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Ventforet Kofu -- Preseason Summary
Last season, Ventforet Kofu battled valiantly against a variety of forces -- none more damaging than the team's own lack of funds -- and despite holding their own for 2/3 of the season, in the end they slipped into the relegation zone and were forced to return to the J2 to begin the difficult climb all over again. The team managed to hang on to most of its core players, and given the team's gritty performances over the past three years, one is tempted to guess that they will be able to make another bid for promotion, even if they fail to make it this time around.
Well, that still might happen. Unfortunately, while only a few players were lost over the winter, and a few promising replacements wer brought in, the team suffered what could prove to be a far more painful loss -- a self-inflicted wound due to misplaced "scapegoating" in the front office. Kofu thought they had to identify someone to take the fall for the team's demotion, and fired coach Takeshi Oki at the end of the season. Oki -- the architect of almost all of Ventforet's success in recent years -- was quickly snapped up by the National Team. Takeshi Okada knows a brilliant football mind when he sees one, and he pressed vigorously for the JFA to hire Oki to be his right-hand man. So while the Kai Dogs may still have the personnel needed to reach the finish line in this year's J2 marathon, they do not have the pilot who guided them to that goal in the past. The only ray of hope is the fact that Takayoshi Amma -- a largely inexperienced coach himself -- was Oki's assistant and closest confidant at Ventforet, and he is likely to stick with his mentor's game plan with virtually no elaborations.
Still, the Rising Sun News believes that it is impossible to overestimate how much of the team's success over the past three years was a testament to Oki's strategic brilliance and ability to motivate his players. Kofu will still be a tough opponent, and after tasting the excitement of a J1 campaign, the Fighting Faithful of Yamanashi will surely turn out in large numbers to urge the team towards another sojourn in the top-flight league. But at least this season, we think that they will probably fall just a bit short of that goal.
2007 Finish: 17th Place (J1)
2007 Forecast: 4th-6th Place
Roster Changes
IN |
| Pos. | Name | Former Team | Status |
|---|
| Mgr | Takayoshi Amma | Asst coach | New coach |
| FW | Bruno | Chiba Int'l HS | New signing |
| FW | Josimar | Tokushima Vortis | Rental ends |
| FW | Masafumi Maeda | Gamba Osaka | One-yr rental |
| MF | Kengo Unokai | Chuo U. | New signing |
| MF | Atsushi Izawa | FC Tokyo Youth | New signing |
| MF | Naoki Wako | Reysol Youth | New signing |
| MF | Yutaka Yoshida | Shizuoka Gakuen HS | New signing |
| MF | Atsushi Mio | Kyoto Sanga | Full transfer |
| DF | Ryo Yamamoto | Sony Sendai | Full transfer |
OUT |
| Pos. | Name | New Team | Status |
|---|
| Mgr | Takeshi Oki | Japan NT assistant | Fired |
| FW | Radoncic | --- | Released |
| FW | Alberto | --- | Released |
| FW | Kotaro Yamazaki | --- | Retired |
| FW | Daisuke Sudo | Vissel Kobe | Full transfer |
| FW | Taro Hasegawa | Yokohama FC | Full transfer |
| FW | Eisei Tomioka | Japan Soccer C. | Back to school |
| MF | Takehito Shigehara | Kashiwa Reysol | Full transfer |
| MF | Shinya Nasu | FC Gifu | Full transfer |
| MF | Kenta Suzuki | --- | Released |
| DF | Tatsuya Masushima | ->FC Tokyo->Sanga | Rental ends |
| DF | Tsubasa Oshima | Fagiano Okayama | Full transfer |
| DF | Tamkuma Tsuda | Ehime FC | Full transfer |
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National Team
Overseas Players
