Just a note to say this will be my last post of 2005.
I will return on the 2nd, and will have the Emperor's Cup Final (Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse) report. As well as anything else that comes up.
One of my favorite aspects of the Japanese New Year is the ringing of the temple bell, called Joya no Kane. The ringing is started at midnight. Ringing the bell at a temple on New Year's Eve is a Buddhist tradition. Bells are rung 108 times in that according to Buddhism it is said that man has 108 troublesome desires, and by hearing the bells toll 108 times people can cleanse themselves of such desires at the end of the year. Instead of screaming and making loud noise, the typical Japanese New Year's is more hushed and characterized by the deep bong bong bong of the temple bell as it is slowly rung.
>>Click to hear what the bell sounds like
Of course, being the "Land of the Rising Sun", getting a glimpse of the First Dawn is also a beautiful way to start the year.
If you are a kid, you also luck out by receiving little decorated envelopes of cash called otoshidama. Depending on how old you are, and how generous the people giving the envelopes to you are, the amount is up to the giver (the best givers are of course grandparents)... and can vary greatly. As a child it was quite the thing to look forward to and a great motivator of visiting older relatives. Of course, now as an adult I am in the position of having to give them out!
This e-greeting card (has sound) shows an illustration of what traditional Japanese New Year's food looks like. Customarily, you cook everything ahead of time and place them in numerous lacquered boxes, and have the food available throughout New Year's day. This way whoever is in charge of cooking in the household doesn't have to run around on NY's but can sit and chat with people who drop by to visit and convey their NY's greetings. You also have to eat sticky rice, noodles, etc... there is no stop to the eating. (Heaven!)
Happy New Year!!
See you in 2006...
P.S. Year of the Dog.
I will return on the 2nd, and will have the Emperor's Cup Final (Urawa Reds vs Shimizu S-Pulse) report. As well as anything else that comes up.
One of my favorite aspects of the Japanese New Year is the ringing of the temple bell, called Joya no Kane. The ringing is started at midnight. Ringing the bell at a temple on New Year's Eve is a Buddhist tradition. Bells are rung 108 times in that according to Buddhism it is said that man has 108 troublesome desires, and by hearing the bells toll 108 times people can cleanse themselves of such desires at the end of the year. Instead of screaming and making loud noise, the typical Japanese New Year's is more hushed and characterized by the deep bong bong bong of the temple bell as it is slowly rung.
>>Click to hear what the bell sounds like
Of course, being the "Land of the Rising Sun", getting a glimpse of the First Dawn is also a beautiful way to start the year.
If you are a kid, you also luck out by receiving little decorated envelopes of cash called otoshidama. Depending on how old you are, and how generous the people giving the envelopes to you are, the amount is up to the giver (the best givers are of course grandparents)... and can vary greatly. As a child it was quite the thing to look forward to and a great motivator of visiting older relatives. Of course, now as an adult I am in the position of having to give them out!
This e-greeting card (has sound) shows an illustration of what traditional Japanese New Year's food looks like. Customarily, you cook everything ahead of time and place them in numerous lacquered boxes, and have the food available throughout New Year's day. This way whoever is in charge of cooking in the household doesn't have to run around on NY's but can sit and chat with people who drop by to visit and convey their NY's greetings. You also have to eat sticky rice, noodles, etc... there is no stop to the eating. (Heaven!)
Happy New Year!!
See you in 2006...
P.S. Year of the Dog.
I usually drop by the bookstores one or two times a week to browse the magazines. I have a day off tomorrow, and will probably stroll over to the shop and purchase this issue of Weekly Soccer Magazine (Shukan Sakkah Magajin). The main contents include an interview with Yuki Abe and Teruyuki Konno together (they chat at each other as well as answer the interviewer's questions), and features on Hisato Sato, Robert Cullen, Makoto Hasebe, an interview with now ex-Kashima manager Toninho Cerezo, an article on Ivica Osim through the eyes of his coaching staff, and more.I will share any juicy bits if I find anything interesting.
This issue also announces the magazine's Annual Crystal Award goes to Shunsuke Nakamura, and takes a look at his performance this year.
Speaking of Nakamura, he has posted a message following the Livingston game (where he got the last minute goal) >>click to read previous entry.
