November 21, 2009
Great Expectations
Alright, lets have an honest show of hands here. How many of you were astonished, amazed, and taken completely by surprise by Sunday afternoon's J.League result. If you honestly did not have the slightest inkling that this was how things would play out, then please raise your hand . . .
No? Well, I didnt really think so, but I had to ask. I guess that at some point, the inevitability of such things becomes so great that nobody even bats an eyelash at the "surprise" result that pops up in the final scene. Its a good thing that M.Night Shyamalan doesnt have to write scripts for J.League dramas, because after the events of the past few years, people would be extremely disappointed by the predictability of his plot twists. Since confirming their relegation to the J2, almost two months ago, Oita Trinita has managed to deal crippling blows to three separate teams. In September, when they still had a mathematical chance to avoid relegation, Trinita held third-place Albirex Niigata to a draw. Since then the Mighty Swans have tumbled to earth, flapping feebly. In October Trinita faced off against first-place Shimizu S-Pulse, and shoved them off their perch atop the table. The Wingheads have never been the same.
And this week, it was Kawasaki Frontale's turn. Once again, the league leaders succumbed to the team at the bottom of the table. Some folks might try to feign surprise, but the truth is that we've all seen the movie before. What else is new?
Incidentally, for those folks who care to wait around to see if lightning will strike in the same place . . . . again . . . . there is a very interesting scenario that could develop over the next two weeks. We will sketch it out for you at the end of this report. But first, lets look at the results of the weekend. Then we can discuss the possible futures.
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While the eyes of most J.League watchers have turned to the East, and the neck-and-neck race between Kashima and Kawasaki, folks out West still are nourishing hopes that Gamba Osaka can make a late run and catch up with the two leaders in the final stretch. Some might say that this was always a bit unrealistic. After all, Kawasaki would have to drop five points, and Kashima at least three, to open the door for a Gamba comeback. But looking at the drama that has unfolded in past seasons -- particularly 2005 and 2007 -- it would be a mistake to rule out the possibility too soon.
Gamba made their intentions clear by charging outh with a rush of pressure that produced the opening goal in the 15 minute, when Lucas charged down the right channel and flicked a right-footed shot into the back netting. S-Pulse responded with a surge of pressure, but they very nearly left themselves open for a second strike a few minutes later, when Futagawa charged down the left channel, beat his defender to the outside, and then cut a shot back that Nishibe just barely managed to push away from the left corner.
Once they had the lead, Gamba shifted into a counterattacking stance, which allowed S-Pulse to maintain a good share of the possession, but created some dangerous dashes forward by the ever-dangerous Lucas and Pedro Junior. As the game progressed these became a greater and greater problem, forcing S-Pulse to walk the dangerous line between inadequate offensive pressure and insufficient defensive coverage. If S-Pulse had been able to make their way down the sidelines and create pressure from the wings, it might have opened up Gamba's defensive unit, but Shinji Okazaki seemed to be the only player in the Wingheads' attack who really troubled the Gamba defence. Predictably, as the contest progressed S-Pulse eventually extended themselves too far. A rampaging run down the left sideline by Futagawa outpaced the defencers and Cho Jae-Jin leapt hight to prevent keeper Nisibe from collecting the cross. As the ball dropped in front of net Cho was the first to react, and his long left leg lashed the ball into the roof of the net.
Anyway, thats how a neutral observer saw the game. . . . those who are interested in a clearer (or at any rate, a BLUER) perspective may prefer to rely on this report, filed by Alan, of J.Soccer:
Gamba kicked off this away game basically sure of making the AFC Champions league in 2010 with a win, and the three points would also keep them in the hunt for the Championship, especially with a game at Kashima next week. Six points from these two games would bring the season down to the wire on the last day, especially as our old friend Fernandinho pulled a rabbit out his hat and scored the winner for Oita against Kawasaki Frontale today!
