July 13, 2005

Manipulation?

Well, hell, what else would you call it? At least now we have an answer to the question of how to ensure that the J.League championship race remains close. If all elsse fails, just force the team that is leading the pack to play with fewer men than their opponents, and award the other team free goals as you see fit. Certainly, it is good news that the league table is getting tighter, and that the race will remain competitive. But it is a bit hard to avoid a sense of dismay at the way that this has been "accomplished". Lets face it, if the objective is to ensure that the audience is always kept in suspense, and that every match and every tournament goes down to the final match, then World Wide Wrestling must be the greatest sport on earth. The only question is, will people continue to watch once they realise that the results are being "staged".

Is it even worth discussing Wednesday's matches? Probably not. And since we do not have time for a very thorough report anyway, so lets just take a look at the scores, and a few highlights:

Date	.	Venue
Jul 13	vs	Komaba Stadium
Jul 13	3-0	Tokyo Nat'l Stadium
Jul 13	3-3	Ajinomoto Stadium
Jul 13	2-1	Yokohama Stadium
Jul 13	0-1	Nihondaira Stadium
Jul 13	3-0	Mizuho Stadium
Jul 13	1-0	Nagai Stadium
Jul 13	0-0	Hiroshima Big Arch
Jul 13	0-2	Oita "Big Eye" Stadium

3 - 0

The only thing that was surprising about this match was the fact that the Antlers managed to remain in contention as long as they did. From the opening whistle, the referee, Mr. Joji Kashiwahara, made it absolutely clear that he intended to ensure that Grampus won, and the sooner Kashima accepted that fact, the easier it would be for all concerned.

In the 20 minute, Mr. Kashiwahara awarded a PK to Grampus on a play where even the Grampus player, Keiji Honda, thought he had not been fouled and was trying to play on. As bad calls go, this one deserves full marks. You couldnt possibly choose a situation that looked LESS like an offence by the Antlers defender. Though Honda did stumble to one knee as he tried to pivot, it looked like merely a temporary loss of balance, and he immediately jumped to his feet to try to play on. Hey, dont just take our word for it. See for yourself!

The sad thing about this whole charade is that Nagoya played extremely well in this contest, and might have been able to win even WITHOUT deliberate intervention by the referee. Unfortunately, we shall never know. Mr. Kashiwahara was taking no chances with the outcom,e. Shortly after awarding the so-called PK, he handed out two yellow cards to Masashi Motoyama in the space of five minutes which defy explanation. Honestly, we would like to tell you what was called, but we really do not have a clue. The first one seemed to be a marginal call, at best. But the second yellow came out of nowhere. Motoyama had been fouled very hard by a Grampus player, and was laying on the ground. Mr. Kashiwahara suddenly walked up to him, pulled out a card and brandished it at Motoyama, who shook his head in disbelief. We did not see anything that might have provoked such a call, when watching the match live, and the announcers didnt seem to know what happened either. They were either too shocked or too embarrassed to explain the play to viewers, and could barely manage to say anything other than "ohhh, Motoyama is out. Too bad."

The surest indication of how bad the call was, however, is the fact that none of the highlight shows on TV dared to show replays of either one of Motoyama's yellow cards -- a sure sign that the producers were aware of how bad the decision had been, and were afraid to "show up" the referee by running a replay on nationwide TV. Think about it . . . . the league-leading team is playing in a crucial match against a top opponent, and one of their star players is sent off in the 31 minute . . . . and the highlight shows apparently dont think the incident is important enough to show on replay. Does that sound a bit fishy to you? We would like to provide you with a video clip to let you decide for yourself what happened, but there is nothing to show. As we have described it

After Motoyama had been sent off, the result was never really in doubt. But then, we get the impression that this was Mr. Kashiwahara's intention from the very start. What a sick joke.

0 - 2

Meanwhile . . . . OH MY! WHAT a surprise! Gamba Osaka won their match. Do you think I should even bother to mention that their first goal looked like a deliberate keeper charge that went uncalled? No, theres really no point. For that matter, it is probably immaterial that their second goal came on a penalty kick, awarded in equally questionable circumstances. After all, in the land of sports entertainment it is not a good idea to start asking yourself why the referee allows himself to be distracted when one opponent picks up a chair and bashes the opponent over the head, but manages to notice the instant that the "favourite" puts the pin on his unconscious opponent. Whats truly IMPORTANT is that the title race is now much closer, and people do not have any reason to start tuning it out. The sleazy methods used to ensure that this came about are not worth worrying our heads about. In sports entertainment, the only thing that matters is RATINGS!! You understand? RATINGS!!!

Ignore that man behind the curtain. I am the great and powerful OZ.

3 - 0

In their first match since receiving the news that Emerson has flown the coop, and moved to Qatar, the Reds seemed to be at a loss for ideas. Reysol certainly deserve credit for a fine performance as well. Over the past two weeks they have looked far better than their 17th-place position in the league table, and hopefully this is a sign that the team is starting to get its house in order.

