Thanks to Nippon-Ganbare website, here are some clips from the Japan games in the EAFF Cup 2005 plus some old bonus files.
vs. North Korea Click the "free" button, then in the new page that opens click the Your Download Link.
vs. China Click the "free" button, then in the new page that opens click the Your Download Link. This China game may be of some interest for those of you who don't know many of the new/younger players used during this competition.
vs. Korea 1st half
vs. Korea 2nd half Click the "free" button, then in the new page that opens click the Your Download Link.
WC qualf vs. North Korea June 8 2005 Click the "free" button, then in the new page that opens click the Your Download Link. The clip subtitles what Zico and the players are overheard saying during the game, and they also show the interplay of the supporters standing outside the stadium gates.
and for those of you who missed or want to relive the Asia Cup 2004 quarterfinal PK Shootout against Jordan, here is a clip of the PK portion. Click the "Free" button, and then when the new page opens, click the Your Download Link.
and for those of you who are interested in watching the April 28 2004 game against Czech Republic, here is a link to the folder. You will have to download the six portions per half, and you will also need WinRAR (>>You can download WinRAR free) to extract the video from the download. Premiere periode=1st half, Deuxieme periode=2nd half.
vs. North Korea Click the "free" button, then in the new page that opens click the Your Download Link.
vs. China Click the "free" button, then in the new page that opens click the Your Download Link. This China game may be of some interest for those of you who don't know many of the new/younger players used during this competition.
vs. Korea 1st half
vs. Korea 2nd half Click the "free" button, then in the new page that opens click the Your Download Link.
WC qualf vs. North Korea June 8 2005 Click the "free" button, then in the new page that opens click the Your Download Link. The clip subtitles what Zico and the players are overheard saying during the game, and they also show the interplay of the supporters standing outside the stadium gates.
and for those of you who missed or want to relive the Asia Cup 2004 quarterfinal PK Shootout against Jordan, here is a clip of the PK portion. Click the "Free" button, and then when the new page opens, click the Your Download Link.
and for those of you who are interested in watching the April 28 2004 game against Czech Republic, here is a link to the folder. You will have to download the six portions per half, and you will also need WinRAR (>>You can download WinRAR free) to extract the video from the download. Premiere periode=1st half, Deuxieme periode=2nd half.
Prior to his departure for Brazil after the last World Cup qualifying game against Iran, Japan National Team manager Zico expressed his desire to have as many of the European club players recalled for the September 9 match against Honduras. With the European season just starting this month, the concern was whether these internationals would be allowed out by their clubs. And certainly no one expected the unusal move by JFA when yesterday they announced that six of the Europe-based players were being called-up for the friendly.
With Zico still back in South America, JFA chairman Kawabuchi took the plunge and made it publicly known that these six players, Shunsuke Nakamura, Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Inamoto, Koji Nakata, Naohiro Takahara, and Atsushi Yanagisawa, were included in the roster. Zico is expected back to Japan this week, in order to make the official full roster announcement on September 2.
...continues
With Zico still back in South America, JFA chairman Kawabuchi took the plunge and made it publicly known that these six players, Shunsuke Nakamura, Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Inamoto, Koji Nakata, Naohiro Takahara, and Atsushi Yanagisawa, were included in the roster. Zico is expected back to Japan this week, in order to make the official full roster announcement on September 2.
...continues
Gamba Osaka 3-2 Yokohama F Marinos
Well, if you wanted to watch a match that kept things in the air from start to finish, this was the one to watch in this round. Yokohama were extremely solid, and their strategy to smother all of Gamba's space and ignition points worked. To be honest, I was rooting for Marinos, as they played such a great game; AND, for the twisted reason that if Gamba did win this game, they would come within a step of Kashima (who lost, but I'll get to that later)...hee hee. Anyway, my wishes did not come true.
Something must be in the water at the Marinos clubhouse; they play a good game, and then give it away at the end. But perhaps that is where the differences in mentality manifest itself. Gamba players had to endure a stubborn and focused visitor side, barely being able to touch the ball without being surrounded by a swarm of grey-jerseyed opponents. When Sakata scored off a quick restart, from a wonderful vertical kick from Magrao, I thought it was a well-deserved goal for Marinos who dominated.
Well, if you wanted to watch a match that kept things in the air from start to finish, this was the one to watch in this round. Yokohama were extremely solid, and their strategy to smother all of Gamba's space and ignition points worked. To be honest, I was rooting for Marinos, as they played such a great game; AND, for the twisted reason that if Gamba did win this game, they would come within a step of Kashima (who lost, but I'll get to that later)...hee hee. Anyway, my wishes did not come true.
Something must be in the water at the Marinos clubhouse; they play a good game, and then give it away at the end. But perhaps that is where the differences in mentality manifest itself. Gamba players had to endure a stubborn and focused visitor side, barely being able to touch the ball without being surrounded by a swarm of grey-jerseyed opponents. When Sakata scored off a quick restart, from a wonderful vertical kick from Magrao, I thought it was a well-deserved goal for Marinos who dominated.
Heracles 2-1 Groningen
Sota Hirayama seems to be Heracles' lucky charm. His second game, and both times the team was able to come back a goal down in the first half to end with a win. In this game, Hirayama subbed in 3 minutes into the second half. His "goal" turned out to be off-sides, which was too bad, but his shot at 73 mins bounced out of the keeper's hands and allowed a teammate to volley in the rebound for the equalizer. After that Heracles won a penalty and got the second goal.
The >>Heracles website is a nonflashy but cozy one, not that I can understand much of it. But I've read some articles where Hirayama is described as being as "tall as a tree"...lol. Which is strange since the Heracles manager is even taller!
Mallorca 0-1 Deportivo
Mallorca did not do as well. Okubo's two good games last year were against Deportivo, so though the loss is bad I wasn't surpised that Okubo did quite well. I heard the local paper gave him the MVP for this game. Which is interesting since he took 0 shots at goal -- but from what I've read, the recently new Papa did a lot of contributing to the overall game for his team. But the state of the team wasn't in great shape to begin with, so hopefully they'll get their roster in order before too long.
Sota Hirayama seems to be Heracles' lucky charm. His second game, and both times the team was able to come back a goal down in the first half to end with a win. In this game, Hirayama subbed in 3 minutes into the second half. His "goal" turned out to be off-sides, which was too bad, but his shot at 73 mins bounced out of the keeper's hands and allowed a teammate to volley in the rebound for the equalizer. After that Heracles won a penalty and got the second goal.
