---

J.League Week 9 - Sudden-Death Saturday

Kickoff	Home	.	Away
14:00		2 - 1
15:00		1 - 2
15:00		1 - 0
15:00		2 - 3
15:00		1 - 2
16:00		3 - 2
16:00		1 - 0
19:00		0 - 2

0 - 1

The Shizuoka derby is always fiercely contested, but this year, with the historic venue and the fact that S-Pulse is one of the few teams left in striking distance of Jubilo, the match drew an incredible capacity crowd, officially tallied at 52,959! With so much to make this a match for the ages, the huge crowd must have been badly disappointed with the result -- a boring, drefensive-oriented match that was determined in the end by horrendous refereeing and one botched play. Jubilo started without midfield playmaker Hiroshi Nanami, who was injured in last week's match, and his absence was clearly felt in both offense and defence. However, an even bigger demerit for Jubilo was the fact that striker Naohiro Takahara, also injured in last week's match, was still hobbling noticeably, and a shadow of his usual self. This is not to take too much away from S-Pulse. They came into the matche well aware that they were facing the hottest team in the league, and determined not to allow a single opening. As a result, the match turned into a sluggish, defense-oriented affair that yielded not a single goal for 90 minutes.

Yet despite S-Pulse's concentration on defence, the gaps began to open up late in the second half, and Jubilo looked like they were on course for their ninth straight victory. In the 81 minute a centering pass found Takahara open about five meters out, but the speed lost to his leg injury left him one step short, and he just barely failed to get to the ball to fire the shot. Then, as the match went into added time of the second half, Jubilo finally broke through. After a scramble in the box, the ball rolled to midfielder Toshiya Fujita, who knocked it in and set off a celebration. But Jubilo's cheers were cut short when referee Leslie Mottram, who has now been responsible for highly questionable calls in three matches in a row, claimed that there had been a foul off the ball, and disallowed the goal.

As the match went into extra time, it setill looked very much like Jubilo's game to win, as S-Pulse remained constantly on the back foot. But in the 104 minute, a mix-up at the back sealed the fate of the team from Iwata. S-Pulse playmaker Alex sent a long, aimless pass into the Jubilo box, where midfielder Daisuke Oku and keeper Arno vanZwam got their signals crossed. Oku tried to play the ball back to the keeper, while vanZwam clearly expected him to let the ball roll over the end line. Before vanZwam could clear the ball, S-Pulse striker Kohei Hiramatsu pounced, and managed to deflect it away from the keeper. Vefore vanZwam could recover, Hiramatsu tapped the ball into the net to give S-Pulse the victory. The S-Pulse/Jubilo match will be an important tone-setter for both teams, as S-Pulse takes off tomorrow for Saudi Arabia to play in the semifinals of the Asia Cup-Winners Cup, and Jubilo will travel to Korea next week to take part in the Asian Club Championship finals.

3 - 2 (ET)

Nagoya got on the board first in just the seventh minute, when a poor defensive play by Gamba awarded them a free kick at almost point-blank range, less than a meter outside the box and directly in front of goal. Veteran Dragan Stojkovic lined up the shot and placed it perfectly, in the high right corner of the net just inches beyond the diving leap of the Osaka keeper.

But turnabout is fair play, and Gamba got level just before half time on a free kick of their own. Midfielder Yasuhito Endo took a free kick about thirty-five meters out on the right side, sending the ball to the far post, where tall defender Satoshi Yamaguchi managed to outjump his defender and head the tying goal home.

Nagoya retook the lead midway though the second half, on a terrible miscue by the Gamba defence. Nagoya's Yasunari Hiraoka led a counterattack down the left side, and managed to get off a hard shot that eluded the keeper, but Gamba still had a defender behind the play, and it even looked like the shot might go wide. But rather than just trapping the ball, Masao Kiba tried to blast the ball out of play, and ended up sending it directly into his own net.

But once again, Nagoya matched Osaka play for play, providing a defensive miscue of their own. Just as it seemed that the match was about to end, Nagoya's Tarik OulidaTakahiro Futagawa stepped in front ofthe pass and collected the ball at the edge of the Nagoya box. Spotting Nino Bule at the far post, Futagawa sent a well-placed pass to the wide-open striker, and Bule drilled a diving header past keeper Seigo Narazsaki to sent the match into extra time.

But Nagoya wasted little time in collecting the golden goal that they needed to stay in the running for the first-stage title. Just three minutes into the overtime period, replacement midfielder Kunihiko Takizawa took on his defender, breaking down the left flank, and sent a rolling cross into the box. Yasunari Hiraoka screened off his defender nicely, and scooped the ball past the keeper to give Nagoya the victory.

2 - 1

With Kashima several men short of a full roster,, and playing a very cautious match, it wasnt until early in the second half that Sapporo got on the board, on a corner kick taken by Yoshikazu Nonomura. Emerson Will, Sapporo's ace striker who curently leads the league in goals scored, managed to get away from his defender and meet the corner kick just beyond the near post, and head it in for the first goal.

But Kashima managed to get bakc in the match in the73 minute, on a counterattack led buy midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara. As Ogasawara broke free from one defender, he paused and spotted Bismarck unmarked in the center of the field, sending him a slant pass. Bismarck uncorked a shot from about thirty meters that found the high right corner and levelled the scores.

But as time ran out, the Consadole pressure finally got Kashima's inexperienced defenders to make a mistake, and a foul in the box gave Sapporo a free kick. Will converted, and the Antlers were sent tumbling to their third consecutive loss.

