When Hajime Moriyasu masterminded famous victories over Germany and Spain at the last FIFA World Cup to lead Japan to the round of 16, where they were only eliminated by Croatia in a penalty shootout, it seems as though he took it personally that there was still criticism in some quarters at his perceived overcautious style.
It is, of course, hard to really argue against adopting a counterattacking approach when coming up against some of world football's powerhouses but, in the only game they lost at the tournament, it was curious that the Samurai Blue did not look to dominate Costa Rica -- and ended up on the receiving end of a shock 1-0 loss that initially dented their hopes of making it out of the group stage.
In the three and a half years since, Moriyasu has been anything but conservative. And it is the reason why Japan could be the most exciting team as the World Cup comes around once again this summer.
Moriyasu still favours a back five yet, considering the personnel and how he sets out his team, Japan's formation is almost an ultra-adventurous 3-2-4-1.
Moriyasu's desire for a stable three-man central defence has not changed. In front of them, a disciplined central midfield duo -- usually led by captain Wataru Endo -- offers an added layer of protection.
The key difference comes with the wingbacks.
All throughout the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, Moriyasu primarily deployed Ritsu Dōan and Kaoru Mitoma in those positions. Two genuinely offensive-minded players were asked to do a job defensively when required, but then were free to channel all of their attacking quality and instincts when Japan were on the front foot.
Coupled with two No. 10s and the spearhead leading the line, Moriyasu has often fielded five out-and-out attackers in his starting XI. And that's before Endo and his central midfield partner push forward in support.
It means that, when Japan have possession, there are often seven players in the final third with the three centre-backs pushing forward up to the halfway line to recycle possession whenever the opposition have been forced to hack the ball under pressure. Rinse and repeat.
The sheer weight of attacking numbers served Japan well in their charge to the World Cup as they scored a staggering 54 goals from 16 qualifiers, while conceding just three. Of course, they were expected to be dominant throughout that phase but probably not to such an extent.
Even in the third round of qualifiers, which was essentially contested by the best 18 teams in Asia, Japan recorded 7-0, 6-0 and 5-0 routs of China, Indonesia and Bahrain respectively.
Obviously, things are never straightforward once the World Cup comes around.
Takumi Minamino was ruled out of the tournament after suffering an ACL injury at the end of last year, robbing the Samurai Blue of one of their key playmakers. Initially, the simple solution was to push Mitoma forward as one of the No. 10s -- with either Keito Nakamura or Daizen Maeda then filling in at left wingback.
Now that Mitoma's World Cup dream is also over due to a hamstring injury, it does mean that Moriyasu will have to significantly reorganise a system that has been working so well -- one that even reaped victories over Brazil and England for the first time in friendlies over the past seven months.
The loss of two stars is undeniably significant but the system should still function regardless of personnel.
Perhaps the big question mark will ultimately be one that still hangs over Moriyasu.
It is easy to adopt a cavalier approach when Japan are the clear favourites throughout the qualifiers. Nonetheless, will they remain as bold when the stakes are higher?
An opening meeting with Netherlands is undeniably one that should be approached with a certain amount of caution but, while Tunisia and Sweden must not be underestimated, surely those games are ones where Japan can really show their intent and assert authority.
The main goal will be to stay in the tournament for as long as possible, but history suggests the teams that go far are normally those who also boast an expressive, entertaining of football.
Given the way they have built towards the World Cup, Japan have shown they can easily be the most exciting team at the tournament -- even if they will be without two genuine game changers.
Perhaps what will determine whether they prove to be is simply whether or not they are allowed to.