And so it was off to Shizuoka with high hopes and ... a return with even higher hopes, as this turned out to be a stroll in the park for the boys in blue and black. Goals from Lucas and Cho sealed the points and sent the Gamba faithful home happy. Lucas opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a pinpoint left wing cross from Takagi was controlled brilliantly on the first touch by the Brazilian, and then he left Kodama - ex-Gamba defender - for dead as he turned and slid the ball across the keeper and in at the far post.
Up to this point it had been the patented passing and possession of Gamba dominating the game, and Futagawa could well have opened the scoring already by the time Lucas made it 1-0. Sasaki was looking more and more the creative midfielder that we know he is, as he took Endo's normal role, with Endo dropping a little in the middle to cover the gap left by the hamstring injury to Hashimoto - something that will probably keep him out for the season, certainly the J.League season, if not the Emperor's Cup. Sasaki and Endo continued to create and Futagawa came close again before half time, but the score remained at 1-0 to the away team as the players went in for the break.
Just after the hour mark, Endo received the ball, after a few ricochets in the area, about ten yards out and feinted to shoot - taking one defender out - and the goal opened up. his almost perfectly-placed side-footer narrowly missing the far corner with everyone stranded. In the 68th minute, South Korean forward Cho Jae Jin came on for a cameo appearance, his time being very limited in recent months, and, two minutes after his entrance he made it 2-0 and sent a message to Gamba coach Nishino that, as well as Yamazaki and Bando being "super-subs", he could do that job, too!
The goal came as Endo sliced the defence open with a through ball to Futagawa on the left wing.... he moved in to the goal line and from the edge of the area, his chipped cross found Co challenging the keeper and winning the header. The ball dropped invitingly on the line and as it bounced Cho beat the S-Pulse defence to it and blasted it into the net from a few inches out! The rotund female began warming her vocal chords and wondering what song to sing as the final whistle approached and Gamba were pretty much assured of that ACL place in 2010, as well as finding that the fate of the J.League Championship is also in their hands with that trip to Kashima on Saturday 28th November. Bring it on, Antlers!
Alan GIbson www.jsoccer.com --
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The eyes of Kashima Antlers fans also turned to the west on Saturday afternoon, as Kashima travelled to the ancient capital for a clash with Kyoto Purple Sanga. While Kyoto might be a midtable struggler, and thus not always viewed as a top-level opponent, several factors have make Kyoto a difficult challenge for the Antlers in recent years. There is probably no oyher team in Japan that has a intimate an understanding of the Antlers. Not only is former Kashima ace Atsushi Yanagisawa plying his trade at Kyoto these days, but one of the most influential coaches on the Sanga staff is Yutaka Akita -- the heart and brains of the Kashima team for over a decade. Last year Yanagisawa scored against Kashima in the clash at Nishikyogoku Stadium, and he was charged up to make an impact again, on Saturday afternoon. Since the Antlers were without their best offensive and defensive players -- Marquinhos and Daiki Iwamasa were both sitting out suspensions for accumulated yellow cards -- the high energy level of the Kyoto players had a significant impact.
However, after holding their own for about half an hour, Sanga's deficit in technical skill finally reared its head in the 35 minute, when a quick interchange of passes sent the ball to Takuya Nozawa, about 30 meters out from goal, and the nimble midfielder placed a soft floater into the top right corner beyond the reach of the keeper.
That proved to be the only goal that the Antlers would need. While the other top contenders -- Frontale and Gamba -- may possess superior firepower, the Antlers are masters of grinding out a 1-0 result, and if that sort of steady consistency ends up determining the title chase, you know where to put your money..... When it became clear that Kyoto was going to use whatever tactics were required to keep the depleted Antlers strike team fron finding any additional scoring opportunities, the visitors simply agreed to do likewise, turning the second half into an exhibition of cynical, sluggish, almost unwatchable anti-football. The result temporarily moves Kashima into first place, pending the outcome of Frontale's match on Sunday afternoon
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Though neither team is still in position to earn anything this season except a bit of self-respect, the clash between Urawa Reds and Jubilo Iwata did provide an exciting bit of a subplot, as Ryoichi Maeda and Edmilson battled back and forth for an advantage in their race towards this year's Golden Boot. What was perhaps most astonishing about it all was that neither team seemed to be deliberately setting up plays for their scoring ace, yet every goal in the contest was scored by one of the two candidates for this year's scoring title. That seems to be as good a testament as any to the ability both players have to show up at the right place at the right time, and poach goals.
