Yuji Nakazawa just signed a three-year contract with his current team Yokohama F Marinos. He had been tossing and turning for the past week trying to decide whether or not to take an offer from one of the European clubs (the club of focus was Bundesliga's Dortmund). If Nakazawa had taken the offer, he would have been the first defender to go abroad from Japan.The biggest factor in his decion-making process was the World Cup. Most would automatically assume that getting a gig with a Euro club would be the fastest way to getting on the World Cup Japan squad. That used to be the case... maybe three-four years ago. Heck, even one-two years ago. But in these past couple years, we've seen all sorts of positive and negative repercussions of playing abroad. I guess things are never that simple. continued
Waaaahhhhhh!
I forgot to set my alarm to wake up in time to watch the Confederations Cup final between Brazil and Argentina. The game started at 3:40 am Japan time.
...... .. ... .. . . . .sigh
I'm usually so good about these things.
Anyway, what a surprising result, huh? Brazil started off the Confederations Cup looking rather tired, and Argentina's been looking so strong lately that I wondered if this would be another victory for Argentina. But I guess not. I haven't seen any clips or highlights from the game yet so I have no clue what happened. If anyone did watch it and wants to fill me in by leaving a comment, please do! The author of this blog >>click posted the celebration photos from the game.
Thus concludeth the Confed Cup for this year. The final tally is pretty unsurprising. Brazil, then Argentina, then Germany (these guys are going to be quite a force by next year), then Mexico (who were the 'surprise' team of the Cup).
Speaking of Mexico, it's sad that their accomplishment this month was tainted by the whole doping scandal. The two players in question were sent home right after the group rounds finished, but not in time to stop them from starting in the games against Japan and Brazil. Fifa has said they need to look into the whole drug-screening process again, but really what can you do?
I forgot to set my alarm to wake up in time to watch the Confederations Cup final between Brazil and Argentina. The game started at 3:40 am Japan time.
...... .. ... .. . . . .sigh
I'm usually so good about these things.
Anyway, what a surprising result, huh? Brazil started off the Confederations Cup looking rather tired, and Argentina's been looking so strong lately that I wondered if this would be another victory for Argentina. But I guess not. I haven't seen any clips or highlights from the game yet so I have no clue what happened. If anyone did watch it and wants to fill me in by leaving a comment, please do! The author of this blog >>click posted the celebration photos from the game.
Thus concludeth the Confed Cup for this year. The final tally is pretty unsurprising. Brazil, then Argentina, then Germany (these guys are going to be quite a force by next year), then Mexico (who were the 'surprise' team of the Cup).
Speaking of Mexico, it's sad that their accomplishment this month was tainted by the whole doping scandal. The two players in question were sent home right after the group rounds finished, but not in time to stop them from starting in the games against Japan and Brazil. Fifa has said they need to look into the whole drug-screening process again, but really what can you do?
Here is the continuation of the J1 Team Previews that I started in this entry >>Click to Read Part I. Again, these are summary translations of previews written by J's Goal in Japanese. If you prefer to read the original Japanese version, >>Click here to go to the J's Goal Site.
Yokohama F Marinos Current Ranking 9
For two-time J-league champions, their current situation in the rankings must be far from ideal. They had a difficult schedule during the April/May period where they had to play 13 games inside 44 days (including travel abroad). And they have shown un-Marinos-like performances, like the last minute goal they allowed Vissel or the losses against Ardija and Frontale. The cause of this less than ideal performance may be linked to the lack of practice time rather than simply about fatigue. They had to go into their games without any opponent-specific preparation or analysis -- the little modifications in training that teams do to adjust against the upcoming opponent. The opponents also tend to pack the back and defend first -- but Marinos just did not have the wherewithal to think of ways to break down the opponent defense.
Marinos went to Los Angeles during this break period, where it seems they had a very fruitful and fun time. They played against MLS club LA Galaxy (won 2-0), and this game showed that the team has been evolving on both offense and defense. Most outstanding has been Dutra. When he first came to Japan, he impressed by creating the entrance-way for the Marinos offensive set-up. He was strong and stubborn on one-on-one matchups, and sent in high quality crosses. However in this season the opponents have taken high position against him and marked him with two or more players, effectively shutting him down. But during this break period he has regained his brilliance and has been able to get past multi-player marks.
The other change in Marinos is the switch from the 3-5-2 to the 4-4-2. Both sides are attacker-types, and the team will probably become much more attack-oriented. On the flip side, the risks will be greater. This new system will require the players to concentrate on communication and combinations.
The biggest concern is the forward line. Ahn is leaving, and Kubo is still unable to play properly. Sakata and Oshima will be forced to take over the full responsibilities. The other player who will be looked to for goals is Oku -- last season the number of goals he got was in the double digits. Marinos will have tough first few matchups against Kashima, Nagoya and Chiba.
...continues
Yokohama F Marinos Current Ranking 9
For two-time J-league champions, their current situation in the rankings must be far from ideal. They had a difficult schedule during the April/May period where they had to play 13 games inside 44 days (including travel abroad). And they have shown un-Marinos-like performances, like the last minute goal they allowed Vissel or the losses against Ardija and Frontale. The cause of this less than ideal performance may be linked to the lack of practice time rather than simply about fatigue. They had to go into their games without any opponent-specific preparation or analysis -- the little modifications in training that teams do to adjust against the upcoming opponent. The opponents also tend to pack the back and defend first -- but Marinos just did not have the wherewithal to think of ways to break down the opponent defense.
Marinos went to Los Angeles during this break period, where it seems they had a very fruitful and fun time. They played against MLS club LA Galaxy (won 2-0), and this game showed that the team has been evolving on both offense and defense. Most outstanding has been Dutra. When he first came to Japan, he impressed by creating the entrance-way for the Marinos offensive set-up. He was strong and stubborn on one-on-one matchups, and sent in high quality crosses. However in this season the opponents have taken high position against him and marked him with two or more players, effectively shutting him down. But during this break period he has regained his brilliance and has been able to get past multi-player marks.
The other change in Marinos is the switch from the 3-5-2 to the 4-4-2. Both sides are attacker-types, and the team will probably become much more attack-oriented. On the flip side, the risks will be greater. This new system will require the players to concentrate on communication and combinations.
The biggest concern is the forward line. Ahn is leaving, and Kubo is still unable to play properly. Sakata and Oshima will be forced to take over the full responsibilities. The other player who will be looked to for goals is Oku -- last season the number of goals he got was in the double digits. Marinos will have tough first few matchups against Kashima, Nagoya and Chiba.
...continues
I mentioned in this past entry >>Click following the no-spectator World Cup qualifier game against North Korea that was held in Bangkok, that a bunch of Japan supporters flew to Thailand anyway to be as close to the game as possible. A small group stood outside the gates of the stadium and got their voices heard by the players inside... and it worked.
The author of this blog >>Click here was one of them, and they have put up a video clip >>Right click and downloadof still shots and video images (there is sound). They chose the #12 Gate to chant through because of the symbolism (The 12th Player). And the end scene with the supporters inside the stadium was taken after security allowed the supporters to come inside -- the game is over, and the players are in the "Our Victory, Your Victory" t-shirts taking a group photo.
The author of this blog >>Click here was one of them, and they have put up a video clip >>Right click and downloadof still shots and video images (there is sound). They chose the #12 Gate to chant through because of the symbolism (The 12th Player). And the end scene with the supporters inside the stadium was taken after security allowed the supporters to come inside -- the game is over, and the players are in the "Our Victory, Your Victory" t-shirts taking a group photo.
Now that we've seen the effects of the new refereeing rules watching the World Youth Championships and the Confederations Cup, we're starting to get a handle on what gets penalized and what doesn't.
The J-league referees will also be taking on these new guidelines when the league rounds start up again. I wonder how well and how quickly the players will adjust, and how strict the referees will be (particularly about non-play related infractions).
Anyway, if some of you are still confused about the whole Offsides rule, >>Click here for a Fifa presentation on the subject. After each Play ends, keep pressing the PLAY button and you can go on to the next examples.
