August 18, 2002
Jubilo Sail Away From Stagnant Marinos
And so, Jubilo have claimed a stage championship for the fifth time in team history, and will now face the winner of the second stage to determine the final J.League champion for 2002.
Here are the results of all the matches played on Saturday evening
| Date | Home | . | Visitor | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Aug |  | 1-2 (ET) |  | Sapporo Dome |
| 17 Aug |  | 2-1 |  | Kashima Stadium |
| 17 Aug |  | 2-1 |  | Komaba Stadium |
| 17 Aug |  | 2-3 |  | Kashiwa-no-ha |
| 17 Aug |  | 1-2 |  | Tokyo Stadium |
| 17 Aug |  | 0-0 |  | Kokuritsu Stad. |
| 17 Aug |  | 2-1 |  | Tottori Bird Stad |
| 17 Aug |  | 1-0 |  | Kobe Wing |
2 - 3 
Jubilo Iwata came out onto the pitch on Saturday evening at Kashiwa-no-ha stadium with their eyes firmly fixed on the prize. All the team needed to do was win this match in regulation time, and they knew that they would be the first stage champions. Although the team faltered briefly in the early stages of the second half, when the match kicked off, there did not seem to be much doubt about who would win this contest. From the opening moments of play, Jubilo were storming the Reysol goal, when a sizzling grounder by Toshiya Fujita rolled just milimeters wide of the unguarded left post. In the 6 minute, Naohiro Takahara made his first impression on the match with a twisting, turning run that penetrated the right flank of the Reysol defence. Unfortunately, his drop pass to Norihiro Nishi was frantically cleared by a defender, but the pressure on Reysol was mounting, and it was clear that the cracks would appear soon.
2 - 3 On the same sequence of play as Takahara's run, after the subsequent corner kick had been cleared and Hiroshi Nanami fouled after collecting the loose ball, Jubilo had a free kick about four meters beyond the right top corner of the penalty box. Defender Takahiro Yamanishi took the kick, and sent a bullet into the top left corner of the net, and Jubilo were out in front.
Ten minutes later, Jubilo got yet another set play opportunity, in a spot that was almost exactly opposite the one they had scored on earlier. From the left corner of the box, Fujita sent in a low, arcing cross, and veteran Masashi "Gon" Nakayama squirmed between two defenders to get his head on the ball first, and drive it into the goal.
The remainder of the first half was almost all Jubilo. Reysol were clearly on the ropes, and Jubilo knew they needed to score just one more goal to put their opponent away for good. But after some desperate defending and a few close calls, Reysol managed to hang on until half time with the score still 2-0.
As the second half started, Jubilo still appeared to have the upper hand, but their intensity had dropped off just a bit, and this was all the opportunity Reysol needed to turn the match back into a meaningful contest. In the 51 minute, Mitsuteru Watanabe was given far too much space by the defence as he moved up the right wing, and he punished Jubilo for this laps by whipping in a low line drive that caught the defenders leaning the wrong way. Although Nozomu Kato was sandwiched between two defenders, he was the only one who reacted to the ball, and he managed to get a head onto it and drive it just inside the near post.
As so often happens in matches where emotions are running high, the goal for Reysol suddenly turned the tide of the match completely around, and for the next five or ten minutes, Jubilo were on the back foot as Reysol stormed towards goal. In the 57 minute, Reysol won a free kick about ten meters outside the area, on the left sideline. Free kick specialist Harutaka Ono lined up the kick and sent his cross into the box. Defender Takeshi Watanabe raced through the crowd of defenders and, since the ball was too low to get a head on, he chested it towards goal. As luck would have it, keeper Arno vanZwam was moving the wrong way, and Watanabe's weak shot slipped through his hands before he could get a handle on it.
Having given away their lead, Jubilo shoook themselves off and realized that they had to get serious if they wanted to win a title. Althoug the match swung back and forth for a few more minutes after the second Reysol goal. By the middle of the second half, Jubilo were back in control, and making repeated thrusts towards the Kashiwa net. The final blow came with about 5 minutes left in regulation time, as one Jubilo drive up the left side was turned away by the defence. As the ball was cleared, though, Nakayama got a foot on it and sent the ball arcing high above the penalty area. Substitute striker Nobuo Kawaguchi made a brilliant play on the ball, screening off two defenders, trapping the high bounce, and then swiftly moving into open space. As the keeper charged off his line, Kawaguchi lobbed the ball over his head and towards goal . . . .