Edmilson got things started just 20 minutes after kickoff, with a powerful blast past Jubilo's reserve keeper, Naoki Hatta. The Reds carried their advantage into the locker room at the break, but shortly after the restart, Maeda suddenly caught fire. Over the space of 5 minutes, the Jubilo striker scored not one, but two cherry-picking beauties. On both occasions, teammates did most of the difficult work, but it was Maeda who popped up in the goal mouth to stuff home the critical rebound.
Jubilo clung to the resultant lead as the Reds made a concerted effort to fight back, urged on by a large and very vocal home crowd that seemed to provide Saitama Stadium with the best "vibe" we have witnessed all year. Perhaps this is a reflection of the news that coach Finke is staying on, and that he intends to dismantle the star-studded Studebaker that Urawa's cach-rich and strategy-poor management has assembled in recent years. Fans will surely be sorry to see some of the team's flashy stars -- Tulio, Takahara and Abe among others -- depart. But in our view this is what is best for the team, and it seems that the Saitama Red Army agrees.
With a strong upswell of emotional support driving them on, the Reds finally claimed the equaliser about 7 minutes from full time, as Edmilson once again popped up in the box and fired past Hatta. As the clock wound into injury time, and it seemed that almost everyone in the house had resigned themselves to a draw, the big Brazilian finished things off with the most impressive strike of the afternoon - a 30-yard screamer into the top left conrner that sent the crowd into thunderous celebrations, and lifted the Reds a step towards a more respectable finish to the season.
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Many people have commented on the fact that despite the tight race between Kashima and Kawasaki, this season has resolved itself quite early in comparison to past campaigns. While the matches involving Kashima and Kawasaki had a high profile, and the Gamba-S-Pulse clash also had strong implications for both teams, only one other contest really had any significance apart from pride. That was the clash between Albirex Niigata and Kashiwa Reysol. Two weeks ago the Yellow Monkeys of Northern Chiba looked like they were doomed, needing to win all of their remaining matches to have areal chance of avoiding relegation. But a stunning 5-0 victory over S-Pulse has upset those calculations, and caused people to look again at the relegation battle. Albirex also still has someting to play for, as the possibility of an ACL spot is still not beyond the realm of possibility. This is the only real explanation for why 30,000 fans turned out in the bone-chilling rain of an early Niigata winter to watch this contest.
Those who did turn out got a somewhat entertaining but low-scoring battle. Both teams adopted a very aggressive game plan at the start, aimed at scoring first and then trying to dictate the pace of the contest. Though a lack of finishing prowess kept things scoreless until the 40 minute, there were plenty of chances before the opening goal arrived. As the first half ground towards a conclusion, Reysol's aging and increasingly marginal, yet still deadly Brazilian ace, Franza, sliced into the box from the left, piced up an inlet pass from Yuki Otsu, and curled a shot into the right corner.
Thereafter Reysol shifted to a counterattacking strategy which grew more and more defensive as time progressed. Albirex had several chances to equalise, but the heroic work of Takanori Sugeno, between the pipes, kept the Mighty Swans at bay, and allowed Reysol to extend their hopes of salvation for one more week
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Montedio Yamagata entered this match needing just two points to ensure their place in the J1 next season, while Omiya Ardija needed three points to make it a virtual (if not quite a mathematical) certainty. Some vieweres might have assumed that this would produce a very exciting and offense-oriented contest as both teams went for the win.