Rough Translation of Nakamura message on his website:
"It was a really cold day, and I made sure to focus on my warm up prior to the game. However because of power failure, the game was delayed almost an hour and I had to re-warm-up again. I think this delay slightly threw our rhythm off. Not just for the players, but it seemed also among the supporters too. The atmosphere was a little different than normal.
Regarding the game, we were able to go ahead with a PK, but were not able to pull the momentum our way. And when we entered the second half, the team as a whole was not moving, and we allowed the opponent the equalizer. That goal allowance was the fault/responsibility of every member of our team. We allowed ourselves to lose focus for too much of the second half.
The remaining time was running out, and the team started to rush things a little, but Telfer was different. Under these circumstances, a player would be tempted to haul in long balls, but Telfer sent me a pass with the exact timing I wanted it. I got around one defender and took the shot. When the ball went into the goal, I was really happy. It was physically and psychologically a tough match.
Next round is away at Hearts, who are in second place. Hearts have not lost a game at home yet. It will be a difficult game, but I will make the effort to move and play in such a way to be able to contribute to the team's victory."
Thursday afternoon's semi-finals turned out to be very close games that stretched into extended time.
Cerezo Osaka 0-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
>>Click for 1st half video stream digest
>>Click for 2nd half + Ext time video stream digest
(The stream may be hard to see while demand is high, so you may have to wait a day or two for uninterrupted playback)
(photo from Sponichi Annex)The tragedy continues for Cerezo. This close to a chance at a title, and they let it slip, again. After some dynamic goals against opponents like Jef Chiba and Gamba Osaka that allowed them entrance to today's round, Cerezo just could not find a way in past a much more defensive Shimizu side.
Shimizu played to their strengths, and it wasn't suprising that they won this with a 1-0 scoreline and a goal from Jae Jin Cho during extended time. Following their Club Youth victory in the Sahara Cup last week >>read entry, this must be a very happy season for S-Pulse!
Urawa Reds 4-2 Omiya Ardija
>>Click for 1st half video stream digest
>>Click for 2nd half + Ext time video stream digest
(The stream may be hard to see while demand is high, so you may have to wait a day or two for uninterrupted playback)
The score at 90 minutes was 2-2, Omiya equalizing in the very last minute before the second half ended. But that second goal for Omiya (by Tomita) was the last that the Squirrels could muster. In the first half of the extended period, Reds were able to get two and proceed to the historic finals that takes place on New Year's day.
***
With the recent national team roster call-up announcement, first time call-up 21 yr old Makoto Hasebe (Urawa) probably got a lot of attention this afternoon by the media. He scored two goals today, and I can already see the headlines for tomorrow morning's sports papers... If you are curious as to what he looks and sounds like, here is a video stream of a post-game interview.
(Rough Translation) In the video interview above, Hasebe says that they "will go after the win for the title and an eye on the ticket to the ACL. We haven't really analyzed the next opponent (Shimizu) yet, but our current defense line is quite stable and the key will be how effectively we can attack. I hadn't been directly involved in many goals recently, so the goals today have increased the level of my confidence and ambition. (Shimizu) seems like a very tough defensive team, and in that they may be similar to our opponents today (Omiya). We want to play our style of football, and come out with the victory. On the pitch, I tried not to be too self-conscious of the attention I am getting (following the national team call-up), but of course I wanted to play as someone who is worthy of representing the nation, take that as my responsibility and source of pride. But I still think I have many areas of improvement, and I want to decrease the number of small errors. I want to improve the quality of my performance for the New Year's day game, and then after during the national team training camp."
So New Year's day, I will be tucked in the kotatsu eating tiny mikan and noodles, and hopefully get to see some of the Final game. Will have to wrestle the remote control away from relatives.. ;)
Kotatsu (pic): a very neat little concept. A low table that is covered by a quilt, and has a heating device on the underside of the tabletop so you can tuck your legs and hands inside the table and keep warm. Very cozy, and it tends to make you sleepy.
Mikan: tangerines, a seasonal must in Japan. Get your vitamin C, and hydrate yourself in the dry climate. The thing I love about mikan is that the skins come off as easily as peeling a banana.
Noodles: in Japan, eating noodles ("soba") on New Years is also one of the traditions (of which, you can imagine, we have many). Noodles represent long life -- because...they are long... Hmmm. Rather simplistic symbolism, but there you go.
