The Rising Sun News, 7 July, 2001
Finishing Up in Style

Kickoff	Home	.	Away
14:00		2 - 3
15:30		5 - 1
19:00		3 - 2
19:00		2 - 0
19:00		2 - 1 (ET)
19:00		5 - 0
19:00		3 - 1
19:00		0 - 4

5 - 1

Although the Jubilo-Marinos match was the day's highlight, the excitement of the title race began earlier in the day, when Shimizu S-Pulse took on Sanfrecce Hiroshima at their traditional home stadium in Nihondaira. The Winghead faithful were out in force to cheer on their team, which was the only club that still had a legitimate chance of catching Jubilo for the title. However, S-Pulse went into the match knowing that a failure to win would put an end to even their slim remaining hopes. S-Pulse came out with real fire in their bellies, and went right to work from the opening whistle.

Although S-Pulse came into the match with a very respectable winning record, the team has built most of their success on defence this year. Most of the team's victories have come by a single goal, since the offence has sputtered somewhat. Though S-Pulse moves the ball well at midfield, they seem to have trouble creating the breaks needed to create high-probability shots. This week, though, the team reverted to a pattern that they have not really used to much effect since their victory over Kashima Antlers in the Xerox Super Cup, to open the season. Rather than trying to push the ball through the middle, they sent long feeds down the wings for Alex and Daisuke Ichikawa, then sent in high crosses for the tall Baron and other forwards to jump for. This strategy worked almost immediately, putting Sanfrecce under intense pressure and creating one shot after another. In just the first ten minutes of the match, Shimizu had seven shots on net and five corner kicks. It was clearly just a matter of time before one went in.

Sure enough, S-Pulse took the lead in the seventh minute with some lovely cooperation between Ichikawa and Baron. In the 6 minute, Ichikawa raced down the wing for a long ball and fired it in to Baron, but Sanfrecce defender Tulio Tanaka just barely beat Baron to the ball, and deflected it out of play. Less than a minute later, a virtually identical play sent Ichikawa into wide open space on the right wing. His centering cross was right on the money again, but this time Baron cut inside of Tulio, and got to the ball first. His header flashed past the keeper and gave Spulse the early lead.

Though they semed to have Hiroshima on the ropes early, S-Pulse began to get away from the dangerous passes down the wings, and as it has done all year long, play bogged down in aimless dribbling just outside the penalty area that resulted in no real dangerous opportunities. At the other end, Hiroshima's chances were fewer, but some aggressive individual play by Tatsuhiko Kubo created a number of near misses. At half time, Sanfrecce were still very much in the match.

Just a few minutes into the second stanza, coach Zemunovic pulled striker Sotaro Yasunaga, who had been particularly prone to excessive dribbling and errant passes, and brought in veteran midfielder Masaaki Sawanobori to try to open things up. The move paid off quickly. After a set play from about thirdy meters out, the clearance was collected by Alex and he fed Sawanobori down the left wing. Once again, the high cross proved Shimizu's most dangerous weapon, as defender Toshihide Saito, who had not yet retreated following the free kick, was lurking in the box. He met Sawanobori's cross with a thundering header that put Shimizu up 2 - 0.

Sanfrecce managed to keep the game interesting, as just three minutes later Chikara Fujimoto beat his defender to a through pass and broke free on the net. Fujimoto did a beautiful job aof pulling the keeper out and then droppiing a soft pass back to Stephen Corica, who was trailing the play. Corica finished up with a shot to the high right corner that cut the deficit in half.

However, once they got back to their use of the balls down the wing, S-Pulse started tearing huge holes in the Hiroshima defence. In the 74 minute, Alex used delicate ball control to tiptoe down the left sideline and into the clear. His cross was low and hard, but Sawanobori made as stab for it and banged a spinning shot on net. The keeper managed to deflect the drive, but as it rolled for the end line, Baron rushed in and tapped in from point-blank range at the far post.

Though the match was already decided, S-Pulse continued to apply the pressure. In the 80 minute, Baron chipped a ball over the defence for Sawanobori, and before his defender could close him down, the veteran midfielder spun around and hit a drive into the high left corner. A minute from full time, Alex finished off the scoring on a free kick that he drilled low to the near post, surprising the keeper. The ball just barely eluded his dive and snuck inside the post to bive Shimizu and emphatic victory, keeping their title hopes alive for at least a few more hours.