The >>Heracles website is a nonflashy but cozy one, not that I can understand much of it. But I've read some articles where Hirayama is described as being as "tall as a tree"...lol. Which is strange since the Heracles manager is even taller!
Mallorca 0-1 Deportivo
Mallorca did not do as well. Okubo's two good games last year were against Deportivo, so though the loss is bad I wasn't surpised that Okubo did quite well. I heard the local paper gave him the MVP for this game. Which is interesting since he took 0 shots at goal -- but from what I've read, the recently new Papa did a lot of contributing to the overall game for his team. But the state of the team wasn't in great shape to begin with, so hopefully they'll get their roster in order before too long.
Addition: Here are a couple more highlight clips for this game.
>>Right-click to download video clip 1
>>Right-click to download video clip 2
Enjoy!
I will come back with a review of this weekend's J1 games, but first quickly I'll post this entry of the Nakamura goal clip (below).
Coulda been a more technically better game from Celtic, especially in the first half. But with Shunsuke down low in midfield, it took him a while to warm up, find the rhythm, get some good forward feeds started, and sneak his way up. From the little I saw of the game, I liked Zurawski. He started in this game after a teammate was ruled out, and it turned out to be the luckiest thing. I liked how he burned up the left side, and his goal plus his assist to Nakamura for a goal showed great dribbling and cool-headedness. I think these two might have good chemistry.
Shunsuke's goal was an "easy" one, but he had been running a distance up from way back so kudos to him for staying active through the second half.
The most surprising event of the game, for Japanese fans, was seeing Shunsuke blow up a little when he got fouled at the beginning of the second half and the opponent player grabbed his arm while making a few verbal jabs. I don't think any of us have EVER seen Shun get like that on the pitch. And that post-goal "airplane" gesture we haven't seen in many years either.
>>Right-click and download video clip of Nakamura Goal here
>>Right-click to download video clip 1
>>Right-click to download video clip 2
Enjoy!
I will come back with a review of this weekend's J1 games, but first quickly I'll post this entry of the Nakamura goal clip (below).
Coulda been a more technically better game from Celtic, especially in the first half. But with Shunsuke down low in midfield, it took him a while to warm up, find the rhythm, get some good forward feeds started, and sneak his way up. From the little I saw of the game, I liked Zurawski. He started in this game after a teammate was ruled out, and it turned out to be the luckiest thing. I liked how he burned up the left side, and his goal plus his assist to Nakamura for a goal showed great dribbling and cool-headedness. I think these two might have good chemistry.
Shunsuke's goal was an "easy" one, but he had been running a distance up from way back so kudos to him for staying active through the second half.
The most surprising event of the game, for Japanese fans, was seeing Shunsuke blow up a little when he got fouled at the beginning of the second half and the opponent player grabbed his arm while making a few verbal jabs. I don't think any of us have EVER seen Shun get like that on the pitch. And that post-goal "airplane" gesture we haven't seen in many years either.
>>Right-click and download video clip of Nakamura Goal here
I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this, but the Japanese football development structure was first designed on an American model. So, future footballer wanna-bes would have to get whatever training they could at their schools first, and then try and get into some of the J club youth teams before heading into a pro contract. This sort of made sense from a Japan culture point of view, but we've seen already that its too slow and vulnerable a plan, and this has delayed the development process in individual players. Not just the skills and such, but other things like maturity, independence and so forth. While European teenagers are already starting for top clubs in Europe, Japanese players are just getting their toe in on what it means to be a pro footballer.
In a previous entry where I introduced the Japan NT coaching staff, I mentioned that Zico's brother and technical advisor Edu had tried to get an academy started of his own. But there were financial problems, and really it is a difficult thing to keep going with little help. And most of all, places like Okinawa, where some of Japan's most rhythmically gifted, outgoing, athletic personalities come from, doesn't even have a local league club where kids could get organized youth level training. The photo on the right is of Christopher Tatsuki Kinjo, one of Okinawa's best in the U-12 group.
Well, thank god, the JFA must have been on the same wavelength in recent years. This past month, 662 children from all over Japan applied for the chance to join the new JFA Academy Fukushima. Kids in the middle and high school level will be picked from the hundreds after a three tier evaluation process (boys and girls), and they will end up living in the Academy. Christopher, from the photo, showed up at the J-Village for the evaluation and selection process.
The kids will live in dormitories, train under JFA coaches on the Academy grounds (there is a pitch set aside for them), and attend the local schools for basic education. On top of that, they will also get additional educational electives like languages. I forget what the final acceptance numbers are, but I think it's something like 15 for boys. Not many, but I guess it's good to start with a smaller group and see how that goes before expanding.
The JFA feels that if Japan continues with the plan they had so far used for the past ten or so years, we will never catch up to international standards. They feel that in order to close the gap, the JFA will need to play a more active role in developing promising players, 24/7. Their aim is to be able to have 3 or 4 national team members come out of their Academy ten years down the road.
This Academy is modeled after France's National Football Academy, the one that Zidane and Henri have graduated from. The French academy is I think about 30 years old.
During the selection trials, the evaluators looked for potential and natural football sense. For instance, during the lifting test, they didn't look at how many times a candidate lifted without dropping the ball; but instead looked at the the style of lifting, whether the candidate had a natural soft relaxed touch with the ball. In the 50 meter dashes, they didn't look at just overall speed, but also evaluated running form. They had speed-reading machines at 10 meter intervals so they could see what the increment by increment speeds were, whether the candidate decelerated considerably in the final 10 meters, what the acceleration was like, and so on. And of course the kids played a game at the end, and evaluators looked at how well the candidates could express their strengths, intelligence and style during an actual game situation.
This is really exciting stuff, and could make a huge difference on the future if done properly. Things won't go perfectly smoothly, that's a given, but if something valuable can be gained in the process for the kids as well as the Academy people, it will be worth it.
