August 8, 2002
Busy Busy Busy!!!
Because of the hectic schedule of matches this week, plus the annoying demands of that thing my wife sometimes refers to as "your REAL job", the Rising Sun News has been struggling just to keep up with a regular summary of match results. Hopefully time pressures will ease somewhat next week, but for the time being, we will provide a somewhat abbreviated report on Wednesday night's matches. Here are the results of those contests.
| Date | Home | . | Visitor | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Aug |  | 1-4 |  | Sendai Stadium |
| 7 Aug |  | 0-2 |  | Komaba Stadium |
| 7 Aug |  | 2-0 |  | Ichihara Seaside |
| 7 Aug |  | 1-3 |  | Tokyo Stadium |
| 7 Aug |  | 3-0 |  | Kumamoto Stad. |
| 7 Aug |  | 2-1 |  | Nihondaira |
| 7 Aug |  | 3-0 |  | Expo '70 Stadium |
| 7 Aug |  | 0-1(ET) |  | Big Arch |
0-1(ET) 
In a match that nearly provided the upset of the evening, Sanfrecce held Jubilo to a scoreless draw over 90 minutes, and threatened to win this match on several occasions. But in the end, a goal in the 9 minute of extra time by Naohiro Takahara allowed Jubilo to remain within one win of the league leaders, setting up what could be a very exciting finish to the season.
0-1(ET)
Lineups:
Takashi Shimoda, Yuichi Komano, Michel Pensee Billong, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Kota Hattori, Kazuyuki Morisaki, Kentaro Sawada, Yuki Matsushita, Chikara Fujimoto, Susumu Oki (Hiroto Mogi 90), Tatsuhiko Kubo (Yutaka Takahashi 59)
Arno VanZwam, Takahiro Yamanishi , Go Oiwa, Makoto Tanaka, Takashi Fukunishi (Norihiro Nishi 67), Toshihiro Hattori, Toshiya Fujita, Jun Kanazawa, Hiroshi Nanami, Naohiro Takahara, Masashi Nakayama
3-0 
After their draining extra-time battle with Kyoto Purple Sanga over the weekend, the Marinos can perhaps be excused for looking a bit lethargic in their match on Wednesday night. In fact, if they had faced any significant opposition, this might have been a difficult match for them, particularly as this "home" match was played at distant Kumamoto Stadium, in southern Kyushu..
3-0 But fortunately for the lads from Yokohama, their opponent was the increasingly pathetic Vissel Kobe, whose entire season could perhaps be summed up by an incident midway through the second half, when they were struggling to get back into the match. After an exciting buildup on the right wing, a cross bounded over the pack and fell to Kazu Miura at the far post. With the entire defence caught out of position, Kazu had about three meters of open space, and a completely empty net in front of him. He proceeded to release a blast that soared two meters over the bar and an equal distance wide of the right upright.
The Marinos got their first goal on a nice header from Naza, following a corner kick. The initial cross was cleared, but it fell right back to Yoshiharu Ueno in the left corner. Sending the ball into the box a second time, Ueno found Naza at the far post for a header just under the bar.
Early in the second half, the Marinos doubled their lead when Will and Dutra took off on a 75-meter breakaway run that ended as Dutra released a pass to Will that beat the final defender. Will calmly rolled the ball into the corner, where the keeper had no chance to stop it.
Will also closed out the scoring just before the end of the match, settling a cross from the right wing and then blasting it into the top of the net from about five meters away.
Lineups:
Tatsuya Enomoto, Naza, Naoki Matsuda, Yasuhiro Hato, Kunio Nagayama (Kazuyoshi Mikami 82), Yoshiharu Ueno, Dutra, Kunio Hisanaga, Akihiro Endo, Nobuhisa Shimizu (Tomoyuki Hirase 74), Will (Daisuke Sakata 89)
Makoto Kakegawa, Kunie Kitamoto, Sidiclei, Yukio Tsuchiya, Tomo Sugawara (Shigeyoshi Mochizuki 71), Naoya Saeki, Masayuki Okano (Shoji Jo 71), Daniel, Takeshi Hirano, Ryuji Bando, Kazu Miura
- 
In what was probably the most lively and exciting match of the evening, two of the youngest and most aggressive teams in the league went head to head at Tokyo Soccer Stadium, and gave the crowd a real treat with end-to-end action that continued right to the final whistle. The matsh was almost marred by the referee, Lucio Baptista, who continues to award PKs and free kicks for even the most incidental contact in the vicinity of the penalty area. Kyoto was the first recipient of his largesse, but keeper Yoichi Doi guessed the right direction to dive, and made a nice save. Later in the first half, Amaral was awarded a PK for what looked like a well-executed dive on the edge of the box. The so-called "King of Tokyo" did a better job of converting, and Tokyo were up 1-0 at half time.