1-2 (ET)

Jubilo got off to a first-half lead on a set play that highlighted some shaky defending in the Marinos back line. In the 30 minute, Nanami sent a curling corner kick that cleared the first line of defenders, and then was allowed to just bounce untouched directly to the front of the net. Go Oiwa was lurking near the back post, and he snuck inside of his defender to headed the ball into the net.

The early lead may have come too easily for Jubilo. Although they dominanted the Marinos throughout the first half, they seemed to be a bit too complacent, and perhaps were thinking too much about the impending celebrations. As a result, they let too many chances slip by and failed to add to their advantage.

In the second half, Yokohama came out with far more intensity, and managed to sneak back into the match. Midfielder Ryosuke Kijima and forward Yutaka Tahara in partucular began to put the pressure on, as Jubilo got a bit too casual and sagged back into a defensive shell. Even Shoji Jo began to show signs of life, racing after loose balls and creating some fine interplay with his teammates up front. Just seven minutes from full time, Yoshiharu Endo sent a cross in from the left side and found Tahara camped in front of the net. The ball was a bit behind Tahara, but he swiveled and managed to head the ball towards goal. Though his shot probably would have gone wide, it surprised defender Oiwa, who swung at the ball but ended up knocking it into his own net, thus getting his second goal of the night (one for each team).

This set the stage for an exciting finish. the match went into extra time with Jubilo needing to score in order to clinch victory. Despite their lethargic play in the second half, Jubilo came out like a completely different team, breathing fire down the necks of the Marinos defence and putting six shots on net in just the first five minutes of overtime. Yokohama were rocked back on their heels, and the huge contingent of Jubilo fans began to roar with anticipation as victory seemed to be cloase enough to touch. Then, in the 14th minute of extra time, Toshiya Fujita took a pass into space at the right side of the penalty area, and looped a cross of the far post. Takahara licked his lips as the soft floater approached and coiled to strike. With a swinging side kick that would have made Jackie Chan proud, Takahara drilled a shot for the low right corner left Kawaguchi flailing at air, and the Jubilo end of the stadium erupted in a hailstorm of confetti and party streamers.

The boys from Iwata jumped for joy as they prepared to raise their fourth single-stage trophy in the past five years, booking themselves a ticket to the finals in December.

2-3 (ET)

JEF got the scoring started early, after being awarded a corner kick from the left side in just the 7 minute. Captain Eisuke Nakanishi sent a long ball that soared beyond the far post to Megumu Yoshida, who headed it back in front of the net. In a scramble for the rebound, the ball was deflected right to JEF's Korean ace, Choi Yong-Soo, who simply nodded the ball between two defenders and into the floor of the goal.

After conceding the early lead, Consadole managed to fight their way back into the match. First, they equalised the ledger a minute before half time on a penalty kick from Will. Then, about halfway through the second stanza, Ryuji Bando put Consadole in front with one of the hustling plays that he seems to have make his trademark. As a long ball soared over the defence, JEF keeper Ryo Kushino came out of the area to clear the ball. Two defenders were in a position to screen the play and give him time to clear, but Bando muscled his way around the defence and spomehow managed to get a foot on the ball just as it bounded. The ball deflectd underneath Kushino and rolled slowly into the right corner of the net.

JEF wasted no time getting back in the match, and once again it was the tall Choi whose goal poaching skills took center stage. This time, Yoshida dribbled up the left side and looped a high cross in front of the net. Choi was camped out in his usual cherry-picking position, and he leaped high to head the ball back against the grain and equalise the scores

Both teams failed to score again in regulation, or in the first overtime period, but just a few seconds into the final extra period, JEF worked a beautiful post play on the right side that sent Hiroyasu Ibata, a recent signing from Nagoya Grampus, into the clear at the right post. Ibata hit a low-angle shot that slipped by the outrushing keeper and gave JEF the victory.