In a previous entry where I introduced the Japan NT coaching staff, I mentioned that Zico's brother and technical advisor Edu had tried to get an academy started of his own. But there were financial problems, and really it is a difficult thing to keep going with little help. And most of all, places like Okinawa, where some of Japan's most rhythmically gifted, outgoing, athletic personalities come from, doesn't even have a local league club where kids could get organized youth level training. The photo on the right is of Christopher Tatsuki Kinjo, one of Okinawa's best in the U-12 group.Well, thank god, the JFA must have been on the same wavelength in recent years. This past month, 662 children from all over Japan applied for the chance to join the new JFA Academy Fukushima. Kids in the middle and high school level will be picked from the hundreds after a three tier evaluation process (boys and girls), and they will end up living in the Academy. Christopher, from the photo, showed up at the J-Village for the evaluation and selection process.
The kids will live in dormitories, train under JFA coaches on the Academy grounds (there is a pitch set aside for them), and attend the local schools for basic education. On top of that, they will also get additional educational electives like languages. I forget what the final acceptance numbers are, but I think it's something like 15 for boys. Not many, but I guess it's good to start with a smaller group and see how that goes before expanding.
The JFA feels that if Japan continues with the plan they had so far used for the past ten or so years, we will never catch up to international standards. They feel that in order to close the gap, the JFA will need to play a more active role in developing promising players, 24/7. Their aim is to be able to have 3 or 4 national team members come out of their Academy ten years down the road.
This Academy is modeled after France's National Football Academy, the one that Zidane and Henri have graduated from. The French academy is I think about 30 years old.
During the selection trials, the evaluators looked for potential and natural football sense. For instance, during the lifting test, they didn't look at how many times a candidate lifted without dropping the ball; but instead looked at the the style of lifting, whether the candidate had a natural soft relaxed touch with the ball. In the 50 meter dashes, they didn't look at just overall speed, but also evaluated running form. They had speed-reading machines at 10 meter intervals so they could see what the increment by increment speeds were, whether the candidate decelerated considerably in the final 10 meters, what the acceleration was like, and so on. And of course the kids played a game at the end, and evaluators looked at how well the candidates could express their strengths, intelligence and style during an actual game situation.
This is really exciting stuff, and could make a huge difference on the future if done properly. Things won't go perfectly smoothly, that's a given, but if something valuable can be gained in the process for the kids as well as the Academy people, it will be worth it.
I mentioned the Hide Nakata goal during the downpour game against Australia at Yokohama stadium in >>this entry.
I found a video clip of that scene, so if any of you feel nostalgic, you're welcome to >>Click here to watch clip. This clip probably won't stay up for very long, so if you happen on this entry later on this year and want to watch it, just contact me.
I found a video clip of that scene, so if any of you feel nostalgic, you're welcome to >>Click here to watch clip. This clip probably won't stay up for very long, so if you happen on this entry later on this year and want to watch it, just contact me.
Gamba's Tsune Miyamoto received an offer from newly promoted Serie A club Treviso on the 26th, but the following day it was announced that Miyamoto was going to decline. The club are saying they will keep channels open for after the season. Miyamoto made his decision based on the timing, with Gamba having a great chance to get a championship this year, plus the NT preparing for the World Cup, it would be too much of a risk to throw all that aside and attempt something in Italy. And even if he had wanted to go, Gamba would have put their foot down.
I mentioned this before, but Treviso have also been interested in acquiring FC Tokyo's rightwing Nao Ishikawa. The Serie A club has one opening for a non-European player, and I guess they have been sniffing around to see who they can get from Japan. For a small team like them, the prospect of getting a popular Japanese player is appetizing. Even with the move of Sota Hirayama to Eredivisie's tiny club Heracles, the club has been basking/raving in the amount of attention this one Japanese player has attracted. And Hirayama is not a fraction the kind of star that Miyamoto or Ishikawa are in the Japanese football world. These two are very very very popular.
Ishikawa actually started taking Spanish lessons this spring, with an eye to getting some sort of offer from one of the Liga clubs. I'm not sure if a proper offer was made, or whether it was only an inquiry, but it is good motivation for J-league players who sometimes lose their way, their momentum, during the season (especially Ishikawa, whose club is in a big rut right now). And the more offers/inquiries they get, the better, as the experience itself is valuable for future guidance.
I mentioned this before, but Treviso have also been interested in acquiring FC Tokyo's rightwing Nao Ishikawa. The Serie A club has one opening for a non-European player, and I guess they have been sniffing around to see who they can get from Japan. For a small team like them, the prospect of getting a popular Japanese player is appetizing. Even with the move of Sota Hirayama to Eredivisie's tiny club Heracles, the club has been basking/raving in the amount of attention this one Japanese player has attracted. And Hirayama is not a fraction the kind of star that Miyamoto or Ishikawa are in the Japanese football world. These two are very very very popular.
Ishikawa actually started taking Spanish lessons this spring, with an eye to getting some sort of offer from one of the Liga clubs. I'm not sure if a proper offer was made, or whether it was only an inquiry, but it is good motivation for J-league players who sometimes lose their way, their momentum, during the season (especially Ishikawa, whose club is in a big rut right now). And the more offers/inquiries they get, the better, as the experience itself is valuable for future guidance.
Zico spent the last ten days in Brazil overseeing a Youth Friendly Cup competition between Japan and Brazil teams, but is expected back today. This friendly Cup included teams like CFZ Rio, Vasco, Guarani, Flamengo, America, Corinthians, Atletico Mineiro, Botafogoo, and Japanese teams like a J-league selection team, Kashima Antlers, and Kashima Norte. Both Kashima teams lost, against Flamengo and Fluminese, but the J-league selection team tied against Botafogo. >>Click to see some photos from Zico's blog
Zico will be heading to Miyagi to make the roster announcement ahead of the Honduras friendly on Sept 7.
If you live in Japan, want to watch an NT match, and are near enough (or willing enough) to trek over to the Miyagi Stadium, tickets are still available. This past week, JFA have been fretting over anemic ticket sales. Part of the problem could be that with the qualifiers over, people's gung-ho energy is a little low. Plus, with an opponent like Honduras, there is some ambivalence.
Of course, this was all before it was made public through some sports rag leaks (intentional or not, I can't say) that a number of European players are getting a heads-up regarding a possible call-up. We've heard that Nakamura's Celtic have already arranged a ticket for him to fly back to Japan after today's league game. And Takahara and Yanagisawa have gotten faxes saying they may be called, so get ready. Hide Nakata, I'm not so sure about, since he is not at full fitness and hasn't made it to the starting roster for Bolton yet, being brand new there. And Inamoto is just beginning to play for West Brom. Koji Nakata has also just begun to get a number of starts, so he may not get called to the NT either. But it may be the players themselves who desire most to get called-up, even for this one game. continues...