Cerezo Osaka 0-1 Shimizu S-Pulse
>>Click for 1st half video stream digest
>>Click for 2nd half + Ext time video stream digest
(The stream may be hard to see while demand is high, so you may have to wait a day or two for uninterrupted playback)
(photo from Sponichi Annex)The tragedy continues for Cerezo. This close to a chance at a title, and they let it slip, again. After some dynamic goals against opponents like Jef Chiba and Gamba Osaka that allowed them entrance to today's round, Cerezo just could not find a way in past a much more defensive Shimizu side.Shimizu played to their strengths, and it wasn't suprising that they won this with a 1-0 scoreline and a goal from Jae Jin Cho during extended time. Following their Club Youth victory in the Sahara Cup last week >>read entry, this must be a very happy season for S-Pulse!
Urawa Reds 4-2 Omiya Ardija
>>Click for 1st half video stream digest
>>Click for 2nd half + Ext time video stream digest
(The stream may be hard to see while demand is high, so you may have to wait a day or two for uninterrupted playback)
The score at 90 minutes was 2-2, Omiya equalizing in the very last minute before the second half ended. But that second goal for Omiya (by Tomita) was the last that the Squirrels could muster. In the first half of the extended period, Reds were able to get two and proceed to the historic finals that takes place on New Year's day.
***
With the recent national team roster call-up announcement, first time call-up 21 yr old Makoto Hasebe (Urawa) probably got a lot of attention this afternoon by the media. He scored two goals today, and I can already see the headlines for tomorrow morning's sports papers... If you are curious as to what he looks and sounds like, here is a video stream of a post-game interview.
(Rough Translation) In the video interview above, Hasebe says that they "will go after the win for the title and an eye on the ticket to the ACL. We haven't really analyzed the next opponent (Shimizu) yet, but our current defense line is quite stable and the key will be how effectively we can attack. I hadn't been directly involved in many goals recently, so the goals today have increased the level of my confidence and ambition. (Shimizu) seems like a very tough defensive team, and in that they may be similar to our opponents today (Omiya). We want to play our style of football, and come out with the victory. On the pitch, I tried not to be too self-conscious of the attention I am getting (following the national team call-up), but of course I wanted to play as someone who is worthy of representing the nation, take that as my responsibility and source of pride. But I still think I have many areas of improvement, and I want to decrease the number of small errors. I want to improve the quality of my performance for the New Year's day game, and then after during the national team training camp."
So New Year's day, I will be tucked in the kotatsu eating tiny mikan and noodles, and hopefully get to see some of the Final game. Will have to wrestle the remote control away from relatives.. ;)
Kotatsu (pic): a very neat little concept. A low table that is covered by a quilt, and has a heating device on the underside of the tabletop so you can tuck your legs and hands inside the table and keep warm. Very cozy, and it tends to make you sleepy.Mikan: tangerines, a seasonal must in Japan. Get your vitamin C, and hydrate yourself in the dry climate. The thing I love about mikan is that the skins come off as easily as peeling a banana.
Noodles: in Japan, eating noodles ("soba") on New Years is also one of the traditions (of which, you can imagine, we have many). Noodles represent long life -- because...they are long... Hmmm. Rather simplistic symbolism, but there you go.
Inu mo arukeba bou ni ataru
An old Japanese saying: directly translated "Even when a dog walks, he will hit a stick." Has both positive and negative meaning revolving around the theme of action and consequences. You cause some kind of action and it will result in some kind of consequence.
It has been a really interesting year. When I first started this blog back in February, my take on it was that of a person trekking out into the middle of the desert and digging a hole just for the fun of it. Kinda pointless, kind of a personal challenge, and not bothering anyone.
If you check out >>my very first entry, you'll see I said something to that effect.
But it turned out to be nothing like I expected. I ended up not in this vacuum of the internet where I affected nothing and nothing affected me. Instead, I have been motivated and inspired by not only the football I've watched but also the voices of the people (football fans) who have shared their thoughts with me. And I am grateful to those people who have contacted me over the past year with comments and questions, keeping me on my toes. The blog also allowed me to "meet" a lot of good people, football writers and football fans as well as fellow bloggers.
I have also had my share of not-so-nice experiences as well. But I chalk it up to lessons well learned.
One of the things I think that struck me most was the unavailability of much Japanese football news in English (or any non-Japanese language). Not big news about the big stars, but the day to day kind of intelligent discussions that makes following football seductive, especially if you don't have access to full games. Of course, this is quite understandable. Not that many people in the world really care or know about football in this country, and part of my initial motivation for starting this blog was to bring a wide range of current topics to people who are curious.
