanese have looked towards Italy in recent times with Alberto Zaccheroni leading the country to last year’s world cup and both Cesare Prandelli and Walter Mazzarri having already been linked to the vacant position with the national side.
Other candidates for the post are thought to include Spaniard José Antonio Camacho, Danish legend Michael Laudrup and Portuguese coach Paulo Bento.
