J.League All-Star Match
The match started off with a rush, as the two teams played from end to end for the first quarter-hour. As is often the case, voters choose all-star candidates based on their offensive abilities, so both teams were playing somewhat odd formations. Players that are generally forwards or attacking midfielders found themselves on the wing, or even in defensive midfield. Naturally, this made for a very fast-paced match. The J-East All-Stars got the scoring started, as Tokyo Verdy striker Takafumi Ogura sent a long lead pass from the left sideline to Reysol's Tomokazu Myojin. Myojin muscled the defender off the ball and turned towards goal. As he made his final run, he carefully measured Nagoya Grampuskeeper Seigo Narazaki, and then assigned the home-town keeper a badge of shame by sliding the ball directly between his legs and into the goal.
Despite the embarassing way that they conceded the early lead, J-West came back quickly with a dazzling bit of ball work. Shimizu S-Pulse left wing Alessandro dos Santos (Alex) played a beautiful back-heel to Cerezo Osaka's Yoon Jung-Hwan, who took the ball on a dead run and broke into the box. yoon spotted veteran striker Kazu Miura in front of the net, and fed him a perfect lead pass for an easy put-away shot..
Alex added one more goal before half time on a penalty kick. Referee Leslie Mottram was in an even more generous mood than usual, handing out penalty kicks with an open hand, and this would be just one of three shots from the spot during the match. In any event, J-West went into the locker room at half time with a 2-1 lead.
As the two teams came out for the second stanza, both coaches made a number of substitutions, as is the norm in these all-star events. The most important replacement of the evening saw Kashima Antlers ace Atsushi Yanagisawa replace Ogura at the left striker position. It took less than five minutes for Yanagisawa to get his first tally, though he had to give some credit to Mottram, who awarded a PK for a tug on Yanagisawa's jersey as he broke into the box. Having tied the score with the PK, however, Yanagisawa caught fire midway through the period and began testing the strength of J-West's goal netting. In the 70 minute, Yokohama Marinos midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura sent a long lob for the far post, and Yanagisawa ran onto the ball, stabbing it past the keeper withthe outside of his right boot.
The Antlers striker saved his best for last, however. In the 78 minute, JEF United forward Choi Yong-Soo was upended as he tried to break into the penalty area, but Yanagisawa pounced on the loose ball and drove for the net. Although Narazaki parried his first effort, Yanagisawa stayed with the ball and lobbed a looping shot behind the scrambling keeper to raise the score to 4-2.
J-West got one goal back a few minutes before the final whistle, once again thanks to the generosity of Mr. Mottram, as Masashi Nakayama took a dive in the penalty area and was rewarded with a PK. However, it was far too late to overtake the J-East All-Stars, who got their first win in four years behind the MVP-winning play of Yanagisawa.
Nabisco Cup Quarterfinal Round
On August 8, the third round matches of the Nabisco Cup formally kicked off the second half of the J.League season. While eight teams remain in contention, the card looks extremely lopsided, with four of the five strongest teams all in one group. Lets begin by looking at the first-leg scores:
| Home | . | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Urawa Reds | 1 - 0 | Kashima Antlers |
| JEF United | 2 - 2 | Jubilo Iwata |
| Yokohama Marinos | 3 - 0 | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2 - 3 | Nagoya Grampus |
1 - 0 
Urawa's Komaba Stadium was filled to the rafters with red, as the home team Reds faced off against Kashima Antlers before a crowd of enthusiastic supporters from both sides. While the Reds were playing their first match without former captain and emotional leader Shinji Ono, the Antlers were also a few players short. Atsushi Yanagisawa was sitting out a suspension for accumulated yellow cards, and midfielder Koji Kumagai and defender Naoki Soma are still out with injuries. Yet both teams were eager to show that they have a host of weapons that they can call upon, and this match looked to be an offensive contest from the outset. Strikers Yuichiro Nagai (Reds) and Takayuki Suzuki (Antlers ) both had chances in the first five minutes, and rookie Reds striker Takuya Tanaka displayed a bit of dribbling dazzle in the early moments of the match. The Antlers' new left back, Augusto, also showed some quality play, suggesting that the Antlers may have finally found someone to fill the huge hole left by the injury to Soma.
In the 19 minute, the Antlers had a fine opportunity after Takayuki Suzuki was fouled at the left corner of the box. Bismarck's centring pass was cleared right to defender Akira Narahashi, who unleashed a blast, but it hit a defender just before reaching the goal. Nevertheless, the Antlers were beginning to take control of the tempo. Mitsuo Ogasawara and Bismarck began to take control of the midfield, providing Antlers with a clear advantage in possession and field position. Yet the offence was unable to turn possession into any major scoring opportunities. In the 39 minute, the Antlers got their best chance of the half, as Narahashi carried the ball out of midfield, played a give-and-go with Ogasawara, and then unleashed a shot. But the Reds keeper Tomoyasu Ando was equal to the blast, and the two teams went into the locker room for halftime with the game still scoreless.
As the second half began, however, the Antlers received a shock. On a long clearance, defender Yutaka Akita got tangled up with Tanaka, and despite the fact that the foul looked more accidental than anything, the referee pulled out not a yellow, but a red card. With the Antlers reduced to 10 men, the pace of the match changed dramatically. For the first time in the match, the Reds began creating some quality chances. Tanaka, in particular, got off some nice shots on net, but Jun Sogahata was equal to the drives. Hoping to capitalise on the man advantage, Tita brought in strikers Masayuki Okano and Keita Suzuki for midfielders Uchidate and Tsuchihashi. The insertions nearly paid off immediately, as a goal rush through Okano and Suzuki created a shot, but Nagai's header was just over the bar.