Losing Us in Bad Translation
The trickiest part for me has been the translations. Which is why I have prefaced the direct quotes I've personally translated with "rough translation". It is something I want to underline a hundred times, not just when people read what I personally have translated, but also when you read any translations. Believe me, I've seen some extremely shoddy translating on a wide range of media -- both in and outside Japan, on tv and in print.
Along with translating the meaning word by word, the problem lies in the context of the comment as well as cultural context. And sometimes you will have people being quoted for saying things they didn't even say. To be honest, I have been rather unimpressed with the cavalier attitude with which many professional writers have used translations and quotes in sports (especially in football, where many countries are represented even inside one club) -- as many of you speak more than one language, you probably know what I mean.
Having struggled with this issue throughout the year myself, I was saddened when recently one of Japan's most famous baseball players, Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners) was the victim of exactly this kind of foggy interpretation.
>>Click to read article
>>Click to read what the original Japanese interviewer/writer had to say in response
As you can see, once it's "out there", you can't stop the bleeding. The P-I tried to defend their unquestionable error by saying they were justified in "reading between the lines" of the article. But as you can see the original author/interviewer has claimed those nuances as his own bias (how he saw the season and Ichiro's position in the team).... and you can go on and on, around and around. For a while there, the city of Seattle turned on one of their most loved athletes... backlash is that easy. I guess it's just something to keep in mind especially if you read a quote translation that sounds out of character. First be skeptical, is what I learned.
But this is not to say we should stop trying to understand cross-culturally. No indeed. What fun would that be?
That is, afterall, why I started the blog in the first place. I'm just learning as I go along.
I hope you continue to join me next year. We have lots and lots coming up -- the J league season with three newly promoted teams, more transfers in the works, the Asian Champions League, the Japanese players in the European leagues, the Asia Cup qualifiers, and the gem of it all: the World Cup!
But first in the next four days, we have the Emperor's Cup Semis and Finals.
Oh, and my New Year's Resolutions to come.
If you have suggestions, gripes, comments, and questions about the blog, now is the time to tell me!
An old Japanese saying: directly translated "Even when a dog walks, he will hit a stick." Has both positive and negative meaning revolving around the theme of action and consequences. You cause some kind of action and it will result in some kind of consequence.
It has been a really interesting year. When I first started this blog back in February, my take on it was that of a person trekking out into the middle of the desert and digging a hole just for the fun of it. Kinda pointless, kind of a personal challenge, and not bothering anyone.
If you check out >>my very first entry, you'll see I said something to that effect.
But it turned out to be nothing like I expected. I ended up not in this vacuum of the internet where I affected nothing and nothing affected me. Instead, I have been motivated and inspired by not only the football I've watched but also the voices of the people (football fans) who have shared their thoughts with me. And I am grateful to those people who have contacted me over the past year with comments and questions, keeping me on my toes. The blog also allowed me to "meet" a lot of good people, football writers and football fans as well as fellow bloggers.
I have also had my share of not-so-nice experiences as well. But I chalk it up to lessons well learned.
One of the things I think that struck me most was the unavailability of much Japanese football news in English (or any non-Japanese language). Not big news about the big stars, but the day to day kind of intelligent discussions that makes following football seductive, especially if you don't have access to full games. Of course, this is quite understandable. Not that many people in the world really care or know about football in this country, and part of my initial motivation for starting this blog was to bring a wide range of current topics to people who are curious.
Losing Us in Bad Translation
The trickiest part for me has been the translations. Which is why I have prefaced the direct quotes I've personally translated with "rough translation". It is something I want to underline a hundred times, not just when people read what I personally have translated, but also when you read any translations. Believe me, I've seen some extremely shoddy translating on a wide range of media -- both in and outside Japan, on tv and in print.
Along with translating the meaning word by word, the problem lies in the context of the comment as well as cultural context. And sometimes you will have people being quoted for saying things they didn't even say. To be honest, I have been rather unimpressed with the cavalier attitude with which many professional writers have used translations and quotes in sports (especially in football, where many countries are represented even inside one club) -- as many of you speak more than one language, you probably know what I mean.
Having struggled with this issue throughout the year myself, I was saddened when recently one of Japan's most famous baseball players, Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners) was the victim of exactly this kind of foggy interpretation.
