Japanese players in Europe Avoid Relegation
Reggina, Fiorentina, and Mallorca, who were each not out of relegation-danger going into their last round game, were able to scrape by and remain in their respective leagues.
... And four Euro-based players added to NT roster: Hide Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura, Atsushi Yanagisawa, and Koji Nakata were called up to the NT roster for the upcoming WC qualifier games. Naohiro Takahara joined the NT last week but his hamstring injury is going to keep him from going to the Bahrain game -- he'll wait to join the team for the next game against North Korea.
Back in Japan
The Nabisco rounds were played on Saturday. I wasn't able to watch any of the games, but some notable news coming out of these games:
Gamba's Maeda tipped in a crucial game-winning goal in the final moments of their game against Frontale. After becoming the 10,000th goal scorer in the Nagoya game, Maeda went on to add an assist to his record in the game against Cerezo, and now has come through on a game-winning goal. It's good to see that he is taking full advantage of the opportunities he gets to be out on the pitch.
Kashiwa Reysol lost to Jef Chiba 5-1. After the game, the supporters refused to leave the stands for 90 minutes calling for the sacking of Coach Hayano. The club management people went out to negotiate with the supporters, and I believe they were able to come to an agreement to meet together some time later this week. The club situation is very bad. There was that incident when Reysol supporters charged into the visiting Nagoya stands after being provoked by calls from the Nagoya supporters. It ended with a 10,000,000 yen penalty on the Reysol club, the dissolution of two of the main supporter groups (who felt it was the right thing to do to show their remorse for what happenned), and formal charges filed against one of the attackers. The supporters this weekend aimed their frustration at the club and particularly the coach. But from what video footage I saw, it looked like the supporters weren't fixing for a fight -- they just wanted to be heard and get face time with the club. Hopefully something positive will come out of this. This season already saw Vissel changing coaches, and other teams who were supposed to be on top not doing as well as hoped initially (Jubilo, Marinos, Reds), the rapid sinking of FCTokyo, etc., so there is still a lot that can happen and time to turn things around.
Speaking of FCTokyo... Hey! They won their first game in...how many games? well, let's not waste time counting. It has been a very long time, and this weekend's 2-0 win against Trinita must have been like a cup of water to a team who had been circling lost in the desert for way too long. Welcome home, boys!
Visitors
They're...coming...
May 31: Hamburg SV vs. Urawa Reds
June 1: Juventus vs. Yokohama F Marinos (click here to watch free on web on the page, you will see a set of link buttons to the right of the mediascreen. click the top red button to complete a short and simple registration process. let me know if you need further help.)
June 7: Juventus vs. FCTokyo
June 8: LA Galaxy vs. Yokohama F Marinos
June 12: FC Barcelona vs. Yokohama F Marinos
June 15: FC Barcelona vs. Urawa Reds
July 27: Liverpool FC vs. Shimizu S-Pulse
July 28: Bayern Munchen vs. FC Tokyo
July 28: Manchester United vs. Kashima Antlers
July 30: Manchester United vs. Urawa Reds
July 30: Liverpool FC vs. Kashima Antlers
July 30: Bayern Munchen vs. Jubilo Iwata
Japan 0-1 UAE
Well, I wasn't able to write all weekend for the blog, so I am unfashionably late addressing this game. You all probably have read much about it already, so I'm not going to blabber on too much. The shift that I noticed in both these friendly games is the team seems to be more worried about their inability to score, which means a big portion of the game had many of the Japan players up front and creating chances but unstable in back. The gap between the defense line and the defensive midfielders will probably need to be looked at, and deciding how quickly the defense line slides down may be another issue to resolve. And of course each player's toughness in one-on-one matchups. The overall impression of this team is one that is in the midst of struggling out of some shell or cocoon. But it will also be important for the team to balance the reality that is in front of them looking at the WC qualifier group standings -- that we have to tie or win the game against Bahrain. And if this means we have to play more defense-careful, so be it. Without knowing what strategy Bahrain will bring, it is hard to predict how the game will go. What I do remember from watching the Bahrain home game against Iran was that the pitch was quite poor, and attempts by the Iran players to dribble backfired. Bahrain is strong in the air, and seems to have analyzed Japan's place kick varieties -- so perhaps one tactic to use against them is speed, breaking through the back of the defense line. Also the heat will be a factor.
The team has already flown to UAE for their pre-camp yesterday. And I hear they've completed their first training there already. The UAE time zone is 5 hours behind Japan, fyi!
