December 25, 2002
The Champs Bow Out
After a week of truly remarkable matches during the round of 16, it was to be expected that the 2002 Emperor's Cup would see some letup in the intensity that has characterised the earlier stages. But despite a few low-scoring matches in the quarterfinal round, the results were still enough to make football fans sit up and take notice. Most surprising of all was the 1-0 victory by JEF United Ichihara that sent the league champs Jubilo Iwata tumbling out of the competition. Lets look at the results of each quarterfinal match, before looking at the weekend matchups in the two semifinals.
0-1 
The J.League champions were probably picked as favourites in this match by almost all the tip sheets, yet Jubilo Iwata faced an opponent that they have had trouble with all year long. In fact, with a victory in the Emperor's cup, JEF United Ichihara end the season without a loss to Jubilo over the course of 2002. They won one match and drew the other in the regular season, and finished off with a stunning 1-0 win that pushed Jubilo out of the Emperor's Cup in what may be Naohiro Takahara's last match in a Jubilo uniform.
Surprisingly, Jubilo have never performed particularly well in the Emperor's Cup. In fact, the last time the team has made an appearance in the final was 1990, two years before the team became professional, and changed its name from Yamaha FC to Jubilo Iwata. JEF, meanwhile, have discovered the key to beating Jubilo, playing a compact defensive formation that puts intense pressure on Jubilo's midfield passing game, and leaving the offensive duties to a lone striker -- the ever-deadly Choi Yong-Soo.
This strategy received an important boost midway through the first half when midfielder Tadatoshi Matsuda's diving header connected with a corner kick from the right side, and looped the ball just over the fingertips of the keeper to give JEF an early goal. Thereafter, JEF concentrated on defensive -- or perhaps it is more accurate to say -- preventative tactics. Though their scrappy play won JEF their share of possession, they were cautious with the ball, trying to hold it as long as possible, and only press for the Jubilo goal when clear opportunities presented themselves. By midway through the second half, Jubilo were reduced to desperate tactics, such as blatant dives in the penalty box and deliberate keeper charges. Though Jubilo have always practiced such tactics when necessary, the extreme to which they took this dirty play in the second half brought a hush to the relatively partisan fans, who seemed shocked at the sight of Masashi Nakayama diving onto his face two meters before a challenge even arrived, and then pleading desperately for a PK. In the end, JEF fully deserved to walk off as the winners in this match, if not for the first-half goal they scored, then for the poise they demonstrated in the face of Jubilo's second-half antics.
1-0 
For the second week in a row, Kashima Antlers faced off against a team led by former Antlers players, including defender Toru Oniki and striker Yasutaka Kobayashi. Frontale are just a mediocre club in the J2, but they have always had a knack for performing well in cup matches. Indeed, this particular match was an exact replay, both in the participants and the venue, of the 2000 Nabisco Cup final, which Kashima won by a similar 1-0 margin.
The Antlers have been less than brilliant in their Emperor's Cup run this year, edging their opponents by just one goal in each of the past three matches. Yet the score line may not be a good reflection of the Antlers' quality. As veteran defender Yutaka Akita pointed out after the match, "we have not conceded a single goal yet, and we have been playing with this as our objective". As was the case in their 1-0 extra time victory over Omiya Ardija, last week, Kashima may have had relatively few scoring opportunities, but they gave even less away to their opponents. Kawasaki were pinned into their own end for almost he entire match, and the few counterattacks that they did manage were cleaned up bu the back line before they could truly threaten the Antlers goal.
Early in the second half, a quick, flowing counterattack out of their own end created the lone goal of this match. Mitsuo Ogasawara fired a long pass to Atsushi Yanagisawa, who flicked it on to Augusto, who fired it back into the middle of the penalty area for a wide-open Masashi Motoyama. Motoyama volleyed the ball out of the air with his right foot, slotting the ball in behind the keeper who was stranded on the left side of his box as he went out to cut down the angle against Augusto. Thus, the Antlers are now one step away from their fifth Emperor's Cup final since the formation of the J.League.
1 - 3 
Sanfrecce Hiroshima are carrying on a tradition that has been one of the recurring themes in recent years, of a recently relegated club making a final bid for glory in the closing event of the season. The most memorable example was the Yokohama Flugels, who fought their way to victory in the 1999 Emperor's Cup even though the club had already decided to disband at the end of the season, before the Emperor's Cup matches began. Similarly, Cerezo Osaka fought their way to the Emperor's Cup final last year, after earning relegation to J2 during the regular season.
This year, Sanfrecce are the team looking to capture a bit of glory as they prepare for relegation and a restructuring of the club. Despite the fact that their opponent, Nagoya Grampus, had the advantage of playing what was essentially a "home" match at Toyota Stadium, Sanfrecce came in and crushed the home team with a 3-1 drubbing that was never even slightly in doubt. Tatsuhiko Kubo, who will be released by Sanfrecce after January 1, elevated his value in the transfer market by scoring twice to give his team a 2-1 edge over Nagoya, and young Kazuyuki Morisaki, who along with his twin brother Koji will form the core of the "new Sanfrecce" next season, added an insurance goal midway through the second half. Sanfrecce have been to the Emperor's Cup final three times in the past, but have never won the trophy. It will be interesting to see if they chan change their luck in 2002.