- But immediately after the intermission, Kyoto equalized as Shingo Suzuki ripped a wicked blast from just to the left of goal, which tore into the roof of the net before anyone on the field even realised that a shot had been taken. Tokyo came close to getting the lead back, on some nice runs by Naohiro Ishikawa in combination with Amaral and Clesley "Kelly" Guimares. However, in the 57 minute, Teruaki Kurobe collected a pass just above the circle over the penalty box, and sent a slant pass that sliced like a surgical instrument through the flat-footed Tokyo defence and found Park Ji-Sung cutting towards net. Park fired a first-time shot that slipped into the low left corner, and Kyoto were in the lead.
Before FC Tokyo could fully recover from the strike by Park, Kyoto put the match out of reach. After winning a free kick 35 meters from goal, Park lobbed a long ball to the left of goal that looked like it was going to sail over the end line. But at the last second, defender Makoto Kakuta leapt into the air and headed the ball back in front of goal. Kurobe soared over his defender to head a solid shot into the back of the net, putting the match out of reach
Lineups:
Yoichi Doi, Jean Carlo Witte, Teruyuki Moniwa, Tetsuya Ito, Satoru Asari (Tetsuhiro Kina 45), Ryuji Fujiyama (Kenji Fukuda 65), Masashi Miyazawa, Naohiro Ishikawa (Daisuke Hoshi 84), Kelly, Mitsuhiro Toda, Amaral
Naoto Hirai, Makoto Kakuta, Kazuki Teshima, Shigehira Tsujimoto, Tadashi Nakamura, Daisuke Saito, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Shingo Suzuki, Park Ji-Sung (Yusaku Ueno 72), Teruaki Kurobe, Shinya Tomita
0-2 
A full house at Urawa's Komaba stadium provided a great atmosphere for this fierce contest between two clubs that are out of the running for the first stage, but may be trying to position themselves for a second-stage run. Despite a great deal of action and scoring opportunities on both sides, the first half ended without a score. But 15 minutes into the second period, Augusto managed to outdribble Reds defender Tadaaki Tsuboi for the first time all night, and carried the ball into the box. The Brazilian wing back paused just long enough for Atsushi Yanagisawa to make a cut for the back post, then fired off a sharp pass that Yanagi volleyed into the net for only his second goal of the season.
0-2 With Yanagisawa finally breaking his long goal drought, the Antlers seemed energised. Although Urawa tried to work their way back into the match, the Antlers defence was too solid, and as the Reds pressed forward, soon the Antlers were beginning to get dangerous counterattacking opportunities. One of these eventually paid off, as Mitsuo Ogasawara sent Euller free for a fairly easy finish, to put the match out of reach
Lineups:
Nobuhiro Yamagishi, Masami Ihara, Tadaaki Tsuboi, Hideki Uchidate, Tadaaki Hirakawa, Keita Suzuki, Harison (Tomoyuki Abe 81), Ryuuji Michiki, Toshiya Ishii (Nobuhisa Yamada 75), Tatsuya Tanaka (Yuichiro Nagai 83), Tuto
Hitoshi Sogahata, Akira Narahashi, Yutaka Akita (Jun Uchida 85), Fabiano, Augusto, Naoto Honda, Koji Nakata, Mitsuo Ogasawara, Masashi Motoyama (Takeshi Aoki 80), Atsushi Yanagisawa, Euller (Yoshiyuki Hasegawa 89)
1-4 
Vegalta's post-World Cup slump continued, as they were crushed by Nagoya Grampus in front of a capacity home crowd. The 19,000+ Vegalta supporters could only watch in anguish as Ivica Vastic and Ueslei tore their defence to shreds, with Ueslei scoring all four goals in this runaway match
1-4
Elsewhere
Gamba Osaka kept their hopes for the first stage at least mathematically alive with a convincing 3-0 win against lowly Tokyo Verdy. Kota Yoshihara scored twice in this one-sided contest at Osaka's "Banpaku" stadium.Meanwhile, Kashiwa Reysol's woes continued as they watched an early goal by Tomonori Hirayama evaporate, and dropped a 2-1 decision to Shimizu S-Pulse. JEF United Ichihara had little difficulty with visiting Consadole Sapporo, capturing a 2-0 victory.
Because Jubilo was unable to win their match in regulation time, the Marinos extended their lead at the top of the table to two points. The final two matches of the season promise to be a real test, and the championship is almost certain to go down to the final weekend. Even Gamba Osaka are not yet mathematically eliminated, though if either the Marinos or Jubilo can win even one of their final two matches, Gamba would be out of the running.
In the final two weeks of the season, Yokohama has a slightly more difficult schedule. Interestingly enough, the reigning champions Kashima Antlers will help to decide the stage winner, as they play both the Marinos and Gamba Osaka in the final two matches of the first stage. Yokohama must also face Shimizu S-Pulse, in an "away" match at Tokyo's National Stadium, in the final match of the stage.