Most likely, Kawaguchi's shot would have found the net on its own, but Takahara, in perfect cherry-picking position as always, decided to take no chances. Launching himself at the ball, Takahara connected with a diving header that drove it into the nylon.
The final five minutes of play were total chaos, as Reysol threw everything they had into the effort for an equalizer, and the referees did everything they could to help their chances. In one sequence, as Takahara and Nakayama tried to hold the ball at the corner flag in the Reysol end, Takahara send a BACK PASS to Nakayama, and the play was blown offside. But despite these indiscretions, the final moments elapsed without any serious opportunities for Reysol, and Jubilo broke out the beer to celebrate the team's fifth stage championship.
Lineups:
Arno VanZwam, TakahiroYamanishi, Go Oiwa, Makoto Tanaka, Norihiro Nishi (Nobuo Kawaguchi 73), Takashi Fukunishi, Toshihiro Hattori, Toshiya Fujita (Aleksandr Zivkovic 76), Hiroshi Nanami, Naohiro Takahara, Masashi Nakayama
Yuta Minami, Takeshi Watanabe, Mitsuteru Watanabe (Arata Sugiyama 89), Cesar Sampaio, Norihiro Satsukawa, Shinya Tanoue (Takumi Morikawa 30), Tomokazu Myojin, Tomonori Hirayama, Harutaka Ono, Keiji Tamada, Nozomu Kato, Hwang Sun-Hong (Yuji Unozawa 39)
0 - 0 
It is difficult to decide how to write the post-mortem for the Yokohama Marinos' failure in the first stage. The team went through 15 matches and lost only one, yet somehow failed to collect any prize for their effort. It is easy to point to individual elements that contributed to the final result, and were factors in why they ended up falling short of a championship -- the departure of Shunsuke Nakamura, the lack of focus and fatigue among several key players after the World Cup, and above all, the inability to throw off their jinx against the Kashima Antlers, who have long been the Marinos' greatest nemisis. However, it may be futile to search for one specific factor that led to this failure. If there is any one factor that you could point to, and use it to explain the Marinos' failure, it would have to be that broad and nebulous category that is sometimes described as "killer instinct".
0 - 0 This season, the Marinos simply didnt have what was needed to wrap up victory when they had the chance. A look at their record reflects this lack of killer instinct. When Nakamura departed for Italy, the Marinos were in a commanding position on top of the league, with several easy matches between them and a championship. Looking ahead at the schedule, it was always clear that the Antlers match, in hostile Kashima stadium on the second-to-last week of the season, would be the biggest hurdle. It was essential that Yokohama collect as many points as it could against weak opposition, so that they could play the Antlers match without the pressure of a must-win situation. But Yokohama allowed lowly Consadole Sapporo and Kashiwa Reysol -- two teams that may vie for relegation this year -- to take them into extra time in consecutive weeks, thus dropping key points to the pursuing Jubilo and Gamba. Then, with one week left before the crucial Antlers match, and still holding a four-point edge over Jubilo, the Marinos were unable to put away Kyoto Purple Sanga, and dropped two points to their pursuers. Though the loss to Kashima ultimately knocked them out of the lead, it was the failure to beat teams that they should have beaten which prevented them from taking a title
As for the match against Shuimizu, on Saturday night, there is little to say. The Marinos performance was just a continued reflection of that lack of killer instinct which plagued them all season long. Shimizu are a quality team, for sure, and they put in a competitive performance. But Yokohama had the upper hand all night long, and simply couldnt put the ball in the net. Strikers Will and Nobuhisa Shimizu put pressure on the S-Pulse goal all night, but they repeatedly settled for long, aimless shots that were either off target or collected easily by the S-^Pulse keeper. The closest Yokohama came to scoring all night came on a 35-meter free kick by Will, which Masanori Sanada managed to just barely push around the left post.