Unfortunately the same thing cannot be said for the Reds. The team has lost two high-profile foreign players over the past month (in addition to Emerson, the team released defender Alpay Ozalan at the end of June. This certainly has not done the team's cohesion any good. In the match against Reysol they looked disorganised and their offensive efforts distressingly simplistic.

Following a scoreless first half, Reysol scored early in the second period and then spend the remainder of the match hanging back on defence and then counterattacking swiftly when the Reds overextended. Cleber added two more tallies on the counterattack to give Reysol their final margin of victory

3 - 3

In a battle between two teams that desperately needed a win, both Tokyo Verdy and Vissel Kobe went away disappointed following two very one-sided halves -- a first-half dominated by Verdy and a second half of furious comeback activity by Vissel.

Washington needed just one minute to give Verdy the lead, and extended the advantage midway through the period as it appeared that Verdy were finally breeaking out of the slump they have suffered since returning from the June break. But after late strikes from both teams provided a 3-1 halftime margin in Verdy's favour, Vissel fought back furiously in the second half, with goals by Atsuhiro Miura and Roger levelling the contest with less than ten minutes to play. The final skirmish was ferocious, but neither team could produce the winner and they had to settle for a point apiece -- a result that neither one will be happy with.

0 - 0

On a pitch that looked like it had just been prepared for rice-planting, Sanfrecce and Jubilo slogged around in the mud for an hour and a half, but never managed to get the ball out of the mire long enough to put a dangerous shot on goal

2 - 1

In what was probably the most exciting match of the evening (is it just a coincidence that this was also the only important match whose result had not been prearranged?), JEF United and Yokohama Marinos battled back and forth for 89 minutes to an absolute stalemate. Nothing at all separated the two teams; not the 1-1 score line, nor the number of opportunities or the amount of possession. The two teams employed very different tactics, but neither one could gain the upper hand . . . until a dash into the box by Daisuke Sakata in the first minute of injury time gave Yokohama a thrilling and hard-won victory. Pity that none of the other matches on Wednesday could claim to have been as truly competitive.

1 - 0

At long last, FC Tokyo broke their extended winless streak, as a sizzling grounder by Lucas, from the right edge of the box, slipped through a tangle of legs and into the far corner to provide the margin of victory. FC Tokyo have played reasonably well in recent weeks, but simply havent been able to find the net. It looked for a while like they would face the same fate against S-Pulse. At the one hour mark, the match remained scoreless, though Tokyo had produced a barrelful of scoring chances (and Shimizu created a few dangerous shots of their own). But Lucas" goal broke a 265-minute goal drought, and carried "FC" to a very satisfying and long-awaited victory.

Elsewhere

A lone goal by Tuto gave Omiya a narrow victory, at home, over Kawasaki Frontale.

In Osaka, meanwhile, Cerezo got a goal shortly after the break from Ze Carlos, and held on for the victory despite a furious assault by Albirex, over the final 20 minutes of play.

Rumours and Rumblings

Comings and Goings

With the season exactly half-complete and the scorching heat of summer driving fans indoors to take a one-month break from the heat of league competition, it is no surprise that attention is starting to turn towards that regular feature of the summer months - the roster reshuffle. This year, with the season being played in a single stage, it seems likely that the sheer volume of personnel moves will not be as great as in past years. However, there have already been some high-profile changes that deserve mention.

The biggest news of all, no doubt, will be the announcement on Wednesday morning that Ossie Ardilles has been fired as head coach of Tokyo Verdy. Coming on the heels of an unprecedented collapse by Verdy, during the month of July, this announcement may have come as a surprise to anyone who recently awoke from a month-long coma, or who just returned from a six-week vacation on a deserted island in the South Pacific, but for most everyone else the decision to fire Ardilles was a foregone conclusion after Saturday's 6-0 loss to Jubilo Iwata. This brought Verdy's record in July to 0 wins, two draws and three losses, with 23 goals conceded over the five matches and a truly phenomenal AVERAGE goal differential of -3.8 goals per match!!!! Of course, anyone can have a bad day, but this is taking things to quite an extreme. After watching the ball hit the back of his team's net 23 times in less than a month, one suspects that Ossie will greet this news with a sense of releif, if anything. As coaching records go, it just doesnt get much worse than this.

But even though the Verdy management had little choice but to replace Ardilles, the fact is that very little of the blame for Verdy's horrendous performance can be laid at the coach's door. It isnt as if he has made ill-considered personnel decisions, or adopted suiciodal tactics. It is true that, after his team fell three or four goals behind, he might have adopted a preventive defence and tried to keep the score respectab. . . . errrrhhhhh . . . well, lets just say "less embarassing". But in our view, the decision to push for goals even when trailing by a wide margin is actually a wise one. If your team can turn a 4-0 deficit into a 4-3 loss, at least the next week they can approach the match with a bit more confidence.