The J-league referees will also be taking on these new guidelines when the league rounds start up again. I wonder how well and how quickly the players will adjust, and how strict the referees will be (particularly about non-play related infractions).
Anyway, if some of you are still confused about the whole Offsides rule, >>Click here for a Fifa presentation on the subject. After each Play ends, keep pressing the PLAY button and you can go on to the next examples.
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi features in an article on the FootballAsia site >>Click here to read the article!
FIFA polls show most were sorry to see Shunsuke Nakamura leave the Confederations Cup. >>Click here for the article.
FIFA polls show most were sorry to see Shunsuke Nakamura leave the Confederations Cup. >>Click here for the article.
J's Goal just posted a very helpful summary of each team's situation going into the next leg of the league rounds. If you read Japanese, you can check it out directly >>click here. I've done a summary translation for each team below. I'll do 9 teams today and the other 9 tomorrow.
Albirex Niigata Current Ranking 15
Ａlbirex has been showing flexibility by switching systems according to the situation. 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-4-3, 3-5-2. They have also been rotating players at a dizzying rate. The team situation was not good. They spent the pre-season in Brazil, but once the season started the heavy snowfall prevented them from properly practicing. But once they were able to settle in, they have been able to respond to coach Sorimachi's vision of a flexible team. "There are no regular starters on this team," says Sorimachi. He wants to keep competition high within the team.
One of the weaknesses is their game start -- they give up goals in the first thirty minutes of the game, and are overall unstable in the beginning. But the return of mf Kurihara during the Nabisco games helped the team keep the opponents to zero goals in two consecutive games. His presence kept the front and back group from pulling apart too much. Anderson Lima has also started to get used to the speed of the J-league. The team just lost a number of players to injury right before and during the break period. We will probably see entirely new lineups once again in the next few games.
Players to Watch: New transfer from Nagoya, Okayama has been looking better recently. He creates rhythm for the team -- coach Sorimachi said of him, "He understands football, he can figure out what the team needs." He was unable to start in the league rounds for a long while due to injuries to his neck and lower back. But when he returns, his voice on the pitch will lasso the team together. The other player to look for is K.Kaimoto who has been taken out of the starting lineup partway through the season. He played sideback before being taken out, but recently has popped back onto the starting lineup as the right side of a three-forward line and has showed good positioning.
Oita Trinita Current Ranking 12 continues
Albirex Niigata Current Ranking 15
Ａlbirex has been showing flexibility by switching systems according to the situation. 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-4-3, 3-5-2. They have also been rotating players at a dizzying rate. The team situation was not good. They spent the pre-season in Brazil, but once the season started the heavy snowfall prevented them from properly practicing. But once they were able to settle in, they have been able to respond to coach Sorimachi's vision of a flexible team. "There are no regular starters on this team," says Sorimachi. He wants to keep competition high within the team.
One of the weaknesses is their game start -- they give up goals in the first thirty minutes of the game, and are overall unstable in the beginning. But the return of mf Kurihara during the Nabisco games helped the team keep the opponents to zero goals in two consecutive games. His presence kept the front and back group from pulling apart too much. Anderson Lima has also started to get used to the speed of the J-league. The team just lost a number of players to injury right before and during the break period. We will probably see entirely new lineups once again in the next few games.
Players to Watch: New transfer from Nagoya, Okayama has been looking better recently. He creates rhythm for the team -- coach Sorimachi said of him, "He understands football, he can figure out what the team needs." He was unable to start in the league rounds for a long while due to injuries to his neck and lower back. But when he returns, his voice on the pitch will lasso the team together. The other player to look for is K.Kaimoto who has been taken out of the starting lineup partway through the season. He played sideback before being taken out, but recently has popped back onto the starting lineup as the right side of a three-forward line and has showed good positioning.
Oita Trinita Current Ranking 12 continues
The next Asia Cup will be held in 2007, and co-hosted by four (yes, 4) Southeast Asian countries. Now, don't get me started on the inevitable logistical/organizational problems that swim around in my mind when I contemplate this. Let's put that aside for now.So what am I so ticked off about? Well, a couple things. One, this 4-country co-hosting idea means that 4 southeast asian countries will get an automatic entry to participate in the Asia Cup. These four countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Their current FIFA ranking are: 91, 111, 88, 94 respectively.
On the other hand, unlike the previous Asia Cup, where the current champions get to sit out of the qualifying rounds, this time they are requiring Japan to play the 6 home and away games to qualify for one of the 12 slots. The first two games will be held on February 22 and March 1 of 2006. The groups have not been decided yet.
I don't know what the resoning behind this was. Do they feel that current champions have the duty to play in the qualifying matches to create excitement and interest in the opponent countries? Or is it that giving four automatic berths to the host countries will mean an odd number for the groups and Japan needs to fill the open spot? Or do they just feel that allowing Japan to sit out of the qualifying round will give us an unfair advantage over the other Asian countries who are also trying to prepare for the World Cup but have to participate in the Asia Cup qualifiers too?
I don't know. I guess we should look on the bright side and say that this will be a chance for Zico to call up new players to the team and test them out one last time before the World Cup.
I saw a really interesting segment on this weekend's NHK sports news programme, and I thought i'd share it here.
When we think "Pro Footballer", most of us think of the top -- the J top flight, the National Team. And when we thinking "retiring J-leaguer" we think of the veterans who have entertained us for over a decade and go out with flower bouquets and a standing ovation from fans. In the J-league, there are currently about 900 players. And every year about 100 players leave the pros -- and most of them are in their mid-20s.
Last year I remember a couple ex-baseball players were thrown into the spotlight when they got arrested -- the allegations dealt with selling illegal material, including porn. I think it shocked people because most of us think that pro-athletes lead these glamorous lives and get paid well. But most pros are hardly in the top rank; the income they get is not that great, and only the creme de la creme get those fat paychecks with all the zeros at the end. It sort of made me realize how short a pro's life really is on average. I had wondered if the Japanese Baseball Association had some sort of support network in place to help athletes as they returned to "civilian" life.
Three years ago the J-League created a Career Support Center. The thinking by the J-League was that not only did they need to pay attention to the care of youth and development but also attend to the needs of players as they were going out.
What does it mean to be a Pro? And what do you do when it's over? ...continues
When we think "Pro Footballer", most of us think of the top -- the J top flight, the National Team. And when we thinking "retiring J-leaguer" we think of the veterans who have entertained us for over a decade and go out with flower bouquets and a standing ovation from fans. In the J-league, there are currently about 900 players. And every year about 100 players leave the pros -- and most of them are in their mid-20s.
Last year I remember a couple ex-baseball players were thrown into the spotlight when they got arrested -- the allegations dealt with selling illegal material, including porn. I think it shocked people because most of us think that pro-athletes lead these glamorous lives and get paid well. But most pros are hardly in the top rank; the income they get is not that great, and only the creme de la creme get those fat paychecks with all the zeros at the end. It sort of made me realize how short a pro's life really is on average. I had wondered if the Japanese Baseball Association had some sort of support network in place to help athletes as they returned to "civilian" life.
Three years ago the J-League created a Career Support Center. The thinking by the J-League was that not only did they need to pay attention to the care of youth and development but also attend to the needs of players as they were going out.
What does it mean to be a Pro? And what do you do when it's over? ...continues
Hi All, welcome to the new site location for this blog! I hope the yellow color design doesn't bother anyone's eyes (if it does, just give a holler and I can change it). I just thought it would be a cool color combo now that we are really in summer mode. The temperature is really climbing suddenly in this past couple weeks -- this weekend some of the J2 games were held in temperatures of about 34 degrees celcius. Hot! Not as humid as it's probably going to get later on in the next couple months, but hot nonetheless.