In the end, the Marinos came up short, just as they did in the season as a whole. Marinos fans will be hoping that they can make another run at the title in the second stage, but unless the team can find a player or two who have the hunger for victory needed to be a true champion, chances are they will fall short once again
Lineups:
Masanori Sanada, Tomohiro Ikeda, Katsumi Oenoki, Toshihide Saito, Daisuke Ichikawa, Kohei Hiramatsu (Yoshikiyo Kuboyama 55), Teruyoshi Ito, Yasuhiro Yoshida, Alessandro Santos, Masaaki Sawanobori (Kazuyuki Toda 71), Baron (Takayuki Yokoyama 113)
Tatsuya Enomoto, Yuji Nakazawa, Naza, Naoki Matsuda, Yasuhiro Hato, Yoshiharu Ueno (Yutaro Hisanaga 99), Akihiro Endo (Kunio Nagayama 70), Kazuyoshi Mikami, Daisuke Oku, Nobuhisa Shimizu (Tomoyuki Hirase 68), Will (Daisuke Sakata 112)
1-2 (ET) 
In a match that could have repercussions on the battle for relegation later this year, Tokyo Verdy managed to come back from a 1-0 deficit in the final minute of regulation time, with a last-gasp boal and a golden goal in the 6 minute of extra time. Consadole fans, who have seen several matches that looked like certain victories go down the tubes in the final minute, will have another memory to add to their collection of woes this season.
1-2 (ET) Consadole got off to a fairly promising start, holding Verdy's offence to a standstill for most of the first half, and scoring a goal just before half time on a cross from Srjdan Baljak on the right wing, which Biju headed over the outrushing keeper. Consadole looked like they would win the match for much of the second half, too, though Verdy began to get more counterattacking opportunities in the final stages of the match. Then, with regulation time over and just a minute or so to play in injury time, Daigo Kobayashi fired a Hail Mary cross into the box from about 40 meters away, on the left sideline, and Alexandre Lopez managed to get a head on it to give Verdy a last-gasp equalizer.
In the 6 minute of extra time, substitute midfielder Naoto Sakurai put on an individual display, cutting through two defenders on the right side of the area and firing a line drive that snuck between the near post and the keeper to give Verdy victory
Lineups:
Yosuke Fujigaya, Tsuyoshi Furukawa, Jin Sato (Kyosuke Yoshikawa 94), Kensaku Omori, Yoshikiyo Nishida (Naoki Sakai 79), Biju, Hitoshi Morishita, Jadilson, Koji Yamase (Tomohiro Wanami 35), Srjdan Baljak, Takafumi Ogura (Yushi Soda 74)
Yoshinari Takagi, Naoki Soma, Alexandre Lopez, Atsushi Yoneyama, Hayuma Tanaka, Takuya Yamada, Edmundo, Narita Takaki (Hideki Nagai 64), Daigo Kobayashi, Marquinhos (Naoto Sakurai 45), Kazuki Hiramoto
2 - 1 
After knocking off the Yokohama Marinos last week, Kashima Antlers defeated another contender for the first-stage crown in the final match of the first stage, sending a message that the team is starting to fire on all cylinders and will be a definite contender for the second stage title. The Antlers had several good opportunities in the early stages of the match, as Masashi Motoyama, who was starting at forward in place of the suspended Atsushi Yanagisawa, creating disruption in the Gamba defence with dazzling, weaving runs. However, although Motoyama found the woodwork from the run of play once, in the first half, the only goal that Kashima managed came on a set play, from just beyond the top left corner of the box. Mitsuo Ogasawara, who is deadly from this spot, stroked a pinpoint shot into the top near corner which the keeper could only watch helplessly.
2 - 1 After dominating most of the first half, the Antlers got a bit sluggish after half time, and Gamba had a few opportunities to get back into the match. However, some fine plays by Hitoshi Sogahata kept Gamba at bay until the 84 minute, when Kota Yoshihara snuck behind his defender and got on the end of a lob pass from Masanobu Matsunami. The diminutive striker was a step ahead of the keeper and managed to flick the ball on and into the net, to knot the score.
But it took the Antlers less than 60 seconds to restore their lead, as right wing back Akira Narahashi sped down the right wing and laid off a perfect slant pass to Euller, who was moving into the box at full tilt. Euller released his shot with the first touch, and sent the ball into the low right corner to carry Kashima to victory.
Lineups:
Hitoshi Sogahata, Akira Narahashi, Yutaka Akita, Fabiano, Augusto, Takeshi Aoki, Naoto Honda (Jun Uchida 68), Koji Nakata, Mitsuo Ogasawara, Masashi Motoyama (Yoshiyuki Hasegawa 89), , Euller (Takuya Nozawa 89)
Naoki Matsuyo, Satoshi Yamaguchi, Hiroshige Yanagimoto (Masayuki Matsunami 74), Masao Kiba, Toru Araiba, Shigeru Morioka (Masahiro Ando 61), Yasuhito Endo, Toshihiro Matsushita (Kisashi Oguro 45), Takahiro Futagawa, Kota Yoshihara , Magrao
2-1 (ET) 
Kyoto Purple Sanga and Vegalta Sendai were both promoted to the J1 at the start of the season, and the two teams have each demonstrated a determination to stay in the top-flight next season. Vegalta were the surprise of the pre-World Cup season, racing out to a second-place position at the break, but they have floundered since then and may need a break to try to regain their form. Kyoto, on the other hand, have been on fire since the break, and they continued to show that they are one of the leagues most promising young teams with a golden goal victory on Saturday night.