Unfortunately, this tactic merely turned 4-0 drubbings into 6-0 or 7-1 routs. To put things mildly, Verdy's defence has not been demonstrating a great deal of intensity or determination, of late. This is odd, if you consider that just five months ago a fired-up Verdy team overcame the Yokohama Marinos in the Xerox Super Cup, or that last season they won the Emperor's Cup. The collapse of Verdy this season has not only been severe -- it also promises to leave the League and the JFA in redfaced embarassment next season, when a recently-relegated (and probably restructured) Verdy will be the only second-division team on the entire continent to take part in the Asian Champions League. Wont THAT leave a great impression on football fans from other countries.

In some ways, Verdy's poor results are hard to understand. The team has several very talented veterans, and a lot of promising youngsters who could very well be regular components of the national team, five or six years down the road. But watching them in action for the past month, it is clear that the team is far weaker tjhan the sum of its parts. Every player seems to be following a different playbook, more interested in achieving personal goals than in contributing to the team's success. The soft-spoken, even-tempered Ardilles is exactly the wrong person to address problems of this sort. You get the sense that Verdy needs a stern taskmaster, who can kick the assembled backsides around the pitch until they are lined up in the proper formation. That was never going to happen with Ossie at the helm.

Assistant coach Nobuhiro Ishizaki has been appointed interim coach, and will supervise the team for its match this Saturday, as well as exhibition matches against Real Madrid and Fiorentina, scheduled for late July. It seems likely that another coach will be selected to tame over the helm once the season resumes, in late August.

Another personnel move that was concluded on Wednesday has received as much -- if not more -- publicity that Ossie Ardilles' sacking. This was the news that former international striker Kazuyoshi "Kazu" Miura will be leaving Vissel Kobe, just a few steps behind his brother Yasutoshi and his former mentor, Emerson Leao, who were canned by Vissel owner Hiroshi Mikitani at the end of last month. According to the official press release, Kazu will be moving to a retirement home in eastern Kanagawa prefecture . . .

. . . oh, wait a minute, I guess I read that incorrectly. According to this report, Kazu has agreed to join FC Yokohama, which currently lies mired in second-to-last position in the J2. At FC Yokohama, Kazu will rejoin another former Japan international who played with Kazu at Vissel, as well as on the Japan National Team -- Shoji Jo. Hmmm . . . maybe that bit about the retirement home wasnt too far off.

Miura has fallen out of the Vissel lineup completely after the departure of coach Leao, and he seems to have approached the head office and demanded that they either let him play, or trade him to another team. Though Kazu's desire to continue playing football is clearly based on a heartfelt love of the game, and he certainly is not going to FC Yokohama for the money, one nevertheless gets the sense that he is trying a bit too hard to squeeze another year into his long career. If Kazu had retired two seasons ago, he would have departed as a heroic figure whose contributions to the J.League and Japanese football in general are unparallelled, even by his long-time friend and rival Masashi "Gon" Nakayama. But by trying to hang on long after his expiration date had passed, Kazu now cuts a rather pathetic figure, and has diminished his legacy as a result.

In his press conference announcing the move, Kazu stated that he is leaving Kobe because it is the only way for him to "become a better player". Sadly, at the advanced age of 39, it seems fairly certain that Kazu no longer has the option of "improving as a player". One hopes that he can notch up a few goals over the final few months of the season, and perhaps help Yokohama FC move off the bottom of the J2 league table. But at this stage of his career, any "achievements" are likely to appear as just a parody of his former glory. Sadly, some people never realize that their hour has passed.

In the match against Father Time, the key is to score early, pour out every bit of energy and skill you can in the crucial early moments of the second half to preserve your lead, and then go off for a late substitution, in the 88 minute, to a standing ovation. But Time has a way of getting stronger as the match draws towards a close, and those who try to take the contest into extra time, hoping to close out their career with a golden goal, will always find themselves on the short end of the score line, even if it ends up being decided on penalty kicks.

One other team announced some personnel changes this week. After he departure of both Ozalan Alpay and Emerson, during July, the Urawa Reds found themselves with a large chunk of cash and two open spots for foreign players. Though the lack of any big-name candidates made their shopping more difficult, the Reds front office wasted no time in landing two players who should be able to contribute, at least to some extent, to the team's 2005 campaign. On July 16 the team announced the signing of Brazilian Robson Ponte, from Bayer Leverkeusen. The 28-year-old is listed as a midfielder, and played on the right wing in the Bundesliga, but the fact that he was given the #10 jersey, coupled with comments from coach Guido Buchwald, suggest tht Robson will probably play up front. One advantage he will have in acclimating himself to the team is the fact that he speaks reasonably good German, and should be able to communicate well with the coaches, as well as with the many Portuguese-speaking members of the Reds.

Three days later, the team added a second foreign player, signing 32-year-old Croatian striker Tomislav Maric from VfL Wolfsburg. Once again, Maric should have no difficulty understanding the coaches, though his communication with teammates might take a bit more time to develop. Maric will wear the #18 jersey, and based on his past record, age, and skill set, is more likely to play in attacking midfield rather than up front. Both players are already with the team, and have been practicing hard for the entire week. Though it seems likely that coach Buchwald will wait a bit longer for the two to get accustomed to the team, it is not out of the question that one or both might see action, albeit breifly, on Saturday's match against Shimizu S-Pulse

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