3 - 2

Urawa got their offense into gear quickly as well. About ten minutes in, Shinji Ono dribbled in on net and fired a blast that the keeper just managed to parry. The ball bounced out to Urawa's ace Brazilian striker, Tuto, who dribbled across the box until he found an opening, and then unleashed a furious blast that soared just beyond the dive of the keeper and leveled the scores.

The two teams battled from end to end in a very even contest until two defensive miscues midway through the second half suddenly shifted the balance dramatically. First, Reysol created an opportunity in the 51 minute as Nozomu Kato sent a high cross into the penalty area. The ball found Tomonori Hiroyama at the far post, but his weak header back across the face of goal was misjudged by the Urawa keeper, and bounced softly into the far side of the net.. Then, just 8 minutes later, the Reds cleared a ball from the defensive end and began running out of their end. Yoo sent the ball back in with a long lob, but with a Reysol player standing in clear offside position, the Reds defenders just let the ball bound loose. However ,the Reysol player let the ball bounce as well, and walked away from the play, and the referee decided to play on. Hiroyama, racing in from an on-side position, collected the ball while the Reds players were still standing around waiting for a whistle. He then slipped the ball inside to Kato for the easy tap-in.

Urawa tried to fight back, but the deficit was too large to make up. Adriano got a consolation goal five minutes from time, on a nice individual drive into the box and a solid shot. However, it was too little, too late

0 - 4

The floodgates opened fifteen minutes into the second half, as Ueslei added a second-half hat trick to raise his total to four goals for the match. The first strike came as Pixy released wing back Yusuke Nakatani down the left sideline with acres of green pasture in front of him. Nakatani set up carefully and looped a cross in to Ueslei, who was waiting at the far post. Ueslei sent the ball into the netting with a thundering header, but he was still just warming up. Three minutes later, a pretty Stojkovic back-heel gave Ueslei a wide-open shot at net from just inside the box, and he slammed it home with a right-footed blast. Then he closed out the match with an indifidual play, first creating space for a shot from the right wing, then rushing in to collect the rebound after the keeper failed to hold on to his shot. Ueslei got to the loose ball first and tapped it in to complete the scoring.

2 - 0

Unfortunately for Tokyo, they started the season with a relative dearth of talent. Only striker Amaral has really been viewed as a top-flight player. The rest of the roster is composed of competent, workmanlike individuals who are only a bit better than mediocre. But perhaps that description now needs to be revised a bit. A second star seems to be emerging in the Tokyo lineup to support Amaral up front. In this match, Tokyo fans got the best indication yet that Clesly "Kelly" Guimares is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

This match began rather inconclusively, with the Antlers moving the ball well in midfield but unable to create any really dangerous chances in the absence of Yanagisawa. On the other side, Tokyo was held mainly on the defensive, but their two strikers, Amaral and Kelly, created a lot of touble for the weakened Antlers back line. In particular, Kelly found a way to elude his man, reserve defender Tomohiko Ikeuchi on several occasions. Eventually, these dagger-like counterattacks would take their toll.

In the 33 minute, Amaral carried the ball through midfield on a counterattack, and as he looked up, he spotted Kelly breaking down the right wing. Lofting the ball high into the area, Amaral gave Kelly space to run, and the speedy striker got to the ball just inches ahead of Jun Sogahata , volleying the ball past the outrushing keeper and into the net.

Though the Antlers tried to reply, the Tokyo defence was equal to the task of keeping their thrusts at bay, and about ten minutes into the second half, Kelly led another fast break that would put the match beyond reach. This time, Kelly took a long clearance pass and rushed out of midfield with only Ikeuchi between him and wide open pastures. Kelly put on a brilliant fake that left the rookie defender with his shoelaces tied together. Moving into the clear, Kelly fired a low, hard shot into the right corner that Sogahata couldnt reach. The huge Tokyo crowd, though split almost evenly between home fans and visiting Antlers fans, roared its appreciation of Kelly's sharp moves. No doubt this yongster will be watched closely in the second stage as he attempts to help FC Tokyo move into the upper half of the league table.

4-1

Junichi Inamoto, who is apparently moving to Arsenal in August, put the icing on the cake with a tally in the 64 minute.