2 - 1(ET)

Urawa remained in control through most of the second half, and had two or three chances to add ot their lead, but as time wound down, they began to get bit too defensive and complacent. WIth just five minutes to go, midfielder Shigeru Mori sent a long centering cross into the box, and veteran Kazu Miura snuck behind his two defenders to head the ball past keeper Nishibe for a 1-1 scoreline. The match went into extra time, and both teams had several good chances to score, but the match was decided on playmaker Shinji Ono's first goal of the season. With the match into the second extra time period, the Areds were pressing forward, and rookie striker Tatsuya Tanaka broke across the top of the penalty area, sending the ball across the top of the box to Ono. With a man on his back, Ono collected the ball, then unleashed a long-distance cannon shot that ripped inside the right post before the Vissel keeper could respond. With the victory, the Reds -- who completely rebuilt their team in the offseason -- move up to the middle of the table, and show that they are starting to gel into what could be a true contender in the second stage.

2 - 1

1 - 0(ET)

Elsewhere

With its upset victory over Jubilo Iwata, Shimizu S-Pulse established themselves as the team with the best shot of preventing the team from Iwata from cruising to a first stage crown. Nagoya Grampus and Consadole Sapporo both remain within shouting distance, but at this stage of the season Jubilo has enough of a cushion that they need only one or two more good performances to lock up victory.

.	Team	Pts	GP	W (90/ET)	D	L	GD	GF	GA
1		24	9	8 (8-0)	0	1	15	21	6
2		18	9	7 (4-3)	0	2	7	17	10
3		16	9	6 (3-3)	1	2	3	14	11
4		16	9	5 (5-0)	1	3	1	12	11
5		14	9	5 (4-1)	0	4	2	17	15
6		13	9	5 (3-2)	0	4	4	17	13
7		12	9	4 (3-1)	1	4	-1	13	14
8		12	9	4 (3-1)	1	4	-1	9	10
9		11	9	4 (3-1)	0	5	0	16	16
10		11	9	4 (3-1)	0	5	-3	10	13
11		11	9	4 (3-1)	0	5	-4	9	13
12		10	9	4 (2-2)	0	5	-3	11	14
13		8	9	2 (2-0)	2	5	-2	14	16
14		7	9	2 (2-0)	1	6	-5	11	16
15		7	9	2 (2-0)	1	6	-6	8	14
16		5	9	2 (1-1)	0	7	-7	10	17

Latest Gossip and Rumours

Injured Nanami to Miss Confeds Cup, but Still a Hot Prospect for Serie A Club Atalanta

Even as Nanami went under the knife, rumours were surfacing about his possible return to Serie A. Nanami played half a season for Venezia in early 2000, but he saw only limited action and left the team after they were relegated at the end of the 1999-00 season. This week, a spokesman for Atalanta suggested that the team was "very close" to signing a Japanese player. Although the team refused to identify theplayer that they were negotiating for, many sources close to Jubilo Iwata indicated that the player in question is Nanami, and that the midfielder could return to Serie A for the start of the 2001-02 season, this fall.

JFA Heads Yoo Sang-Chul Out of Play

Nakata to Sign with Arsenal???

According to both Sports Nippon and the Hochi Shimbun, Arsene Wenger, current coach of Arsenal and a former coach at Japan's Nagoya Grampus, has met with both Nakata and Roma's Branchi at an undisclosed location in Milano, where the discussion concluded with an Arsenal offer to pay a 50 billion lire transfer fee to Roma, and to pay Nakata 6 billion lire (340 million yen) for a five year contract. The contract would take effect once the Serie A league matches are completed for this season.

Thus far, there has been no confirmation from either club, or from Nakata or his agent. Nakata.net web site also has not reported on this issue. Nakata has been linked to a number of clubs in the past, including both Arsenal and Manchester United. When he first signed with a foreign club (Perugia) two years ago, Nakata was quoted as saying that he ded not want to play in the Premiership, preferring the leagues in Spain and Italy. However, Wenger scouted Nakata and tried to get him to sign with Nagoya when natkata was still a high school player in Japan, and is reportedly still close to the Japanese midfielder. Updates will be provided as they become available.

Brand New Stadiums Boosting Attendance

An even bigger grand opening celebration kicked off play at the new 56,000-seat Shizuoka "Epoca" Stadium, in Shizuoka prefecture. The site, which will host three World Cup matches, drew a capacity crowd of 55,959 to the Shizuoka derby match, between Jubilo Iwata and Shimizu S-Pulse. Epoca Stadium will be shared by the two teams, who will also play some of their home matches at their existing stadiums.

On Saturday, a third stadium opened -- or perhaps it is more accurate to say, re-opened. Kashima Soccer Stadium, home to Kashima Antlers, received a thorough refurbishing which added a second deck, a circular roof, and over 30,000 new seats. The magnificent facility will not only host three World Cup matches; it is also one of the venues for the Confederations Cup, to be held next month in Japan and Korea. The crowd of 36,365 at Kashima Soccer Stadium on Saturday, May 19, helped to put J.League attendances for the first stage over last year's first-stage total, at 1,339,342 -- and the season is only 2/3 complete!!!

A number of positive factors have bolstered J.League attendances this year, including a new football lottery, and the publicity associated with next year's World Cup. However ,there is no doubt that the magnificent stadiums that have opened recently are a key factor in attracting bigger crowds. For details on some of the new facilities, visit the World Cup 2002 preview section of this web site and learn more about some of the venues.

Film clips courtesy of Internet Soccer Program J-Ole. Visit their web site at http://www.j-ole.com/ for results and highlights of all J.League matches.