1 - 0
In the last quarterfinal matchup, Kyoto Purple Sanga faced off against Shimizu S-Pulse in a match that was initially viewed as a head-to-head battle between Korean national team teammates Park Ji-Sung and Ahn Jung-Hwan. But the two Koreans did not feature much in the match, which turned out to be a relatively defensive struggle. The match was decided by a goal from Kyoto's young U-21 midfielder Daisuke Matsui.
December 28, 2002
Two Teams Still Standing
2 - 1
The Purple Sanga and Sanfrecce have far more in common than just the colour of their uniforms, and the similarities made for a very thrilling match from kickoff to final whistle. For starters, both teams lined up in a 3-4-3 set, and looked to throw themselves into attack at every opportunity. Though the match seesawed back and forth as they parried and thurst, even when they were playing defensively, the two opponents were always looking for opportunities to take off on an offensive break. This made for a thrilling match from start to finish.
Another similarity between the two teams is their relative youth. Apart from Sanfrecce's strikers Tatsuhiko Kubo and Susumu Oki, the core players from both clubs are all between 20 and 25 years of age. Thus the match also provided an opportunity to see some of the players that will probably form the core of Japan's Olympic team, such as the Morisaki twins and Yuichi Komano, for Sanfrecce, and Kyoto's Daisuke Matsui.
The first half of the match belonged to Kyoto, though the disparity between the two teams was slight. The determined pressure of Kyoto's three strikers -- Matsui, Park Ji-Sung and Teruaki Kurobe -- in chasing every ball was the main thing that separated the two clubs. Their dogged effort to collect every loose ball paid off twice in succession, as rapid-fire passes around the box provided Matsui with two goals in the first 25 minutes. Kurobe very nearly added a third as Park's drive fell at his feen just two meters from goal, but a desperate kick save by keeper Takuto Hayashi kept the margin to just two goals at half time.
The second half was just the reverse of the first. Kyoto eased off on the pressure, opting to protect their lead by pulling Kurobe and Park back a bit from the front line. This tactic merely handed the initiative to Sanfrecce, who threw themselves into the attack with unbridled intensity. But Oki, Kubo and Erceg were less adept at finishing than their opposite numbers on the Purple Sanga. Most of the serious danger was actually created by midfielders Koji and Kazuyuki Morisaki, and left wing Komano. With 15 minutes left, Koji, the younger of the twins, fired a bullet from 25 meters into the top left corner to pull Sanfrecce to within striking distance. But try as they might, Hiroshima simply could not get the equaliser, and Kyoto collected their ticket to the final on New Year's Day.
2 - 0 
The second semifinal match was not quite as closely matched, though the result remained in doubt until the final minute of regulation time. During the regular season, Kashima Antlers were unable to produce the sort of results that their fans have come to expect. But since the start of the Emperor's Cup, they have looked like a very different team. Though the Antlers have a host of offensive weapons to call upon,. their Emperor's Cup run has been characterised by good old-fashioned defensive solidity. The team has yet to concede a goal in the tournament, and on this particular afternoon, their opponents didnt even manage to simulate a goal-scoring opportunity.
The key to the Antlers' performance was the midfield play of Mitsuo Ogasawara and Koji Nakata, who held the ball with calm efficiency almost all afternoon long. If Masashi Motoyama had not been spiked in the knee early in the first period, forcing Kashima to bring on the more defensive-minded Tatsuya Ishikawa, the score might well have been higher. As it was, only some brilliant saves by keeper Ryo Kushino kept JEF in the contest until the dying moments. Atsushi Yanagisawa, Augusto and Nakata all had uncontested, point-blank shots turned away by the JEF keeper.
The Antlers did manage a goal midway through the first half, as a lovely overlap and cross from Augusto found the head of Ogasawara. His header was deflected away from goal by a defender, but it fell right at the feet of Euller, six meters from goal with no JEF players in sight. The veteran Brazilian settled the ball coolly, waited for the keeper to move off his line, and then slipped the ball underneath him to put Kashima in front.
The Antlers had one or two more opportunities in the first half, but seemed more intent on ensuring that their opponents never had a chance to create any opportunities. As the second half began, the solidity of Kashima's midfield play reached immovable object" proportions. JEF not only couldnt create scoring chances -- they had difficulty even getting a touch of the ball. Over the final 45 minutes, despite almost desperate efforts by the team from Ichihara, the Antlers did not even permit their opponent to get off a shot (JEF ended the day with just three shots on goal, all of them in the first half).
As time ran down and JEF began pushing too far forward for their own good, the Antlers got some breakaway opportunities that should have put the final nail in the coffin. But as mentioned earlier, some brilliant saves by Kushino, plus a few squandered shots by the Antlers, kept the score line at just 1-0. But with time running out, a last breakaway sent Augusto and Euller away on a 50-meter gallop against just one defender. Augusto carried the ball for the left post, waited until both the defender and the keeper had committed themselves, and then rolled the ball across the goal mouth to Euller for the easy tap-in.
