|
The Yamazaki Nabisco Cup is the annual J.League cup tournament. The tournament takes place over the course of the regular J.League season, with most matches scheduled on holidays that come in the middle of a week, or on weekends when no league matches are scheduled. Although it is not quite as prestigeous as the Emperor's Cup (which, like the FA Cup in Britain, includes teams from all divisions and even university and high school champion teams), the Nabisco Cup has nevertheless become an important part of the annual J.League schedule.
In 2001, there were 28 teams in the J1 and J2 divisions. To provide an even number for the turnament matris, four J1 teams received byes for the first round. The four were Kashima Antlers, Nagoya Grampus, Kawasaki Frontale and Shimizu S-Pulse -- the four semifinalists from last year. The full tournament schedule for the 2001 Nabisco Cup is provided in the accompanying tables.
CLICK HERE for information on past Nabisco Cup champions
Semifinals - Match Reports
In the first leg of the semifinal round, played on September 26, both Jubilo Iwata and Yokohama Marinos registered 1-0 victories at home, to set up a potential fireworks show on the return leg, October 10. Shunsuke Nakamura got ther winner for Yokohama, on one of his best dribbling runs in many months, followed by a hard shot from about 12 meters. At Jubilo, the winning goal came after keeper Jun Sogahata bobled a ball and forward Masashi Nakayama poked it away from him. Although the Antlers protested a keeper charge, the referee let the goal stand, and it turned out to be the only tally of the match
The return legs of the Nabisco Cup semifinal round turned out to be surprisingly dull, particularly by J.League standards. Both matches ended in scoreless draws, allowing Jubilo and Marinos to progress to the final. There were a number of extenuating circumstances which may have contributed to the dull performance. First, the top players from three of the four teams -- Jubilo, Antlers and Marinos -- had just returned from international matches in Europe, one night earlier, and showed signs of jet-lag. Second, the weather was simply dreadful, with both matches played in the midst of a downpour. Kashima Antlers might have provided a bit more of a fight, since they came close on several occasions in the first half. However, defensive back Augusto was red-carded in the 44 minute, forcing the team to play the entire second half shorthanded. Jubilo seemed content to play defence and protect the edge provided by their first-leg victory, and in the end they were successful. Nagoya Grampus also showed much more live than the Marinos, as one might expect from the team that had lost the first leg. But keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi had a fine night, stonewalling Nagoya to lift his team to the final in one of the last games he is likely to play for Yokohama. The final match will be played at Tokyo's national stadium on October 27.
|
First Round
| Date | Home | . | Away | | Apr 4 | Shonan Bellmare | 0-1 | Kashiwa Reysol | | Apr 18 | Kashiwa Reysol | 0-0 | Shonan Bellmare | | | Apr 4 | Montedio Yamagata | 2-0 | Urawa Reds | | Apr 18 | Urawa Reds | 3-0 | Montedio Yamagata | | | Apr 4 | Kyoto Sanga | 0-2 | Gamba Osaka | | Apr 18 | Gamba Osaka | 2-0 | Kyoto Sanga | | | Apr 4 | Omiya Ardija | 1-1 | JEF Ichihara | | Apr 18 | JEF Ichihara | 1-0 | Omiya Ardija | | | Apr 4 | Oita Trinita | 2-0 | Consadole Sapporo | | Apr 18 | Consadole Sapporo | 2-1 | Oita Trinita | | | Apr 4 | Jubilo Iwata | 2-2 | Cerezo Osaka | | Apr 18 | Cerezo Osaka | 1-2 | Jubilo Iwata | | | Apr 4 | Yokohama FC | 1-1 | Tokyo Verdy | | Apr 18 | Tokyo Verdy | 0-2 | Yokohama FC | | | Apr 4 | Mito Hollyhock | 0-1 | Yokohama Marinos | | Apr 18 | Yokohama Marinos | 3-1 | Mito Hollyhock | | | Apr 4 | Vegalta Sendai | 1-2 | Avispa Fukuoka | | Apr 18 | Avispa Fukuoka | 2-2 | Vegalta Sendai | | | Apr 4 | Sagan Tosu | 1-3 | Vissel Kobe | | Apr 18 | Vissel Kobe | 4-0 | Sagan Tosu | | | Apr 4 | FC Tokyo | 5-0 | Ventforet Kofu | | Apr 18 | Ventforet Kofu | 0-1 | FC Tokyo | | | Apr 4 | Albirex Niigata | 0-2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | | Apr 18 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2-0 | Albirex Niigata |
|