Zico will be heading to Miyagi to make the roster announcement ahead of the Honduras friendly on Sept 7.
If you live in Japan, want to watch an NT match, and are near enough (or willing enough) to trek over to the Miyagi Stadium, tickets are still available. This past week, JFA have been fretting over anemic ticket sales. Part of the problem could be that with the qualifiers over, people's gung-ho energy is a little low. Plus, with an opponent like Honduras, there is some ambivalence.
Of course, this was all before it was made public through some sports rag leaks (intentional or not, I can't say) that a number of European players are getting a heads-up regarding a possible call-up. We've heard that Nakamura's Celtic have already arranged a ticket for him to fly back to Japan after today's league game. And Takahara and Yanagisawa have gotten faxes saying they may be called, so get ready. Hide Nakata, I'm not so sure about, since he is not at full fitness and hasn't made it to the starting roster for Bolton yet, being brand new there. And Inamoto is just beginning to play for West Brom. Koji Nakata has also just begun to get a number of starts, so he may not get called to the NT either. But it may be the players themselves who desire most to get called-up, even for this one game. continues...
The Nakamura - Celtic Effect
Shunsuke Nakamura's move to Celtic has been providing us with a number of firsts. The most appealing news is that Celtic may allow Shunsuke to leave Scotland on the 29th after their game with Dunfermline today, which means he will arrive in Japan eight days before the National team friendly against Honduras on Sept 7. Unheard-of, during his time at Reggina, where the club was always struggling and fought to keep Shun as long as possible so that he could contribute to the club. Of course, the roster announcement has not been made yet, but I know Zico truly wants to call up as many of the European players as possible -- he did say that it would depend on the players and their situation at their clubs, and we've heard that Dai Matsui or Yoshito Okubo won't be getting the call-up until the NT tour of East Europe (games scheduled in the beginning of Oct, against Latvia and the Ukraine). However, we did hear that Takahara's Hamburg and Yanagisawa's Messina did get a fax saying that these players may get a call-up. continues...
Shunsuke Nakamura's move to Celtic has been providing us with a number of firsts. The most appealing news is that Celtic may allow Shunsuke to leave Scotland on the 29th after their game with Dunfermline today, which means he will arrive in Japan eight days before the National team friendly against Honduras on Sept 7. Unheard-of, during his time at Reggina, where the club was always struggling and fought to keep Shun as long as possible so that he could contribute to the club. Of course, the roster announcement has not been made yet, but I know Zico truly wants to call up as many of the European players as possible -- he did say that it would depend on the players and their situation at their clubs, and we've heard that Dai Matsui or Yoshito Okubo won't be getting the call-up until the NT tour of East Europe (games scheduled in the beginning of Oct, against Latvia and the Ukraine). However, we did hear that Takahara's Hamburg and Yanagisawa's Messina did get a fax saying that these players may get a call-up. continues...Some discussion on the rest of Round 20 J1 games, with a sprinkle of news and gossip thrown in.
Vissel Kobe 2-2 Urawa Reds
This was a see-saw game, with one team catching up to each other, ending with a respectable (??) 2-2 draw. For Urawa, it did not help their campaign for a league title, but they did find a gem in new play-maker Ponte. The thing with Ponte is that because he can keep and pass the ball well, it sets up the team for a possession style. And Reds are more known for their speed and go-go spirit towards the goal. This of course turned out to be ineffective when ex-Urawa forward Emerson lost his groove thang and then disappeared from our midst altogether. And since then Urawa have been playing a more possession style game -- though I'm not sure whether fans of the team will be as satisfied with a slowed-down offense, I don't think they'll complain if Reds shows results. Consistently. But then again Tatsuya Tanaka is still out; when he returns from his back injury he will add that blast of spice in the speed department. It would be optimal if Urawa can use both slow and fast to their advantage. continues...
Vissel Kobe 2-2 Urawa Reds
This was a see-saw game, with one team catching up to each other, ending with a respectable (??) 2-2 draw. For Urawa, it did not help their campaign for a league title, but they did find a gem in new play-maker Ponte. The thing with Ponte is that because he can keep and pass the ball well, it sets up the team for a possession style. And Reds are more known for their speed and go-go spirit towards the goal. This of course turned out to be ineffective when ex-Urawa forward Emerson lost his groove thang and then disappeared from our midst altogether. And since then Urawa have been playing a more possession style game -- though I'm not sure whether fans of the team will be as satisfied with a slowed-down offense, I don't think they'll complain if Reds shows results. Consistently. But then again Tatsuya Tanaka is still out; when he returns from his back injury he will add that blast of spice in the speed department. It would be optimal if Urawa can use both slow and fast to their advantage. continues...
Kashima Antlers 7-2 Albirex Niigata
Albirex have had consistency problems this year (usually unable to perform away as well as they do at home), but this was their big chance to take a bite out of Kashima and pull the tides of change their way. Before the match, the general feeling was that Kashima was in danger. After an undeniably powerful first half of the season, they started to stagger as we headed into the middle. And with Gamba and Sanfrecce closing in on their heels (and with that bad-timing loss to Sanfrecce last weekend), this was the big chance the other teams needed to close the gap and make the leaders sweat. What the Antlers supporters most feared was the back line falling apart. In the last game against Hiroshima, the two centerbacks were redcarded. It's more or less doable if you lose one of the centerbacks, but both at once is quite difficult, especially if you only have three days to make the changes between games. continues...
Albirex have had consistency problems this year (usually unable to perform away as well as they do at home), but this was their big chance to take a bite out of Kashima and pull the tides of change their way. Before the match, the general feeling was that Kashima was in danger. After an undeniably powerful first half of the season, they started to stagger as we headed into the middle. And with Gamba and Sanfrecce closing in on their heels (and with that bad-timing loss to Sanfrecce last weekend), this was the big chance the other teams needed to close the gap and make the leaders sweat. What the Antlers supporters most feared was the back line falling apart. In the last game against Hiroshima, the two centerbacks were redcarded. It's more or less doable if you lose one of the centerbacks, but both at once is quite difficult, especially if you only have three days to make the changes between games. continues...