2-1 (ET) Vegalta got on the board first, on a header by Marcos following a cross from the left corner flag. But Kyoto equalized just four minutes later, when a Naoki Chiba pulled down Park Ji-Sung as the Korean ace accelerated into the penalty area. Park collected the PK and the two teams were back on level terms
As time began to wind down in the second half, Vegalta seemed to lose the script, and as Kyoto's pressure on the defence increased, Yusuke Mori committed a truly egregious foul that earned him an immediate red card and reduced Vegalta to 10 men. As the undermanned Sendai squad tried to fend off Kyoto's attacks, Chiba committed yet another professional foul on Park, and picked up his second yellow, putting Vegalta in an even deeper hole. At this point, as Vegalta were forced to put all nine men behind the ball and defend desperately, it was just a matter of time -- would Kyoto finally overwhelm the exhausted defensive wall, or would Vegalta be able to hold out through extra time and manage a draw. In the end, it was Kyoto who prevailed. Just before the end of the first extra time period, reserve striker Shinya Tomita picked up a through pass at the edge of the box, and immediately cut back against the flow, leaving his defender flatfooted. Two steps gave him enough space to the right of the final defender to fire a shot into the low right corner, giving Kyoto the victory.
Lineups:
Naoto Hirai, Makoto Kakuta, Kazuki Teshima, Kazuhiro Suzuki, Tadashi Nakamura, Daisuke Saito (Yusaku Ueno 97), Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Shingo Suzuki (Shinya Tomita 45), Park Ji-Sung, Teruaki Kurobe, Daisuke Matsui (Daisuke Nakaharai 45)
Norio Takahashi, Yusuke Mori, Norio Omura, Ricardo, Naoki Chiba, Tomohiro Katanosaka (Tatsuya Murata 63), Teruo Iwamoto, Silvinho, , Nobuyuki Zaizen (Tomohiro Murakami 73), Yoshiteru Yamashita (Takahiro Yamada 78), Marcos (Shinya Mitsuoka 98)
1-2 
The Reds continued to see red, as the team finished this match with less than the regulation number of players on the pitch for the seventh time this season. Once again, it was the volatile Emerson who recieved his walking orders just two minutes before half time, for what the referee, Mr. Fischer, decided was "simulation". The Danish referee is quickly gaining a reputation in the league as the most volatile and unpredictable referee around. His actions have already decided at least three matches this season, and one hopes that the J.League sends him packing before the start of the second stage. Of course, Emerson has himself to blame, as well. Mr. Fischer has gained a reputation for awarding "easy" PKs, but this week he decided to suddenly change his tack. In just the first 15 minutes of the match, he handed out two yellow cards -- one to Emerson and one to Choi Yong-Soo, for diving in the penalty area (truth be told, both players went down on very minimal contact, but these are exactly the sort of challenges that Fischer was calling PKs in his previous four matches).
1-2 In picking up his second yellow, Emerson probably has a more legitimate complaint. After a drive by Tuto was blocked in front of goal, defender Zeljko Milinovic was far too casual in carrying it out of the box. Emerson put on a burst of speed and stripped the Slovenian national team member of the ball, but Milinovic clipped Emerson's boot as he raced by. Emerson was knocked off balance, and although he put on an Oscar-class performance in falling to earth, there definitely was leg-to-leg contact. Mr. Fischer did not see it that way, however, and he proceeded to display the second yellow.
To add insult to injury, shortly after play resumed in the second half, Fischer awarded Choi a PK, after the JEF striker went down heavily in response to accidental leg-to-leg contact that was almost identical to the play on which Emerson had been booked for diving. JEF were in the league, and Mr. Fischer was well on his way to determining the outcome of his third match since coming to the J.League, less than two months ago.
The Reds have considerable experience playing with a man disadvantage, this season, and they did a very good job of fighting back to equalise. In the 75 minute, a clearance from the Reds end fell to Tatsuya Tanaka, at about the midfield stripe. His first touch of the ball was a soaring lead pass that landed right at the feet of Tuto, as the big Brazilian was in full, stampeding-bull-on-a-downhill-slope stride. Careening between two defenders, Tuto took the ball to the left post and, at the last possible instant, cut a sharp-angle shot on net that put Uwawa back in the match.
