March 1, 2003
Nabisco Cup Gets Under Way
An overview of the action in this week's matches suggests that it may be just as well, since all teams except Jubilo Iwata (who have already played four competitive matches this year) looked rather rusty, and many fielded second-string squads due to either injury or national team commitments (many U-20 players have been in Fukushima preparing for the U-20 championships, which have now been postponed, but until yesterday, were expected to take place in late March). The action in many of the contests was sluggish; perhaps the most exciting match of the afternoon took place in Kyoto, where the Purple Sanga came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory over Oita Trinita. Yet even that match drew a mere 4,000 fans. The highly touted cross-town matchup between Cerezo Osaka and Gamba Osaka managed to attract a bit over 10,000 fans, but it was a rather sloppy affair, which showed both teams have some distance to go before they are in peak playing form.
But enough of the preliminaries, lets have a look at the results of the matches;
| Date | Home | . | Visitor | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 8 |  | 2-0 |  | Kagoshima Stadium |
| Mar 8 |  | 1-1 |  | Kashiwa-no-ha |
| Mar 8 |  | 3-2 |  | Nishikyogoku |
| Mar 8 |  | 1-0 |  | Ezpo '70 Stadium |
| Mar 8 |  | 1-0 |  | Yokohama Int'l |
| Mar 8 |  | 0-1 |  | Tokyo Soup Bowl |
2 - 0 
Jubilo Iwata got the better of the Urawa Reds, on a balmy afternoon in southern Kyushu, though they did so with very little style and certainly none of the dominance that the score line might indicate. The Reds looked rusty and disorganised, though considering the makeshift lineup that they fielded, and the fact that this was their firs competitive match of the season (and Jubilo's fifth), there were relatively competitive for most of the contest.
2 - 0 Indeed, in the first half the Reds even seemed to have a slight edge, as strikers Edmundo and Yuichiro Nagai used their individual ball skills to penetrate the Jubilo defence and create a handful of scoring opportunities. Jubilo replied by playing a rather un-Jubilo like game of kicjh-and-run, with long balls aimed for strikers Masashi Nakayama and Rodrigo Gral. This actually was a reasonable strategy considering that the Reds started rookie Hiroyuki Kobayashi in the center of the back line, flanked by two second-year players, Takuya Mikami and Keisuke Tsuboi, with 18-year-old Makoto Hasebe at one of the two volante spots. The strategy almost worked early on, as Nakayama beat Kobayashi into space on the first two or three chances of the match. But thereafter the young defensive unit held up fairly well, until Jubilo began to get assistance from the referee.
Though the Reds may have had a slight edge in the first half, their lack of precision and coordination was quite apparent, and they were only able to get off two truly dangerous shots. As the second half began, Jubilo started to show a bit more patience -- as well as some veteran gamesmanship -- and started to take control of the match. 20 minutes into the second stanza, Rodrigo Gral burst into the penalty area, trying to angle away from the young Hasebe in order to find an open shot. But when he wasy that the play was well screened by the defender and the keeper, Gral threw himself to the turf in what was a very clear dive. The referee, who was still well behind the play and thus didnt nave a good view, decided to buy Gral's acting job, and awarded both a spot kick and a yellow to Hasebe. Gral sank the PK to put Jubilo in front 1-0.
Just 5 minutes later, Gral once again suckered the rookie into a challenge, and threw himself to the ground screaming in agony. This time there probably was some contact, but Gral's emphatic performance earned Hasebe a second card and a trip to the showers.
Though things were looking rocky for the Reds, they actually put up a decent fight after being reduced to ten men, with Edmundo creating a few decent chances and Keita Suzuki very nearly knotting the score with a powerful volley from the edge of the box. But Jubilo was able to hold off the surge of momentum that followed Hasebe's sending-off, and began to regain control as the clock ticked down. With just a minute to play in regulation time, the Reds threw themselves a bit too far forward in the effort to equalise, and a swift Jubilo counterattack sent Ryoichi Maeda away for an easy, uncontested shot on goal. The whistle sounded just a few moments later and Jubilo claimed a 2-0 victory and the top spot in Group A.