Celtic FC's website announced they are receiving questions from fans for Shunsuke Nakamura. Here are the details:
The Japanese internationalist has agreed to answer your questions in the Celtic View and on the Celtic website.
If there’s anything you’d like to ask Nakamura, then e-mail your questions to tictalk@celticfc.co.uk, making sure you mark ‘Nakamura Question’ in the subject field. Or you can post your questions to Nakamura Questions, Celtic View, PO Box 2413, Glasgow G40 3RE.
Sorry everyone, I haven't been able to post new entries as frequently this week. Just a lot of work to do. Will pick up the pace again in a couple days!
I'm really sorry, this is one of those things that gets categorized under "impossible to translate", but I thought it was too hilarious to not at least introduce on the blog.
>>Click to download video
In Japan, more and more football fans who watch the NT games are starting to ridicule the network tv announcers' performances during matches. Networks are less concerned with the actual content of what the commentators say with regard to accuracy and informative/illuminating content. This really and truly pisses the true football watchers off. Not only is it irritating to listen to the commentators misidentify players or getting so excited anytime the ball gets near either goals that all we hear is a mumbo jumbo of garbled names and words screamed, but it's not enriching our viewing experience by listening to them either. It may be all very well to grab the interest of those who don't normally watch football (for the networks the numbers are the most important), but it also propagates the lack of understanding of football in the country.
As an alternative, most football people watch the NT games on NHK broadcasts when it is available. NHK is like the BBC (if you are in the UK) or PBS (if you are in the US), a public channel that is more straight-laced. Their commentary is very professional though often lacking in panache. But most of all the commentator tells us stuff that we can't see because of the limitations of the tv screen (the areas of the pitch that are cut off from our screens). They also study a lot harder to get all the names straight and scatter bits of good info throughout, and don't scream into the mikes everytime something remotely exciting happens.
The people at Goalura.com blog were so fed up by the Asahi tv football announcer who's been responsible for the qualifiers, and after the hilariously pathetic performance by this announcer (Kakuzawa) in the Iran/Japan game last week, they put together a video (produced in a mocking but playful style) of all the annoying and unbelievably wrong commentary scenes, along with subtitles (so you can catch what is being said). The clip only covers the first half, as the creators said they got so fed up that they couldn't wade through his commentary for the last 45 mins.
He repeats the same factoids over and over for lack of any fresh angle on things, and often just simply repeats what the other commentator interjects (in Japan they always have two or three commentators; one is supposed to be the serious play-by-play man and the other is often an ex-footballer who now works in the industry and provides extra insight and color so there's a conversational tone to the commentary). He also has the bad habit of not finishing his phrases. For instance, he'll say: "Nakazawa jumps high...." or "For Japan, Daei has continued to be..." and then that's it, because he's so distracted by what's going on that he forgets he's even started a sentence. Obviously he comes without studying up, and also cannot maintain a professional demeanor while watching. It may be too much to ask, since Kakuzawa doesn't normally do football commentary anyway, so the question is why did the network give him the gig?
The video includes the same footage (of the Tamada→Kaji goal) taken from the NHK broadcast so you can compare the two and see how different the level of professionalism is.
Unfortunately, if you don't understand Japanese this video will probably be meaningless for you, but for those of you who do understand some Japanese I highly recommend it as a fun way to start your Monday with a good chuckle.
>>Click to download video
In Japan, more and more football fans who watch the NT games are starting to ridicule the network tv announcers' performances during matches. Networks are less concerned with the actual content of what the commentators say with regard to accuracy and informative/illuminating content. This really and truly pisses the true football watchers off. Not only is it irritating to listen to the commentators misidentify players or getting so excited anytime the ball gets near either goals that all we hear is a mumbo jumbo of garbled names and words screamed, but it's not enriching our viewing experience by listening to them either. It may be all very well to grab the interest of those who don't normally watch football (for the networks the numbers are the most important), but it also propagates the lack of understanding of football in the country.
As an alternative, most football people watch the NT games on NHK broadcasts when it is available. NHK is like the BBC (if you are in the UK) or PBS (if you are in the US), a public channel that is more straight-laced. Their commentary is very professional though often lacking in panache. But most of all the commentator tells us stuff that we can't see because of the limitations of the tv screen (the areas of the pitch that are cut off from our screens). They also study a lot harder to get all the names straight and scatter bits of good info throughout, and don't scream into the mikes everytime something remotely exciting happens.
The people at Goalura.com blog were so fed up by the Asahi tv football announcer who's been responsible for the qualifiers, and after the hilariously pathetic performance by this announcer (Kakuzawa) in the Iran/Japan game last week, they put together a video (produced in a mocking but playful style) of all the annoying and unbelievably wrong commentary scenes, along with subtitles (so you can catch what is being said). The clip only covers the first half, as the creators said they got so fed up that they couldn't wade through his commentary for the last 45 mins.
He repeats the same factoids over and over for lack of any fresh angle on things, and often just simply repeats what the other commentator interjects (in Japan they always have two or three commentators; one is supposed to be the serious play-by-play man and the other is often an ex-footballer who now works in the industry and provides extra insight and color so there's a conversational tone to the commentary). He also has the bad habit of not finishing his phrases. For instance, he'll say: "Nakazawa jumps high...." or "For Japan, Daei has continued to be..." and then that's it, because he's so distracted by what's going on that he forgets he's even started a sentence. Obviously he comes without studying up, and also cannot maintain a professional demeanor while watching. It may be too much to ask, since Kakuzawa doesn't normally do football commentary anyway, so the question is why did the network give him the gig?
The video includes the same footage (of the Tamada→Kaji goal) taken from the NHK broadcast so you can compare the two and see how different the level of professionalism is.
Unfortunately, if you don't understand Japanese this video will probably be meaningless for you, but for those of you who do understand some Japanese I highly recommend it as a fun way to start your Monday with a good chuckle.
For those of you curious about what I meant when I talked about the Nakata Bolton press conference where he spoke only English >>Click for the previous entry about this:
..here is a >>Video clip of the press conference you can download.
The download was provided by >>Soccer Underground blog.
..here is a >>Video clip of the press conference you can download.
The download was provided by >>Soccer Underground blog.
If you want to see the two Sota Hirayama goals, download from the two links below.
>>Hirayama goal 1
>>Hirayama goal 2
Since Hirayama went straight from university to the Netherlands, this is also his first two goals as a pro footballer in his debut game as a pro footballer.