The J1 will be starting up again this weekend, with the first games on Saturday. Here are the rankings for the J1 so far, followed by some summaries of news from a few clubs:
1 Kashima Antlers 29 pts
2 Sancrecce Hiroshima 20 pts
3 Gamba Osaka 19 pts
4 Nagoya Grampus 18 pts
5 Jubilo Iwata 18 pts
6 Urawa Reds 17 pts
7 Jef Chiba 17 pts
8 Omiya Ardija 17 pts
9 Yokohama Marinos 16 pts
10 Shimizu S-Pulse 16 pts
11 Cerezo Osaka 16 pts
12 Oita Trinita 16 pts
13 Kawasaki Frontale 14 pts
14 Tokyo Verdy 14 pts
15 Albirex Niigata 14 pts
16 FC Tokyo 11 pts
17 Kashiwa Reysol 10 pts
18 Vissel Kobe 9 pts
Kashima Antlers have a nice lead over the rest of the group, but considering they have a tendency to be weak in the heat some of the top five teams could have a chance at closing the gap. Kashima did not do well in the Nabisco, missing their two playmakers, Ogasawara and Motoyama due to NT duties. Unfortunately, Ogasawara got ill during the game against Brazil (apparently had a low grade fever and got sick during halftime) and he may not be able to join the team for a little while. continues
The J1 will be starting up again this weekend, with the first games on Saturday. Here are the rankings for the J1 so far, followed by some summaries of news from a few clubs:
1 Kashima Antlers 29 pts
2 Sancrecce Hiroshima 20 pts
3 Gamba Osaka 19 pts
4 Nagoya Grampus 18 pts
5 Jubilo Iwata 18 pts
6 Urawa Reds 17 pts
7 Jef Chiba 17 pts
8 Omiya Ardija 17 pts
9 Yokohama Marinos 16 pts
10 Shimizu S-Pulse 16 pts
11 Cerezo Osaka 16 pts
12 Oita Trinita 16 pts
13 Kawasaki Frontale 14 pts
14 Tokyo Verdy 14 pts
15 Albirex Niigata 14 pts
16 FC Tokyo 11 pts
17 Kashiwa Reysol 10 pts
18 Vissel Kobe 9 pts
Kashima Antlers have a nice lead over the rest of the group, but considering they have a tendency to be weak in the heat some of the top five teams could have a chance at closing the gap. Kashima did not do well in the Nabisco, missing their two playmakers, Ogasawara and Motoyama due to NT duties. Unfortunately, Ogasawara got ill during the game against Brazil (apparently had a low grade fever and got sick during halftime) and he may not be able to join the team for a little while. continues
There are a bunch of games scheduled between J-league teams and clubs from abroad in July, so I thought I'd list them here now. Hopefully I'll be able to watch one or two, especially if the visiting team is interesting.
7/25 Tokyo Verdy vs. Real Madrid, Spain
7/26 Vissel Kobe vs. Bolton Wanderers, England
7/27 Jubilo Iwata vs. Real Madrid, Spain
7/28 Kashima Antlers vs. Manchester United, England
7/28 FC Tokyo vs. FC Bayern Munchen, Germany
7/28 Kawasaki Frontale vs. Bolton Wanderers, England
7/28 Cerezo Osaka vs. ACF Fiorentina, Italy
7/28 Albirex Niigata vs. 大連実徳, China
7/30 Urawa Reds vs. Manchester United, England
7/30 Jubilo Iwata vs. FC Bayern Munchen, Germany
7/30 Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs. ACF Fiorentina, Italy
8/01 Tokyo Verdy vs. ACF Fiorentina, Italy
These games will take place during the next break period for the J-league -- while the National Team is in Korea playing in the East Asian Football Federation Cup.
7/25 Tokyo Verdy vs. Real Madrid, Spain
7/26 Vissel Kobe vs. Bolton Wanderers, England
7/27 Jubilo Iwata vs. Real Madrid, Spain
7/28 Kashima Antlers vs. Manchester United, England
7/28 FC Tokyo vs. FC Bayern Munchen, Germany
7/28 Kawasaki Frontale vs. Bolton Wanderers, England
7/28 Cerezo Osaka vs. ACF Fiorentina, Italy
7/28 Albirex Niigata vs. 大連実徳, China
7/30 Urawa Reds vs. Manchester United, England
7/30 Jubilo Iwata vs. FC Bayern Munchen, Germany
7/30 Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs. ACF Fiorentina, Italy
8/01 Tokyo Verdy vs. ACF Fiorentina, Italy
These games will take place during the next break period for the J-league -- while the National Team is in Korea playing in the East Asian Football Federation Cup.
The link I provided before seems to not be working anymore, but I came by other better highlight clips of the game, so I'll make it available here.
Japan vs. Brazil Highlights Video 13 MB file, so the download will take a little while. Please right click and download.
Here's a link to a Fantastic Highlights Video: warning the file is about 60MB so the download will take time. The link will take you to the download page.
Japan vs. Brazil Highlights Video 13 MB file, so the download will take a little while. Please right click and download.
Here's a link to a Fantastic Highlights Video: warning the file is about 60MB so the download will take time. The link will take you to the download page.
Another deliriously long entry from me. A wrap-up of the Brazil game and Japan's recent month. For VIDEO CLIPS, click here for the entry linking to clips.
Happy 27th Birthday to Shunsuke Nakamura!!
The Joy of Football
I don't know if those of you who watched this game noticed this: in the second half, while Japan was still trailing 1-2, there was a play where the ball went from Kaji on the right to Nakamura on the top right side of the box who then nudged it horizontally towards the center for Fukunishi who had run up for the direct shot. The shot went high and a little out, but when the cameras closed up on Nakamura and Fukunishi's faces as the exchanged a few words, we saw them smiling. It was at this point that I knew: hey, this team is having fun. They aren't disheartened by Brazil's more than obvious superiority in almost all individual aspects of the game -- they are going to keep going for the win til the end and enjoy every last second left on the clock.
The atmosphere of the stadium this day was wonderful. A full crowd, mostly wearing the Brazil colors; but most of all, the crowd was there to be entertained by some football. And the crowd was a very active one, responding to the plays and giving appreciation where it was due. There were a number of high-spirited full-stadium waves throughout the game, one Brazil spectator ran onto the pitch and caused a little diversion, and the crowd hissed and cheered and basically showed they were enjoying the game. I heard that the German football magazine Kicker gave the content of this game a score of 1.5 (1 being best, 6 being worst), the best rating they've given of any of the group round games.
As I sit here, I am a little stuck. I don't know where I should begin.
Perhaps I'll touch on Brazil first -- these guys, they are so purely world class. I know, biggest understatement of the year. The simplicity and elegance of their passing is based on perfect ball control, composure, ability to read the game and play accordingly, use of both slow and fast, and great positioning. They know how to use time to their advantage, manipulate the opponent, and make clean interceptions/challenges. Because Brazil needed only a draw against Japan to go through to the next round, I was curious to see how they would use these tricks to control Japan. In practically every category, they out-classed Japan. In the game overall, they kept things low-risk and careful. They made sure to take advantage of possession, and in the end of the first half they even resorted to using up the clock by passing back and forth on the back line -- inspiring some energetic hissing from the crowds. They took 19 shots, 9 of which were on-goal, 2 goals total. (cont'd)
Happy 27th Birthday to Shunsuke Nakamura!!
The Joy of Football
I don't know if those of you who watched this game noticed this: in the second half, while Japan was still trailing 1-2, there was a play where the ball went from Kaji on the right to Nakamura on the top right side of the box who then nudged it horizontally towards the center for Fukunishi who had run up for the direct shot. The shot went high and a little out, but when the cameras closed up on Nakamura and Fukunishi's faces as the exchanged a few words, we saw them smiling. It was at this point that I knew: hey, this team is having fun. They aren't disheartened by Brazil's more than obvious superiority in almost all individual aspects of the game -- they are going to keep going for the win til the end and enjoy every last second left on the clock.
The atmosphere of the stadium this day was wonderful. A full crowd, mostly wearing the Brazil colors; but most of all, the crowd was there to be entertained by some football. And the crowd was a very active one, responding to the plays and giving appreciation where it was due. There were a number of high-spirited full-stadium waves throughout the game, one Brazil spectator ran onto the pitch and caused a little diversion, and the crowd hissed and cheered and basically showed they were enjoying the game. I heard that the German football magazine Kicker gave the content of this game a score of 1.5 (1 being best, 6 being worst), the best rating they've given of any of the group round games.
