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October 18, 2004

Packing the House

Unfortunately, the biggest draw of the day turned out to be an exciting but somewhat frustrating contest between the two top contenders for this season's title. The Urawa Reds and Yokohama Marinos, who may very well end up playing each other in the season-ending championship series, played a highly aggressive and entertaining match but despite many opportunities, neither team could hit the net, and the match ended in a scoreless draw. Indeed, draws seemed to be in abundance this week, but certainly the content of the action did not leave the crowds of fans disappointed.

Date	Home	.	Visitor	Venue
17 Oct		1-2		Nihondaira Stadium
17 Oct		1-2		Nagai Stadium
17 Oct		0-0		Saitama Stadium
17 Oct		2-2		Hiroshima Big Arch
17 Oct		2-2		Kashiwa-no-ha Std.
17 Oct		0-0		Tokyo Nat'l Stadium
17 Oct		1-0		Niigata "Big Swan"
17 Oct		2-3		Kumamoto

1 - 0

Unfortunately for the fans, this was one of those contests where all the effort in the world simply could not produce a goal. The Reds dominated the first half, and had at least a half-dozen excellent opportunities turned away, while the Marinos put on a surge of their own after the half-time break, which also came within a whisker of creating a goal. But in the end, the defensive work by both competitors proved to be the decisive factor. Though it was a team effort on both ends, if we had to single any players out for notice in this contest, Alpay Ozalan of the Reds and Yuzo Kurihara of the Marinos were the ones who delivered truly stand-out performances.

In the end, though, all this match was able to do was whet the appetite of fans for the main event, in November. By splitting the points with their leading rival, the Reds managed to maintain their dominant lead in the second stage title race, and it now seems a near certainty that they will face the Marinos in the year-end series to decide the league crown.

0 - 0

FC Tokyo are actually not doing terribly, if you compare their current seventh-place standing with their past history. However, as they showed in the Nabisco Cup semifinals, last week, as well as in their match against Urawa -- the only loss the Reds have accumulated in this stage -- Tokyo are a team that SHOULD be doing much better this year. FC Tokyo's efforts to build a champion, based on strong youth development efforts and a solid financial organisation, are steadily bearing fruit. However, as we have noted several times this season, the team is still just a bit too "young and foolish" in their match play, and have dropped a number of results that they probably could have won. We are even beginning to wonder if perhaps it might be time for management to consider replacing coach Hiromi Hara with someone who can teach these kids a bit more discipline, and get them to play with more intelligence. There is no doubting their sheer energy and latent skill, but as has often happened this season, Tokyo dominated their match against Jubilo this week, yet came away with only one point.

The situation for Jubilo is quite a bit different. After several years at the top, the team is having a very difficult time adjusting to the idea of being "just another competitor". At times, they seem to be their own worst enemies, either making fatal blunders by trying too hard, or resorting to petulant and unprofessional tactics to try to steal a victory. One of the weekly football magazines ran a cartoon, this week, showing the Jubilo players jumping out of an airplane and going into free-fall. When one of them points out that it might be a good time to open their parachutes, another responds in surprise: "parachutes? but these are just rucksacks!" As the joke suggests, Jubilo just dont seem to have the tools they need to pull out of their free-fall, and unfortunately, it seems that interim coach Masakazu Suzuki, is desperately trying to live in the past, calling upon the old guard players to save the day rather than using this opportunity to develop the youngsters.

The above comments sum up not only the current team situation for FC Tokyo and Jubilo, but also the content of this match. Jubilo floundered desperately, and almost never looked like scoring a goal, while FC Tokyo dominated from start to finish, creating dozens of opportunities, yet were unable to close the deal, partly due to a lack of poise and experience. At the end of the day, though, it is fairly clear that FC Tokyo are moving in a positive direction, and need only to add a bit more organisation and coordination. Jubilo, by contrast, is in disarray, and will need a major housecleaning before they can get back into competitive shape.

1 - 0

Once again, this contest provided a stark contrast between two teams with very different stories. Albirex are storming through the league in their first year after promotion from J2, and currently standthird in the league table. The amazing performance of the team, supported by some of the finest fans in the J.League, has prompted many to begin asking "is this team for real?" Unfortunately, we think that the answer to that question is: "not really". Though Albirex are certainly a hard-working team that is exciting to watch, as this contest showed, they are still not playing at the level that one would expect from a top competitor. They were dominated by the Antlers in this contest, and though tenacious -- almost desperate -- defending kept them in the contest, and luck is certainly one element that a "good" team needs, we think that good fortune is the main reason why the team is in their current position.