>>Hirayama goal 1
>>Hirayama goal 2
Since Hirayama went straight from university to the Netherlands, this is also his first two goals as a pro footballer in his debut game as a pro footballer.
For those of you who had difficulty seeing the video clips I posted links to earlier >>Click for the previous video clip entry, here are much cleaner footage of all three goals from this game.
>> Kaji's goal 1-0
>> Oguro header for Mirzapour own goal 2-0
>> Daei's penalty kick 2-1
>> Kaji's goal 1-0
>> Oguro header for Mirzapour own goal 2-0
>> Daei's penalty kick 2-1
Kashima Antlers 1-2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Ouch, a really bad way to lose for the current frontrunners. I had a bad feeling going into this game, as Alex Mineiro and Mitsuo Ogasawara were both missing from the starting eleven. Mineiro because he was just returning from injury (the forwards who started were Suzuki and Nozawa).
And Ogasawara had taken himself out of the game because of the problems he's had with the club regarding his transfer opportunity. Ogasawara had gotten an offer from Serie A's Lecce, but Kashima were quite quick and emphatic with their "no" response. Ogasawara objected, and things have been getting weird ever since. The story is that Kashima had said to Ogasawara from months and months ago that if he were to get an offer they would look into it and discuss it; however when the time came, they did not make enough of an effort to study the offer, at least not to the satisfaction of Ogasawara. continues
Ouch, a really bad way to lose for the current frontrunners. I had a bad feeling going into this game, as Alex Mineiro and Mitsuo Ogasawara were both missing from the starting eleven. Mineiro because he was just returning from injury (the forwards who started were Suzuki and Nozawa).
And Ogasawara had taken himself out of the game because of the problems he's had with the club regarding his transfer opportunity. Ogasawara had gotten an offer from Serie A's Lecce, but Kashima were quite quick and emphatic with their "no" response. Ogasawara objected, and things have been getting weird ever since. The story is that Kashima had said to Ogasawara from months and months ago that if he were to get an offer they would look into it and discuss it; however when the time came, they did not make enough of an effort to study the offer, at least not to the satisfaction of Ogasawara. continues
Just wanted to post this entry to remind myself to complete my entry on the Round 19 games. Some verrry interesting developments, gossip, new players and results. I will try and get it done some time tonight.
A couple things happened this past week that made me want to revisit this idea of "lost in translation" on the blog. First, there was a small murmur of reaction when Zico spoke probably his first public full sentence of Japanese in the post-Iran-Game speech (「選手、スタッフ、メディア、サポータ、どうもありがとうございました。」→"Players, staff, media, and supporters, thank you all very much"). Second, the domestic media made a big deal of Hide Nakata's Bolton transfer press conference when he conducted the whole thing in English only. continues
A quick look at some of the news coming in from Japanese players in Europe. I've included a couple links to some small video clips too.
Le Mans 0-0 Ajaccio
From what I hear, it was a game where Ajaccio were able to maintain full focus throughout the game (esp defense), put pressure on Le Mans. Ajaccio are one of the teams that battle the relegation threat each year, so they don't play a "pretty" game but certainly are used to sweating out the tough ones. Daisuke Matsui started, and along with a number of good passers, was subbed out fairly early in the second half, and Le Mans did not have the ability to build plays.
I did find one short video clip of a Matsui volley shot >>Click or Right-Click/download clip here.
Rangers 3-1 Celtic continues
Le Mans 0-0 Ajaccio
From what I hear, it was a game where Ajaccio were able to maintain full focus throughout the game (esp defense), put pressure on Le Mans. Ajaccio are one of the teams that battle the relegation threat each year, so they don't play a "pretty" game but certainly are used to sweating out the tough ones. Daisuke Matsui started, and along with a number of good passers, was subbed out fairly early in the second half, and Le Mans did not have the ability to build plays.
I did find one short video clip of a Matsui volley shot >>Click or Right-Click/download clip here.
Rangers 3-1 Celtic continues
For those of you who didn't get to see highlights from the Japan v Iran game, here is a video clip courtesy of irankicks football forum.
>>Right-click and download video here
or you can download a huge file of the game >>Click here .
>>Right-click and download video here
or you can download a huge file of the game >>Click here .
(click photos to enlarge) Left: The Japan team makes the rounds of the stadium after the Iran game, thanking the crowds for their support during the entire qualifying process. Right: A nice photo of Team Melli during training this past weekend.
Thoughts about the game.
Japan's good points: The team, after the lackluster performance in the NK game during the EAFF Cup, did come back with a better attitude. From the get-go, they made a total effort to put pressure on the opponents, and their interceptions and checking forced the Iran side to pass around without much threatening moves forward. The defense line, which usually maintains a lower position than most supporters would like to see, became a little more bold this game and maintained a high line. continues
>>Right-Click and Download for video clip
Someone was kind enough to put up last week's Nihon tv programme Urugusu's segment on Celtic and Nakamura. Even if you don't understand Japanese you can get an idea of what is being said, but unfortunately they voice over all the English comments with Japanese. If you want to know what they are saying or what's going on in a specific portion of the clip, just leave a comment on this entry! :)
It's a silly fun segment, so no real meaty content but you get to see some off-pitch footage which is nice.
Someone was kind enough to put up last week's Nihon tv programme Urugusu's segment on Celtic and Nakamura. Even if you don't understand Japanese you can get an idea of what is being said, but unfortunately they voice over all the English comments with Japanese. If you want to know what they are saying or what's going on in a specific portion of the clip, just leave a comment on this entry! :)
It's a silly fun segment, so no real meaty content but you get to see some off-pitch footage which is nice.
Regardless of the fact that both Iran and Japan have both qualified, it certainly is a MUCH better feeling to finish on top of the table. It made the post-game Thank-the-supporters-and-make-a-pledge-of-preparation-for-Germany speeches a more festive event...imagine what the atmosphere would have been like if we had lost..
For those of you who are wondering what that free goody that people got at the stadium was >>Check out the photos on this blog. The gift was a blue ticket-carrying-case signed by Zico and a thank you note penned by JFA Chairman Kawabuchi (on a blue card). The blog link also shows photos taken at the stadium.
>>Click for photos from the game
I will post an entry about the game some time tonight. It was a much better performance from the guys who sleepwalked through that game against NK at EAFF Cup. Overall a more solid if not terribly creative showing.
