81st Annual Emperor's Cup
| Kickoff | Home | . | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 |  | 3 - 0 |  |
| 13:00 |  | 0 - 2 |  |
| 1300 |  | 4 - 2 |  |
| 13:00 |  | 2 - 1 |  |
4 - 2
The Antlers responded as would be expected from the league champion, steadily pressing the ball into the Cerezo zone until finally a free kick from the left side was tipped into the net by Takayuki Suzuki. However, it took Cerezo just a minute to get their lead back. This time, a sudden breakout sent Morishima down the left side. As the defence reacted, Morishima dropped a brilliant back-heel to Yoon Jung-Hwan, which put Yoon into the clear for a point-blank shot , and Cerezo were on top again, 2-1.
Forced to come from behind again, the Antlers calmly played their ball-control game and before the half, a long pass from Koji Nakata sent Masashi Motoyama into the clear, and his fince centering pass gave Atsushi Yanagisawa an easy shot from the penalty spot to knot the score at half time.
However, even though the Antlers dominated posession in the second half, Cerezo's counterattacks looked dangerous, and eventually, one of them did the damage. Once again, Oshiba managed to get free down the left wing, and once again, it was Hara who took his centering pass and knocked it home.
Though there was still plenty of time for a comeback, the Antlers were starting to lose their air of inevitability, and some hostile calls from the referee complicated matters. Midway through the second half, Yoon Jung-Hwan broke into the penalty area, and although defender Yutaka Akita seemed to have him cut off, Yoon crumpled to the ground as soon as he felt body contact from Akita. The referee rewarded the fine acting job with a PK, and suddenly the Antlers were in a 4-2 hole. Try as they might, Kashima were unable to overcome a team that was clearly fired up, and needed to do nothing more but defend a two-goal lead for the final 25 minutes. Although the Antlers had some good chances in the waning minutes, they were unable to break the 11-man defence, and recently relegated Cerezo won their ticket to the semifinal round.
0 - 3
Cerezo Osaka will not be the only J2 club competing in the semifinals, however. In the biggest upset of the day, second-division minnows Kawasaki Frontale overcame Tokyo Verdy. Since Verdy struggled this season, it might not seem like such a big upset at first, but Kawasaki Frontale are not even a contender in the J2. Since the departure of their top striker, Emerson, to Urawa Reds at midseason, Frontale posted a record that was only marginally better than cellar dwellers like Mito Hollyhock and Ventforet Kofu. Yet they didnt look like pushovers on this afternoon. Although Verdy controlled posession for most of this match, Frontale got on the board early on a free kick that Tomoaki Kuno sent off the top of the wall, and looping into the far corner just beyond the diving keeper
Though Verdy had the initiative for the remainder of the first half, try as they might, they couldnt crack Frontale's defense. Time and again, the key pass went astray, or a Frontale defender threw his body into the path of the shot. Then, as the secont half got under way, Frontale began counterattacking with more conviction. In the 66 minute, one such counter sent midfielder Akira Ito into the clear, and he finished off a nice run down the right side with a ball into the low right corner.
By this point, Verdy was beginning to panic, and their attack started to falter as players tried too hard to force their passes and took long, "hail mary" shots that merely wasted time and scoring opportunities. Frontale, meanwhile, were gaining confidence, and they did a good job of sticking to their defensive-oriented game plan, counterattacking only when they had the clear opportunity. With time running down, Frontale got another break, this time three on one. As the defender came forward to challenge the ball, the Frontale player flicked on to Ito, once again. Although he was clearly offside, the linesman kept his flag down, and Ito had another uncontested run on net, which he finished off with a hard low shot inside the far post.
2 - 1
Urawa Reds managed something of an upset, as they overcame JEF United 2-1. Althoguh JEF finished well above Urawa in the league table this year, Urawa looked the better team on this afternoon. They conceded a fluke goal in the first half, when a shot by "Edo" Mujcin ricocheted off a defender's knee and spun crazily into the net. However, for the remainder of the afternoon, Urawa seemed to be almost entirely in control. Early in the second half they finally got the equaliser, whenY uichiro Nagai took a throw-in to the end line and Nobuhisa Yamada collected his centering pass, stepped around a defender and lobbed a shot into the top right corner.