Jubilo Iwata has a much easier schedule ahead of them, facing Vegalta Sendai at home, and Kashiwa Reysol away in their final two matches. With a two-point disadvantage, though, they need help from either the Antlers or S-Pulse if they hope to capture the sixth stage title in the team's history.
Here is how the league table looks with just two matches left to play
| . | Team | Pts | GP | W (90/ET) | D | L | GDif | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yokohama Marinos | 32 | 13 | 11 (8-3) | 2 | 0 | +18 | 27 | 9 |
| 2 | Jubilo Iwata | 30 | 13 | 11 (7-4) | 1 | 1 | +17 | 32 | 15 |
| 3 | Gamba Osaka | 27 | 13 | 9 (8-1) | 1 | 3 | +18 | 34 | 16 |
| 4 | Nagoya Grampus | 23 | 13 | 8 (7-1) | 0 | 5 | +8 | 24 | 16 |
| 5 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 22 | 13 | 8 (5-3) | 1 | 4 | +8 | 24 | 16 |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 21 | 13 | 7 (7-0) | 0 | 6 | +1 | 17 | 16 |
| 7 | Vegalta Sendai | 20 | 13 | 7 (6-1) | 0 | 6 | +1 | 22 | 21 |
| 8 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 20 | 13 | 7 (4-3) | 2 | 4 | -3 | 16 | 19 |
| 9 | FC Tokyo | 17 | 13 | 5 (5-0) | 2 | 6 | -2 | 21 | 23 |
| 10 | JEF United Ichihara | 17 | 13 | 5 (4-1) | 3 | 5 | -4 | 17 | 21 |
| 11 | Urawa Reds | 14 | 13 | 5 (3-2) | 1 | 7 | -1 | 19 | 20 |
| 12 | Kashiwa Reysol | 11 | 13 | 4 (3-1) | 0 | 9 | -8 | 17 | 25 |
| 13 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 10 | 13 | 3 (3-0) | 1 | 9 | -10 | 13 | 23 |
| 14 | Tokyo Verdy | 9 | 13 | 3 (2-1) | 1 | 9 | -11 | 12 | 23 |
| 15 | Vissel Kobe | 7 | 13 | 2 (2-0) | 1 | 10 | -12 | 8 | 20 |
| 16 | Consadole Sapporo | 3 | 13 | 1 (1-0) | 0 | 12 | -20 | 13 | 33 |
Rumours and Rumblings
Peryyman Takes the Axe
Most of those watching Kashiwa Reysol sleepwalk its way through the first half of this season knew that the blade was already poised to decend, and it was only a matter of time before Steve Perryman would be looking for a new home. After Reysol's loss to Shimizu S-Pulse, on Wednesday night, the axe finally fell.
Perryman leaves behind a very bad legacy at Reysol, and has probably buried the future of his coaching career as well as Reysol's chances to achieve any level of success this season. Perryman joined Reysol as an assistant coach early last season, under the nominal leadership of head coach Akira Nishino. However, from the moment he entered the Reysol camp, Perryman set about the task of undermining Nishino, and convincing the Kashiwa management to toss out the extremely popular coach and put him in change. When Reysol finished the first stage of 2001 in sixth place, Perryman went to the team bosses and claimed that this was an unacceptably bad performance, and he could make the team into a champion in short order. Those who had a better appreciation of Reysol's actual talent level might have argued that Nishino was already getting about the best results possible from such a group, but the Reysol management apparently bought the bill of goods that Steve was selling, and kicked Nishino overboard in July, putting Perryman in charge.
If the loss of a widely liked and admired coach hirt the team's morale, Perryman can only blame himself. In any event, the team finished even lower in the second stage of 2001 than they had in the first. But the true test of Perryman's coaching talents came this season, when he had complete control over personnel moves, team organization and strategy. The team's results in 2002 have been only a shade better than awful, at 4 wins, 10 losses and no draws.
To make matters worse, Perryman was captured on camera recently, blaming the team's poor performance on "the players' inability to implement my strategy of short, quick passes". Even if these comments were accurate, Perryman was openly admitting that he was incapable of devising a strategy to match his players' capabilities (something that he had accused Nishino of, last year). In any event, it certainly gave the impression that Perryman was trying to blame his players for his own failings, and this quickly sent the Reysol management team into action, sharpening the axe blade.
In announcing the release of Perryman, Reysol president Kobayashi noted: "we were able to get him to step down voluntarily, but we were clearly at the end of the road. The players were not happy with the strategy, and were even starting to criticize the coach openly."
Meanwhile, coach Nishino was signed by Gamba Osaka at the start of 2002, and in just six months has taken a team that underperformed consistently for years, and turned them into a championship contender. If anything could provide an accurate comment on Perryman's coaching abilities, that would have to be it. Sorry Steve, The Rising Sun News gave you the benefit of the doubt while you were at S-Pulse, but now the verdict has to be pronounced. Two thumbs down . . . and please stick to the English leagues from now on.
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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