Albirex certainly are fun to watch. Their tireless ball pursuit and lightning quick counterattacks make for a very good show. However, their organisation is still weak, and if the Antlers had converted even a small percentage of the opportunities they created in this contest, it would have been a blowout. Part of the team's success, it seems, has been due to the fact that -- particularly in front of their huge home crowds -- officials have tended to give them most of the breaks, viewing them as an "underdog". Meanwhile, opponents tend to take them a bit too lightly, and are not prepared for the ferocious intensity that Albirex can demonstrate, when inspired. After this season, when they have established themselves as a solid, competitive team (and make no mistake, that is exactly what they are), they will probably start to get fewer "breaks" from the officials, and will face opponents who are geared up for the challenge. Albirex have definitely proven that they are a solid and hard-working team. But based on the content of some of their recent matches, third place in the league table is a bit too flattering.

While Albirex seems to be enjoying a string of good fortune, the Antlers, by contrast, simply cant seem to get a break. The team has now gone over 200 minutes without scoring a goal, yet they seem to have done just about everything you could possibly imagine BUT score. Over the past two matches they have outshot their opponents 42 to 17, and have left imprints on the woodwork of every goal they have attacked. Yet somehow they cant seem to get the ball in the net. A lot of this simply the fault of their strikers, who have squandered more opportunities than most players get in a lifetime. There is no question that the Antlers' top objective in the oof-season will be to sign a striker who is capable of putting the ball in the net.

But there are other problems as well. Kashima has a number of highly skilled players who seem to be ready for greater challenges, and ther may be a certain degree of frustration and dissent in the clubhouse, caused by the star players who would rather be plying their trade in Europe, rather than languishing on a "formerly great" J.League team. Whatever the case may be, the Antlers have demonstrated many times, this season, their ability to completely dominate an opponent and still come away with a disappointing result. This week, the match turned on one missed assignment in the final few mintues of regulation time, which allowed Shingo Suzuki to turn the left corner and cross the ball to Fabinho, for a short-range header. Though it was one of only two or three dangerous chances that Albirex generated in the entire contest, it proved to be the decisive one, as Niigata claimed all three points and moved level with Gamba and JEF United as the three teams with the best chance of catching the Urawa Reds.

2 - 2

This week, true to form, Gamba were offered an opportunity to close the gap when the Marinos held Urawa to a draw, yet they were lucky to even claim a single point from their contest with stragglers Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Sanfrecce may be lagging near the bottom of the table, but their won-lost record is not really an accurate indication of the team's quality. Sanfrecce have a number of very promising players, and if the team ever gets some decent coaching, they could emerge as a fairly competitive challenger in another year or two. But as they demonstrated in this contest, they still lack the poise and experience to win matches, despite the obvious talent of some individual players.

Sanfrecce got off to a good start in the match, striking first in the 15 minute. Following a corner kick attempt, Sanfrecce managed to corral the clearance and set up for another attack while their tall defenders were still in the Gamba box. Kota Hattori fired a low cross from about six meters outside the box, and Norio Omura headed it just inside the left post.

Gamba tried to fight their way back onto level terms, and had several good opportunities to do so. But the midfield got a bit too eager, and in the 33 minute they were caught pushing too far forward into attack. A quick release on the counterattack was collected by Susumu Oki, who immediately fired a long lead pass downfield for Koji Morisaki. The U-22 star is not usually known for his speed, but he managed to outrun the Gamba defence, collect the ball on the edge of the box, and fire a shot into the high left corner to give Sanfrecce a two-goal lead at the half.

But at the start of the second half, Gamba coach Akira Nishino brought on Kota Yoshihara as a substitute striker, and the diminutive speedster quickly answered the call. In the 51 minute, Takahiro Futagawa took a lead pass down the left sideline and crossed for the far post, where there was a vast green expanse of open space. Yoshihara dashed forward onto the ball, and volleyed it just inside the right post to pull Gamba back within a goal. Just six minutes later it was Yoshihara again, this time collecting a long lead pass from Satoru Yamaguchi, down the right flank, and sending his first touch curling into the opposite corner of the goal.

Unfortunately, that was all the scoring that Gamba could muster, and though they did control the momentum over the final 30 minutes, they were unable to get the win they needed to gain ground on the Reds.

Elsewhere

Vissel Kobe's new coach Hiroshi Kato won his second straight match since taking over the reins from Ivan Hasek, as Vissel edged cellar-dwelling Cerezo Osaka 1-0

Tokyo Verdy won a shootout against Oita Trinita, in Oita, Hanging on for a 3-2 decision in a match where four of the five goals were scored in the final half hour.

Finally, Kashiwa Reysol seem to be regaining a bit of their competitiveness at last, after floundering for most of the year. Though they collected only one point, they looked much sharper in their 2-2 draw with Nagoya Grampus, and if they can continue in this vein, they may be able to avoid relegation after all.

Despite their draw with the Marinos, the Urawa Reds maintain their spot at the top of the league table, five points ahead of the closest competitor. Three teams are all level on 17 points, with second-place Gamba Osaka shading Albirex and JEF United based on goal difference. All other teams are effectively out of the running, though the Kashima Antlers will still be closely watched since their match against Urawa on October 23 represents the last real threat to a second-stage title for the Reds.

Rumours and Rumblings