World Cup Advance Redeems Japan's Coach

As Japan plays out its overtime with Paraguay, we look at their trajectory.  A great Wall Street Journal article summarizes their rise from the ashes of hopelessness and dismay with the coach to a national apologetic stance:

"One month ago, Mr. Okada said he was ready to tender his resignation—and plenty of Japanese fans were demanding it. But now, as Japan heads to its first appearance in the knockout stage of the World Cup on foreign soil, the Japanese team's miraculous turnaround from scoreless losers to convincing victors in a matter of two weeks has given Mr. Okada the glow of a miracle worker.

"Twitter users created a hashtag—a phrase or word attached to a message that refers to a popular topic—called "okachan_sorry." Okachan is an endearing take on Mr. Okada's name in Japanese."

Article: World Cup Advance Redeems Japan's Coach

[graphic from Google image search for 'Okada World Cup.']