Those people would have been wrong. Instead, the two teams seemed almost determined to play out a scoreless draw and share the spoils, thus moving both an incremental step closer to safety. The result will surely be more satisfying for the hosts, who would now have to suffer a collapse of biblical proportions to get relegated. Ardija face a bit more risky scenario, but the draw did ensure that even if Reysol wins the head-to-head clash next weekend, they would still need one more point to overtake Omiya. In Vegas, they call that "playing the percentages". Everywhere else, they call it:
"Boooooorrrrring!!!"
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Speaking of boring . . . .
And no, it isnt worth writing about.
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The Yokohama Marinos have had their ups and downs this season, but they have demonstrated the ability -- on a given day -- to really light it up on the offensive end. Rookie striker Kazuma Watanabe is chasing a J.League record for the most goals scored by a rookie, while Daisuke Sakata and Koji Yamase have displayed some of the speed, elusiveness and slick penetration skills that earned them attention from the national team, during the reign of Takeshi Okada at Yokohama. And Watanabe is not the only rookie who has shown signs of breaking out as a top-level competitor. The two wingbacks -- Tanaka and Komiyama -- are both developing into excellent two-way contributors while midfielder Ariajasuru Hasegawa, a tall and powerfully built half-Iranian youngster, has emerged as one of theleague's most ferocious ball-chasers in the center of the pitch. While the team has been very inconsistent (in part due to the incomprehensible and ceaseless lineup-suffling that coach Kimura has engaged in all season long), they seem to have the raw skill and potential to finish a lot higher, next season.
In their match against Vissel Kobe, the Marinos wasted no time in forging a lead, as Watanabe opened the contest with a stooping header and Kenta Kano quickly added to the tally with a low drive from the left channel. For a moment it looked like Vissel might get blown off their own pitch, as another dash by Kano was just barely turned aside by keeper Tetsuya Enomoto. But as the first half wore on the Crimsong Tide flowed back in, and when a low spinning grounder by Hiroto Mogi eluded the Yokohama keeper, right at the half hour mark, the contest started to settle down into an entertaining exchange of thrust and counterthrust.
In the second half, Vissel made some quick changes and soon managed to turn the tide of the match completely. Kim Nam-il and Yoshito Okubo were brought in to try to seize the initiative, and shortly after the break Okubo was sent down the right channel by Mogi for a powerful drive across the face of goal, which just caught the far post. That would be the last goal that either team could manage. But as draws go, this one was infinitely more entertaining than any of the other deadlocks between teams with nothing to gain and little to lose.
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For those of you who still think its odd that Oita Trinita started their late-season revival AFTER they confirmed relegation, perhaps you should take a look at the performance of JEF United this weekend, and reconsider the issue. In any other league, teams that have already confirmed their relegation are usually viewed as "easy opponents". When bettors discover that one of the top-tier clubs is going to play against a team that has "nothing left to play for", they usually fall all over themselves to out down a "sure bet". But in the J.League, for whatever reason, it seems that the most dangerous opponent that a title contender can possibly face is a team that is already resigned to their fate. Who can forget League laughingstock Yokohama FC, relegated in record time back in 2007, only to face off against the league leading Reds on the final day of the season. There have been many similar instances over the years; few recall that on the final day of 2005 -- when Cerezo was throwing away a title and Gamba was snatching it away from them -- the team that played Kashima Antlers to a draw and thus kept them out of contention was relegation-bound Kashiwa Reysol.
Some would argue that FC Tokyo is not a title candidate, and thus I should wait until my report on the Frontale-Trinita match to bring up this discussion. But FC Tokyo were still very much in the race for an ACL spot, and they surely must have gone into Fukuari Stadium on Sunday with high hopes that they could keep those ACL hopes alive. It wasnt to be.
