April 20, 2003
Doom & Gloom in Kansai?
Certainly, there is hope that attendances will pick up as summer approaches. But it is hard to escape a feeling of disappointing as one watches Gamba Osaka and JEF United battle to a stirring 3-3 draw in front of 19,000 empty seats at Expo '70 Stadium, or to be able to pick out individual voices in the cheers that weakly echoed through the near-empty stadium when Magrao scored a last-second equaliser for the home team.
Fortunately, there was far better crowd support, and some stirring matches elsewhere in Japan, as the league moved into its fouth week. Lets begin with a look at the scores of this week's matches.
Week 4: April 19-20
| Date | Home | . | Visitor | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Apr |  | 1-2 |  | Kobe Wing Stadium |
| 19 Apr |  | 2-0 |  | Komaba Stadium |
| 19 Apr |  | 0-2 |  | Shizuoka Stadium |
| 19 Apr |  | 3-3 |  | "Banpaku" Stadium |
| 19 Apr |  | 1-0 |  | Kashima Stadium |
| 19 Apr |  | 1-1 |  | Ajinomoto Stadium |
| 20 Apr |  | 3-2 |  | Kashiwa Stadium |
| 20 Apr |  | 1-0 |  | Yokohama Int'l |
0 - 2
A large and lively crowd of nearly 35,000 were on hand for the Shizuoka Derby, which revived the traditional rivalry between Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata. Unfortunately, both teams have been playing below the par of their past histories, and despite some aggressive play and a degree of combativeness typical of the rivalry, the match was rather sloppy and does not bode well for the chances of either team to capture a title this season.Jubilo came out on top, and perhaps deservedly so, but they did not look like the sort of team that will be able to challenge Kashima or Yokohama for the league championship. Perhaps they can elevate their play as the season goes along, but at the moment, they look very much like a mid-table club.
0 - 2That comment can only reflect badly on S-Pulse, since their performance in this match was even worse. The crowd at Shizuoka Stadium quickly lost track of the number of errant passes and flubbed ball traps that the "home" team committed. S-Pulse does have a number of quality players on their roster, but sadly, players like Alex Santos, Ahn Jung-Hwan and Daisuke Ichikawa only looked good when making individual forays. As a team, S-Pulse appear to be in complete disarray, and they were outshot by even the misfiring Jubilo offense, by a margin of 16 to 2! Ace striker Tuto went off in just the 14 minute, after receiving a hard knock, and his replacement Hideaki Kitajima was missing in action for the remainder of the match.
Nevertheless, S-Pulse managed to keep the match close until midway through the second half, with a combination of physical defensive play and some fine saves by keeper Takaya Kurokawa. It was only as the second half began to wear on that Jubilo started to get their midfield game into gear and produce the sort of scoring opportunities that were the team's forte in past years. In the 65 minute, a fine bit of ball movement on the edge of the box set up the first goal, as Toshiya Fujita played a letter-perfect combination with Norihiro Nishi, whose return pass left Fujita in the clear to slide the ball underneath Kurokawa and give Jubilo the lead.
Just four minutes later, Fujita added an assist that put S-Pulse out of the picture. Collecting a cleared ball following a Jubilo corner kick, Fujita sent a line-drive back into the box and onto the right foot of Rodrigo Gral. The elegantly-coiffeured Brazilian settled the pass and fired a quick shot into the roof of the net, providing all the offence that Jubilo would need on this day. S-Pulse have now conceded 12 goals in four matches, five more than any other J.League team. Not surprisingly, this performance has consigned them to the bottom of the league table
Lineups:
Takaya Kurokawa, Daisuke Ichikawa, Shohei Ikeda, Ryuzo Morioka, Jun Muramatsu, Kota Sugiyama (Masaaki Sawanobori 70), Yasuhiro Yoshida, Teruyoshi Ito (Kohei Hiramatsu 81), Alex Santos, Ahn Jung-Hwan, Tuto (Hideaki Kitajima 14).
Arno Van Zwam, Hideto Suzuki, Makoto Tanaka, Takahiro Yamanishi, Norihiro Nishi (Takahiro Kawamura 84), Takashi Fukunishi, Toshiya Fujita (Nobuo Kawaguchi 87), Toshihiro Hattori, Hiroshi Nanami, Rodrigo Gral (Ryoichi Maeda 82), Masashi Nakayama.