Reggina, Fiorentina, and Mallorca, who were each not out of relegation-danger going into their last round game, were able to scrape by and remain in their respective leagues.
... And four Euro-based players added to NT roster: Hide Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura, Atsushi Yanagisawa, and Koji Nakata were called up to the NT roster for the upcoming WC qualifier games. Naohiro Takahara joined the NT last week but his hamstring injury is going to keep him from going to the Bahrain game -- he'll wait to join the team for the next game against North Korea.
Back in Japan
The Nabisco rounds were played on Saturday. I wasn't able to watch any of the games, but some notable news coming out of these games:
Gamba's Maeda tipped in a crucial game-winning goal in the final moments of their game against Frontale. After becoming the 10,000th goal scorer in the Nagoya game, Maeda went on to add an assist to his record in the game against Cerezo, and now has come through on a game-winning goal. It's good to see that he is taking full advantage of the opportunities he gets to be out on the pitch.
Kashiwa Reysol lost to Jef Chiba 5-1. After the game, the supporters refused to leave the stands for 90 minutes calling for the sacking of Coach Hayano. The club management people went out to negotiate with the supporters, and I believe they were able to come to an agreement to meet together some time later this week. The club situation is very bad. There was that incident when Reysol supporters charged into the visiting Nagoya stands after being provoked by calls from the Nagoya supporters. It ended with a 10,000,000 yen penalty on the Reysol club, the dissolution of two of the main supporter groups (who felt it was the right thing to do to show their remorse for what happenned), and formal charges filed against one of the attackers. The supporters this weekend aimed their frustration at the club and particularly the coach. But from what video footage I saw, it looked like the supporters weren't fixing for a fight -- they just wanted to be heard and get face time with the club. Hopefully something positive will come out of this. This season already saw Vissel changing coaches, and other teams who were supposed to be on top not doing as well as hoped initially (Jubilo, Marinos, Reds), the rapid sinking of FCTokyo, etc., so there is still a lot that can happen and time to turn things around.
Speaking of FCTokyo... Hey! They won their first game in...how many games? well, let's not waste time counting. It has been a very long time, and this weekend's 2-0 win against Trinita must have been like a cup of water to a team who had been circling lost in the desert for way too long. Welcome home, boys!
Visitors
They're...coming...
May 31: Hamburg SV vs. Urawa Reds
June 1: Juventus vs. Yokohama F Marinos (click here to watch free on web on the page, you will see a set of link buttons to the right of the mediascreen. click the top red button to complete a short and simple registration process. let me know if you need further help.)
June 7: Juventus vs. FCTokyo
June 8: LA Galaxy vs. Yokohama F Marinos
June 12: FC Barcelona vs. Yokohama F Marinos
June 15: FC Barcelona vs. Urawa Reds
July 27: Liverpool FC vs. Shimizu S-Pulse
July 28: Bayern Munchen vs. FC Tokyo
July 28: Manchester United vs. Kashima Antlers
July 30: Manchester United vs. Urawa Reds
July 30: Liverpool FC vs. Kashima Antlers
July 30: Bayern Munchen vs. Jubilo Iwata
Japan 0-1 UAE
Well, I wasn't able to write all weekend for the blog, so I am unfashionably late addressing this game. You all probably have read much about it already, so I'm not going to blabber on too much. The shift that I noticed in both these friendly games is the team seems to be more worried about their inability to score, which means a big portion of the game had many of the Japan players up front and creating chances but unstable in back. The gap between the defense line and the defensive midfielders will probably need to be looked at, and deciding how quickly the defense line slides down may be another issue to resolve. And of course each player's toughness in one-on-one matchups. The overall impression of this team is one that is in the midst of struggling out of some shell or cocoon. But it will also be important for the team to balance the reality that is in front of them looking at the WC qualifier group standings -- that we have to tie or win the game against Bahrain. And if this means we have to play more defense-careful, so be it. Without knowing what strategy Bahrain will bring, it is hard to predict how the game will go. What I do remember from watching the Bahrain home game against Iran was that the pitch was quite poor, and attempts by the Iran players to dribble backfired. Bahrain is strong in the air, and seems to have analyzed Japan's place kick varieties -- so perhaps one tactic to use against them is speed, breaking through the back of the defense line. Also the heat will be a factor.
The team has already flown to UAE for their pre-camp yesterday. And I hear they've completed their first training there already. The UAE time zone is 5 hours behind Japan, fyi!
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