Soccer-Eccentric Osim picks 12-man squad for Japan friendly

By Alastair Himmer

TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Eccentric Japan coach Ivica Osim has triggered more dismay with his decision to call up a bare-bones squad of 12 players for next week's friendly against Cameroon.

The Bosnian continued where he left off after a string of bizarre incidents at last month's Asian Cup by naming 12 players -- and not one striker -- for the Aug. 22 game in Oita.

On Wednesday, the Japanese media called Osim's latest squad selection a "new record" after he picked just 13 players for his first match in charge against Trinidad & Tobago last year.

The 66-year-old is expected to add another five or six players to his party to face Cameroon although Japanese officials were left scratching their heads after Tuesday's announcement.

"I don't think a half-baked selection is necessarily a good thing," Japan Football Association (JFA) technical director Kozo Tajima was quoted as saying.

Japan's bid for a third successive Asian Cup title came unstuck when they were beaten 3-2 in the semi-finals by Saudi Arabia.

Their lack of thrust in attack was underlined when they failed to find a way past 10-man South Korea in the third-place playoff and subsequently lost in a penalty shootout.

Osim typically took a dim view of questions about why he opted not to include a single striker in his provisional squad for next week's Cameroon game.