Below is an overview of the tournament table, and the results of each match.
Rumours and Rumblings
Yanagisawa Makes Debut on the World Stage
Atsushi Yanagisawa has been selected as Japan's representative to a "World All-Stars" team that will play an exhibition match against Juventus in the United Arab Emirates, on January 4. Some might wonder why Yanagisawa was selected, and not a more sell-known player like Hide Nakata, Junichi Inamoto or Shinji Ono. However, at closer look it is apparent that there are a number of sub-plots in this story, and the selection makes more sense than it might initially appear.
Yanagisawa has proven himself to be a very capable player and has established himself as a regular part of the National Team, despite the fact that he has been in a serious goal slump for over a year, and is gaining more of a reputation for squandering chances than for scoring. However, this critique overlooks the fact that the nominal striker is actually one of the most proficient assist men in the league. Several Italian clubs have seen him perform (his goal in Japan's 1-1 draw against Italy last November gave him instant exposure), and some, including Serie A club Chievo and Serie B's Sampdoria, have been wooing him for almost a year. Apparently, some of the Italian club officials who are helping to arrange the exhibition for Juventus were prevailed upon to make Yanagisawa one of the members of the "World 11" squad, so that Chievo and Sampdoria would have an opportunity to scout him without the need to travel all the way to Japan. Rumours from the Antlers camp indicate that Chievo are willing to pay close to \300 million in transfer fees for Yanagisawa, and will at least match his current J.League salary (estimated at around \70 million a year).
Yokohama Blue Woo Cafu, Discuss Deal With Delgado
As the J.League trading season gets into full swing, there are a large number of player moves in progress. The Rising Sun News will provide a full summary of the recent deals and discussions for each team in the league next week, following our report on the Emperor's Cup final. However, one deal that seems to be moving towards completion is too newsworthy for us to let it pass without comment. As early as two weeks ago, rumours surfaced toindicate that the Yokohama Marinos were trying to convince Roma and Brazil National Team defender Cafu (32) to move to the bay city. At the end of the week, the rumour was sweetened further when some news tabloids suggested that Yokohama were in discussions not only with Cafu, but also with Boca Juniors' veteran striker Marcelo Delgado.
Apparently, these rumours are not just wild speculation. On December 29, a team spokesman indicated that the club has been talking seriously with both players, and that "if there are no problems in the physical check, club officials will be travelling to South America in January for direct negotiations. We are hopeful that a final announcement can be made by January 23".
Yokohama got off to a strong start in early 2003, and were a contender for the first stage crown until shortly after the World Cup break, when the team suddenly collapsed into internal squabbling off the pitch and toothless offensive play on the pitch. However, the team finally appears to be making the investments needed to solidify the team. Yokohama have already annouunced that forrmer Japan coach Takeshi Okada will be taking over as the head coach. Okada apparently linked his acceptance of the deal to a commitment from the front office to make the necessary investment to acquire top-level players to fill the gaps that the team still has in its roster. Certainly, the addition of Cafu in the back line and Delgado up front will address two of the three glaring weaknesses. If the rumoured deals for these two players do go through, the team would lack only one key position -- a playmaker to fill the hole left when Shunsuke Nakamura moved to Reggina.
Ihara & Fukuda Hang up the Cleats
Two of the players who have made tremendous historical contributions to the formation and development of the J.League announced their retirement over the past week, as the Urawa Reds, seeking to build a younger team, decided that they could no longer use the two veterans. Masahiro Fukuda, who was Urawa's ace striker over eight of the past ten seasons, before being relegated to midfield duty in his aging years, ranks third on the all-time list of J.League scorers, and collected a league-record 32 goals in 1995. The 36-year-old Fukuda, who earned the nickname "Mr. Reds", will join the Urawa coaching staff under Hans Ooft, who paid tribute to the veteran on his retirement with the comment that, despite being the oldest player in the league during 2002, "he could probably play another two years on a smaller team, since he is still in good condition and has a excellent knowledge of the game. But we wanted to keep his talents and his knowledge in Urawa, so we convinced him to retire and become one of our youth team coaches."
Another J.League "hall of fame" player joined Fukuda on the retirement rolls when teammate Masami Ihara decided to abandon the search for another club and enter a coaching career of his own. Like Fukuda, Ihara was an Icon at his original J.League club, where he was known as "Mr. Marinos". However he was traded from Yokohama to Jubilo Iwata in 2000, and then joined the Reds in 2001. Ihara holds the record for national team appearances (by a margin of around 30 matches), and considering the reduced number of matches that Japan plays in the modern era, it is a record that may never be equalled. Ihara will receive his class C coaching license in early 2003, and intends to begin coaching in either the J2 or university ranks (there are rumours that his alma mater, Tsukuba University, is interested in hiring him).
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