But JEF responded almost immediately to snuff the life out of this comeback. On the very next sequence of play, Shinji Murai broke free down the left wing and crossed a high ball into the box. Choi is always deadly when given a chance to go for a jump ball, and in this case the back line had failed to pick him up, leaving the task of guarding him to the relatively diminutive Keita Suzuki. Choi soared over Suzuki's back and headed the ball into the high corner to restore JEF's lead and give them the final margin of victory.
Lineups:
Nobuhiro Yamagishi, Masami Ihara (Yuichiro Nagai 86), Tadaaki Tsuboi, Hideki Uchidate, Nobuhisa Yamada, Tadaaki Hirakawa, Keita Suzuki, Ichiei Muroi, Toshiyuki Abe (Tatsuya Tanaka 75), Emerson, Tuto
Ryo Kushino, Daisuke Saito, Zelko Milinovic, Takayuki Chano, Masataka Sakamoto, Yuki Abe (Takenori Hayashi 45), Shigetoshi Hasebe (Yuto Sato 45), Shinichi Muto, Shinji Murai, Katsutomo Oshiba, Choi Yong-Soo
1 - 2 
Both FC Tokyo and Nagoya Grampus achieved effective mediocrity in the first stage, performing well on occasion but never giving any sign that they are ready to challenge the top teams in the league for a title in the near future. Tokyo have a collection of impressive youngsters who can provide excitement at times, but who still lack the composure and savvy to win difficult matches. Nagoya, on the other hand, have two deadly strikers and proven scorers in Ueslei and Ivica Vastic, but they have yet to find a midfield general to supply these two with scoring opportunities on a consistent basis.
1 - 2 In the battle between the two, Nagoya's edge in experience proved to be the deciding factor, though Tokyo had the better of play for long stretches. Naohiro Ishikawa, who has been lighting up the right wing for Tokyo ever since he arrived on a one-year loan from Yokohama Marinos, put Tokyo in the lead just after half time, with a blistering shot for the right post that Seigo Narazaki was unable to handle. The ball hit the ground and his hands at the same instant, slipping through his grasp and into the net, putting Tokyo up 1-0.
But another youngster who is gaining recognition for fine play at Nagoya, Naoshi Nakamura, levelled the score a few minutes later on a long shot from the left corner which Yoichi Doi probably should have handled. He seemed uncertain whether to push the ball over the bar or catch it, and it ended up skidding off his fingertips and into the net.
The deciding goal was created by the strike team of Ueslei and Vastic, who came close to connecting 3 or 4 times over the course of the match, and finally got it right in the 77 minute. Ueslei carried the ball to the low left edge of the box and sent a high drop pass to Vastic, who headed home for the goal and the victory.
Lineups:
Yoichi Doi, Jean Carlo Witte, Akira Kaji, Tetsuya Ito, Satoshi Kobayashi, Takahiro Shimotaira, Masashi Miyazawa, Naohiro Ishikawa, Kelly, Mitsuhiro Toda (Kenji Fukuda 76), Amaral
Seigo Narazaki, Masahiro Koga, Keiji Kaimoto, Yasunari Hiraoka, Tetsuya Okayama (Kei Yamaguchi), Tomoyuki Sakai, Motohiro Yamaguchi, Kunihiko Takizawa (Naoki Hiraoka), Naoshi Nakamura, Ivica Vastic, Ueslei
2 - 1 
Difficult as it might be to believe, Vissel Kobe are now on a winning streak. The team scored in the first and last minutes of the match to defeat Sanfrecce 2-1.
2 - 1 Ryuji Bando , who has struggled to find his form at Kobe this season, got a goal in less than 45 seconds, giving the team a lead that held up until the middle of the second half, when a strike by Susumu Oki leveled the match. Just as it looked like the match would go into extra time, Takeshi Hirano fired home a last-second strike that gave Kobe its second straight win, and only the fourth victory this season.