1 - 0 
At Kashima Stadium, the Antlers and their traditional nemesis Tokyo Verdy fought a fierce battle that should have produced a higher score line than it did, and surely deserves consideration as perhaps the highest quality match of the week. Yet despite their eventual victory, the Antlers have to be asking themselves what they need to do to catch a break. The team has done seemingly everything right over the past two weeks yet somehow cant seem to get the ball into the net, and as the second half of this match wore on, one had to wonder if Kashima would face the same fate as they did last week, when they outplayed Nagoya Grampus over almost the entire 90 minutes, yet came away as 1-0 losers.
1 - 0 Part of the problem, clearly, is the absence of striker Atsushi Yanagisawa. Though he is often criticised for his own prodigal ways in wasting shots, Yanagisawa does far more to support his teammates in attack than does Tomoyuki Hirase, whose wayward "shots" (quotation marks required) and ability to always cut in exactly the opposite direction from his teammates' passes more than offset his occasionally sharp dribbling towards net. But apart from that, and the continued sluggishness of Brazilian Euller, the team looked brilliant over two-thirds of the pitch. The dazzlig side-to-side ball movement in midfield, the excellent overlap play from Akira Narahashi on the right and Naoki Soma on the left, and the rapid improvement in quality and confidence of playmaker Mitsuo Ogasawara and central volante Takeshi Aoki have the Antlers looking very much like champions. Yet they simply cant seem to score.
Of course, part of the problem that Kashima faced was the fierce, aggressive and uncompriomising play of the Verdy back line. After a rather ignominious start to his J.League career last season, back-line general Alexandre Paes Lopes has matured into a brutish yet remarkably effective brick wall in the back for the Tokyo green. Yet his performance was overshadowed by the play of Masayuki Yanagisawa, a former universiade team captain who, in only his second year in the J.League, is rapidly developing into a candidate for national team duty. If Verdy can ever get healthy (they played this week's match without such young stars such as Hayuma Tanaka, Seitaro Tomisawa and Takumi Hayama, while Patrick Mboma was able to make only a cameo appearance late in the match), they are going to be a very difficult team to beat. After Euller's lob shot in the 68 minute came back off the crossbar, in what seemed like the tenth close call of the evening, it looked like the Antlers might be headed for another night of frustration. But in the 70 minute, the scoreless deadlock was broken at last. After the Antlers won a free kick on the right side, about 28 meters from goal, Fernando placed a left-footed masterpiece onto the head of Koji Nakata, at the far post, and the defensive midfielder soared through the air to head it home.
The rest of the match was academic. Although Kashima still sputtered a bit on offence, their defensive play this season has been nearly flawless, and with just 20 minutes to play, even a one-goal lead seems to be a generous cushion for them to sag back upon. The final few minutes of the match profided some good excitement, as last year's university scoring champion, Masaki Fukai, entered the game as a substitute for Euller and immediately produced some electric moves on offence -- despite the fact that his teammates were all hanging back to provide defensive cover. If Yanagisawa is not available next week, it will be very interesting to see whether Toninho Cerezo will give the diminutive striker his first start.
In the end, though, Fukai's forays were academic. One thing that the Antlers have certain demonstrated this year is that, if you give them the lead, you are not likely to get it back. Verdy brought in Patrick Mboma as a late substitute, hoping to create some better opportunities, but apart from challenging Yutaka Akita for a few high balls, the big Cameroon captain showed that he is definitely not yet at 100%. Verdy's forays withered in front of the Kashima net, and the Antlers got their season back on a winning track.
Lineups:
Hitoshi Sogahata, Akira Narahashi, Yutaka Akita, Go Oiwa, Naoki Soma, Koji Nakata, Takeshi Aoki (Naoto Honda 64), Fernando, Mitsuo Ogasawara, Tomoyuki Hirase (Yoshiyuki Hasegawa 83), Euller (Masaki Fukai 83).
Yoshinari Takaki, Alexandre Lopes, Kentaro Suzuki, Masayuki Yanagisawa, Atsushi Yoneyama (Shingo Nejime 33), Takuya Yamada, Kentaro Hayashi, Ramon Mendez Hubner (Jun Tamano 77), Daigo Kobayashi, Takeshi Hirano (Patrick Mboma 70), Kazuki Hiramoto.
