I wouldn't put his achievement with Japan too highly, he's working with the best set of players in Asia off the back of a good World Cup and at a team who think winning the Asian Cup is something that goes without saying. His subs were good, I'll give him that.
There are quite a few similarities actually, with his background at smaller clubs, some old legends retiring the year before, several young players (including R. Baggio, Casiraghi, Corini), some modest players, off the back of a mediocre season.