But the Antlers refused to concede control of the match even with a man disadvantage. Suzuki, in particular, began taking on defenders when he had a counterattack opportunity, and on one break he very nearly got free. Only a nice save by Ando denied him the lead goal. Then, just when it seemed like the match might end in a scoreless draw, Tanaka broke free on the left flank and reserve defender Ikeuchi fouled him just on the edge of the box. Adriano took the free kick, and beat the keeper to the near post, putting the Reds in the lead.
Unfortunately, the game descended into farce soon after the goal. After a meaningless foul at midfield, the referee pulled out a red card once again, sending off Koji Nakata and reducing the Antlers to nine men. To make matters worse, he awarded a yellow to Fabiano for protesting the call. The Reds emerged victorious, but the nature of their victory is sure to rankle Antlers fans, and the Reds can be sure of a hostile reception when they pay a return visit to Kashima in two weeks.
2 - 2 
The first stage champions Jubilo Iwata travelled to the Tokyo waterfront to take on first-stage runners-up, JEF United Ichihara. Though Jubilo are be viewed as favourites, JEF is a very young and aggressive team, with a lot of enthusiasm generated from their first stage performance, and they played the first-stage champs even throughout this match. Jubilo, meanwhile, have an solid, veteran lineup but need to make a few adjustments now that Naohiro Takahara is plying his trade in Argentina. In his absence, veteran Masashi Nakayama took over the scoring duties and collected two goals. However, his opposite number, Choi Yong-Soo equalled the effort with two goals of his own. The two teams will now travel to Iwata for the return leg with no advantage to either side. (a more detailed update will be posted later today)
3 - 0 
The matchup between Yokohama Marinos and Kawasaki Frontale paled by comparison to the first two matchups. One has to believe that any of the four teams that took part in the first two matches described above could walk over either Marinos or Frontale in their sleep. Unfortunately, due to the lopsided draw, one of these two teams will progress to the semifinal. Given Frontale's dismal performance in the J2 this season, and the fact that they have just lost their ace striker Emerson to Urawa Reds, it was no surprise to see the Marinos dominate. Yokohama will surely view this match as a confidence builder, and hope it helps them to break out of their slump and develop momentum for the second stage.
The Marinos started a lineup that lacked some of their top names, and one wonders if they were taking Frontale lightly. As it turned out, they probably had reason to do so. Although new signing Brito had a less-than-stellar match, midfielders Yoshiharu Ueno and Akihiro Endo picked up the slack, each scoring a goal to give Yohohama a 2 - 0 lead at half time. Endo added one more tally in the second half to give the Marinos a huge advantage when they travel across the river to Kawasaki for the return leg.
2 - 3 
In the final face-off, Nagoya Grampus had a little bit more trouble with Sanfrecce Hiroshima than theey might have expected, but in the end they still managed to clinch victory in their away leg. Sanfrecce. Hiroshima's new signing, Ukranian ace Sergey Skachenko, was still not available, but second-string striker Susumu Ohki scored two goals to keep the game close. However, Grampus looked quite smooth even in the absence of former playmaker, Dragan Stojkovic, and two goals from Naoshi Nakamura kept them level at the break
Early in the second half, Nagoya took the lead for good on a goal from veteran striker Tetsuya Okayama, and the team was able to preserve this lead throguh the end of the match. Though their margin of victory was slim, Nagoya will return for their home leg with confidence that they should almost certainly advance to the semifinal round.
Rumours and Rumblings
Avispa Fukuoka Say Yes to Noh
Noh Jung-Yoon, who was barred from joining Ulsan Hyundai in the K.League due to a league office decision whick keeps him from entering the league, finally was picked up by Avispa Fukuoka. Noh left Korea directly after university to play in Japan, skipping the K.League draft, and the league has ruled that his failure to allow a K.League club to sign him first disqualifies him from re-entering the league. Many were surprised by the harsh line that K.League officials took, but Avispa coach Nestor Piccoli says that the decision is simply Korea's loss.Avispa Fukuoka, which got off to a good start in the first stage but then faded down the stretch, have now added four key players during the mid-season break. Striker Claudio Biaggio signed just before the end of the first stage, forward Wagner Lopes and defender Naruyuki Naito were picked up from FC Tokyo, and now Noh has been added to bolster the midfield.
Urawa Reds Bolster Front Line with Emerson
A great deal of discussion has floated around the soccer world in recent weeks regarding what the Urawa Reds might do to replace Shinji Ono, who left for Holland at the end of the first stage. As one of the richest and best-supported teams in the league, the Reds certainly have the cash to obtain players. the only question was who they might try to pick up, and whether any other team would be willing to release a top player.Those questions were answered on Monday, when Urawa announced the acquisition of Marcio Emerson Passos (Emerson), a 19-year-old scoring whiz who arrived at Consadole Sapporo from Brazil in the middle of the 2000 season and took the J2 by storm. Emerson finished the season as the J2 scoring leader, and was a major contributor to Consadole's promotion to the J1. However, Emerson opted to be transferred to Kawasaki Frontale at the start of this season, remaining in the J2. Unfortunately, Kawasaki has floundered and Emerson seems to have grown restless with the team's poor performance. His addition to the Urawa lineup, alongside anotehr fast young Brazilian, Tuto, should give Urawa a very dangerous attack in the second half.
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