Week's Update of some of the Europe-based Players:
Shunsuke Nakamura
You've all probably heard/read/seen by now, Shunsuke Nakamura's debut was a promising one. Though he was not near his 100% fitness, he showed that at least he was motivated to make his mark on the team. He had said earlier that the key to securing a place in such a competitive club like Celtic was to put in a convincing performance in the debut game. I don't have access to the games, but was able to see a highlights digest on the sports news last night. continues
Shunsuke Nakamura
You've all probably heard/read/seen by now, Shunsuke Nakamura's debut was a promising one. Though he was not near his 100% fitness, he showed that at least he was motivated to make his mark on the team. He had said earlier that the key to securing a place in such a competitive club like Celtic was to put in a convincing performance in the debut game. I don't have access to the games, but was able to see a highlights digest on the sports news last night. continues
Hooo. It is too darn hot to do anything today....
I still don't have access to these Nabisco Cup Games, so I can only report on the results, but it looks like the favorites got the upper hand in the bid to get through to the semi-finals:
Gamba Osaka 3-0 Cerezo Osaka: Though Cerezo made a great effort in the first league matchup with Gamba, these last two Osaka Derbies have been rather unconvincing. When Cerezo are "on", they are really scary, but as Manager Kobayashi said after this game, "we weren't able to switch from offense to defense fast enough. We have to figure out how to delay the speed of Gamba when they regain possession." On the other hand, Gamba could get a little cocky, having won the last two encounters with Cerezo -- this could be dangerous, as these guys tend to give up almost as many goals as they get! Even with the 3-0 advantage going into the second leg, I still think anything can happen here. It will be up to Cerezo to come up with a good plan, frustrate Gamba for the first half, and put on the pressure by getting the first goal.
Shimizu S-Pulse 0-1 Urawa Reds: Urawa used young forwards, 16 year old Escudero and 20 year old Yokoyama. Hasebe continued his recent "promotion" as offensive midfield, and scored Reds' only goal. When asked about the two forwards, he stated "They move the ball simply and listen well to my requests, so it was very easy working with them." Could it be this team is finally getting a true leader? Hasebe likes to get hot under the collar during games, but it would be a big plus for the team if he can use that passion to bring the team more cohesion and wisdom.
Jef Chiba 3-2 Jubilo Iwata: As usual, Jef Manager Osim gave a juicy post-game press conference with the usual share of philosophising. He noted that for the sake of excitement, the 1 goal differential would leave things up in t he air for the second leg, which is good for all fans. The heat takes a toll on teams like Jef, where their style consists of lots of running and fast direct plays. With tall forward Maki gone to the NT, Osim said that their team could not rely on aerial attacks; instead they were forced to play using passing, running, and combinations. Jubilo played a more efficient game, targeting loose balls and focusing on scoring through set-pieces. Osim noted the heat, joking that "I wouldn't be suprised if the ref had wanted to stop the game and have the players run in for a shower." As for the goals Jef allowed, off Jubilo's use of height, he said "The types of goals we allowed are not unfamliliar features to this team. It is a scar on the team, and we repeat the mistake over and over. Without this weakness, we wouldn't be Chiba." As he exited the conference, he noted the lack of questions, saying "Usually when I get such few questions, it means it was either a really good game or a really bad one.."
Omiya Ardija 0-1 Yokohama F Marinos: Defender Kurihara, who has been having trouble with motivation while he's been off the starting lineup for Marinos, got a few strict words from Managaer Okada. Okada said after the game, "He has the talent, but his concentration and positioning still leaves me concerned. For his future growth, he will need to learn to not get discouraged every time he doesn't make it to the roster. He was good on his return in the Barcelona game, which is why I used him today, but in the context of the 90 mins, he lost focus 3 or 4 times. The play where he gave away a free kick to the opponent, in a dangerous area, was unacceptable. For defenders, even if they are 99% good, that 1% difference can break everything." In his comments about Sakata, who got subbed out, Okada said that it just "wasn't his day". Woo-hoo, way to use the English, and quite properly too...! ;)
Next weekend, they will play the second leg to determine who goes through to the semi-finals.
I still don't have access to these Nabisco Cup Games, so I can only report on the results, but it looks like the favorites got the upper hand in the bid to get through to the semi-finals:
Gamba Osaka 3-0 Cerezo Osaka: Though Cerezo made a great effort in the first league matchup with Gamba, these last two Osaka Derbies have been rather unconvincing. When Cerezo are "on", they are really scary, but as Manager Kobayashi said after this game, "we weren't able to switch from offense to defense fast enough. We have to figure out how to delay the speed of Gamba when they regain possession." On the other hand, Gamba could get a little cocky, having won the last two encounters with Cerezo -- this could be dangerous, as these guys tend to give up almost as many goals as they get! Even with the 3-0 advantage going into the second leg, I still think anything can happen here. It will be up to Cerezo to come up with a good plan, frustrate Gamba for the first half, and put on the pressure by getting the first goal.
Shimizu S-Pulse 0-1 Urawa Reds: Urawa used young forwards, 16 year old Escudero and 20 year old Yokoyama. Hasebe continued his recent "promotion" as offensive midfield, and scored Reds' only goal. When asked about the two forwards, he stated "They move the ball simply and listen well to my requests, so it was very easy working with them." Could it be this team is finally getting a true leader? Hasebe likes to get hot under the collar during games, but it would be a big plus for the team if he can use that passion to bring the team more cohesion and wisdom.
Jef Chiba 3-2 Jubilo Iwata: As usual, Jef Manager Osim gave a juicy post-game press conference with the usual share of philosophising. He noted that for the sake of excitement, the 1 goal differential would leave things up in t he air for the second leg, which is good for all fans. The heat takes a toll on teams like Jef, where their style consists of lots of running and fast direct plays. With tall forward Maki gone to the NT, Osim said that their team could not rely on aerial attacks; instead they were forced to play using passing, running, and combinations. Jubilo played a more efficient game, targeting loose balls and focusing on scoring through set-pieces. Osim noted the heat, joking that "I wouldn't be suprised if the ref had wanted to stop the game and have the players run in for a shower." As for the goals Jef allowed, off Jubilo's use of height, he said "The types of goals we allowed are not unfamliliar features to this team. It is a scar on the team, and we repeat the mistake over and over. Without this weakness, we wouldn't be Chiba." As he exited the conference, he noted the lack of questions, saying "Usually when I get such few questions, it means it was either a really good game or a really bad one.."
Omiya Ardija 0-1 Yokohama F Marinos: Defender Kurihara, who has been having trouble with motivation while he's been off the starting lineup for Marinos, got a few strict words from Managaer Okada. Okada said after the game, "He has the talent, but his concentration and positioning still leaves me concerned. For his future growth, he will need to learn to not get discouraged every time he doesn't make it to the roster. He was good on his return in the Barcelona game, which is why I used him today, but in the context of the 90 mins, he lost focus 3 or 4 times. The play where he gave away a free kick to the opponent, in a dangerous area, was unacceptable. For defenders, even if they are 99% good, that 1% difference can break everything." In his comments about Sakata, who got subbed out, Okada said that it just "wasn't his day". Woo-hoo, way to use the English, and quite properly too...! ;)
Next weekend, they will play the second leg to determine who goes through to the semi-finals.
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