3 - 3 
Gamba Osaka and JEF United played two separate matches on Saturday afternoon at Banpaku Stadium. They differed entirely in character and quality, though the ultimate result was the same. The first match lasted for the first 30 minutes of the first half and the first 20 minutes of the second half. It was characterised by aimless, if not lethargic play, long passes to nowhere and a plethora of unforced errors, and it ended in a scoreless draw. The second match took part for the final 15 minutes of the first half and the final 25 minutes of the second half. It featured dazzling dashes from one end to the other, a barrage of shots, and several wild scrambles in front of net, and it ended in a 3-3 draw.
3 - 3 It is a bit difficult to find explanations for the complete disparity in play of these two matches, though a rapid scroll through the video confirms the impression received while watching the match live. In the first of the two matches, almost nothing meaningful happened. Players slipped and stumbled around (in their defence, it must be noted that the pitch was wet and uneven, due to a continuous rain), and failed to create many dangerous chances. In the second match, scoring opportunities seemed to bloom like dandilions on an April afternoon, and the air was as thick with shots on goal as a Nagano riverside during mayfly mating season. The only disappointing part about this second match was that there were too few fans to watch it.
After the 30 minute lull of "game one" was completed and "game two" got under way, JEF United started the festivities off with a quick and brilliant scoring play. Midfield playmaker Shinji Murai made a cut down the left flank and as he drew level with the top of the box, he suddenly pulled the ball back and crossed in for Choi Yong-Soo. The big Korean was double-covered, and had no clear shot on net, so he cleverly dummied and allowed the ball to bounce on through to the far post. Yuto Sato dashed in from midfield and blasted a shot that the keeper managed to parry, but could not hold, and Sato was able to collect the loose ball and pop it in from point-blank range.
Taking their cue that it was time to begin playing football, Gamba responded immediately with their own stellar dash down the wing. Kota Yoshihara picked up a pass just over the midfield stripe, wandered forward for a few paces to draw his defender in closer, then took off on a curling dash that ended at the right edge of the box, about three meters from the end line. Yoshihara's cross was placed perfectly, and midfielder Hideo Hashimoto blasted a header into the nylon.
Now that the festivities were under way, both teams took turns creating fluid, breakneck runs toward the net, and releasing shot after shot on net. Seven minutes after their equalising goal, Gamba grabbed the lead as Toru Araiba lofted a long pass into the box and Magrao met it with a diving header. But on the stroke of half time, JEF were back on level terms with a play that was quite similar to their first goal. Once again, Murai set up the play with a move down the left wing, and he crossed in to his favourite target, Choi. This time, Choi had his back to net, with two defenders draped over him, so he lashed out a long leg and knocked the ball back to the penalty spot. Naotake Hanyu dashed into the box and slammed a shot past the keeper.
After the half time break, the two teams resumed their scoreless draw match, which ended inconclusively in the 70 minute. Then JEF broiught in two substitutions and suddenly the wild scoring contest was back on. After several close calls by both teams, Choi Yong-Soo got yet another chnace to post up and provide a drop pass to his teammates. This time substitute striker Takenori Hayashi was the recipient, and he unleashed a vicious blast for the low right corner. Gamba keeper Naoki Matsuyo dove to his left and managed to block the shot, but he was unable to latch onto the wet, slippery ball, and it squirted through his hands and across the line before he could snatch it back.
With regulation time running out, Araiba made a last-ditch effort to penetrate the JEF defence from the left wing. As two defenders came out to meet him, Araiba managed to slip the ball between them and dashed in pursuit. Defender Eisuke Nakanishi tried to react, but lost his footing and -- as much by accident as by intention -- knocked Araiba to the turf, conceding a penalty kick. Magrao slammed the ball home from the penalty spot, and Gamba salvaged a point, though sadly, one could barely hear the scattered cheers from only a handful of local supporters.
Lineups:
Naoki Matsuyo, Masao Kiba (Masanobu Matsunami 80), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Satoshi Yamaguchi, Francisco "Chiqui" Arce (Satoshi Nakayama 62) , Toru Araiba, Hideo Hashimoto, Yasuhito Endo, Takahiro Futagawa, Kota Yoshihara (Masashi Oguro 62), Magrao.