As I sit here, I am a little stuck. I don't know where I should begin.
Perhaps I'll touch on Brazil first -- these guys, they are so purely world class. I know, biggest understatement of the year. The simplicity and elegance of their passing is based on perfect ball control, composure, ability to read the game and play accordingly, use of both slow and fast, and great positioning. They know how to use time to their advantage, manipulate the opponent, and make clean interceptions/challenges. Because Brazil needed only a draw against Japan to go through to the next round, I was curious to see how they would use these tricks to control Japan. In practically every category, they out-classed Japan. In the game overall, they kept things low-risk and careful. They made sure to take advantage of possession, and in the end of the first half they even resorted to using up the clock by passing back and forth on the back line -- inspiring some energetic hissing from the crowds. They took 19 shots, 9 of which were on-goal, 2 goals total. (cont'd)
The game just ended a few minutes ago, so I won't be making any comments about this Brazil game yet. Will come back with my thoughts by late tonight if I don't fall asleep first. Japan drew with Brazil, 2-2, so we won't be going on to the knockout stage. Brazil will be going on instead to play against Germany.
The Japan NT's next chance to get together will be before the July 31st start of the East Asia Football Federation Cup. They will be playing against South Korea, North Korea, and China. The women's tournament will also be going on at the same time this year, so it will be a very busy few weeks if you plan on watching both men's and women's. The Japanese women have a good chance at getting to first place -- there are some very cool women on this Japan team. I may come back and discuss them when the tournament starts.
Video Clips
(cont'd)
The Japan NT's next chance to get together will be before the July 31st start of the East Asia Football Federation Cup. They will be playing against South Korea, North Korea, and China. The women's tournament will also be going on at the same time this year, so it will be a very busy few weeks if you plan on watching both men's and women's. The Japanese women have a good chance at getting to first place -- there are some very cool women on this Japan team. I may come back and discuss them when the tournament starts.
Video Clips
(cont'd)
This is Oita Trinita's third year since promotion, and the last few years have been a cycle of disappointing results and a fight to stay out of relegation.
Coach Hwangbo Kan (pic left), former South Korean international forward, just got promoted from support coach to head coach this year. In the pre-season, he asserted that "my personality is not one which is satisfied by merely playing defensive football." Though last year's coach Han Berger also pushed for a similar attack-minded style, Oita Trinita were able to only get 35 points for the season, finishing in 15th place. Not only that, they had the third worst number of goals allowed (56) last year.(cont'd)
Coach Hwangbo Kan (pic left), former South Korean international forward, just got promoted from support coach to head coach this year. In the pre-season, he asserted that "my personality is not one which is satisfied by merely playing defensive football." Though last year's coach Han Berger also pushed for a similar attack-minded style, Oita Trinita were able to only get 35 points for the season, finishing in 15th place. Not only that, they had the third worst number of goals allowed (56) last year.(cont'd)System 4-4-2
This system was used mostly as a precaution against the height and air-superiority of Greece (a 6cm difference in average height exists between the two teams' players) -- by having the fullbacks occupy the sides, the aim was to keep Greece from freely utilizing the side pockets near the Japan goal for their often dangerous crosses. As for Japan, who had used the 3-4-2-1 system in the Mexico game, but found themselves having a difficult time finding teammates on the attack, the return of two forwards would help the omfs (Nakamura and Ogasawara) create more variation.
The Groove of the Forwards
It is also worth mentioning that Tamada, Oguro and Yanagisawa had almost no play time together before going into this tournament. Yanagisawa started for the first time (in over a year) in the North Korea game, and he was paired with Suzuki. He got to play with Oguro in the second half. The Mexico game started with Yanagisawa as sole forward, but joined by Oguro in the 23rd minute of the second half; and then by Tamada in the 37th minute of the second half, all three together). (cont'd)
This system was used mostly as a precaution against the height and air-superiority of Greece (a 6cm difference in average height exists between the two teams' players) -- by having the fullbacks occupy the sides, the aim was to keep Greece from freely utilizing the side pockets near the Japan goal for their often dangerous crosses. As for Japan, who had used the 3-4-2-1 system in the Mexico game, but found themselves having a difficult time finding teammates on the attack, the return of two forwards would help the omfs (Nakamura and Ogasawara) create more variation.
The Groove of the Forwards
It is also worth mentioning that Tamada, Oguro and Yanagisawa had almost no play time together before going into this tournament. Yanagisawa started for the first time (in over a year) in the North Korea game, and he was paired with Suzuki. He got to play with Oguro in the second half. The Mexico game started with Yanagisawa as sole forward, but joined by Oguro in the 23rd minute of the second half; and then by Tamada in the 37th minute of the second half, all three together). (cont'd)
I'm not sure many of you may know this (I certainly didn't have a clue), but for the past few weeks South Korea was hosting the U-13 World Championships tournament. "Under-thirteen" sounds so ridiculously young, but I guess you have to start young. And can we say, ADORABLE!
The strange thing was that we didn't really hear a peep about it til yesterday when the sports news segment announced that the Japanese U-13 team just won the championship -- in a final against South Africa, 2-0. They did show the goal clips, and they were actually very high quality approaches -- the first a long shot that hit the post on the inside but the ball was picked up by a teammate and slammed back in. The second came off a long dribbling approach on the left side, a cross to the far side post that was then pushed in. Anyway, it must have been such a blast for these kids, wearing the exact NT uniforms of their big brothers and representing their country.
As for the U-20 World Youth Championships, Japan is becoming known as the miracle team -- the first in tournie history to make it to the knockout stages without winning one single game (1 loss, 2 draws; total of 2 points). Not exactly something to write home about, but it's an opportunity that they should definitely take full advantage of. Their next game is against Morocco. If you have a chance to watch this game, keep an eye out for the forwards (Cullen, Morimoto, Maeda, Hirayama), plus Mizuno and Ienaga whose high quality crosses and kicks can often give Japan a new lease on life.
The strange thing was that we didn't really hear a peep about it til yesterday when the sports news segment announced that the Japanese U-13 team just won the championship -- in a final against South Africa, 2-0. They did show the goal clips, and they were actually very high quality approaches -- the first a long shot that hit the post on the inside but the ball was picked up by a teammate and slammed back in. The second came off a long dribbling approach on the left side, a cross to the far side post that was then pushed in. Anyway, it must have been such a blast for these kids, wearing the exact NT uniforms of their big brothers and representing their country.
As for the U-20 World Youth Championships, Japan is becoming known as the miracle team -- the first in tournie history to make it to the knockout stages without winning one single game (1 loss, 2 draws; total of 2 points). Not exactly something to write home about, but it's an opportunity that they should definitely take full advantage of. Their next game is against Morocco. If you have a chance to watch this game, keep an eye out for the forwards (Cullen, Morimoto, Maeda, Hirayama), plus Mizuno and Ienaga whose high quality crosses and kicks can often give Japan a new lease on life.
Furtho once asked me why there are so many foreign players who play as forwards in the J-league -- why does Japan depend so heavily on foreign help on the front lines? I didn't have a really solid explanation for him back when he asked me, aside from the obvious ones -- like foreign players 
tend to be taller and have better finish (or at least Japan tends to recruit these types of foreign forwards), or that it was a quick fix to an age-old problem among Japanese players.
