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Home StadiumOsaka Expo '70 ("Banpaku") Stadium
Seats 23,000
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Gamba Osaka -- Preseason Summary
When Gamba Osaka won the league championship, in 2005, it was the first time that a team from the western half of Japan had won the J.League title. Not surprisingly, this has made them the focus of support for football fans not only in North Osaka, but all over the Kansai region. And when you think about it, there really isnt much in the way of competition. Although Vissel Kobe have finally managed to put together a reasonably competitive team, after a decade of abject failure, the rest of Western Japan is in danger of slipping even further behind in terms of football development. This year only three J1 teams are located in Osaka or further west, while 12 are located north or east of Nagoya. By contrast, the J2 has seven teams in Osaka or furhter west, and only six to the north or east of Nagoya.
Not that this has any direct impact on Gamba. Its just a reflection of the fact that football has caught on very well in the Kanto area, and regions further north-east. Some would say that it is even starting to rival baseball in terms of fan numbers. Western Japan, however, is still stickball country. As good as Gamba is, as a team, and for all their relative success in recent years, they still struggle to draw as many fans as some of the more mediocre clubs in Kanto. Eventually, this has to have an impact on competititveness.
This year, we think that the Osaka Boys will still be competitive enough to vie with the other league powers, but we do not see them managing another league title. Other clubs continue to add quality personnel and build their teams both for the present and for the future. Gamba has an excellent youth system which allows them to keep ub, albeit just barely. However, they do not have the finances to make the sort of off-season acquisitions that other top teams are making, in pursuit of a title. Gamba's signings this year were all very intelligent moves -- perhaps a tribute to coach Nishino and his staff, who are surely the most important factor in Gamba's continuing success. However, while Yuki Mizumoto and Yohei Fukumoto are both promising young defenders who will surely see plenty of action, they really are not "additions" perse -- they merely step in to fill the shoes of Sidiclei and Satoshi Yamaguchi, who have moved past their "best if used by..." date. Lucas Severino, meanwhile, is probably talented enough to make a contribution this year, but it would be a stretch to call him the equal of Magno Alves, who jumped ship at the end of last season.
There is one player who Gamba picked up this year that could turn out to be a key acquisition. Mineiro, a young defensive winger from Brazil, has shown excellent speed and good two-way abilities. The only problem is that he may be forced to share time with Michihiro Yashuda, who s blossoming into perhaps Japan's best left wing back since Naoki Soma. In any event, it isnt hard to see why Gamba sent U-23 NT player Akihiro Ienaga on loan to Oita Trinita -- the Gamba left sideline is already too crowded with talent.
As we predicted last year, Jader "Bare: Spindler has been only a qualified suddess for Gamba. Though he definitely will get his share of goals, his skills are not very broad or flexible. Bare is brilliant when he has the ball at his feet and room to move. But due to the nature of Gamba's team play, he only finds himself in such situations two or three times a match. When forced to work through traffic, Bare is less effective, and he is almost mediocre as a target man in front of the net. Having said that, the acquisition of Lucas was very clever in one sense. Though Lucas may not be a particularly brilliant striker himself, he excels in exactly the areas where Bare is weak. And vice-versa. By pairing a galloping penetrator with a goal-mouth poacher, coach Nishino may be hoping that he can maximize the contributions of both players.
If the division of responsibilities up front is successful, perhaps Gamba will be able to give the other top contendors a run for their money this season. However, we think that the team is already past its peak. Players like Tomokazu Myojin, Akira Kaji, Ryuji Bando and Yasuhito Endo are all approaching 30, and though not exactly "old", they can no longer be expected to improve from year to year. Other teams, by comparison, ARE getting better and better with each passing year.
On the other hand, Gamba does have the experience, poise, and coaching skill to go a long way in the ACL. At least potentially speaking, Gamba might decide that it is more productive to focus on achieving success in Asia, even if that means slipping out of the title chase in the J.League. Certainly the year-end payoff of an ACL title and a trip to the World Club Championships would give Gamba the one thing that they most need right now -- an injection of cash to pick up two or three top-notch team leaders, who can take over when the likes of Endo, Kaji and Myojin start to move onto the downhill slope of their careers.
2007 Finish: 3rd Place
2008 Forecast: 4th-6th Place
Roster Changes
IN |
| Pos. | Name | Former Team | Status |
|---|
| FW | Masato Yamazaki | Oita Trinita | Full transfer |
| FW | Lucas Severino | FC Tokyo | Full transfer |
| MF | Yuto Sasaki | Montedio Yamagata | Full transfer |
| MF | Akihiro Yasuda | Gamba Youth | New signing |
| MF | Takuya Takei | Gamba Youth | New signing |
| DF | Mineiro | Internacional | Full transfer |
| DF | Yuki Mizumoto | JEF United | Full transfer |
| DF | Yohei Fukumoto | Oita Trinita | Full transfer |
| DF | Sota Nakazawa | Kashiwa Reysol | Rental->full transfer |
| GK | Masaki Kinoshita | Gamba Youth | New signing |
OUT |
| Pos. | Name | New Team | Status |
|---|
| FW | Ryota Miki | Ehime FC | 1-yr rental (extended) |
| FW | Masafumi Maeda | Ventforet Kofu | 1-yr rental |
| FW | Satoshi Nakayama | Roasso Kumamoto | 1-yr rental |
| MF | Yasunobu Matsuoka | Rossso Kumamoto | 1-yr rental (extended) |
| MF | Akihiro Ienaga | Oita Trinita | 1-yr rental |
| MF | Shigeru Yokotani | Ehime FC | 1-yr rental |
| MF | Fernandinho | Shimizu S-Pulse | Rental->Full transfer |
| DF | Sidiclei | Kyoto Sanga | Full transfer |
| DF | Noritada Saneyoshi | --- | Retired |
| DF | Toru Irie | --- | Retired |
| DF | Yusuke Igawa | Kawasaki Frontale | Rental->Full transfer |
| DF | Ryota Aoki | JEF United | Full transfer |
| DF | Arata Kodama | Shimizu S-Pulse | Rental->Full transfer |
| DF | Daiki Niwa | Omiya Ardija | 1-yr rental |
| DF | Hirotada Ito | Ehime FC | 1-yr rental |
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