Lineups:
Makoto Kakegawa, Koji Yoshimura, Sidiclei, Yukio Tsuchiya, Takeshi Hirano, Naoya Saeki (Masayuki Okano 71), Tomo Sugawara, Shigeyoshi Mochizuki, Mitsunori Yabuta, Ryuji Bando, Shoji Jo
Takashi Shimoda, Yuichi Komano, Michel Pensee Billong, Kosuke Yatsudax, Kota Hattori, Naoya Umeda, Kentaro Sawada, Kazuyuki Morisaki, Chikara Fujimoto, Susumu Oki (Milo 89), Tatsuhiko Kubo
Here are the final standings for the first stage:
| . | Team | Pts | GP | W (90/ET) | D | L | GDif | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jubilo Iwata | 36 | 15 | 13 (9-4) | 1 | 1 | +22 | 39 | 17 |
| 2 | Yokohama Marinos | 33 | 15 | 11 (8-3) | 3 | 1 | +17 | 28 | 11 |
| 3 | Nagoya Grampus | 29 | 15 | 10 (9-1) | 0 | 5 | +10 | 28 | 18 |
| 4 | Gamba Osaka | 27 | 15 | 9 (8-1) | 1 | 5 | +16 | 35 | 19 |
| 5 | Kashima Antlers | 27 | 15 | 9 (9-0) | 0 | 6 | +3 | 21 | 18 |
| 6 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 24 | 15 | 9 (5-4) | 1 | 5 | +8 | 26 | 18 |
| 7 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 24 | 15 | 8 (5-3) | 3 | 4 | -2 | 17 | 19 |
| 8 | JEF United Ichihara | 23 | 15 | 7 (6-1) | 3 | 5 | -1 | 22 | 23 |
| 9 | Vegalta Sendai | 20 | 15 | 7 (6-1) | 0 | 8 | -4 | 23 | 27 |
| 10 | FC Tokyo | 17 | 15 | 5 (5-0) | 2 | 8 | -4 | 23 | 27 |
| 11 | Urawa Reds | 14 | 15 | 5 (3-2) | 1 | 9 | -3 | 21 | 24 |
| 12 | Tokyo Verdy | 13 | 15 | 5 (2-3) | 1 | 9 | -9 | 15 | 24 |
| 13 | Vissel Kobe | 12 | 15 | 4 (3-1) | 1 | 10 | -10 | 12 | 22 |
| 14 | Kashiwa Reysol | 11 | 15 | 4 (3-1) | 0 | 11 | -11 | 20 | 31 |
| 15 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 10 | 15 | 3 (3-0) | 1 | 11 | -12 | 14 | 26 |
| 16 | Consadole Sapporo | 6 | 15 | 2 (2-0) | 0 | 13 | -20 | 15 | 35 |
J2 Race Tightens Further
When the J.League resumed action following the World Cup break, some observers thought that Oita Trinita were going to race away from the rest of the field in the J2 and clinch promotion easily. But the J2 season is long and gruelling, and teams can rarely sustain a winning streak for any length of time. Oita raced out to an impressive start early in the season, and was riding the crest of a wave of momentum when the league took its World Cup break. But much of the momentum was generated by just 2 or 3 individuals, and it was clear that the team would not be able to sustain the early pace over the entire 44-game season. Although Oita still have a good chance to win promotion, it is not going to be as easy a run as some commentators may have thought.On Wednesday night, Trinita dropped yet another match, this time to the surprisingly feisty Ventforet Kofu. The "Windies" have done a good job of discarding their old image of J2 doormats, and although they still have a ways to go before they can be viewed as a serious competitor, the team certainly will be able to improve on their results for the past two seasons, when they finished dead last.
Meanwhile, Albirex Niigata and Cerezo Osaka won their matches, narrowing the race for the top spot in J2 even further. A mere three points now separate the top three clubs, and with 18 matches still to play, the battle for promotion to the J1 next season is shaping up to be a fierce and exciting contest. With the J1 on their midseason break, it is an appropriate time to take a look at the situation in the second division.
| . | Team | Pts | GP | W | D | L | GDif | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oita Trinita | 55 | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | +20 | 38 | 18 |
| 2 | Albirex Niigata | 54 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | +21 | 45 | 24 |
| 3 | Cerezo Osaka | 52 | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | +22 | 54 | 32 |
| 4 | Kawasaki Frontale | 43 | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | +4 | 38 | 34 |
| 5 | Omiya Ardija | 37 | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | +10 | 30 | 20 |
| 6 | Shonan Bellmare | 34 | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | -2 | 28 | 30 |
| 7 | Avispa Fukuoka | 32 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | +5 | 34 | 29 |
| 8 | Ventforet Kofu | 28 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | -14 | 24 | 38 |
| 9 | Mito Hollyhock | 25 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 30 | 42 |
| 10 | Sagan Tosu | 24 | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | -15 | 23 | 37 |
| 11 | Montedio Yamagata | 21 | 26 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -16 | 19 | 35 |
| 12 | Yokohama FC | 18 | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | -25 | 22 | 47 |
Oita have lost just three matches all year, but two of the losses have come in their last two matches. The result against Ventforet, at home, comes as a particularly severe blow to the team's momentum. Although Oita have struggled for about the past month, they have generally managed to avoid losing, except to their rivals Cerezo and Albirex. Now that the team has been proven vulnerable even to a mid-table scrapper like Ventforet, other teams are likely to take heart, and look to spring an upset on the league leaders as well.
