April 28, 2004

Dont Let The Sun Go Down on Me

As many of you may already know, The Rising Sun News has been "suspended" for the past two weeks, as the web manager and chief journalist (myself) took a much-needed break from work -- both my "real job" and the time-consuming effort of operating this web site -- and gave some thought to the idea of closing the site down for good. A number of contributing factors led to this dilemma, but but after careful consideration and reflection, we realised that the biggest problem we faced was a loss of purpose. In addition to providing information on the J.League, and all football-related activities in Japan, the author has been investing considerable time and effort into trying to build interest in the J.League world-wide, as well as taking part in the League's own efforts to promote positive changes, with the goal of making the J.League more professional and raise it to a higher level of international competitiveness.

Unfortunately, as is true in many countries around the world, commercialism and the narrow interests of the corporate mass-media have been having a detrimental influence on the League The discouragement we have experienced, in recent months, and seeming futility of our efforts to encourage positive changes added to the sense of exhaustion caused by trying to keep this site up-to-date 52 weeks a year. Eventually, this writer found himself asking what the point of all that hard work was. Though we have always valued the feedback and appreciation that our readers send us, on a regular basis, the initial enthusiasm that we felt when we launched the Rising Sun News had been replaced by a sense of "obligation". It began to seem like posting regular news reports was a "duty", and no longer something done out of pure enjoyment.

To make matters worse, despite everything that The Rising Sun News has done to try to draw attention to the problems of poor officiating and the lack of any mechanism for promoting good officials and demoting incompetent ones, we began to sense that there was a certain futility to our efforts to encourage positive changes in the J.League. Over the past two weeks, we have considered all of these matters carefully. But the more we thought about it, the more we realised that our "failure" to influence either the league itself, or public opinion (beyond a small circle of foreigners whose comments are generally ignored anyway) was not really the point. In the final analysis, the ramblings and ravings of one jaded journalist are not really the issue, here. They never were . . .

What really matters, here, is the game of football, itself, and the enjoyment it brings to people around the world. The beautiful game does not need help from mere mortals to preserve and perpetuate its beauty, its grace, and the roller-coaster thrill of its unpredictability. The best that we football fans can do is to celebrate the game at every opportunity, and cherish the flashes of beauty and brilliance it provides, even in the darkest gloom of commercialism and corporate-media hype. By providing reports on football in Japan -- not only the matches themselves, but all of the various football-related developments, good and bad, in Japan, we can perhaps spread some of that excitement and enjoyment to people around the world. And even if our rants against some of the persistent problems in the league never make any appreciable difference, at least The Rising Sun News can stand as one unsilenced voice of criticism and concern. identifying the negative trends that threaten the sport, and the league. The beautiful game deserves at least this much -- that we refuse to be buried in the avalanche of comercialism and hype, but always cherish the good, the beautiful, the unpredictable and the unexpected thrill that this sport provides

The Rising Sun has risen again. And hopefully, with your support, will continue to shine for many years to come. For all the mounting problems, the inequities, and the growing grip of commercialism that at times seems to threaten to strangle the J.League, The Rising Sun News has decided to follow the counsel of Dylan Thomas:

"Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, RAGE, against the dying of the light."

Women Olympians Triumph in Tokyo

If any event in the past month has epitomised the thrill of football in Japan, it was surely the exultant victory of Japan's women Olympians over Asian powerhouse, North Korea, to clinch a berth in the Athens Olympics. Perhaps the relative "innocence" of the women's game was the element which made this match special. Or perhaps it was the amazing crowd of nearly 40,000 (including some 10,000 North Korea supporters decked out in red and filling one end of Tokyo's National Stadium), which cheered and celebrated every pass and every tackle, and literally shaking the foundations of the stadium when the final whistle sounded to give Japan the historic win.