By the way, did you hear NK beat Bahrain 3-2 in their encounter last night? This is the "new" NK team, with a new manager and a majority of new players. Could be a reflection of differences in motivation (NK is just getting their engines started with a good performance in the EAFF and Bahrain is less than revved to play a meaningless match against NK...though you could argue it should be taken seriously as Bahrain are to proceed to play-offs against Uzbekistan for the remaining .5 slot). I haven't seen the game so I can't say. Uzbekistan were fighting Kuwait for that play-off opportunity, and I hear they came back from being two goals behind for a 3-2 finish.
And South Korea weren't able to come through on their final game against Saudi. Saudi won 1-0. I understand Bonfrere called back Ahn from France, quite surprising considering it's a difficult time to call up the European players now. And a double-yellow=red for a Korea player means he won't be able to play in the first World Cup game.
For those of you who are wondering what that free goody that people got at the stadium was >>Check out the photos on this blog. The gift was a blue ticket-carrying-case signed by Zico and a thank you note penned by JFA Chairman Kawabuchi (on a blue card). The blog link also shows photos taken at the stadium.
>>Click for photos from the game
I will post an entry about the game some time tonight. It was a much better performance from the guys who sleepwalked through that game against NK at EAFF Cup. Overall a more solid if not terribly creative showing.
By the way, did you hear NK beat Bahrain 3-2 in their encounter last night? This is the "new" NK team, with a new manager and a majority of new players. Could be a reflection of differences in motivation (NK is just getting their engines started with a good performance in the EAFF and Bahrain is less than revved to play a meaningless match against NK...though you could argue it should be taken seriously as Bahrain are to proceed to play-offs against Uzbekistan for the remaining .5 slot). I haven't seen the game so I can't say. Uzbekistan were fighting Kuwait for that play-off opportunity, and I hear they came back from being two goals behind for a 3-2 finish.
And South Korea weren't able to come through on their final game against Saudi. Saudi won 1-0. I understand Bonfrere called back Ahn from France, quite surprising considering it's a difficult time to call up the European players now. And a double-yellow=red for a Korea player means he won't be able to play in the first World Cup game.
...wailing and grumbling and cheering and praying... and we read the final chapter at Yokohama Nissan Stadium.
February 18, 2004, was that fateful day that started this whole roller-coaster ride we call the World Cup qualifiers. Having been able to skip the last qualification process in lieu of hosting the 2002 WC, Japan in general had started off underestimating the scope of problems (new and old) that would pop up in the following eighteen months. Even that first game was quite a shock for most people -- no one knew anything about Oman, assumed they wouldn't be all that difficult to beat especially with our "best" guys starting (ie. 5 European-based players).
February 18, 2004, was that fateful day that started this whole roller-coaster ride we call the World Cup qualifiers. Having been able to skip the last qualification process in lieu of hosting the 2002 WC, Japan in general had started off underestimating the scope of problems (new and old) that would pop up in the following eighteen months. Even that first game was quite a shock for most people -- no one knew anything about Oman, assumed they wouldn't be all that difficult to beat especially with our "best" guys starting (ie. 5 European-based players).
J's Goal was kind enough to post video digest clips from the Nabisco Quarterfinals.
2nd Leg
Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 1st half
Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 2nd half
Yokohama F Marinos vs Omiya Ardija 1st half
Yokohama F Marinos vs Omiya Ardija 2nd half
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 1st half
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 2nd half
Jubilo Iwata vs Jef Chiba 1st half
Jubilo Iwata vs Jef Chiba 2nd half
1st Leg
Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 1st half
Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 2nd half
Yokohama F Marinos vs Omiya Ardija 1st half
Yokohama F Marinos vs Omiya Ardija 2nd half
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 1st half
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 2nd half
Jubilo Iwata vs Jef Chiba 1st half
Jubilo Iwata vs Jef Chiba 2nd half
To read my brief discussion of these Nabisco games, you can check out my entries >>Here, >>Here, and >>Here.
2nd Leg
Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 1st half
Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 2nd half
Yokohama F Marinos vs Omiya Ardija 1st half
Yokohama F Marinos vs Omiya Ardija 2nd half
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 1st half
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 2nd half
Jubilo Iwata vs Jef Chiba 1st half
Jubilo Iwata vs Jef Chiba 2nd half
1st Leg
Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 1st half
Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse 2nd half
Yokohama F Marinos vs Omiya Ardija 1st half
Yokohama F Marinos vs Omiya Ardija 2nd half
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 1st half
Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 2nd half
Jubilo Iwata vs Jef Chiba 1st half
Jubilo Iwata vs Jef Chiba 2nd half
To read my brief discussion of these Nabisco games, you can check out my entries >>Here, >>Here, and >>Here.
It was announced today that Urawa Reds' forward Tatsuya Tanaka and defender Keisuke Tsuboi will withdraw from the NT squad ahead of the Iran game on Wednesday night. Both incurred injuries during the East Asia Cup last week.
The Iran National team arrived in Japan on Saturday with a whopping entourage of about 70 people..! Inviting speculation among the media about whether many of the "extra" people were here just for a free ride and vacation in Japan. Usually a traveling squad includes about thirty-odd people total, so seventy is quite a large group. Anyway, we won't be seeing Karimi, Mahdavikia, or Hashemian, but the 23-man roster Iran manager Ivankovic called did include the veteran Daei and the new threat from Germany, Zandi, as well as Serie A defender Rezaei. The latter two players will join the team on Monday.
The Japan team will rendez-vous in Yokohama on Monday for two days of practice before this final remaining qualifier game. The biggest question is whether Zico will revert back to the usual suspects (the squad that started in last week's game against North Korea) or whether he will go with the "brand new" squad that started against China...OR, whether he will mix it up to some degree. And even more important, will the team be able to function as a "team" and get the result that Japan supporters demand?