For people who are nationals of other countries, it must be very strange to think of a country where most of the forwards don't think their one job is to get goals. But it's true -- in Japan, many forwards feel that their job consists of a variation of tasks, only one of which is to aim for a goal. Japan likes intricate passing and setting-up of goals -- but it has developed players into decent passers and not decent finishers. Why? It's hard to say what's going on at the development level (like in high school or youth programs). It could be that Japan has had a mentality that Japanese players don't have what it takes to make a difference as an individual -- that teams get wins only when everyone contributes to numerous responsibilities. Many of the technically gifted players start off as forwards as boys, but then get moved to other positions (especially midfield) when they arrive in the professional league. But like I said in the entry about the World Youth Championships, Japan's U-20 stars consist mostly of three high profile forwards. So it will be interesting to see if the situation in Japan will change as time passes. [cont'd]
tend to be taller and have better finish (or at least Japan tends to recruit these types of foreign forwards), or that it was a quick fix to an age-old problem among Japanese players.For people who are nationals of other countries, it must be very strange to think of a country where most of the forwards don't think their one job is to get goals. But it's true -- in Japan, many forwards feel that their job consists of a variation of tasks, only one of which is to aim for a goal. Japan likes intricate passing and setting-up of goals -- but it has developed players into decent passers and not decent finishers. Why? It's hard to say what's going on at the development level (like in high school or youth programs). It could be that Japan has had a mentality that Japanese players don't have what it takes to make a difference as an individual -- that teams get wins only when everyone contributes to numerous responsibilities. Many of the technically gifted players start off as forwards as boys, but then get moved to other positions (especially midfield) when they arrive in the professional league. But like I said in the entry about the World Youth Championships, Japan's U-20 stars consist mostly of three high profile forwards. So it will be interesting to see if the situation in Japan will change as time passes. [cont'd]
The score sounds close, but the game was dominated by Mexico. However, Japan did have the opportunities to at least come away with a draw. I feel a little bit like how I felt after the Iran qualifier game -- that we could have played smarter and with more passion.
I am going to assume everyone reading this has seen the game, or have taped it, or have access to re-broadcasts. So I'm not going to really do any play-by-play breakdown and bore everyone to death. But if you haven't seen the game, or have seen it and want to address a specific play or player or noticed some patterns, please leave your comment! I am not sure who is reading this blog, so it's a little difficult for me to guage.
The general points:
- total defensive work was ununified. Japan let Mexico play way way way too freely, and for a team like Mexico who play with fluid passing and with a high quality of technique (ability to create long periods of possession) this should have been Japan's first care. Japan did okay for part of the first half, but there were also many periods of red-alert when Japan could not find their rhythm. They made the job more difficult for themselves by running around without organization. [cont'd]
I am going to assume everyone reading this has seen the game, or have taped it, or have access to re-broadcasts. So I'm not going to really do any play-by-play breakdown and bore everyone to death. But if you haven't seen the game, or have seen it and want to address a specific play or player or noticed some patterns, please leave your comment! I am not sure who is reading this blog, so it's a little difficult for me to guage.
The general points:
- total defensive work was ununified. Japan let Mexico play way way way too freely, and for a team like Mexico who play with fluid passing and with a high quality of technique (ability to create long periods of possession) this should have been Japan's first care. Japan did okay for part of the first half, but there were also many periods of red-alert when Japan could not find their rhythm. They made the job more difficult for themselves by running around without organization. [cont'd]
The suspicion we had that Vissel Kobe coach Emerson Leao quit on his own will was incorrect. Apparently the club called for a meeting with him on the morning of the 15th and just informed him that they were firing him. Today, Leao expressed his disbelief at the way he was let go. Leao said that the Nabisco games was a period of testing and improving for the team -- but apparently Vissel management did not have the same opinion. In the last Nabisco game against Omiya Ardija, Leao did admit that his team deserved to lose with how they played -- he said the only player who did anything right was the goalie.
Still it sounds too much like some sort of coup d'etat... like Vissel couldn't wait to find a good reason to kick Leao out.
Anyway, I can't intelligently debate who was right/wrong, and what happened because I am not privy to what's going on backstage. But it just sounds icky in general. For the players' and supporters' sake I hope the club know what they are doing.
Still it sounds too much like some sort of coup d'etat... like Vissel couldn't wait to find a good reason to kick Leao out.
Anyway, I can't intelligently debate who was right/wrong, and what happened because I am not privy to what's going on backstage. But it just sounds icky in general. For the players' and supporters' sake I hope the club know what they are doing.
Things can't get much worse than this: You're in last place on the rankings. Your coach is switched only two months into the season. The new coach starts by working on the defense, and the performance improves but the team still has difficulty finding wins in the league. The league goes on break, and hopes are put on the Nabisco games. But you end up losing all the group games in the Nabisco as well. And suddenly two weeks before the league starts up again and only two months since the new coach had arrived, there is a mysterious announcement that the coach will be leaving the team.
This has been Vissel Kobe's story for this season so far, in a nutshell.
The rumors had started earlier, but the official announcement came today on Vissel Kobe's website. There are no details about the circumstances surrounding coach Emerson Leao's departure -- most supporters suspect he quit. The management announced that pretty much the entire coaching team will be changed.
Pavel Rehak (Czech Republic) will now (re)take over. He used to work as a supporting coach under former coach Matsunaga but got sent to take care of youth development when Leao came into the picture. It sounds like the team will give him this chance to show that maybe he may have a better understanding of what needs to be done to get the team turned around. Rehak used to be the youth coach and the head coach at Slavia Praha before coming to Vissel in 2004.
But just changing coaches is not going to be the Answer, as we have seen already. And so you have to wonder exactly what factors are contributing. I don't know Vissel very well, but the weird vibes I'm getting have more to do with management and club culture. One of the reasons I got sucked into the J-league to begin with was the supporter culture which led me next to the specific club cultures. The team will change year after year when players come and go, but a solid club culture and standards keeps a consistent personality for the team. I'm not really feeling any personality from Vissel, and it's a shame because right now they a few charismatic players. But the players are only one piece of the bigger picture, and it is definitely unfair to blame the whole problem on just the coach or just the players.
Two months is a very short time (especially since most of it was outside the league season) for a coach to try and then give up. Of course, it is still possible that the club kicked him out instead of him quitting himself. But either way you look at it, it is a very clear indication that things are going on backstage that are affecting loyalty and trust at a basic level. The club wants quick easy fixes that won't get their hands dirty. But if you look at the stories behind, say Sanfrecce Hiroshima's coach Ono's three-year plan which was built around Hiroshima-specific team-buidling, or even go way back to Zico's contribution to the birth and development of Kashima Antlers, or the dedication of Urawa Reds supporter culture which actually grew despite their fall to J2, you see there are such immense long-term effects of a certain amount of heart to go along with the proper planning. Vissel feels to me like one of those businesses that the owner feels it is not worth improving but trying to sell would be too much bother. The hire new coaches without really knowing what they want their club to be about themselves.
The supporters seem to be confused by the sudden announcement. More details will probably trickle out as the week progresses.
This has been Vissel Kobe's story for this season so far, in a nutshell.
The rumors had started earlier, but the official announcement came today on Vissel Kobe's website. There are no details about the circumstances surrounding coach Emerson Leao's departure -- most supporters suspect he quit. The management announced that pretty much the entire coaching team will be changed.
Pavel Rehak (Czech Republic) will now (re)take over. He used to work as a supporting coach under former coach Matsunaga but got sent to take care of youth development when Leao came into the picture. It sounds like the team will give him this chance to show that maybe he may have a better understanding of what needs to be done to get the team turned around. Rehak used to be the youth coach and the head coach at Slavia Praha before coming to Vissel in 2004.
But just changing coaches is not going to be the Answer, as we have seen already. And so you have to wonder exactly what factors are contributing. I don't know Vissel very well, but the weird vibes I'm getting have more to do with management and club culture. One of the reasons I got sucked into the J-league to begin with was the supporter culture which led me next to the specific club cultures. The team will change year after year when players come and go, but a solid club culture and standards keeps a consistent personality for the team. I'm not really feeling any personality from Vissel, and it's a shame because right now they a few charismatic players. But the players are only one piece of the bigger picture, and it is definitely unfair to blame the whole problem on just the coach or just the players.