Meanwhile, Albirex are making a charge towards the top of the table, cheered on by huge crowds particularly at home matches. Since the World Cup break, Niigata has drawn crowds that most J1 clubs would envy, and although a few injuries to key players have slowed them down a bit recently, they definitely have the opportunity to overtake Oita now that the Trinitas is in a slump. Niigata's attacking duo of Marx and Beto are among the league scoring leaders, and as long as the two remain in good form, Niigata stand a good chance of winning promotion
But perhaps the most dangerous contender is Cerezo Osaka, who were widely tabbed to win the J2 this season, but got off to a very sluggish and disappointing start. Nevertheless, the team's mediocre record prior to the World Cup break might have caused the casual viewer to overlook several important points. First, the team has been without key players for much of the season, either through injury or national team duty, in the case of Hiroaki Morishima and Akinori Nishizawa. Second, several of the most important players in generating the offense are still very young. In particular, midfielders Hitoshi Okubo, Yuichi Nemoto, and Takaaki Tokushige have shown flashes of brilliance, but occasionally commit rookie mistakes that have hurt the team. In both of these cases, the team can only get better as the season wears on. But perhaps the most ominous statistic is the team's scoring data. Cerezo has the best point differential in the league, and more importantly, they have scored ten more goals than their closest rival in the league. This statistic says some disconcerting things about their defensive performance, it is true, but with the firepower at their disposal, and the fact that it is not concentrated in any one individual (six separate players have scored five goals or more), Cerezo need never worry that a scoring drought might knock their season off track. Considering how many matches remain to be played, Cerezo still look like odds-on favorites to win promotion, though they may face a tough struggle to win the J2 title outright.
Rumours and Rumblings
Yamase Sidelined with Ligament Damage
Consadole Sapporo midfielder Koji Yamase suffered a serious knee injury in his team's match with Tokyo Verdy, on Saturday night, and had to be stretchered off midway through the first half. An arthroscopic exam showed serious ligament damage that will probably take about six months to heal. Yamase was one of the leading candidates for a midfield role in the U-21 team, and was preparing to take part in the youth squad's match against China next week, in Shanghai. Unfortunately, it now looks like Yamase will be ruled out of the entire second stage for his club team, and will also miss the Asian Games in Korea, this fall.
Elsewhere, another U-21 team member, Daisuke Matsui was injured in the match between Kyoto Purple Sanga and Vegalta Sendai, and will also be unable to take part in Japan's friendly with China, next week. However, his injury is believed to be less severe, and although he may miss one or two J.League matches at the start of the second stage, team doctors are hopeful that he will be fully recoverd in three or four weeks.
Zelic to Give J.League Another Try
The Urawa Reds announced on Tuesday that they have acquired former Australian national team defender Ned Zelic, of a free transfer. Zelic actually joined the J.League at the start of this season, and was on the roster of Kyoto Purple Sanga for about two weeks. But Zelic left Japan in early March, citing "family reasons", and returned to Australia. The Reds picked him up on a free transfer, and have signed him to a contract that will last through the end of the Emperors' Cup competition in December (or January 1 2003, if the Reds reach the finals). He will wear #38.
Zelic played the 2001 season in Germany, for 1860 Munich, but after leaving Kyoto, he has been out of action. Nevertheless, the Reds dearly need a solid man in the middle to shore up their defence. The team has been getting excellent play from rookie back Keisuke Tsuboi, but veteran Masami Ihara has become too old and immobile to cover much ground, and given the lackluster performance of the third back, Masaki Tsuchihashi, there are far too many holes in the back for an aging player like Ihara to cover, even if Tsuboi holds down an entire half of the field by himself. It will be very interesting to see if Zelic can shore up this weakness, since the Reds have been showing signs of promise on offense, and might be able to post a decent record if they could only keep opponents from scoring.