0 - 1 
At Tokyo's Ajinomoto Stadium (aka, the "Soup Bowl"), Vissel Kobe collected an early goal from midfielder Harison, and then fought off sustained pressure from Tokyo Verdy to emerge with a 1-0 victory. Verdy looked dangerous at times, particularly in the second half, but their big guns on offence, particularly Patrick Mboma, seemed unable to connect on their passes with enough frequency to crack the active and aggressive defensive pressure of Vissel.
0 - 1 Vissel for its part looked much more cohesive as a team than they did last season, though in terms of individual play, their attack seemed outmatched by that of Verdy (apart from Harison's lone goal). Mboma looked a bit slow, and he repeatedly failed to read the intentions of strike partner Kazuki Hiramoto and midfielder Atrsuhiro Miura. However, Verdy has some good wing play from both wing backs, Hayuma Tanaka and Atsushi Yoneyama, and striker Kazunori Iio added some excitement when he came on for Hiramoto, late in the match. The team still has a lot of work to do before they can say they are ready for top-notch competition, but they showed some promising signs of being an exciting team this year. Vissel, meanwhile, looked solid on defence despite their mediocre attack, and could be a bit more competitive this season than they were last year. They now stand even on points, and just one goal difference behind Jubilo at the top of Group A.
0 - 1
A nice finish by young striker Taiki Takamatsu put Oita Trinita up 1-0 at the half, in Nishikyogoku Stadium, but the home team responded with a goal from ace Teruaki Kurobejust after half time to even the contest before the match started to get really weird.
0 - 1 In the 63 minute, Kyoto Purple Sanga kicked the ball out of play to allow an Oita player to receive medical attention. Naturally, on the subsequent inbounds pass, the Kyoto players stood around flat-footed waiting for the ball to be returned. But Rodrigo snatched the inbounds pass, dribbled on goal and fired a shot past the astonished keeper.
Naturally, the Kyoto bench erupted in fury, but Oita coach Shinji Kobayashi quieted what might have been a dangerous explosion by tongue-lashing his errant forward and ordering his players not to contest the subsequent kick-off. Kyoto's Daisuke Nakaharai scored almost immediately as the Oita players looked on.
After such a dramatic yet baffling turn of events, the rest of the match was almost surreal. Oita, already reduced to ten men, were forced into a desperate defensive effort which eventually failed as Kurobe was fouled just inside the penalty box. The big striker fired home the subsequent PK and Kyoto claimed a 3-2 victory, along with the early lead in Group D
Elsewhere
The Yokohama Marinos prevailed over FC Tokyo, thanks to a goal on the stroke of half time from the recently aquired Marquinhos, who played for Tokyo Verdy last year and was picked up by the Marinos just one week ago. Yokohama thus took the lead in Group B.Two Brazilians, Ricardinho and Marcos, tallied in the first half but neither Vegalta Sendai nor Kashiwa Reysol could break the deadlock in the second half. As a result, both teams had to settle for one point in the pool round and share the middle spot in Group B
In the Osaka Derby matchup, Cerezo and Gamba played 90 minutes of scoreles football before a pell-mell dash and strike by substitute forward Masanobu Matsunami captured victory for Gamba in the first minute of extra time to put Gamba at the top of Group C
Asian Champions League
Antlers, S-Pulse Fail to Advance
With a game left to play, both the Kashima Antlers and Shimizu S-Pulse have been eliminated from the inaugural Asian Champions League tournament. S-Pulse managed a gritty draw with Dalian Shide in their first match, but fell to group favourites Songnam Ilhwa in a hard-fought 2-1 defeat. More surprising was the Antlers' 4-3 defeat at the hands of Shanghai Shenhua, after being held to a 2-2 draw in their opening match. The Antlers were missing several key players for this tournament, including striker Atsushi Yanagisawa, keeper Hitoshi Sogahata and defensive midfielder Koji Nakata, but after their victory in the A3 championships last month, few thought that they would be knocked off their pedestal this easily.
J.League teams have traditionally done poorly in Asian competition, but the defeats this year come as more of a shock, as both teams had said that they were eager to perform well, and the league made special arrangements to give them an open schedule to take part in this competition. The Antlers never really looked like winners in this tournament, and are now mathematically eliminated with just one point from two matches.