Two months is a very short time (especially since most of it was outside the league season) for a coach to try and then give up. Of course, it is still possible that the club kicked him out instead of him quitting himself. But either way you look at it, it is a very clear indication that things are going on backstage that are affecting loyalty and trust at a basic level. The club wants quick easy fixes that won't get their hands dirty. But if you look at the stories behind, say Sanfrecce Hiroshima's coach Ono's three-year plan which was built around Hiroshima-specific team-buidling, or even go way back to Zico's contribution to the birth and development of Kashima Antlers, or the dedication of Urawa Reds supporter culture which actually grew despite their fall to J2, you see there are such immense long-term effects of a certain amount of heart to go along with the proper planning. Vissel feels to me like one of those businesses that the owner feels it is not worth improving but trying to sell would be too much bother. The hire new coaches without really knowing what they want their club to be about themselves.
The supporters seem to be confused by the sudden announcement. More details will probably trickle out as the week progresses.
The Japan National Team camp in Hannover ahead of the game against Mexico for the Confederations Cup started off quietly but smoothly. From what Miyamoto said in his website, the chill in the air (about 15 degreesC in the morning sessions) is a giant leap in climate from the hellish humidity and heat of Bangkok. Come to think of it, this team has been doing quite a bit of jet-setting -- from Japan to UAE to Bahrain to Bangkok to Japan and then to Germany. All inside two weeks or so. I wonder if they take melatonin to deal with the jetlag? (If you travel alot and need to fix jetlag quickly, melatonin is great -- it has to do with the way your body naturally wakes up to daylight.)
Anyway, the first few days the team trained with 21 of the 23 players -- Shunsuke Nakamura was still trying to heal his hip injury that he got at the beginning of the Bahrain game, which probably explains why he did not kick many of the free kicks in that game; and Teruyuki Moniwa was a day late flying to Germany as a last-minute call up to replace injured defender Nakazawa. The team finally all got together in Tuesday's training, and it looks like they are traininig quite ambitiously.
The defender who will most probably take the starting position in place of Nakazawa on the left is Takayuki Chano (Jubilo Iwata). I joked before that he is probably the most invisible player on the NT. Mostly because he has not had the opportunity to start much plus his overall visibility in the J-league is not that high. Not because he isn't any good -- I think it's more a case of not having the star-power like some of these other guys do. Regardless, the chances that Chano has gotten on the NT have been quite challenging games -- he started against Hungary and Czech Republic as right defender (3-back), but lost the starting position to Nakazawa in the next games against Iceland and England and onwards. He did not make it back to start until the Germany game (where he played as a centerback in a 4-back formation). Chano's play is characterized by a toughness -- he may not have the speed of Tsuboi or the height and power of Nakazawa. But this is a good opportunity for him to make himself known to Japanese supporters again.
The other bit of news trickling in from Germany is that Zico seems to be reverting back to a 3-4-2-1 system. So the team may look like this: Yanagisawa as sole forward with Nakamura and Ogasawara shadowing as offensive halfs. HNakata is back next to Fukunishi in defensive midfield. And as usual, Santos on left, Kaji on right; right defender Tanaka with Miyamoto controlling the back line in center with Chano on left. Since Chano is a different type of player than Nakazawa, I imagine the defenders and midfield are also making sure to confirm everyone's defensive responsibilities/tactics. This is what the team looked like in their last game against Bahrain, so it is not completely new for the players. Nakamura commented after the qualifiers that he really liked the 3-4-2-1 system, that it was easy to move around and create opportunities. And those of us who watched that Bahrain game did see a notable difference in the flow of Japan's attack compared to the previously. The forward probably has the most work to do figuring out how to best move -- and not only Yanagisawa, but Oguro and Tamada will probably also be used as subs in for this sytem. In a way, the 3-4-2-1 is a compromise between the 4-4-2 (better for offensive plays) and the 3-5-2 (more stable defensively). Japan tends to have a difficult time against Central/South American teams no matter who they are, and this group with Mexico and Brazil...will be a good experience for the team. Because Japan has already qualified, they can approach this tournament without thinking about any qualifiers ahead -- I hope they will play without overthinking, and play to their strengths. And enjoy the high caliber refereeing, the high quality pitch, and the cooler weather!
As he announced after the press conference incident where Zico took offense to collective laughter at forward Takayuki Suzuki, Zico is going to be responding to questions during pre and post game press conferences only with regard to the general media. He used to make himself completely available after each practice session...but alas, no more. Though the press is playing it down as an indication of Zico's nerves ahead of the Confederations Cup, I think they should think again. Zico will answer any challenging/tough question as long as it is put in a serious way, but he has reacted badly to the press being unnecessarily insulting to his players. Zico does of course attend the official press conferences the day ahead of any game, and of course after games he makes all the interviews. In a way, though I hate not getting any extra info, I think this is a good thing. Zico has kept a policy of complete openness for three years but the media ends up taking advantage and misquoting/blowing out of proportion what he says or does silly stunts like I addressed in this previous entry. Of course, if you want a private peek and see some fun photos of what goes on during the NT camps you can always check out Zico's blog which he constantly uploads with photos.
The players of course have been great about answering the press, and we've seen a number of interview clips -- nothing notable except for the usual "we're looking forward to playing against some of the best teams in the world" etc etc comments. The players and Zico also have been good about taking time after training to sign autographs for the small group of fans/observers who have come to watch, some Japanese some German.
German Press Scratch Heads over Japan
Some hilarious stuff has been coming out of the German press as well. In one paper, in a segment introducing the teams participating in the Confederations Cup, the Japan team has been quite messed up -- they got a number of names wrong, not to mention predicted a completely off formation, where they had forwards as midfielders and so on. I guess they got confused with all thes crazy Japanese names... I swear, sometimes you wonder how writers can make a living out of doing this if they can't even get the names straight. In another paper, Hide Nakata was labelled the "strangest player" -- apparently German media have been puzzled at the aloof attitude of Hide among his teammates. The paper said "he doesn't respond to questions from the media. and he doesn't warm up alongside his teammates." I guess they haven't been keeping up with what's going on -- Hide is just using his psychological tricks to bring a little tension and adrenaline into the team. In fact, JFA chair Kawabuchi has said that HNakata is using the bad-cop trick (which would make Miyamoto the good-cop?) to get a rise out of the team, light a fire under them.
In a recent on-camera interview on tv, HNakata even said that everything he does, how much he yells at whom, his choice of words, etc., it's pretty much his way of communicating that intagible battle-mode attitude to his team. A big part of what he believes is missing in the team right now, he's said, is a matter of attitude and spirit -- not technical things like strategy or formation (though of course those need to be improved too). Even captain Miyamoto said in an on-tv interview that this is HNakata's way of communicating with the team, his message if you will. And the team is completely aware of it -- which means that they get fired up without getting personally insulted or offended. Of course, this was not the case at the beginning of last year -- everyone was completely ticked off by HNakata, but that was back when the rest of the team lacked a certain amount of confidence and intra-team understanding, and players felt like they were just being talked-down to. Now the team knows that they have the right to talk back and argue, that it just goes towards building a stronger team.
Oguro Changes Number
If you are a fan of forward Oguro, you may want to note that he is going to be changing his NT jersey number from 31 to 16. He has had his eye on that number for a while now, and I guess this means he is now 'more-officially' part of the NT. He likes 16 because he is a great fan of ex-Hanshin Tiger (this is baseball we're talking about) Okada who is now the coach there, that was his number when he played.
Anyway, the first few days the team trained with 21 of the 23 players -- Shunsuke Nakamura was still trying to heal his hip injury that he got at the beginning of the Bahrain game, which probably explains why he did not kick many of the free kicks in that game; and Teruyuki Moniwa was a day late flying to Germany as a last-minute call up to replace injured defender Nakazawa. The team finally all got together in Tuesday's training, and it looks like they are traininig quite ambitiously.