Ryo Kushino, Daisuke Saito, Eisuke Nakanishi, Zeljko Milinovic, Masataka Sakamoto, Yuto Sato, Yuki Abe, Shinji Murai (Takayuki Chano 72), Naotake Hanyu, Sandro Cardoza (Takenori Hayashi 72), Choi Yong-Soo (Shigeyoshi Mochizuki 87)
2 - 0 
In January of this year, when we were preparing our preseason previews for 2003, it looked for a while like the Urawa Reds might be on the verge of creating a championship contender. But three months later, the team looks very different indeed, and not only because Edmundo pulled up stakes and returned to Brazil before the season was fully under way. Surely there is a jucy story behind The Animal's sudden departure, but so far nobody either inside or outside the club is talking, so we can only speculate that perhaps Edmundo found himself marginalized on a team whose offense has become very much centered on its 21-year-old wunderkind, Emerson . Yet no sooner had Edmundo departed than injury sidelined Emerson as well, and the struggle for playing time among a group of very talented but unseasoned youngsters added to the disarray. Urawa has definitely put together a collection of young talent that will need to be reckoned with at some point in the future, but without a steadying force, such as Edmundo, at its centre, the Reds are probably still too young and undisciplined to contend for a championship, as we thought they might before the season started.
2 - 0 That's the bad news. The good news is that the J.League now has a team with enough explosive potential to demolish even the most determined defences. In their first few matches this year, Urawa struggled and stumbled without creating much offence, but now that Emerson is back in the lineup, and other new additions are starting to find their role in the team, opponents will have to be wary indeed. Their youth and lack of team coordination will still limit their achievements for some time to come, but if given the opportunity, the Reds can blow your socks off, as they showed very early in their match against Kyoto Purple Sanga.
After the loss of Edmundo scrambled his puzzle early in the season, Hans Ooft has been carefully working to fit the pieces back together in a comprehensible shape, and one important piece fell into place this week when Ned Zelic finally made his first start in a league match. The veteran Australian defender has been sidelined with nagging injuries since the early preseason, but it was always apparent that Ooft had important plans for big Ned. This week we finally got a chance to see what they are. The Reds lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, but one which will have opposing coaches up late at night seeking to analyse, since it operated like few 3-5-2 sets that we have seen in recent times. Zelic played as a true libero, with no visible assignment whatsoever, roaming the back line freely and cleaning up loose balls whenever necessary. In front of him, Keisuke Tsuboi and Ichiei Muroi were assigned pure man-on-man defensive responsibilities, following the two Kyoto strikers to whatever part of the field they occupied, and only on rare occasions switching off to cover another player. Nobuhisa Yamada and Tadaaki Hirakawa covered the wings, tracking back deep on defence yet also pushing forward aggressively on the overlap. In some ways, the formation seemed like a traditional 4-4-2, but with one midfielder missing, and an extra man behind the back four to clean up anything that slipped through the defence.
The effect was quite impressive. Kyoto Purple Sanga are certainly no shrinking violets when it comes to creating offence, and Gert Engels is possibly the most astute tactical coach in the league, yet Kyoto's attempts at breaking the Reds defence, apart from one or two opportunities that can be attributed to inexperience or mental lapses by the defenders, were remarkably impotent. Perhaps the most telling scene came in the early second half, as Daisuke Matsui and Shingo Suzuki struggled gamely to create an opening down the right flank, only to be turned away again and again by the unshakeable bulldogging of Tsuboi, backed up by the tall, shadowy presence of Zelic. After his final desperate attempt to turn the corner hit a brick wall, and he lost the ball over the end line, the camera lingered on Matsui as he walked back upfield shaking his head in utter frustration.
Theoretically, the one problem that such a defence might create is that the Reds might find themselves a man short on the counterattack. Clearly, Ooft is betting that the breakneck speed and clever moves of Emerson and Yuichiro Nagai, up front, will make up for the disparity in numbers. In this match, certainly, that proved to be a good bet. No sooner had the fans at Komaba Stadium settled into their seats than Emerson gave his team all the offence they would need on this particular afternoon. Taking a pass on the right flank, Emerson retreated a half step to draw the defence in, then launched himself towards goal with an explosive burst of speed. He left the first two defenders spinning in the breeze like twin weathercocks on a blustery afternoon, rounded a third Kyoto player with a dip of the shoulder, and then fired a rocket just inside the far post to put the Reds up 1-0 with only 30 seconds of time elapsed.