The star of the match for Shanghai was Honduran striker Saul Martinez, who put two past resreve keeper Riki Takasaki including the deciding tally. Kashima have only themselves to blame, as they conceded two early goals and put themselves in a hole. They fought back in the second half from 3-1 down at half time, but Martinez' strike in the 88 minute ensured that Shanghai would claim the three points. Surprisingly, though, home club BEC Tero Sasana are on track to win the group after they downed Taejon Citizen 2-0, to follow their 2-2 draw with the Antlers.
S-Pulse were not fancied to go as far in this tournament, as they qualify based on a Cinderella-like run to the Emperor's Cup two years ago. But despite their poor recent run in the J.League, they put up a good struggle against top teams from China and Korea. Ahn Jung-Hwan gave S-Pulse fans hope with an equaliser in the second half, but Songnam proved too strong, sealing the win with a second goal soon afterwards.
S-Pulse Settle for "Nothing" in AFC Champions League
Shimizu S-Pulse will be happy with the single point they collected from a 0-0 draw against Dalian Shide, after a huge performance by reserve keeper Keisuke Hada staved off the intense pressure from Dalian's tall and powerful striker Hao Haidong. Shimizu were reasonably competitive in the midfield, but simply couldnt generate scoring opportunities against the home side, which was encouraged by a crowd of 54,000 fans. Dalian, meanwhile, looked good at times, but squandered some chances early on. By the time they began to put their shots on target, the young keeper Hada, starting in place of Masanori Sanada who was scratched due to a high fever, had settled his nerves and played a standout match, robbing Hao of at least two golden opportunities to give Dalian the lead.
The Dalian coach, who said before the match that his team was focusing on S-Pulse, and not looking ahead to their next match against K-League powerhouse Songnam Ilhwa, made a face-saving turnabout after the match. "We were focusing too much on our next match, which I think will be the deciding one in this tournament." Theat may well be true, but having failed to collect three poinst from S-Pulse, Dalian have their work cut out for them. Songnam decapitated and disembowled their opponent, the lowly Thai side Osotspa, with a 6-0 victory. S-Pulse will need to hope for another superb performance from Hada on Wednesday, when they face Songnam, whjo are now clearly the team to beat despite Dalian(s home field advantage.
Antlers Held to Draw in First CL Match
Kashima Antlers conceded a last-second equalizer to finish in a 2-2 draw against home side BEC Tero Sasana in the quarterfinal round of the Asian Champions League, being held in Thailand. The Antlers twice took the lead against the feisty Thai club, but with Atsushi Yanagisawa still sidelined with injury, their offence consistently broke down in the final stages of attack, whereas Thailand played an aggressive counterattacking style that created numerous scoring chances particularly in the second half.
Tomoyuki Hirase gave the Antlers a 1-0 half time lead with a nice finish in the 22 minute, and despite their inability to score, Kashima seemed dominant when the two teams went into the locker room. But BEC Tero Sasana came out in the second half with five nominal strikers in their lineup, and put a great deal of pressure on the Antlers' midfield play. This created several counterattacking opportunities, and in the 76 minute Wuttiya Yongent beat reserve keeper Riki Takasaki with a quick-release shot that caught him unprepared.
Fernando restored Kashima's lead almost immediately, on a beautifully struck free kick that split the defence and snuck inside the left post. But just when it seemed that the Antlers would emerge with a win, Wuttiya made yet another dash on goal and slid the ball past Takasaki in the final minute of play, to send the home crowd into wild celebrations. In the second match of the pool, Taejon Citizen overcame Shanghai Shenhua 2-1, to top the group. Kashima will play Shanghai on Wednesday, but it now looks like their Friday match against Taejon is the one that will decide the group.
Rumours and Rumblings
Reysol Cut Edilson Loose
Kashiwa Reysol announced on Friday that they have terminated their contract with former Brazilian national team striker Edilson, after repeated attempst to come to terms with the player failed. Edilson has yet to report to training camp, apparently because he wants to renegotiate his contract. Edilson had included an agreement to play for Reysol in 2003 when negotiating his contract for last season, but had not signed a firm contract for the 2003 season. Though the player cited "business problems in Brazil" as his reason for not reporting to training camp, the news leaking out of the Reysol front office suggests that he may have been stalling as a way of pressuring Reysol to give him a pay increase. On Friday, the team management decided that "in order to avoid any impact on the other players", it was time to cut off the discussions.
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