but life in Japan is not always easy for players starting out at the Australian Institute of Sport. Bosnar, who was attracted to the Land of the Rising Sun by his former Dinamo Zagreb coach Josip Kuze, saw that Croatian tactics had been removed four months after his rule at JEF United. New coach Alex Miller was a fan of the aggressive defender, but Glaswegian failed to prevent JEF from play bazaar slipping to second place, and when the Chiba team was finally relegated in 2009, Bosnar took the chance. sent to one of his biggest rivals. Shimizu’s atmospheric ground, standing in the shadow of Mount Fuji, exploded to 20,000 seats on game days as fans shouted to watch their battles against the Kashima Antlers and Urawa Reds.

“The S-Pulse fans are great, the home games are good and a lot of fun for everyone,” Bosnar said. “I have family and friends visiting and he thinks it’s going to be shocking.” Shimizu is one of only five clubs to play in the top competition every season, but so far they have been preceded by their first J. League title.

The club is forever associated with one of the most bizarre moments in J. League history, when in 1999 he lost in a playoff championship penalty to local rival Jubile Iwata and asked English coach Steve Perryman to cry in his chair. Shimizu hopes to avoid similar pains this season, but even if the famous team loses its title, it qualifies for the AFC Champions League – a league that Bosnar considers increasingly relevant. “I think the Asian Champions League is the best thing that can happen in Asian football,” he said.