3 - 1

2 - 1

Nagoya started the scoring early in the first half, as a long lead pass from Motohiro Yamaguchi sent young striker Kenji Fukuda into the clear. Fukuda drew the keeper out of the net, stepped around him and then measured the angle before rolling the ball gently into the wide-open net. S-Pulse equalised midway through the second half, on a long blast from Alex from just outside the circle which snuck inside the right post.

The match went to extra time, and then to a second period, but just when it seemed like neither side would manage a victory, a ping-pong sequence of headers around the perimiter of the S-Pulse penalty area opened up the middle, and allowed Kenta Hara to head in the winning goal.

With their victory earlier in the week, Jubilo Iwata clinched the first stage title. This books them a place in the Suntory Championship series in December, when they will face the winner of the second stage (assuming that the second-stage winner isnt Jubilo). Despite the achievement, though, Jubiolo players were very clear after the match that they were determined not to let down in the final two matches. The team is hoping to preserve their record of just one loss.

Here is how the league table looks at present

.	Team	Pts	GP	W (90/ET)	D	L	GD	GF	GA
1		33	13	12 (9-3)	0	1	+19	28	9
2		24	13	9 (6-3)	0	4	+9	30	21
3		23	13	9 (5-4)	0	4	+9	24	15
4		23	13	8 (4-4)	2	3	+5	23	18
5		19	13	7 (5-2)	0	6	+6	26	20
6		19	13	7 (5-2)	0	6	+3	24	21
7		19	13	7 (5-2)	0	6	0	16	16
8		18	13	6 (5-1)	1	6	-2	14	16
9		17	13	5 (5-0)	2	6	-3	17	20
10		15	13	5 (4-1)	1	7	-2	18	20
10		15	13	5 (4-1)	1	7	-2	18	20
12		14	13	5 (4-1)	0	8	-9	13	22
13		13	13	5 (3-2)	0	8	-5	22	27
14		10	13	3 (3-0)	1	9	-9	11	20
15		10	13	4 (2-2)	0	9	-11	15	26
16		8	13	2 (2-0)	2	9	-8	17	25

Rumours and Rumblings

Global Wanderer Nishizawa may Soon be Bolton Wanderer

According to the most recent rumours, Bolton is talking with Cerezo Osaka about a one-year transfer agreement. There is also some indication that otehr clubs might be interested in the same sort of one-year arrangement, including Aston Villa, Leicester City and Charlton Athletic.

Inamoto Move to Arsenal to be Confirmed This Week

Wounded Warriors Preparing for Comebacks

The Yokohama Marinos announced that midfield general Shunsuke Nakamura is likely to return to action for the team's match against Shimizu S-Pulse this weeken, for his first appearance in over two months. Nakamura suffered a number of nagging ailments which have put him out of action almost continuously since Japan's disastrous loss to France in late March. Nakamura seemed in much better spirits at a recent press meeting, and declared that he intends to make a strong return to action as soon as possible, and hopes to move to a Spanish club before the end of the calendar year.

Meanwhile, Kashima Antlers will be pleased to hear that left wing back Naoki Soma is making steady progress on his recovery from a serious knee operation in February. Soma has begun jogging and training at a gym near his home town, in Tottori Prefecture, and believes that he will be able to make his return to match play some time in early September, shortly after the J.League second stage begins.

Ono Contract Confirmed . . . and the One with Feyenoord, Too

According to club officials, Feyenoord have offered Ono a five-year contract, and paid a fee of US$3.75 million to the Reds. Initially the Reds insisted on US$5 million, but the two clubs afreed to terms under which Urawa will receive the rights to all marketing of Ono and Feyenoord merchandise in Japan. While the Dutch club seems to view this as a good deal, they may be singing a different tune before long. In his first year at Perugia, Hidetoshi Nakata generated a reported US$15 million in sales of merchandise for the Italian club, and Ono's popularity at this moment easily matches that of Nakata when he first left for Italy.

In related news, Asahi BS, a satellite broadcasting channel, has acquired the rights to all Feyenoord league matches for the coming season. The matches will be carried by both Asahi BS and the GAORA sports channel.

Nakata Move to Parma Signed, Sealed & Delivered

Nanami Planning a Return to La Dolce Vita

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.

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