Thursday evening marked the end of the vibrato that was the World Cup final qualifying campaign for Vahid Halilhodzic's Japan, which started with a home defeat to the United Arab Emirates almost a year ago.

Since arriving in Japan in March 2015, Halilhodzic has persistently complained about the lack of time he has with the players, a dilemma shared by most international coaches around the world. The former Algeria boss said on more than one occasion that if he had more time, his team would be much different.

Now that Japan have booked their place at next year's World Cup -- their sixth straight trip to the finals -- Halilhodzic will get that time in the weeks leading up to Russia.

And with that time, the Bosnian -- whose Algerian team had eventual champions Germany on the ropes in the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil -- said he will whip Japan into the shape they need to be in to get back to the second round.

"When we go to the World Cup, we will have four weeks to get ready," Halilhodzic said in an exclusive interview with Kyodo News. "And in those four weeks, I hope to do a lot of preparation. Four weeks will allow me to mold the team the way I want to mentally and physically. Then we can go to the World Cup as challengers, not tourists."

"When I first got to Algeria, they were a wreck. But three-and-a-half years of preparation made them the team they were at the World Cup. I did have more time with the players in Algeria; we could suspend the league for a week to get the national side ready."

"I am counting on the J-League and the JFA to put together a good schedule ahead of the World Cup."

Throughout the rollercoaster qualifying campaign, Halilhodzic was visibly stressed at times as he tried to ensure Japan a top-two finish in the group, something he managed to do by defeating Australia on Thursday -- the nation's first-ever win against the Socceroos in a World Cup qualifier.

Even during the Australia game, Halilhodzic nailed it tactically to produce a 2-0 victory, but still had a hard time keeping his cool, shoving his interpreter who was trying to play peacemaker in a furious protest to the referee.

So how has Halilhdozic managed to stay sane under the inordinate pressure of being the national coach in Japan? He turned to the likes of Celine Dion, Rihanna and Bon Jovi for peace of mind.

"I like Celine Dion, Rihanna, as well as Elton John and (Luciano) Pavarotti," the self-professed man of music said. "I also listen to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston. Bon Jovi, Genesis, Phil Collins."

"Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, there was a time when I used to dream about being them. When I was at Nantes, I jammed with Bob Marley when he was in town. Bob Marley loved football, and he came to Nantes when we won the league."

Jamming with Marley is just one episode of a life unimaginable to most that Halilhodzic has had, a life he says "could be a 1,000 page novel."

Born in Jablanica in now Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1952, Halilhodzic was a teenager studying to be an engineer before seriously taking up football at 16, after his brother convinced him to take a shot.

Two years later, the striker caught the eyes of scouts and turned professional with Velez against the wishes of his mother, leading to a career that lasted 17 years in Yugoslavia and France, including an appearance at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Halilhodzic -- who invested most of his career earnings into businesses like local cafes, bakeries and even a Benetton shop -- hadn't initially considered coaching once he hung up his boots, but the Bosnian War changed everything. He says he saw "people who were once friends kill each other like animals," and bombs dropped near his house, his car, wherever he went.

So once Halilhodzic received an offer from a French second division club, he took it. The day after he left for France, Halilhodzic was told, people came to his house looking to kill him.

The only people after Halilhodzic nowadays are sections of the Japanese fans and media and, according to Australia's Yokohama F Marinos defender Milos Degenk, a few J-League players who wanted their national team to fail.

That may very well change with Thursday's result, which made Halilhodzic's Japan the first side to qualify for the World Cup after losing their first match of the Asian final qualifying round.

The Japan Football Association, according to reports, was going to sack Halilhodzic had Japan not beaten Australia. Following the game Thursday, JFA President Kozo Tashima said he asked Halilhodzic to see the team through the World Cup next year.

Whatever awaits him in Russia, Halilhodzic should have Japan prepared -- now that he will have the time he's wanted all long.

"I've given the players a file that outlines what Japanese football should be about -- its identity in defense, in attack, the physical game," he said.

"If Japan play Germany, Japan do have a chance of beating the No. 1 team in the world, but the players must believe they can. It might be once in 10 games, but to earn that one win, we must prepare properly. No feats can be achieved without preparation."