To make room for Zelic, Urawa has released midfielder Harison, whose performance this season has been just passable. Considering the recent emergence of youngsters like Tadaaki Hirakawa, Keita Suzuki, Yuichiro Nagai and Tatsuya Tanaka, he is apparently viewed as expendable.
Vissel Seeks Striker who can Score
Visel Kobe announced on Tuesday that they have signed a six-month transfer agreement with Brazil's Cruzeiro for forward Oseas Reis dos Santos, a 31-year-old striker who has a few national team caps under his belt, though he has not been in canary yellow since prior to the 1998 World Cup. Vissel badly needs help in the front line, since the team scored the fewest number of goals in the league during the first stage, and most of those were recorded by defenders or midfielders.
To make room for Oseas, who will wear #31, the team dropped midfielder Daniel. This comes as something of a surprise, since Daniel has provided almost all of what little energy in attack the team has shown this season. However, he has been relegated to the bench in recent matches, and this may be just the first step in a major housecleaning operation for Kobe.
J.League All Star Roster Announced
The J.League has announced its roster for the J.League All Star game. As usual, the list of names defies all logic, including players who have not made a meaningful contribution to their teams in years. This is partly the result of the voting system. A starting lineup of 11 players is selected by fan vote, and many of the players who have strong fan followings made the team based on their past performances or name recognition, rather than their form this season. To complicate matters, only three players from any one team are allowed to take part in the All-Star game. As a result, the players who ranked number 5 and number 8 in terms of total fan votes -- Yutaka Akita and Mitsuo Ogasawara of the Kashima Antlers -- were left off the team because teammates Atsushi Yanagisawa, Koji Nakata and Hitoshi Sogahata received even more votes, and thus had taken all of the positions available for Antlers players.
The lineup oddities created by the voting system are partly offset by the selection of five reserve players for each team, who are chosen by J.League coaches and officials, and thus will tend to be selected on the basis of actual performance. In any event, here are the rosters for the J-West and J-East squads:
J-West | |||
| Pos. | Name | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Seigo Narazaki | Nagoya Grampus | 98,063 |
| DF | Tsuneyasu Miyamoto | Gamba Osaka | 161,803 |
| DF | Naoki Mastsuda | Yokohama F Marinos | 95,635 |
| DF | Daisuke Ichikawa | Shimizu S Pulse | 89,240 |
| MF | Hiroshi Nanami | Jublio Iwata | 92,817 |
| MF | Kazuyuki Toda | Shimizu S Pulse | 91,479 |
| MF | Shigeyoshi Mochizuki | Vissel Kobe | 89,085 |
| FW | Tatsuhiko Kubo | Sanfree Hiroshima | 134,125 |
| FW | Masashi Nakayama | Jublio Iwata | 126,705 |
| FW | Naohiro Takahara | Jublio Iwata | 125,181 |
| FW | Kazuyoshi Miura | Vissel Kobe | 123,978 |
| GK | Ryota Tsuzuki | Gamba Osaka | Coach selection |
| DF | Yasuhiro Hato | Yokohama F Marinos | Coach selection |
| MF | Park Ji Sung | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Coach selection |
| MF | Toru Araiba | Gamba Osaka | Coach selection |
| FW | Teruaki Kurobe | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Coach selection |
J-East | ||||
| Pos. | Name | Team | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Hitoshi Sogahata | Kashima Antlers | 92,316 | |
| DF | Eisuke Nakanishi | JEF United | 158,049 | |
| DF | Masami Ihara | Urawa Reds | 155,211 | |
| DF | Norio Omura | Vegalta Sendai | 142,713 | |
| DF | Takayuki Chano | JEF United | 135,954 | |
| MF | Koji Nakata | Kashima Antlers | 159,007 | |
| MF | Harutaka Ono | Vegalta Sendai | 121,668 | |
| FW | Atsushi Yanagisawa | Kashima Antlers | 121,434 | |
| FW | Takafumi Ogura | Consadole Sapporo | 116,317 | |
| FW | Yoshiteru Yamashita | Vegalta Sendai | 86,736 | |
| GK | Yoichi Doi | FC Tokyo | Coach selection | |
| DF | Keisuke Tsuboi | Urawa Reds | Coach selection | |
| MF | Tomokazu Myojin | Kashiwa Reysol | Coach selection | |
| FW | Edmundo | Tokyo Verdy | Coach selection | |
| FW | Emerson | Urawa Reds | Coach selection | |
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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