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March 9, 2008ACL Follies: A New Drama BeginsWell . . . perhaps it is not COMPLETELY behind us. Gamba Osaka coach Akira Nishino's inexplicable decision to leave Michihiro Yasuda and Tomokazu Myojin on the bench for their opening ACL match against Chonburi, of Thailand, was a bit hard to understand. And based on the unrestrained booing and jeering that the home fans subjected Gamba to at the end of this match, we were not the only ones who were disappointed by the outcome. Of course, we do not want to take too much away from Chonburi, who played their hearts out and deserved a far greater reward than the one point that they took from this contest. However, it would be hard for even the most loyal of Chonburi supporters to deny that Gamba were the more talented team. They simply failed to exert their dominance and finish off their chances. After claiming the Pan Pacific Championship trophy in February, with two emphatic wins, many folks in Osaka were expecting great things from this team, but after two consecutive matches in which they failed to show any real "fire" or "spirit", things are suddenly looking very gloomy. Perhaps the concerns we expressed at the end of last season about Gamba's aging roster were not as far-fetched as some Osaka fans have insisted. Meanwhile, the Kashima Antlers seem to be taking out their frustration with the Xerox Cup fiasco on every opponent that gets in their way. After drubbing Consadole Sapporo 4-0 on Sunday, the Galloping Herd of Ibaraki jetted in to Bangkok and proceeded to kick Krung Thai Bank up and down the pitch for 90 minutes. When the carnage was finally over, Kashima had fallen narrowly short of double digits, with a 9-1 victory. Few would deny that Kashima were drawn in a somewhat easier group than Gamba, but the vast disparity in performances by these two teams -- not only on Wednesday but in their weekend League matches as well -- will surely raise some concerns among fans in Osaka. If the current momentup continues for any length of time, the Osaka Boys may be tracking faint hoofprints in the grass by midseason.
Gamba Osaka seemed relaxed and confident as they approached their opening ACL match on Wednesday. And why not? They could count on a friendly home crowd and an opening draw against what everyone assumed was the weakest team in the group -- Thailand's Chonburi FC. Though several key players were absent from the starting lineup, including Akira Kaji (injury), Tomokazu Myojin and Michihiro Yasuda, the early indications were that this would not matter. Just 10 minutes into the contest Bare raced into the box and was shoved down from behind, triggering catcalls from the crowd when the referee waved play on. At the time it didnt seem to matter, since the home side was dominating play and there was a sense that they would eventually manage to break down the Thai defence even without any sympathy from the man with the whistle.
  1 - 1 Chonburi FCBut as they did against JEF United, on Saturday, Gamba failed to really put their opponent under much pressure. Their play seemed a bit lackadaisical, and there was far too much lateral passing when it seemed far easier to simply run at the jittery Thai defence. On the stroke of the half hour, when the referee waved off another apparent foul in the penalty box, the response from the crowd was much more vehement and emotionally fraught. It seemed that the Osaka crowd also recognised how ineffectual their team's play had become. And Chonburi was settling down to play some very solid and highly energetic team defence. THough the Gamba players still seemed at ease as they went back to the locker room with the score still 0-0, coach Nishino looked worried, and the fans were already starting to get restless, as they imagined all the things that could possibly go wrong. Sure enough, on the stroke of the hour disaster struck. A long clearance found Chonburi's Brazilian striker, Ney Fabiano, isolated one on one with Hiroki Mizumoto. The recently acquired defensive back, signed from JEF United in January, was supposed to be a key to Gamba's defence this season. But in his first crucial test of the new season, Mizumoto blundered badly, lunging for the ball in an effort to make a spectacular play, but being left in the dust by the nimble Fabiano. Takahiro Futagawa desperately dashed back into coverage, and was just in time to throw himself in front of Fabiano's shot. But the rebound fell kindly to Arthit Suntornphit, on the left edge of the box, and he calmly stroked it into the open net. At this point, Gamba panicked and became their own worst enemy. For the next 25 minutes they did not even manage a shot on net. The team raced about in a surprisingly disoriented manner, continuously overpassed the ball rather than take on a defender or fire a shot, and generally seemed to lose their composure. It was only when coach Nishino brought Yasuda and Ryuji Bando off the bench that the team finally settled down and began applying the pressure. By now, however, the Thais were riding a wave of adrenaline, and despite being put under serious pressure down the stretch, they threw themselves about the pitch tirelessly, managing to get a foot or a hip in front of every dangerous Gamba effort. But just when it looked like the Thais would emerge with a famous upset, Gamba threw everyone they had into the penalty bos and following a mad scramble in front of the Thai net, Lucas managed to poke home a deflected ball and claim the equaliser. But this did not spare the home team from a loud and ignominious send-off. The home fans let their team know that this sort of performance will not be acceptable, booing and jeering as the team made its customary bow in front of the home supporters. After two consecutive weak performances, coach Nishino will have to shake the team up between now and Saturday, when they travel to Shizuoka to take on Jubilo Iwata.
Although the Kashima Antlers kicked off their season in rather disappointing fashion, losing a penalty shootout to Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Xerox Super Cup match, in retrospect that may have been the best thing that coach Oswaldo Oliveira could ask for. The tremendous annoyance and disappointment produced by that result seems to have brought the Antlers together as a team, and fired them up. Over the past week, the Antlers have been playing with the sort of merciless, punishing, and deadly determination football that one rarely sees in a Japanese football team. Even in heavily lop-sided contests, you rarely see a J.League club running up the score on an opponent, or piling on the punishment after the result is beyond doubt. But in both their weekend match against Consadole and this brutal bloodletting against Krung Thai Bank, Kashima has shown no mercy at all -- in both contests the Antlers have added injury-time goals to add insult to injury. Of course, you never know when the intensity will wear off, and when the team may begin to get complacent. For the time being, though, opponents can expect little mercy from this fired-up bunch.
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| Date: 8 Mar, 2008 | Location: Kashima Stadium | |||||||
Krung Thai 1 |
| 9 | ||||||
| Kassim Kone (63') | Scoring | Yuzo Tashiro (15') Daiki Iwamasa (21') Takuya Nozawa (34') Marquinhos (46') Yuzo Tashiro (49') Marquinhos (68') Marquinhos (71') Ryuta Sasaki (73') Takuya Nozawa (89') | ||||||
| | Cautions | |
National Team
Overseas Players
1 