The defender who will most probably take the starting position in place of Nakazawa on the left is Takayuki Chano (Jubilo Iwata). I joked before that he is probably the most invisible player on the NT. Mostly because he has not had the opportunity to start much plus his overall visibility in the J-league is not that high. Not because he isn't any good -- I think it's more a case of not having the star-power like some of these other guys do. Regardless, the chances that Chano has gotten on the NT have been quite challenging games -- he started against Hungary and Czech Republic as right defender (3-back), but lost the starting position to Nakazawa in the next games against Iceland and England and onwards. He did not make it back to start until the Germany game (where he played as a centerback in a 4-back formation). Chano's play is characterized by a toughness -- he may not have the speed of Tsuboi or the height and power of Nakazawa. But this is a good opportunity for him to make himself known to Japanese supporters again.
The other bit of news trickling in from Germany is that Zico seems to be reverting back to a 3-4-2-1 system. So the team may look like this: Yanagisawa as sole forward with Nakamura and Ogasawara shadowing as offensive halfs. HNakata is back next to Fukunishi in defensive midfield. And as usual, Santos on left, Kaji on right; right defender Tanaka with Miyamoto controlling the back line in center with Chano on left. Since Chano is a different type of player than Nakazawa, I imagine the defenders and midfield are also making sure to confirm everyone's defensive responsibilities/tactics. This is what the team looked like in their last game against Bahrain, so it is not completely new for the players. Nakamura commented after the qualifiers that he really liked the 3-4-2-1 system, that it was easy to move around and create opportunities. And those of us who watched that Bahrain game did see a notable difference in the flow of Japan's attack compared to the previously. The forward probably has the most work to do figuring out how to best move -- and not only Yanagisawa, but Oguro and Tamada will probably also be used as subs in for this sytem. In a way, the 3-4-2-1 is a compromise between the 4-4-2 (better for offensive plays) and the 3-5-2 (more stable defensively). Japan tends to have a difficult time against Central/South American teams no matter who they are, and this group with Mexico and Brazil...will be a good experience for the team. Because Japan has already qualified, they can approach this tournament without thinking about any qualifiers ahead -- I hope they will play without overthinking, and play to their strengths. And enjoy the high caliber refereeing, the high quality pitch, and the cooler weather!
As he announced after the press conference incident where Zico took offense to collective laughter at forward Takayuki Suzuki, Zico is going to be responding to questions during pre and post game press conferences only with regard to the general media. He used to make himself completely available after each practice session...but alas, no more. Though the press is playing it down as an indication of Zico's nerves ahead of the Confederations Cup, I think they should think again. Zico will answer any challenging/tough question as long as it is put in a serious way, but he has reacted badly to the press being unnecessarily insulting to his players. Zico does of course attend the official press conferences the day ahead of any game, and of course after games he makes all the interviews. In a way, though I hate not getting any extra info, I think this is a good thing. Zico has kept a policy of complete openness for three years but the media ends up taking advantage and misquoting/blowing out of proportion what he says or does silly stunts like I addressed in this previous entry. Of course, if you want a private peek and see some fun photos of what goes on during the NT camps you can always check out Zico's blog which he constantly uploads with photos.
The players of course have been great about answering the press, and we've seen a number of interview clips -- nothing notable except for the usual "we're looking forward to playing against some of the best teams in the world" etc etc comments. The players and Zico also have been good about taking time after training to sign autographs for the small group of fans/observers who have come to watch, some Japanese some German.
German Press Scratch Heads over Japan
Some hilarious stuff has been coming out of the German press as well. In one paper, in a segment introducing the teams participating in the Confederations Cup, the Japan team has been quite messed up -- they got a number of names wrong, not to mention predicted a completely off formation, where they had forwards as midfielders and so on. I guess they got confused with all thes crazy Japanese names... I swear, sometimes you wonder how writers can make a living out of doing this if they can't even get the names straight. In another paper, Hide Nakata was labelled the "strangest player" -- apparently German media have been puzzled at the aloof attitude of Hide among his teammates. The paper said "he doesn't respond to questions from the media. and he doesn't warm up alongside his teammates." I guess they haven't been keeping up with what's going on -- Hide is just using his psychological tricks to bring a little tension and adrenaline into the team. In fact, JFA chair Kawabuchi has said that HNakata is using the bad-cop trick (which would make Miyamoto the good-cop?) to get a rise out of the team, light a fire under them.
In a recent on-camera interview on tv, HNakata even said that everything he does, how much he yells at whom, his choice of words, etc., it's pretty much his way of communicating that intagible battle-mode attitude to his team. A big part of what he believes is missing in the team right now, he's said, is a matter of attitude and spirit -- not technical things like strategy or formation (though of course those need to be improved too). Even captain Miyamoto said in an on-tv interview that this is HNakata's way of communicating with the team, his message if you will. And the team is completely aware of it -- which means that they get fired up without getting personally insulted or offended. Of course, this was not the case at the beginning of last year -- everyone was completely ticked off by HNakata, but that was back when the rest of the team lacked a certain amount of confidence and intra-team understanding, and players felt like they were just being talked-down to. Now the team knows that they have the right to talk back and argue, that it just goes towards building a stronger team.
Oguro Changes Number
If you are a fan of forward Oguro, you may want to note that he is going to be changing his NT jersey number from 31 to 16. He has had his eye on that number for a while now, and I guess this means he is now 'more-officially' part of the NT. He likes 16 because he is a great fan of ex-Hanshin Tiger (this is baseball we're talking about) Okada who is now the coach there, that was his number when he played.
As you all know, the Confederations Cup tournament was basically created as a trial-run in preparation for the real thing -- the World Cup. And Germany seems to be on track and doing fine with regard to the infrastructure and organization so far. The only thing that is still in the air is how the referees will be implementing the new refereeing rules/standards. These standards will be tested out for the very first time in the world during the Confederations Cup.
Do any of you know the specifics of some of the major changes? If you do and would like to elaborate on my pathetic attempt, please do. (leave a comment!)
I'm not clear on all the specifics, but the two that got my attention are these: 1) players will be penalized if they do anything to slow the game down during stopped time. So let's say Japan wins a free kick, and Nakamura is standing there contemplating how to swing his foot and get a direct shot over the wall. He notices the ball's nub is not facing in the direction he wants, so he stoops to adjust it -- will the ref get on his back about slowing the game down? How does the rule apply to throw ins? 2) the off sides rule also sounds like it will get a little bit more complicated, and defenders who take a lot of care keeping a disciplined line may face some very narrow calls. I read one article a while ago, and can't seem to find it again.
Do any of you know the specifics of some of the major changes? If you do and would like to elaborate on my pathetic attempt, please do. (leave a comment!)
I'm not clear on all the specifics, but the two that got my attention are these: 1) players will be penalized if they do anything to slow the game down during stopped time. So let's say Japan wins a free kick, and Nakamura is standing there contemplating how to swing his foot and get a direct shot over the wall. He notices the ball's nub is not facing in the direction he wants, so he stoops to adjust it -- will the ref get on his back about slowing the game down? How does the rule apply to throw ins? 2) the off sides rule also sounds like it will get a little bit more complicated, and defenders who take a lot of care keeping a disciplined line may face some very narrow calls. I read one article a while ago, and can't seem to find it again.
Without a doubt, Kyoto Purple Sanga have players who can score. Goals. Lots of 'em. Enough to win. And looking at both J1 and J2, this is certainly a rare characteristic. Japanese teams of late have been characterized by 
trouble on the finish -- they have great passing, good crosses, speedy midfielders or forwards. The ball goes riiigggghhhtt there, and...ah....no goal. In fact, if you read most post-game comments by players or coaches on any given day, you will find plenty of quotes that say something like, "we couldn't get the goal when we should have."
Kyoto Purple Sanga were favorites to get the J2 championships last year. But they couldn't quite find the wins they needed and slid slowly down the rankings finishing the season in fifth place. Coach Hashiratani came into the team in the middle of last season, but I guess it wasn't enough time to implement all the changes he would have liked. And at the end of last season, Kyoto lost some key goal-getting players like Kurobe (now Cerezo), Choi Yong soo (now Jubilo), and Atsuta (now Verdy) -- people were convinced this would do lasting damage to the Kyoto attack.