A J's Goal poll >>Click to vote yourself asked people to choose their preferred line-up. The results so far look like this:
Poll Result: 3-5-2 system:
Oguro Maki
Ogasawara
Santos Kaji
Fukunishi Konno
Nakazawa Miyamoto M.Tanaka
Doi
Poll Result 4-4-2 system:
T.Tanaka(out) Maki
Motoyama Ogasawara
Konno Fukunishi
Santos Nakazawa Miyamoto Kaji
Most people want to see Maki out there as one of the forwards. Against a tall and power team like Iran, he may be useful. It was also interesting that people voted to replace dmf Endo (who is considered next in line for that position) with 22 year old Konno. Konno is probably better defensively than Endo on the whole, and may have the stamina to compete with an attacking Iran. The question is whether he and Fukunishi could balance each other well with no time to practice. Considering how much people were grumbling about Santos, it seems not enough voters shared the opinion -- they have given the left side position back to him over newcomer Murai. And I guess Doi's emphatic performance in the game against Korea last week was enough to make supporters want to see a little bit more of him in front of the Japan goal.
The Iran National team arrived in Japan on Saturday with a whopping entourage of about 70 people..! Inviting speculation among the media about whether many of the "extra" people were here just for a free ride and vacation in Japan. Usually a traveling squad includes about thirty-odd people total, so seventy is quite a large group. Anyway, we won't be seeing Karimi, Mahdavikia, or Hashemian, but the 23-man roster Iran manager Ivankovic called did include the veteran Daei and the new threat from Germany, Zandi, as well as Serie A defender Rezaei. The latter two players will join the team on Monday.
The Japan team will rendez-vous in Yokohama on Monday for two days of practice before this final remaining qualifier game. The biggest question is whether Zico will revert back to the usual suspects (the squad that started in last week's game against North Korea) or whether he will go with the "brand new" squad that started against China...OR, whether he will mix it up to some degree. And even more important, will the team be able to function as a "team" and get the result that Japan supporters demand?
A J's Goal poll >>Click to vote yourself asked people to choose their preferred line-up. The results so far look like this:
Poll Result: 3-5-2 system:
Oguro Maki
Ogasawara
Santos Kaji
Fukunishi Konno
Nakazawa Miyamoto M.Tanaka
Doi
Poll Result 4-4-2 system:
T.Tanaka(out) Maki
Motoyama Ogasawara
Konno Fukunishi
Santos Nakazawa Miyamoto Kaji
Most people want to see Maki out there as one of the forwards. Against a tall and power team like Iran, he may be useful. It was also interesting that people voted to replace dmf Endo (who is considered next in line for that position) with 22 year old Konno. Konno is probably better defensively than Endo on the whole, and may have the stamina to compete with an attacking Iran. The question is whether he and Fukunishi could balance each other well with no time to practice. Considering how much people were grumbling about Santos, it seems not enough voters shared the opinion -- they have given the left side position back to him over newcomer Murai. And I guess Doi's emphatic performance in the game against Korea last week was enough to make supporters want to see a little bit more of him in front of the Japan goal.
Marinos vs. Ardija
Yokohama F Marinos played their second leg of games against Omiya Ardija today to determine who would go on to the Semi-finals in the Nabisco this year. Marinos won the first game last week 1-0, so they had a little bit of an advantage. However, they found some problems in this second game. Though they ended up winning 3-1, Manager Okada was not entirely satisfied with the performance of his troops today. The game was tied at halftime, after Yokohama forward Sakata pulled through with the first goal and Omiya caught up with Nishimura's goal in the 29th minute. But this was not a great half time situation for the Marinos manager considering Omiya defender Okuno got red carded in the first 5 minutes of the game. "The game content is difficult to applaud. We got the first goal, but with the opponent down one man, suddenly our players had forgotten what their duties were. Our centerback (I'm assuming he's talking about defender Matsuda, who scored the second goal today) was all the way up near the opponent goal, players who should be in the position of receiving passes were becoming passers themselves. Everyone was playing a 'me, me' game. This is the one thing that is just not acceptable. In the second half, we adjusted and it was okay. But there were too many easy mistakes. Our forward Kubo (who is having trouble coming back from a long absence with injury) started for the first time in 1 year and 4 months. He seemed worried before the game, but I told him that if he was bad it was the manager's fault, and sent him onto the pitch without that responsibility. I think he played as he has been performing during practice, and he did well for the 45 minutes he was on." Omiya were far from their best today, with Brazilian forward Christian having returned temporarily to Brazil this week. And defender Toninho and Aratani are out to injury. On top of that, they had to play with only 10 men for practically the entire game, so I can imagine it screwed up the plan Manager Miura had in mind for this game. Yokohama F Marinos will play Gamba Osaka in the Semis.
Reds vs. S-Pulse
Urawa Reds beat Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0, the same score they got in last week's game. Shimizu's Korean forward Cho got his second yellow of the game at 32 minutes, so S-Pulse were down one man for the m
Yokohama F Marinos played their second leg of games against Omiya Ardija today to determine who would go on to the Semi-finals in the Nabisco this year. Marinos won the first game last week 1-0, so they had a little bit of an advantage. However, they found some problems in this second game. Though they ended up winning 3-1, Manager Okada was not entirely satisfied with the performance of his troops today. The game was tied at halftime, after Yokohama forward Sakata pulled through with the first goal and Omiya caught up with Nishimura's goal in the 29th minute. But this was not a great half time situation for the Marinos manager considering Omiya defender Okuno got red carded in the first 5 minutes of the game. "The game content is difficult to applaud. We got the first goal, but with the opponent down one man, suddenly our players had forgotten what their duties were. Our centerback (I'm assuming he's talking about defender Matsuda, who scored the second goal today) was all the way up near the opponent goal, players who should be in the position of receiving passes were becoming passers themselves. Everyone was playing a 'me, me' game. This is the one thing that is just not acceptable. In the second half, we adjusted and it was okay. But there were too many easy mistakes. Our forward Kubo (who is having trouble coming back from a long absence with injury) started for the first time in 1 year and 4 months. He seemed worried before the game, but I told him that if he was bad it was the manager's fault, and sent him onto the pitch without that responsibility. I think he played as he has been performing during practice, and he did well for the 45 minutes he was on." Omiya were far from their best today, with Brazilian forward Christian having returned temporarily to Brazil this week. And defender Toninho and Aratani are out to injury. On top of that, they had to play with only 10 men for practically the entire game, so I can imagine it screwed up the plan Manager Miura had in mind for this game. Yokohama F Marinos will play Gamba Osaka in the Semis.
Reds vs. S-Pulse
Urawa Reds beat Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0, the same score they got in last week's game. Shimizu's Korean forward Cho got his second yellow of the game at 32 minutes, so S-Pulse were down one man for the m