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Shimizu S-Pulse -- Preseason Summary
For the past three seasons Shimizu S-Pulse have consistently outperformed mainstream expectations, and with their fourth-place finish last year they have climbed to the verge of inclusion as a championship contender. Coach Kenta Hasegawa has successfully rebuilt the squad around a core of exciting young player, and maintained a very high level of motivation which ensures that the team hardly ever suffers an "off day", much less a bad run of results over the course of the season.
Players like Jungo Fujimoto, Takuma Edamura, Naoaki Aoyama, Akihiro Hyodo and Takuro Yajima are moving into what should be the most productive period of their careers, while veterans like Teruyoshi Ito, Daisuke Ichikawa and Takahiro Yamanishi still make very effective contributions to the squad, offering depth and experience. The team should be even deeper this season with the addition of two of this year's most promising rookies -- Takuya Honda and the delightfully named Genki Omae (for those who dont speak Japanese, imagine an MLS player named "Howzit Hangin", or an A-League rookie named "Giday Mayte"). So perhaps this will be the year when the Wingheads finally claim some silverware.
That is certainly a possibility. However, coach Hasegawa's remarkable skill in forging an effective team concept has perhaps caused some Shimizu fans to overestimate the underlying skill level of each individual player. Though all of the players named above are quite talented, only Fujimoto and possibly Edamura show signs of achieving an international level of quality. The others can all do at least one thing effectively, and so long as they stick to the script that Hasegawa prepares for them, it can produce good results. But at some point opposing teams will start to identify and attack the areas of weakness that most S-Pulse players still exhibit. When that happens, either they discover a way to overcome their shortcomings, or they start sinking back into mediocrity.
There is no doubt that S-Pulse will be a thrilling team to watch, in 2008. However, the loss of Korean ace Cho Jae-jin will definitely hurt the team at the offensive end, and we do not think that there are any other players currently on roster who can step in to fill the gap. A few more key additions could turn S-Pulse into a title contender. At the moment, though, they still appear to fall short. And the risk is that they may finally come to terms with this fact, themselves. If that happens, it will take all the motivational skill coach Hasegawa can muster to keep the team from slipping back towards mid-table.
2004 Finish: 4th
2007 Forecast: 4th-6th Place
Roster Changes
IN |
| Pos. | Name | Former Team | Status |
|---|
| FW | Marcus Aurelio | Santos FC | One-yr rental |
| FW | Shinji Tsujio | Chuo U. | New signing |
| FW | Genki Ohmae | RKU HS | New signing |
| MF | Yuki Nagahata | Kamimura Gakuen HS | New signing |
| MF | Takuya Honda | Hosei U. | New signing |
| MF | Marcos Paulo | Yokohama FC | Full transfer |
| MF | Fernandinho | Gamba Osaka | Rental->full transfer |
| DF | Arata Kodama | Gamba Osaka | Rental->full transfer |
OUT |
| Pos. | Name | New Team | Status |
|---|
| FW | Yoshikiyo Kuboyama | --- | Retired |
| FW | Shunichiro Zaitsu | Shonan Bellmare | Rental->full transfer |
| FW | Anderson | Yokohama FC | Full transfer |
| FW | Cho Jae-Jin | Newcastle? | Full transfer |
| MF | Kohei Hiramatsu | --- | Retired (?) |
| MF | Keisuke Ota | Kashiwa Reysol | Full transfer |
| MF | Kota Sugiyama | Kashiwa Reysol | One-yr rental |
| DF | Takumi Wada | Tokyo Verdy | One-yr rental |
| DF | Yasuhiro Hiraoka | Consadole Sapporo | One-yr rental |
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