From the opening whistle, the Yellow Dogs of Chiba made it clear that this was going to be a scrappy contest. The first few scoring chances were all at the FC Tokyo defensive end, and when Tatsunori Arai made a prodigious leap at the penalty spot to get his head on a cross from the right side, and the ball eluded keeper Shuichi Gonda to drop into the back netting, it seemed to be only what the home team deserved from their intense effort over the opening 20 minutes. However, the first goal woke FC Tokyo up, and they immediately fought back, levelling the score five minutes later on a strike by Shingo Akamine, and the two teams retired to the locker room with the score deadlocked at 1-1.
As the second half began, Neto Baiano broke b3enind the Tokyo defence and met a looping cross from Masaki Sakamoto on the left flank, and headed JEF back in front. But once again Tokyo responded with a surge of pressure. As it became increasingly apparent that the visitors were starting to take control, and an equaliser was just a matter of time, the Man in Black stepped in quickly to preserve the "proper" result. In the 63 minute, Masayoshi "Invisible Foul" Okada watched silently as JEF midfielder Koki Yonekura came up behind Sota Hirayama and tried to put him into some sort of wrestling hold. Im not quite sure whether it was supposed to be a full nelson, a figure-four arm lock, or Jake the Snake Roberts' patented "Goodnight Irene Sleeper Hold", but after about five seconds of trying to shrug off Yonekura's powerful embrace, Hirayama finally shoved back with his 3elbow to try to get the clutching mugger off his back.
Yonekura threw himself dramatically to the ground, writhing about and clutching his face . . . and sure enough, Okada bought the entire WWE-inspired act. Out came the plastic rectangles -- Hirayama already had one yellow -- and suddenly JEF had a man advantage. Not surprisingly, this allowed JEF to hold on to their narrow lead and claim the first victory since coach Alex Miller was sent packing, several months ago.
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While the JEF United's upset of FC Tokyo was assisted significantly by "extraneous factors", Oita Trinita fully deserved their upset victory over Kawasaki Frontale on Sunday afternoon. The Terrible Turtles were in rare form, charging about the pitch at a furious pace and keeping Frontale on the back foot from start to finish. In fact, if not for some very good work in net by Eiji Kawaskima, Trinita could have taken the lead earlier.
After a scoreless first half that Trinita really dominated, Frontale coach Takashi Sekizuka rolled the dice and adopted a more aggressive formation, pushing Renatinho into the front line along with Chong Terse and Juninho. This allowed Frontale to create some scoring opportunities over the first few minutes of the second half, but as the contest reached the hour mark, one of Trinita's pell-mell charges towards the Frontale goal finally paid off. Mu Kanazaki picked up an overlap pass and accelerated down the right sideline, beat his defender with a sudden cutback, and then raced along the goal line, forcing Kawashima to come out and challenge. At the last possible moment, Kanazaki dropped the ball back for Fernandinho, slicing into the box from midfield, and the diminutive Brazilian ace drove the ball into the back strings.
The Blue Dolphins made a late surge, trying to get back into the contest and rescue at least a point, but Trinita's stifling defence finally was finally able to perform the function it was designed for, last season. The Turtles crawled into their shell and waited out the final minutes, earning thunderous applause from a nearly full "Big Eye" Stadium when the final whistle sounded.
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At the top, we noted that there have been many occasions in the past that a last-place, already-relegated team sprang a "surprise" defeat on the team atop the table, and thus helped to decide the outcome of a championship race. Well, Trinita appears to have done just that with their victory over Frontale, this week. But wait . . . the plot twists arent necessarily over. Next weekend Trinita plays a head-to-head match with JEF United. If they win, it would drop JEF into last place. Furthermore, next week the league-leading Kashima Antlers face off against third-place Gamba Osaka, at Kashima Stadium. Should Gamba win that match, and Frontale do no better than a draw in their tough clash against Omiya Ardija, then Gamba would move into first place (on goal difference) going into the final week of the season.
. . . . Guess who Gamba plays against on December 5.
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