There were times in this match when the weakness of Emerson and Nagai -- their tendency to try to do too much on their own -- caused excellent opportunities to slip away. But with good support from Yamada and Hirakawa on the flanks, as well as a fine performance from Keita Suzuki, playing at a more offensive position in midfield than he has in the past, Urawa generated five or six scoring opportunities for every one look at goal that the Purple Sanga created. Ten minutes into the second half, Emerson and Nagai finally demonstrated the necessary cooperation to split open the Kyoto defence and set up one of their teammates. Emerson's drop pass found Suzuki wide open at the top of the box, directly in front of goal. The U-23 volante made no mistake, driving a blistering right-footed shot into the high left side of the net.
Lineups:
Norihiro Yamagishi, Nedijelko "Ned" Zelic, Keisuke Tsuboi, Ichiei Muroi, Nobuhisa Yamada, Hideki Uchidate, Tadaaki Hirakawa, Keita Suzuki, Makoto Hasebe (Koji Yamase 73), Yuichiro Nagai, Emerson.
Naoto Hirai, Kazuhiro Suzuki, Kazuki Teshima, Makoto Kakuda, Shinya Tomita, Daisuke Saito, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Shingo Suzuki, Daisuke Nakaharai (Atsushi Mio 67), Yutaka Tahara (Tadamichi Machida 56), Daisuke Matsui (Tadashi Nakamura 84)
1 - 0
After their day off on Saturday relegated the Yokohama Marinos to third place in the league table, they reclaimed the pole position with a difficult but nevertheless well-earned victory on Sunday. Continuous rain and a heavy pitch helped lowly Oita Trinita to fend off the Marinos attack for most of this match, but the upstarts from Kyushu never really looked like scoring, and an early second half set play provided all the offence that would be needed.
1 - 0As we have noted in the past, the Marinos have considerable quality available on their roster, but are a notoriously brittle team with a weak psyche. For this reason, the most valuable "player" this season has been Takeshi Okada, who has done a fine job, at least thus far, in managing the team ego and drawing the maximum performance from his players. Even so, he will probably be up late at night this week wondering what to do about his schizophrenic offence.
As was the case last season, the Marinos boast one of the best -- if not THE best -- defences in the J.League. So far they have conceded only three goals on the season, and there was no sign that this record was in danger of being altered against the hapless Oita Trinitans. Yet for their own part, scoring chances were limited as well, in what turned out to be a somewhat sloppy and dull affair. This must have come as a surprise to Okada, who would have been thinking after the team's fine performance last weekend that his offence was finally running smoothly. After strikers Nobuhisa Shimizu and Tatsuhiko Kubo combined for three goals and a dozen or more opportunities in their 3-0 drubbing of Tokyo Verdy, last week, the Marinos' big guns were rather silent on Sunday, and defensive players Dutra and Yukihiko Sato actually had the best chances of the evening. The Marinos are legitimately hoping to extend their success to a stage victory this stage, but if they are to do so, Okada must find a way to coax consistency out of Kubo, Shimizu, and point man Daisuke Oku. So far, they seem to be playing "good striker" / "bad striker", with a different persona showing up on each alternate week
But if the Marinos performed like an engine slightly out of tune, Oita Trinita were like the aftermath of a head-on collision. They managed 8 weak shots on net, almost all of them from set plays, and never really threatened the Marinos goal. In the end, with Kubo and Shimizu in "bad striker" mode, the necessary offence was provided by defender Yuji Nakazawa, who rose over the defence to head home a free kick from Sato, giving the Marinos their margin of victory.
Lineups:
Tatsuya Enomoto, Yasuhiro Hato, Yuji Nakazawa, Naoki Matsuda, Dutra, Yukihiko Sato, Akihiro Endo, Daisuke Nasu, Daisuke Oku, Nobuhisa Shimizu (Daisuke Sakata 15), Tatsuhiko Kubo (Sotaro Yasunaga 60).
Hayato Okanaka, Tetsuya Yamazaki, Sandro Chaves Rosa, Takashi Miki, Koji Arimura, Tetsuro Uki (Tomoaki Komorida 69), Takashi Umeda, Takayuki Yoshida, Yoshito Terakawa (Teppei Nishiyama 63), Rodrigo Mendes, Daiki Takamatsu (Andradinha 82)
3 - 2
Two late goals provided Cerezo Osaka with a degree of respectability after they were stunned into a three-goal deficit by a very young and energetic Kashiwa Reysol team. Sadly, though, the performance of Reysol's teen sensations was overshadowed by what was perhaps the most horrendous performance by a team of referees in recent memory. Regular readers will be aware of our long-standing view on the quality of J.League officiating. However, in this particular case the head referee, Mr. Okutani, cannot be faulted for the usual sin of inconsistency. Indeed, he was extremely consistent and unbiased in his officiating throughout the match -- from the opening kick he made it clear to both teams that he would not blow his whistle no matter how vicious or egregious the physical contact. So long as there was no blood flowing onto the pitch, he would look the other way.
3 - 2 It is not possible to suggest that either team was actually disadvantaged by this attitude, though when coach Nishino pulled his star midfielder Yoshito Okubo early in the second half it was clear that he was doing so to protect the U-23 standout striker from serious injury. Okubo was taken down midway through the first half by a studs-up, from-behind sliding tackle that sent him into a full half-twisting gainer, yet Mr. Okutani looked the other way. Just moments later, in obvius retaliation, young Keiji Tamada was felled by a similar sliding challenge that left him hobbling for the rest of the match, yet again, the referee's whistle remained in his pocket. It is a near miracle that neither team suffered any injuries serious enough to sideline a player for any extended period, though surely every player on both sides will be nursing bruises and abrasions for the rest of the week. This sort of performance is simply inexcusable, and it is high time that the J.League began conducting serious performance appraisals, including demotion or even suspension for those officials whose ability is simply inadequate to the demands of the sport. We can only hope that such actions are taken before some poor player has their career cut short due to this sort of incompetence!
Now that the rant is finished, lets consider the match itself, which was really quite exciting if one overlooks the excessively physical, if not downright dirty play on both sides. Cerezo came out in the first half with good ball movement and pinpoint passing which created a number of early opportunities. Indeed, they seemed to be in complete control for about the first 20 minutes of the match, but some good goaltending by Yuta Minami kept the match scoreless. As time went on, however, Reysol began to establish a better rhythm, and by about the 30 minute mark were making dangerous forays deep into Cerezo territory. Reysol will be a very interesting team to watch this year. Although they are far too young, and too thin on talent to defeat teams like Jubilo, Marinos and Antlers on a consistent basis, they have a core of about ten players, ranging in age from 17 to 22, who could become superstars within a few years. Perhaps the most exciting part of their game is that they seem to relish the opportunity to take on an opponent one-on-one. Though their passing is quite effective too, players such as Kiyoshi Yano, Keiji Tamada, Yuji Unozawa, Tetsuya Yazawa, Shunta Nagai and Shinya Tanoue all show the knack for breaking down opponents on the dribble, and driving through traffic with a keen eye on the goal. Of course, not that many defences in the league are as porous as Cerezo Osaka's. However, in another year or two when these players have developed their skills to a slightly higher level, Reysol could be a very powerful competitor indeed.
As the first half drew to a close, the Cerezo defence seemed to lose its concentration and Reysol's young guns quickly made them pay, and pay dearly. In the 43 minute, midfielder Takahiro Shimotaira chased after a long lead pass which looked like it would go over the end line. The Cerezo defenders apparently thought they had a sure goal kick, since nobody picked up the Reysol players cutting for the box. But Shimotaira reached the ball just as it hit the white stripe, and looped it into the box. In a flash, 18-year-old Kisho Yano sped towards goal and soared high to head the ball past the flat-footed keeper.
Just two minutes later, Tamada made a dazzling run through at least three defenders before a Cerezo player finally managed to clear the ball. Tomonori Hirayama picked up the clearance just outside the top left corner of the penalty area, and looped a cross in front of net. Though there were two Reysol players and three defenders in front of net, nobody touched the ball. Cerezo keeper Seigo Shimokawa was poised on his line waiting for the header which never came. But the ball's path took it straight for the right upright, and as six players all stood and watched it float past, the "cross" caught the inside of the post and bounded into the net.
Both teams had their chances in the early stages of the second half, though as the un-whistled fouls mounted up, some players seemed to be focused as much on settling scores as they did with playing football. Rather than taking steps to try to settle the players down, Mr. Okutani actually contributed to the tension and antagonism by getting into verbal sparring matches with both Baron and Akinori Nishizawa. But then, we have already covered that issue . . .
With less than ten minutes to play, Reysol got their final tally of the afternoon on a set play. After the referee uncharacteristically used his whistle, and gave Reysol a free kick on the left sideline, Ricardinho lofted a long cross for the far post. 19-year-old defender Toru Nagata made a prodigious leap at the end line to volley the ball back across the face of goal, and 21-year-old Keiji Tamada launched himself for a diving header that put Reysol up 3-0.
The match ended in a flurry of Cerezo pressure, aided perhaps by a defensive letdown on the part of the Reysol back line. After a fine performance over much of the afternoon, in the final minutes they seemed content to just kick the ball clear, and conceded a series of throw-ins and corner kicks. In the 88 minute, one corner kick from the right side curled for the far post, and although the keeper managed to swat it away, Albin Pelak was on hand to volley it immediately back on net to reduce the deficit to 3-1. In the second minute of injury time, another corner from exactly the same spot found Baron leaping at the near post, and suddenly the score was 3-2. But before the ball could even be put back in play, the referee blew full time, and Reysol claimed a well-deserved victory.
Lineups:
Yuta Minami, Mitsuteru Watanabe, Norihiro Satsukawa, Toru Nagata, Tomonori Hirayama, Takahiro Shimotaira, Tomokazu Myojin, Ricardinho, Tadatoshi Masuda (Shunta Nagai 69), Kisho Yano (Yuji Unozawa 83), Keiji Tamada (Tetsuya Yazawa 86).
Seigo Shimokawa, Satoru Suzuki, Ryu Saito, Takuma Koga, Takanori Nunobe, Yuji Hironaga (Albin Pelak 53), Yasushi Kita, Yusuke Sato, Hiroaki Morishima (Yasuo Manaka 74), Yoshito Okubo (Akinori Nishizawa 53), Baron.
Elsewhere
Vissel Kobe saw their strong start to the season sputter into disappointment as Vegalta's Toshiyuki Abe scored one goal and set up another, leading Sendai to a 2-1 victory.At Tokyo's Ajinomoto Stadium (aka "the Soup Bowl"), FC Tokyo took a first-half lead on the first (and surely not the last) goal of the season by right winger Naohiro Ishikawa, but Nagoya equalised fifteen minutes into the second stanza, on a goal from midfielder Naoshi Nakamura. Neither team was able to break the deadlock over the final half hour, and they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
With their victory over Oita, the Marinos remain in the top spot, ahead of Vegalta on goal difference, while the Kashima Antlers stand one point off the pace. Here is how the league table looks after four matches:
| . | Team | Pts | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GDif |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yokohama Marinos | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 |
| 2 | Vegalta Sendai | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 |
| 3 | Kashima Antlers | 9 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 |
| 4 | JEF United Ichihara | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 |
| 5 | Jubilo Iwata | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| 6 | Vissel Kobe | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| 8 | Kashiwa Reysol | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | +0 |
| 9 | Gamba Osaka | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 8 | +0 |
| 10 | FC Tokyo | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | +0 |
| 11 | Cerezo Osaka | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 | -1 |
| 12 | Urawa Reds | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| 13 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| 14 | Tokyo Verdy | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -4 |
| 15 | Oita Trinita | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -5 |
| 16 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | -5 |
Nabisco Cup Serves up Several Surprises
The Nabisco Cup resumed on Wednesday night, with the fourth series of pool-round matches. With just two matches remaining for each team (and even fewer for some teams in pools C and D), it is still anyone's guess who will be progressing to the second round. Indeed, the entire slate of matches this week was pretty inconclusive, with four of the six matches ending in draws. Perhaps the most interesting race is shaping up in pool A, where Vegalta Sendai's upset of the Yokohama Marinos now leaves Vegalta, Marinos and FC Tokyo all level with seven points from four matches (alas, poor Kashiwa Reysol are the first team to be mathematically eliminated).
Lets take a quick look at the results of the matches this week, and then examine the scenarios for each pool.
4 - 0
0 - 2
0 - 0
2 - 2
2 - 2
2 - 2
Based on the results of this week's matches, just two teams -- Vissel Kobe and Oita Trinita -- have been mathematically eliminated from any chance of progressing to the next round (though Cerezo need a near-miracle to advance).
| Team | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jubilo Iwata | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| Vissel Kobe | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 |
| Urawa Reds | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| FC Tokyo | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| Yokohama Marinos | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Gamba Osaka | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| JEF United | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oita Trinita | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
As the standings should indicate, pools A and B are still wide open. In pool A, Verdy and Reds are both one win off the pace, but they play Jubilo and Vissel, respectively, in the final pool match, so in that sense their fate is still in their own hands. However, the match on July 2 at Ajinomoto Stadium, between Reds and Verdy, will probably eliminate one of the two (a draw would probably eliminate both), so it is likely to be a high-stakes affair and could draw a considerable crowd.
In pool B, Reysol has been eliminated, but the other three teams are all level on points. Vegalta Sendai has the toughest schedule, playing both of the other two in its final two matches, but has the advantage of playing both matches at home, in rowdy Sendai Stadium. FC Tokyo and Yokohama Marinos both will hope to collect points against the group weakling, Reysol, but the key will be their matches in Sendai. Failure to collect at least one point in that contest will probably eliminate them. Again, considering the venue there could be substantial crowds on hand for these two matches.
Cerezo Osaka should enjoy their spot atop pool C while they can. It seems unlikely to last. Gamba and JEF United play home and away in the last two matches of the group, and Gamba can clinch the top slot with a win in either match, or even with two draws. JEF, on the other hand, need to win both matches in order to advance, but at least their fate is in their own hands. The only scenario that could help Cerezo would be one in which JEF wins one of the two contests, and draws the other. If this happens, all three teams will be level on five points, and it would come down to goal difference, or perhaps even number of goals scored. The nightmare scenario would be if JEF and Gamba draw the first match 1-1 and JEF wins the second match 2-0. In this case, a three-way coin flip would be required to determine who advances to the second round.
Group D is somewhat more straightforward, coming down basically to the contest between Grampus and Purple Sanga on July 16. Oita are eliminated, but can play the spoiler by defeating or drawing with Grampus on July 2. In this case, Kyoto would need only a draw to advance. If Grampus defeat Oita, then they would be the team needing only a draw in the final match in order to advance.
Rumours and Rumblings
Blonde Bomber "Bombs" in Belgium
Takayuki Suzuki will soon be headed back to the Kashima Antlers, after Belgium's Genk decided not to renew the national team striker's contract for another season. Suzuki managed to catch the eye of some Belgian coaches with his goal against their national team at the 2002 World Cup, but the acquisition was probably fated to fail from the outset.
Those who have followed the so-called "Blonde Bomber" know that he is by no means a "typical" striker, contributing more in tterms of physical presence and his ability to unsettle defensive formations, rather than his ability to find the net. Moreover, he is not the sort of "sports idol" who can attract a large volume of merchandising money, as do players like Shinji Ono, Junichi Inamoto or Shunsuke Nakamura. Unfortunately, these two factors were precisely why the Belgian club signed him in the first place. Genk was hoping for some scoring help up front, as well as some Japanese revenues from shirt sales and licensing deals.
Nevertheless, Suzuki seems to believe that the experience has been a positive one. He has been exposed to European play, including UEFA Cup action, and will be able to bring that experience back to a club that is vying for a title this season. News reports indicated that he will rejoin the Antlers at the end of May, allowing him to take parrt in the final five matches of the First Stage, and the entire Second Stage.
Japan Olympians to Host Myanmar in May
In the first round of Asian qualifiers for the 2004 Olympics, Myanmar defeated Bangladesh by an aggregate score of 3-1, and thus progresses to the second round of the competition. Japan, who had a bye in the first round, will play matches against Myanmar on May 1 and May 3, both of which will be held in Japan. The May 1 match is scheduled to take place at National Stadium in Tokyo, while the match on May 3 will be played at Ajinomoto Stadium.
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