But... in the 2005 pre-season, Kyoto got two confidence-boosting "helpers" (ie, players from abroad) in Alemao and Paulinho (both forwards). Hashiratani spotlighted the two Brazilians and said they played with a high quality of direct one-touch passing -- this greatly helps in putting on a speedy attack. In the side positions, Hoshi and Kato came from Yamagata and Shonan respectively and strengthened the team's ability to attack from the sides as well. In defense, Washida came from Jef, Ricardo from Sanfrecce, and right side specialist Okubo brought a lot of options for the coach who had been trying to get the team to ambitiously create attacks using the sides. Their 4-back system was centered around Ricardo's great decision-making abilities. The look and feel of the team had really changed.
The 2005 theme put forth by Hashiratani is "aggressive". Three forwards, Tahara, Matsuda and Alemao are tall powerful players who are particularly aggressive goal-getters, and so Kyoto started off the year with a team that was focused on the Win. Many reviewers had predicted that if Kyoto were able to function in the optimal way, getting the ball to the front using variation and speed in the midfield while also getting the sidebacks to participate, Kyoto would no doubt burst forth and finish the race lengths ahead of any of the other teams.
Well, so far we are 16 games into the season and Kyoto have shown that they just may be living up to expectations. But looking at the content of many of their games so far, it is not like they are completely overwhelming their opponents. In fact, the opponents are well aware of Kyoto's strengths and have made good efforts to squash particularly the two Brazilian forwards. It's just that wnen they do have the opportunities they get the ball in the goal more times than not. They are able to outnumber their goals allowed with the goals gotten (goal differential +17) and are now 15 points ahead of second place Avispa. Even after Paulinho got injured in the Bellmare game, the team were still able to play their way to wins until his return.
Perhaps the next challenge for the team is, now that they have a confident and ambitious base to build on, to use better passing sequences when on the attack. So far, their main weapons have been to use long balls from the back and crosses from the sides, hauling the ball in front of the goal. Though you could argue that this is the best strategy given how much pressure Kyoto particularly gets from opponent teams (who are probably hoping for at least a draw against them).
In this last Round 16 game against Fukuoka, Fukuoka controlled the rhythm of the game and used passing sequences and varied speeds on the attack, to get by Kyoto. Kyoto defense were focused and did not allow Fukuoka the shots they wanted. But again, though Fukuoka were closer to creating more of the opportunities (and in fact got the first goal of the game off Alex's bicycle kick), they ended up losing 2-3 to Kyoto. One of Kyoto's goals came from a PK, and another from an Own Goal. The winning third goal came right after coach Hashiratani sent in Paulinho (78 min) -- Kato, who had been creating a lot of momentum with his speed on the attack was fouled in a good position, and Paulinho took the free kick for the goal.
We have seen in the J1 this year the notable performances put on by Omiya Ardija and Kawasaki Frontale (just up from J2 this year) so far. If you are planning on sticking around for at least another year of J-league football (and why wouldn't you?), it is definitely worth it to get a head start and get to know Kyoto Purple Sanga. It's still a long way to the end of the season, but with the J1 league on break right now it's a good time to browse (or check out future
competition!).
P.S. If you are wondering where they got the name Purple Sanga: purple was the team color they carried over from their Kyoto Shiko Club days. The "Sanga" comes from two things. One is that it is the sanskrit (they like the temple imagery of sanskrit) word for "circle of friends/group". The second is a sort of a play on words with the Japanese word "sanga" which indicates the "mountains and rivers/natural surroundings" of Kyoto. The club changed to this name upon promotion to the JFL 1st division in 1993.
[photo from blog.so-net.ne.jp/_images/blog/yan2o/915.jpg]
J-league soccer football japan
trouble on the finish -- they have great passing, good crosses, speedy midfielders or forwards. The ball goes riiigggghhhtt there, and...ah....no goal. In fact, if you read most post-game comments by players or coaches on any given day, you will find plenty of quotes that say something like, "we couldn't get the goal when we should have."Kyoto Purple Sanga were favorites to get the J2 championships last year. But they couldn't quite find the wins they needed and slid slowly down the rankings finishing the season in fifth place. Coach Hashiratani came into the team in the middle of last season, but I guess it wasn't enough time to implement all the changes he would have liked. And at the end of last season, Kyoto lost some key goal-getting players like Kurobe (now Cerezo), Choi Yong soo (now Jubilo), and Atsuta (now Verdy) -- people were convinced this would do lasting damage to the Kyoto attack.
But... in the 2005 pre-season, Kyoto got two confidence-boosting "helpers" (ie, players from abroad) in Alemao and Paulinho (both forwards). Hashiratani spotlighted the two Brazilians and said they played with a high quality of direct one-touch passing -- this greatly helps in putting on a speedy attack. In the side positions, Hoshi and Kato came from Yamagata and Shonan respectively and strengthened the team's ability to attack from the sides as well. In defense, Washida came from Jef, Ricardo from Sanfrecce, and right side specialist Okubo brought a lot of options for the coach who had been trying to get the team to ambitiously create attacks using the sides. Their 4-back system was centered around Ricardo's great decision-making abilities. The look and feel of the team had really changed.
The 2005 theme put forth by Hashiratani is "aggressive". Three forwards, Tahara, Matsuda and Alemao are tall powerful players who are particularly aggressive goal-getters, and so Kyoto started off the year with a team that was focused on the Win. Many reviewers had predicted that if Kyoto were able to function in the optimal way, getting the ball to the front using variation and speed in the midfield while also getting the sidebacks to participate, Kyoto would no doubt burst forth and finish the race lengths ahead of any of the other teams.
Well, so far we are 16 games into the season and Kyoto have shown that they just may be living up to expectations. But looking at the content of many of their games so far, it is not like they are completely overwhelming their opponents. In fact, the opponents are well aware of Kyoto's strengths and have made good efforts to squash particularly the two Brazilian forwards. It's just that wnen they do have the opportunities they get the ball in the goal more times than not. They are able to outnumber their goals allowed with the goals gotten (goal differential +17) and are now 15 points ahead of second place Avispa. Even after Paulinho got injured in the Bellmare game, the team were still able to play their way to wins until his return.
Perhaps the next challenge for the team is, now that they have a confident and ambitious base to build on, to use better passing sequences when on the attack. So far, their main weapons have been to use long balls from the back and crosses from the sides, hauling the ball in front of the goal. Though you could argue that this is the best strategy given how much pressure Kyoto particularly gets from opponent teams (who are probably hoping for at least a draw against them).
In this last Round 16 game against Fukuoka, Fukuoka controlled the rhythm of the game and used passing sequences and varied speeds on the attack, to get by Kyoto. Kyoto defense were focused and did not allow Fukuoka the shots they wanted. But again, though Fukuoka were closer to creating more of the opportunities (and in fact got the first goal of the game off Alex's bicycle kick), they ended up losing 2-3 to Kyoto. One of Kyoto's goals came from a PK, and another from an Own Goal. The winning third goal came right after coach Hashiratani sent in Paulinho (78 min) -- Kato, who had been creating a lot of momentum with his speed on the attack was fouled in a good position, and Paulinho took the free kick for the goal.
We have seen in the J1 this year the notable performances put on by Omiya Ardija and Kawasaki Frontale (just up from J2 this year) so far. If you are planning on sticking around for at least another year of J-league football (and why wouldn't you?), it is definitely worth it to get a head start and get to know Kyoto Purple Sanga. It's still a long way to the end of the season, but with the J1 league on break right now it's a good time to browse (or check out future
competition!).
P.S. If you are wondering where they got the name Purple Sanga: purple was the team color they carried over from their Kyoto Shiko Club days. The "Sanga" comes from two things. One is that it is the sanskrit (they like the temple imagery of sanskrit) word for "circle of friends/group". The second is a sort of a play on words with the Japanese word "sanga" which indicates the "mountains and rivers/natural surroundings" of Kyoto. The club changed to this name upon promotion to the JFL 1st division in 1993.
[photo from blog.so-net.ne.jp/_images/blog/yan2o/915.jpg]
J-league soccer football japan