Despite the fact that they have lost to North Korea for the past 8 times that the two teams have met, Japan entered the contest with a great deal of positive enthusiasm and confidence, cheered on by a crowd of truly historic proportions (according to the announcers, at least, only one other women's match in history has ever drawn a larger crowd -- the US women's World Cup victory match in Los Angeles, in 1999). After thirty minutes of fierce, end-to-end play in which neither side looked to have an edge, Japan got a huge break when a North Korean defender failed to clear a high ball into the box. Here header bounded just a few meters out, to the edge of the box, where Eiko Arakawa was lingering. The Japanese striker pounced on the loose ball, dashed past the befuddled defender and drilled a shot over the keeper and into the top of the net.

This goal brought a surge of support from the crowd, and tipped the edge in momentum towards Japan. Before North Korea could fully regroup and put their offensive game plan to work, Japan struck again on a fine overlap move by Arakawa, who turned the left corner and centered for midfielder Emi Yamamoto, cutting towards the near post. A Korean defender was shading Yamamoto, but the pass was a bit off the mark and the defender -- who had clearly been intending to cut off the passing lane with her left foot -- suddenly had to shift her balance and try to snare the pass with her right. The reaction was too slow, and the ball merely bounded off her shin guard and into her own net. Moments later the whistle sounded and Japan took a 2-0 advantage into the locker room.

In the second half, the North Koreans showed why they are often viewed as the top team in Asia, putting on continuous pressure and even coming within a whisker of scoring on two occasions. But a combination of frantic defending and good fortune kept the ball out of the net. With the second half winding down, Japan won a corner kick on the left side, and the kicker sent a high lob to defender Kawakami, at the top of the penalty box. Kawakami headed the ball back across the face of goal to striker Otani, who volleyed the ball home and put the match out of reach once and for all.

Nabisco Cup Ties Produce Wild Results

The Nabisco Cup has long been treated as something of an afterthought by J.League teams, and it is usually the case that in the first few rounds, teams tend to field understrength teams in order to give their startes some extra rest. This week, with the National team still in Europe and the Olympic team just returned, this trend was even mre pronounced than usual, with some teams including only two or three regular startes in their lineups, and relying mainly on youngsters and benchwarmers. Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that some of the results were a bit . . . . shall we say . . . unusual.

The biggest shocker of them all was probably Nagoya Grampus' 5-2 drubbing of Jubilo Iwata, which only looks as respectable as it does because of a rather shady-looking penalty kick call awarded to Jubilo in the final minute of regulation time. Once again, referees seem to think that Jubilo's diving deserves to be rewarded, when about the only think these players SHOULD be receiving for their blatant efforts to con the men in black is a card, and a quick trip to the showers. Nevertheless, even Toshihiro Hattori's late strike from the penalty spot could not erase the damage, as Nagoya ran all over Jubilo, all afternoon, and consequently advance to the top of Group B with six points from two matches. Jubilo join Gamba Osaka in the cellar, with a point apiece, as Gamba were held to a draw by Albirex in a wild, see-saw shootout at Niigata "Big Swan" Stadium, with both teams tallying four times. Albirex ace Edmilson claimed a hat trick for the home team, while Masashi Oguro scored a brace for Gamba.

In group A, Tokyo Verdy overcame Cerezo Osaka, 4-1, in a match that was much closer than the score line indicates, to take the lead in that pool by a slight goal advantage over the Yokohama Marinos. Verdy, who have struggled in all of their league matches so far this season, finally started to click on offence, with Daigo Kobayashi giving the team a first-half advantage and Patrick Mboma extending the lead shortly after half time. But Cerezo fought back, claiming one goal by Tomi Shimomura shortly after Mboma's strike, and threatened to equalise on several occasions in the second half. Then, as the match wound down, substitute strikers Kazuki Hiramoto and Jun Tamano came on to produce a whirlwind finish, with each one finding the net in the three minutes of injury time. Yokohama Marinos stayed level with Verdy on points despite a tough challenge from Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Both teams started squads studded with rookies, and the result was a ferociously active (albeit somewhat sloppy) first half in which Sanfrecce took a lead in the 31 minute, but the Marinos responded just two minutes later to knot the score at half time. Sanfrecce looked well worth a point from this match, if not more, until a silly foul on a Marinos counter earned rookie Hideki Nishimura a second yellow card. The Marinos used their man advantage to step up the pressure, and eventually got the winner, from rookie striker Masato Yamasaki.

