For four years of his career as a manager, Alberto Zaccheroni was in charge of the Japan national team between 2010-2014.
During that time, he got to know some of the players rather well, which included Southampton’s Maya Yoshida, who is currently on loan at Sampdoria in Italy.
The Japanese centre-back was struggling to get game time under Ralph Hasenhüttl this year, and instead of biding his time, it was decided a temporary move would be sorted.
Since then, Yoshida has already endeared himself to the Sampdoria fanbase after just one game, helping them beat Hellas Verona 2-1, before Serie A was suspended because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
For Zaccheroni, this isn’t surprising, as he explained to La Repubblica in an interview on Monday.
He said: “For me, it isn’t a surprise. I discovered Maya when he was playing Holland. We went to see him and the became an unmovable starter. He’s a defender that can do both phases, defence and attack. I think Cannavaro wanted him in Dubai, and he asked me for some advice”.
Prior to his move to Southampton in 2012 for £2.5m, the now 31-year-old centre-back spent two years at VVV Venlo in Holland.
Since moving to St Mary’s, Yoshida has made 194 appearances, scoring nine goals and assisting another four.
