January 1, 2003
The New Kids on the Block
The 82nd annual Emperor's Cup has already contributed its share of drama and surprise to football fans this year, and the final act was certainly a fitting conclusion. All those who enjoy cheering for the underdogs will have plenty to feel good about, as unheralded Kyoto Purple Sanga, taking part in their first title match ever, came from a goal behind to dethrone the Kashima Antlers, who were in search of their tenth trophy in ten years.
The match had a little bit of something for everyone. Fast attacking, crushing defensive tackles and more than a bit of controversy. The match started as most people would have expected, with the Antlers playing an aggressive byt controlled midfield press and seeking to work the ball carefully through the Kyoto defence. This strategy paid off in the 16 minute, as Mitsuo Ogasawara released a perfectly timed ball to Atsushi Yanagisawa to beat the defence and create a two-on-two break. Yanagisawa saw the keeper cheating off his line and decided to try to lob the ball over his head. The shot was just a bit too long, coming back off the crossbar, but Euller followed the play perfectly and headed in the rebound to put Kashima up 1-0 at the half.
Kyoto were outplayed by the Antlers in the first half, but they certainly did not lose hope. Their attacks had come close to creating a break on several occasions, and as coach Gert Engels noted at half time, they saw some chances for the clever dribbling of Daisuke Matsui and Park Ji-Sung to exploit young left back Tomohiko Ikeuchi, who was playing in place of the injured Masashi Motoyama. Sure enough, as the two teams caem out for the second half, Kyoto threw Shingo Suzuki forward into the attack, giving Kyoto four speedy and able ball-handlers in the front line. This began to open up some gaps in the Antlers defence, and 12 minutes into the second period, Ikeuchi was forced to give away a foul just to the right of the box after he was beaten on the dribble by Matsui. Shingo Suzuki took the kic, and placed a perfect line-drive onto the head of Park. The young Korean ace flicked the ball on, and into the back of the Antlers goal, to knot the score.
The next 20 minutes or so were all even, as both teams pushed into attack aggressively, and threatened the goals at both ends. It seemed that the Antlers were getting a slight edge in numbers, but they were repeatedly thwarted by offsides calls -- some of which they clearly believed to be missed calls. Toninho Cerezo raged at the referees on at least two occasions, and even drew a warning from Mr. Okada to keep his voice down.
But Kyoto was getting chances of their own, and in the 85 minute, they finally got the break they needed. As Kashima pushed forward into attack, Koji Natata failed to see Augusto dropping a pass back to him after being cut off on a dash down the wing. By the time Nakata recovered, Kazuhiro Suzuki had already reached the ball and fired it long for Kyoto's three forwards, who were all breaking for the Antlers box. Matsui tried to find Park on the right wing, but the ball was broken up by Fabinho, who stuck out a boot and deflected the ball away. However, his deflection rolled right to Teruaki Kurobe, just inside the penalty arc, and the big Sanga striker fired a shot into the high right corner to give Kyoto the lead.
The Antlers were down by a goal, but for a team with as much experience in tight matches as this one, they still had time for a comeback. But at this point, Kyoto got yet another key break. After a loose ball was cleared from the Kyoto end, Kurobe raced after the loose ball, a step ahead of the Antlers defence. Keeper Hitoshi Sogahata raced out to try to clear the ball, and did manage to get a foot on it, but he bowled over Kurobe in the process. Mr. Okada, who has a reputation for giving the Antlers no margin for error, produced a red card. Considering the fact that Sogahata got a piece of the ball, and the further fact that Yutaka Akita had retreated behind the play, so Kurobe would not have had an unchallenged path to the net in any event, a red card seems a bit too harsh, but one might well argue that Kyoto deserved this win for the aggressive and positive play they demonstrate throughout, and the referee was simply making sure that they got the victory they deserved.
So all hail to the mighty Purple Sanga, for breaking the Jubilo-Antlers stranglehold on championship titles
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