In group C, last year's Nabisco Cup champions, Urawa Reds, tumbled to the cellar of their group after a 2-0 loss to Shimizu S-Pulse. Some will say that this result was only to be expected, considering how few of the Reds' regular players were available (against a nearly full-strength S-Pulse). But even short-handed, the Reds looked disturbingly weak against one of the League's bottom-dwelling teams. Two goals in the space of three minutes, just after half time, put the Reds in a hole that they were unable to climb out of, and now they will need to put on a dramatic comeback if they want to have any chance of defending their title, in November. Meanwhile, JEF United are sitting pretty with two easy wins in two matches, and now are atop the group thanks to a 4-1 win over Oita Trinita. JEF's promising young striker Seiichiro Maki, a Kyushu native, celebrated his homecoming with a sparkling hat trick, and may soon be demanding a starting spot on a more regular basis if his performance in this contest is any indication.

In group D, Toninho Cerezo nearly committed homocide at Kashima Stadium after an unbelievable blunder straight from the second half kickoff -- by own-goal ace Kenji Haneda -- produced a goal for FC Tokyo, and allowed the visitors to claim a 2-1 victory. Both teams were composed largely of reserves, and the result was not very pretty on either end, but the Antlers self-inflicted errors were by far the worst, with Tokyo fully deserving their comeback win. Even so, the Antlers remain in second place just a point back of Vissel Kobe, who could only manage a 1-1 draw, away to Kashiwa Reysol.

Full results and standings are available at our Nabisco Cup page

Rumours and Rumblings

Interim Results of All-Star Voting

Its that time of the year again -- the time when football fans around the country cast their votes to select the players who will take part in this year's JOMO All-Star Match. As is true in the case of most such events, regardless of sport or country, the selection of players by fan balloting often results in some very odd results. But while all-star player selection may be a "popularity contest", regardless of what league we are talking about, in Japan there is a tendency to take this trend to extremes.

Case in point: two of the top three selections to play striker for the "West All-Stars" are a couple of sluggish old geezers who -- between them -- have scored just ten goals over the past two seasons. Both of them have managed to poll 100,000 votes, already, while last year's scoring ace, Ueslei (who single-handedly scored 22 goals last season), is currently mired in 9th place in the voting, with a mere 45,000 votes. The funny thing is, no matter how many times Kazu Miura and Masashi Nakayama get selected to the West All-Star team, and no matter how many times the West gets run out of the stadium by the East, the announcers always kick off the broadcast on All-Star day by raving about the remarkable exploits of this "explosive strike force", as if the accomplishments of Nakayama and Miura more than a decade ago have some bearing on their suitability as starting strikers today (By that standard, fans might well expect to see Kevin Keegan take the pitch at the City of Manchester Stadium when Japan visits England, this June).

Fortunately, not ALL of the voting is as clueless as that. The top vote-getter of all, as of today, is Urawa Reds striker Tatsuya Tanaka, who has certainly been proving his worth in recent matches with the U-23 national team. It is also encouraging to see that the brains behind JEF United, Ivica Osim, is on track to be selected as head coach of the East, and leads all other coaches (in either league) by more than 10,000 votes.