Although JEF had a few chances in the second half, most of the pressure came from Urawa. Finally, in the 73 minute, Toshiyuki Abe split the defence with a perfect lead pass to Nagai, who dribbled the keeper into the ground, and then curled a low-angle shot just inside the far post for the deciding tally.
0 - 2
In the only match of the day which went according to the tip sheet, Shimizu S-Pulse cruised to a 2-0 win over Gamba Osaka. Although Gamba provided some dangerous opportunities on the counterattack, the team is currently without any of its foreign contingent, and there seemed to be nobody willing to take the final shot. As a result, many of their best opportunities went begging. S-Pulse looked less-than-brilliant, but against an oppostition that simply couldnt find the desire to score, one goal in each half was enough to book a ticket to the semifinal.
Thus, S-Pulse will face off against the J2 upstarts, Frontale, on December 29, and Cerezo will face Urawa Reds in Saitama Stadium -- a very fortuitous venue for the latter team.
For a full matrix of the tournament, including the results of matches held thus far, Click here.
Rumours and Rumblings
As the Coaching World Turns
This week, some new names surfaced in our ongoing soap opera. One of these, however, is not really that new. Emerson Leao, who has has not only served as a former Japan national team manager, but also had brilliant success at running other J.League teams into the ground, is apparently at the top of the list of replacements for the coaching spot at Avispa Fukuoka. Some might argue that the recently relegated Avispa has already been damaged enough, and that Leao whould have little to accomplish. But who knows, perhaps some selp from the maestro could ensure that Fukuoka will be the WEAKER team from Fukuoka, rather than their local rivals, Oita Trinita
At the other end of the scale, recent rumours have suggested that one of the top candidates to take over at JEF United is Josef Venglos, a Slovakian genius who has previously coached at Celtic and Aston Villa, and has also served the national teams of Australia, Malaysia, Oman, Slovakia and Czechoslovakia. While some dismissed the rumours, saying that Venglos would not be likely to take a position at a team that some would consider "beneath him", it is interesting to note that the rumours surfaced just one week after Phillipe Troussier confirmed that he will step down as Japan coach following the World Cup, in June. A six-month sojurn at JEF would certainly leapfrog Venglos into the top ranks of contenders to succeed Troussier, especially if he could help perpetuate the recent revival of the team from Chiba prefecture.
In the one coaching move that has been confirmed this week, Dutch coach Henk Duut signed to take the reins at Omiya Ardija. Yet even this relatively simple agreement was given a note of melodrama, when different newspapers reported different destinations for Duut. Some papers, including many in Holland, stated that Duut would take over as coach of Oita Trinita. Even an official announcement by Omiya Ardija was treated with scepticism, since the press refused to accept that their initial story was wrong. Only when Oita confirmed that Duut was NOT coming to Kyushu was the matter resolved with certainty.
As you can see, there's never a dull moment. Stay tuned for more melodrama next week, As the Coaching World Turns!
Hiroshima Hounded over Brazil Bribe
A recent news report suggseting that the Brazilian Football Federation was asking for US$4 million from the city of Hiroshima, in return for setting up their training camp in Hiroshima during the 2002 World Cup, was greeted with anger by Hiroshima citizens. According to the reports, the CBF conducted negotiations with local authorities in Hiroshima city, and suggested that a donation of US$4 million would be a good way to ensure that Brazil set up camp there this summer. A member of Hiroshima's chamber of commerce said that while $4 million was beyond the city's means, they were willing to offer the CBF the cash generated from a match between Brazil and J-League club Hiroshima Sanfrecce.The news reports created quite a stir in Hiroshima, where residents angrily denounced any "payoff" and city officials were forced to release a quick retraction, stating that they would never offer a "bribe" to get a team to set up camp in the city, even though they would do everything possible to convince World Cup teams of the merits of using the city as their home base.
The CBF also seems to have been caught out. A spokesperson denied that any negotiations were taking place, and added that FIFA recommended that participating countries set up base camp in the same country that they are playing. Brazil, since they are drawn to play in Korea, would have to set up camp in that country.
Send all questions, comments and queries to: