Xerox Super Cup 2002: Feb 23, 2002
1-1 (PK4-5)
As the match kicked off, S-Pulse pressed the ball hard at midfield, trying to steal the momentum from a tired Antlers squad. They challenged every pass and charged hard at the Antler players, hoping to keep them from developing a rhythm. The strategy worked well, at first, since the Antlers did indeed show signs of fatigue. However, while S-Pulse maintained better field position for about the first 20 minutes, their share of posession was only about even, and they failed to convert this into any scoring opportunities. The Antlers, though taken out of their stride for a while, remained patient and began to regroup as the match wore on
In the 20 minute, Kashima got its first dangerous opportunity. After winning a corner kick on the left side, Koji Nakata dropped the ball back to Koji Kumagai on the left sideline, rather than crossing it in. Kumagai set up, and lofted a high ball to the far side of the box where striker Takayuki Suzuki was waiting. Suzuki headed it back across the face of goal, and Nakata, who had followed up his kick by sneaking in towards the left post, very nearly got to it in time to knock it home. But the ball went just wide.
The Antlers were beginning to take over control of posession, and for the next five minutes, they created several opportunities, including one scramble in front of goal that offered four separate Antlers a brief look at goal, but in the end, Suzuki sent the ball over the bar to kill the opportunity. S-Pulse's pressure had begun to backfire by this time, as they conceded several free kicks tht created Antler opportunities, and picked up some yellow cards as well (there were a total of nine yellows and one red in the match, though it was not really that physical a contest. Rather, several players received cards for "professional fouls" committed to stop a counterattack, and late in the match, the referee lost his composure a bit, awarding some cards that were probably not deserved).
S-Pulse tried to shift their strategy, and move into a counterattacking mode. However, apart from one dangerous cross that Baron headed over the bar, their scoring opportunities were much more limited than those of the Antlers. Nevertheless, the two teams went into the locker room at half time with no score on the board.
When the two teams came out for the second half, Shimizu again tried to press. But as was the case in the first half, they were only able to keep the Antlers out of their rhythm for about ten minutes. About fifteen minutes into the second half, though, the match began to get rather "strange". In the 60 minute, S-Pulse appeared to score the opening goal of the match, on what would have been a truly bizarre scoring play. As a ball was cleared from the Antlers box, the retreating referee accidentally bowled over Antler midfielder Masashi Motoyama giving the ball to Kazuyuki Toda in a completely unmarked position at the top of the circle. Toda found Baron ten meters from goal, and the tall striker headed a shot on net. It was blocked by the keeper Hitoshi Sogahata, but Santos pounced on the rebound and drove it into the net.
As Santos and Baron began their celebrations, however, the referee waved off the goal and signalled an offside. Replays showed that Santos may indeed have been marginally offside when Baron took his shot, but one wonders if the call would have been made, if not for the fact that the referee felt responsible for creating the scoring chance.
Things would get even more bizarre just five mintues later. After several promising thrusts into the S-Pulse zone, Koji Nakata sent a long ball towards goal for Motoyama to chase. As Motoyama, closed on the ball, though, he was cut off by defender Katsumi Oenoki, and the two went down in a heap, within millimeters of the keeper Takuya Kurokawa, who dove towards the pile and covered the ball. The referee judged that the collision was incidental, and the keeper would probably have reached the ball anyway, so he left his whistle in his pocket and let play resume.
However, Kurokawa suffered a fatal lapse of concentration, as he failed to realise that play had not been stopped. He put the ball down on the ground as if to prepare for a free kick. Motoyama did a double take, as if to say "Is this for real?", then pounced onto the ball and kicked it into the empty net. The Anters were in the lead, 1-0.
The goal gave Kashima a boost, and with increased confidence, they dominated the next 20 minutes of play. Suzuki nearly doubled the score in the 80 minute, on a perfect centering pass from Augusto, but he took his eye off the ball at the last second, and it flashed wide of the net. However, it looked like the Antlers were cruising to an easy win. Toninho Cerezo put on several defensive substitutes, and though S-Pulse made a few valiant efforts to create chances on the counterattack, all fell short.
Then, with three minutes of injury time gone and everyone expecting the final whistle, Daisuke Ichikawa tried to make one last dash down the right sideline. Koji Nakata was shoulder to shoulder with him, and it appeared that the attack was going nowhere, but suddenly Ichikawa stumbled, and -- to the surprise of even many S-Pulse players -- not only awarded a free kick, but also showed Nakata his second yellow of the match. While the Antlers were still numb from the sending off, Santos fired his free kick towards the near post and, to provide a bizarre finish to a bizarre match, it caromed off reserve striker Takayuki Yokoyama's knee, and just inside the near post, to send the match to PKs.
For the second time in three days, the Antlers had allowed their opponent to score the tying goal in injury time. The totally deflated squad collapsed to the turf in disbelief. It is hardly any surprise, then, that the suddenly overjoyed S-Pulse had the upper hand in the PK shootout. After both teams hit four of their first five shots, Tomohiko Ikeuchi missed for the Antlers, to give S-Pulse their shot at victory. But to close the curtain in suitably bizarre fashion, the telecast finished with startling abruptness. As S-Pulse defender Yohei Ikeda sent Sogahata the wrong way, and drilled his final PK shot for the corner, the telecast suddenly cut away to commercial, before the ball had even hit the back of the net!!!
Rumours and Rumblings
Jubilo Looking to Swap vanZwam for Kawaguchi
As has been reported in our Overseas Player section, officials at Portsmouth have expressed their interest in selling national team goaltender Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, possibly to a Japanese team. Although Kawaguchi's replacement, Dave Beseant, has fared no better in trying to fend off the barrage of goals conceded by the Portsmouth defence, Graham Rix, among others, has publicly stated his hope that another team can be found to pick up Kawaguchi, in part "so that he will have more opportunities to play regularly". Of course, this leaves aside the question of why Portsmouth do not start him. It is hard to believe he could do worse than the five goals conceded by Beseant in Pompey's last outing. But for reasons of their own, Portsmouth are apparently willing to sell Kawaguchi at a bargain price.
Jubilo Iwata is the team currently expressing the most interest in Kawaguchi. Jubilo officials have publicly stated their interest, and say that they are negotiating with Portsmouth at this moment. However, there seem to be a few hurdles to a deal.
For one, Portsmouth still have not paid the full transfer fee for Kawaguchi to Yokohama Marinos. Under the original agreement, Portsmouth was to pay the fee in instalments. It seems that Portsmouth is looking to convince another club to pick up the payments for them, suggesting that weak finances at Portsmouth might be one reason why the team is so eager to part with Kawaguchi. A second hurdle is the fact that Kawaguchi wants to stay in England, and has stated that he is particularly reluctant to play for Jubilo.
Rumours about a possible trade to Iwata have been bubbling for several days, but on Monday morning, a Jubilo source disclosed to a Japanese sports tabloid the most likely-sounding scenario yet. Under the proposed deal, Jubilo would swap their current starting keeper, Arno vanZwam, for Kawaguchi, and throw in an undisclosed sum to help pay part of the remaining fee owed to Yokohama. There are several reasons to think that this might be a successful formula for a deal. Clearly Portsmouth needs a keeper, and up to now, one of the reasons offered for the decision not to play Kawaguchi is the fact that he has a hard time communicating with his teammates in English. Jubilo, meanwhile, received some good performances from vanZwam last season, but they also lost two matches due to communication errors between vanZwam (who speaks little or no Japanese) and his teammates.
No response from Portsmouth has been reported yet, but with a reasonable-sounding formula now on the table, it will be interesting to see if Jubilo and Portsmouth officials can convince Kawaguchi to accept a move to Iwata.
Punishment Catches Up With Oku and Oulida
Yokohama Marinos midfielder Daisuke Oku and Nagoya Grampus midfielder Tarik Oulida will both be suspended from their teams' season opener on March 3. The two players each received red cards in their respective teams' final Emperor's Cup match of last season. Although punishments for yellow and red card offenses are usually wiped away, and players given a clean sheet at the start of a new stage, the offenses committed by both players determined to be serious enough to merit two-match suspensions. The league disciplinary committee decided, therefore, to carry over the punitive action to the new season, and thus Oku and Oulida will be ruled out of action for one match of the new season.
Ventforet Kofu Hoping for a Magical Season
After finishing dead last in the J.League second division for two years in a row, Ventforet Kofu will try just about anything to help them elevate their performance. But for those who believe that only magic could help the team climb out of the cellar this season, you may be in for a surprise. In yet another one of those stories that could only happen in Japan, Ventforet's new sponsor for the 2002 season is none other than "Princess Tenko", a magician who is also the mascot of a local theme park. No, this is not a joke. When the 2002 season kicks off, Ventforet Kofu players will proudly wear a uniform with the "Princess Tenko" logo on their backs. When asked to comment on the team's prospects for this season, Princess Tenko replied "I will do my best to help the team succeed, using my power of illusion." Whatever the case, there is little question that Kofu fans this season will find it hard to believe their eyes.
J.League Goes High Tech
The J.League has established a partnership wth the mobile telecommunications giant NTT DoCoMo to develop new services for mobile phone and internet users. The league is hoping to launch its mobile internet service in August, and plans to transmit a wide range of data and video images, including scores, video clips of game highlights and goals, as well as commentary and interviews with players and coaches. The service will be available on NTT DoCoMo's third-generation mobile phone service, "FOMA" (Freedom of Mobile Access.
In addition to mobile phone services, the J. League's tie-up with the NTT group is also expected to bring some dramatic improvements to the J.League official website. According to the press release issued by the J.League office, the broadband features will include high-resolution video highlights of matches, and possibly live Internet webcasts of matches as well. However, these more advanced services may not be rolled out until the 2003 season.
Manaka Hospitalized, Fighting for his Life
Cerezo Osaka's veteran midfielder Yasuo Manaka was hospitalized in critical condition, following a beating incident in downtown Osaka in the wee hours of Monday morning. According to witnesses, Manaka was returning from a late night at the clubs in Osaka's Shinsaibashi neighborhood, and was getting into a taxi when two men driving by in a car began shouting at him. Manaka shouted back for a minute or two, when suddenly the two men jumped out, dragged him from the taxi and began beating him. The taxi driver called police, but the two men fled the scene in their car, leaving Manaka with a fractured skull.
Since being hospitalised, Manaka has recovered consciousness, and his condition stabilised. However, doctors are doubtful that he will be able to play football again. Manaka suffered a severe fracture of the skull, and it could be a long time -- possibly years -- before the bones heal sufficiently to handle the impact of repeated blows to the head which most players experience in every match. Though it is too soon to give an exact prognosis, doctors suggested that this injury probably would mean the end of his football career.
Yasuo Manaka was a valuable reserve player for Cerezo, whose most notable performance last season came when he entered the match in the second half as a substitute and scored three goals in less than 5 minutes -- the fastest hat trick in J.League history. He began his J.League career with Kashima Antlers in the league's inaugural season, 1993, and was traded to Cerezo in 1999. Although Manaka served most of his career in the role of a second-half substitute, he had an excellent record of creating quick offense coming off the bench, and has tallied 36 goals in his J.League career.
Sanfrecce Sign Cameroon Defender Billong
Sanfrecce Hiroshima have announced a one-year loan contract to acquire the services of Cameroon national team defender Michel Pensee Billong. The Indomitable Lions' libero was a core member of the 1998 World Cup team in France, and is viewed as a possible selection for 2002 as well. Billong is no newcomer to Asia. He played for several years in Korea, at Ilwha Chunma, and he was in Japan less than one year ago, when he took part in the Confederations Cup. He also has played for Sanfrecce coach Gadzhi Gadzhiev before, at the Russian club Anji Makhachkala.
Hiroshima have been looking for help in the back line ever since the team's top central defender, Kenichi Uemura, fractured his leg and was ruled out of the lineup for about 8 months. Uemura was a national team prospect, and the most important defensive contributor on a team that was already prone to giving away quite a few goals. Billong, at 28, should be a very useful acquisition, though it is not clear how soon he will be ready to play.
National Team Practice Match Thrills 15,000
Japan's national team held a public training match on Wednesday evening at Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, between two teams of national team hopefuls. The 32 healthy players in camp were divided into two teams of 16 players (some training camp participants sat out due to lingering injuries), with the "A" team narrowly edging the "B" team on a second-half penalty kick converted by Takayuki Suzuki.
A crowd of over 15,000 attended the match, and all proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to charity. Reportedly, two of the paying customers were members of the coaching staffs for Russia and Belgium, who will face Japan in the first round of the World Cup. The match was quite a lively affair, and both teams were clearly doing their best to impress M. Troussier. Although neither team was able to score from the run of play, there were a number of very good opportunities created by both teams. Strikers Atsushi Yanagisawa and Naohiro Takahara, as well as midfielder Alessandro Santos provided some spark for the "A" team, but Kashima Antlers teammates Masashi Motoyama and Mitsuo Ogasawara created excitement for the "B" squad, as well, particularly in the build-up from midfield.
Troussier will use the information gathered at this week's camp, and the training match, to pare his list of national team members down to about 30, over the next week.
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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