Apart from the obvious choices and the "fan favourites" (such as Miura and Nakayama), voting seems heavily biased towards teams with large home attendances, though that is not particularly surprising. Niigata's completely undistinguished (and virtually unknown) keeper Yosuke Nozawa has been carried into the number two spot among East goaltenders, thanks to the votes of the always-plentiful Albirex fans, while the Urawa Reds faithful have made Marcus Tulio Tanaka the top vote-getting defender for the East, despite the fact that he has yet to start a match this season (due to a serious hamstring tear). Similarly, Jubilo Iwata dominates voting at the majority of positions, in the West thanks to the team's large attendances, compared with most Kansai-based teams. (Fortunately, rules limiting the number of players from any one team will prevent the West from fielding an all-Jubilo starting lineup).

Below is a breakdown of the voting so far (we list the top five players at each position, though only the top three will be selected). The final results will be announced on June 5

East All-Stars

Coach

. Name Team Votes
1 Ivica Osim JEF United 92,111
2 Yasuharu Sorimachi Albirex Niigata 70,082
3 Guido Buchwald Urawa Reds 56,823
4 Takeshi Okada Yokohama Marinos 54,885
5 Toninho Cerezo Kashima Antlers 28,462
GK
1 Hitoshi Sogahata Kashima Antlers 71,492
2 Yosuke Nozawa Albirex Niigata 57,727
3 Ryo Kushino JEF United 45,955
4 Ryota Tsuzuki Urawa Reds 40,420
5 Tatsuya Enomoto Yokohama Marinos 31,920
DF
1 Tulio Tanaka Urawa Reds 81,782
2 Keisuke Tsuboi Urawa Reds 78,623
3 Daisuke Nasu Yokohama Marinos 72,654
4 Naoki Matsuda Yokohama Marinos 68,991
5 Yuji Nakazawa Yokohama Marinos 59,846
MF
1 Yuki Abe JEF United 139,269
2 Naohiro Ishikawa FC Tokyo 115,931
3 Keita Suzuki Urawa Reds 100,438
4 Mitsuo Ogasawara Kashima Antlers 86,567
5 Yasuyuki Konno FC Tokyo 85,304
FW
1 Tatsuya Tanaka Urawa Reds 145,160
2 Emerson Urawa Reds 76,051
3 Tatsuhiko Kubo Yokohama Marinos 58,722
4 Keiji Tamada Kashiwa Reysol 42,725
5 Takayuki Morimoto TokyoVerdy 41,323

WEST All-Stars

Coach

. Name Team Votes
1 Akira Nishino Gamba Osaka 88,151
2 Takashi Kuwabara Jubilo Iwata 72,498
3 Han Berger Oita Trinita 35,862
4 Dominik Hasek Vissel Kobe 30,636
5 Nelsinho Nagoya Grampus 24,884
GK
1 Seigo Narazaki Nagoya Grampus 112,583
2 Yohei Sato Jubilo Iwata 40,428
3 Naoki Matsuyo Gamba Osaka 35,492
4 Hayato Okanaka Oita Trinita 26,433
5 Daisuke Tada Cerezo Osaka 18,322
DF
1 Tsuneyasu Miyamoto Gamba Osaka 138,305
2 Yutaka Akita Nagoya Grampus 69,009
3 Yuichi Nemoto Sanfrecce Hiroshima 60,228
4 Hideto Suzuki Jubilo Iwata 57,756
5 Makoto Tanaka Jubilo Iwata 47,997
MF
1 Toshiya Fujita Jubilo Iwata 115,056
2 Takashi Fukunishi Jubilo Iwata 106,582
3 Koji Morisaki Sanfrecce Hiroshima 103,275
4 Hiroshi Nanami Jubilo Iwata 97,904
5 Kazuyuki Morisaki Sanfrecce Hiroshima 93,796
FW
1 Yoshito Okubo Cerezo Osaka 113,346
2 Masashi Nakayama Jubilo Iwata 105,504
3 Kazuyoshi Mirua Vissel Kobe 70,482
4 Mansiz Ilhan Vissel Kobe 60,581
5 Daiki Takamatsu Oita Trinita 58,287

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