>>Click to read article
>>Click to read what the original Japanese interviewer/writer had to say in response
As you can see, once it's "out there", you can't stop the bleeding. The P-I tried to defend their unquestionable error by saying they were justified in "reading between the lines" of the article. But as you can see the original author/interviewer has claimed those nuances as his own bias (how he saw the season and Ichiro's position in the team).... and you can go on and on, around and around. For a while there, the city of Seattle turned on one of their most loved athletes... backlash is that easy. I guess it's just something to keep in mind especially if you read a quote translation that sounds out of character. First be skeptical, is what I learned.
But this is not to say we should stop trying to understand cross-culturally. No indeed. What fun would that be?
That is, afterall, why I started the blog in the first place. I'm just learning as I go along.
I hope you continue to join me next year. We have lots and lots coming up -- the J league season with three newly promoted teams, more transfers in the works, the Asian Champions League, the Japanese players in the European leagues, the Asia Cup qualifiers, and the gem of it all: the World Cup!
But first in the next four days, we have the Emperor's Cup Semis and Finals.
Oh, and my New Year's Resolutions to come.
If you have suggestions, gripes, comments, and questions about the blog, now is the time to tell me!
I thought I'd wrap up the results of the Sahara Cup, the annual J's Youth Cup I've been following out of the corner of my eye. Since these games are not televised (at least not included in my cable tv package), it has been extremely helpful that J's Goal website has been posting game highlights.
Semi-Finals
Shimizu S-Pulse Youth 6-2 Gamba Osaka Youth
>>Click to launch video digest stream
Vissel Kobe Youth 1-1 (PK 3-1) Yokohama F Marinos Youth
>>Click to launch video digest stream
Finals
As someone who spends time writing about football in Japan, I have to admit it is easier to find overarching themes if the teams that consistently make it to the top are to some degree predictable. But if this year, and writing for this blog, has taught me anything, it's that sometimes lessons can be learned in the exceptions to the rule. You have teams with undeniable strength in defense, you have teams that are young and can become unstoppable if they get momentum, you have teams that take advantage of individual excellence, you have teams with tremendous presence in their veterans and leaders, you have teams that have managers who know how to strategize.
The Sahara Cup finals this year took place between two teams that weren't really expected to end up there. It wasn't Gamba Youth, with their artillery of talent. It wasn't Verdy Youth, who were aiming for their third title of the year. And it wasn't even Marinos Youth, with their army of players with international experience.
Both Shimizu S-Pulse and Vissel Kobe Youth clubs have had so-so years. But the fact that they made it to the finals in this final competition of the year does show that they have grown and acquired on a game to game basis a strength of character and power of spirit. Not to mention, a mental cohesion and balance of the team. And maybe it is fitting that in this final month of the year, when it is easy especially for young players to start getting distracted and lose focus, other teams that have depended on pedigree and individual talent could not put forth that little bit extra to clinch a win.
Shimizu S-Pulse Youth 4-1 Vissel Kobe Youth>>Click to launch video digest stream
Both Shimizu and Vissel managers were far from impressed when they first took over their respective teams about a year ago. One said he couldn't believe this was the youth club for an actual professional J league team, the other said of his team that in the Youth clubs theirs was the worst team. Under their harsh but perhaps honest evaluation, it took them a year or so, both teams gradually matured and got their act together -- and the result was their ascension to the finals of this Cup just before the close of the year.
Both sides played with a 4-4-2 system, with their strength in defense and liking their attack via the sides. But Shimizu had one ingredient Vissel didn't -- attacking options via the top scorer Nagasawa. Shimizu put on an aggressive display, pressing well and switching to a speedy attack when they gained possession. Kobe, in retrospect, may have gotten overly careful and played too timidly. Though Kobe were helped by some good saves from their GK, and woke up to play some good football in the second half, Shimizu had the momentum and took it to the final whistle.
The Youth program is of course foremost seen as the developing grounds for the professional stage. And in that respect, the current Youth scene, characterized by the lack of eye catching break-out talent, is something that has people worried with respect to the future. But it is also important for these young players to acquire a taste for winning. Football is a sport, and in the end winning is everything in the pros. The art may be in the technique and talent, but the drama is in the knife's edge difference between losing and winning.
Congratulations to Shimizu S-Pulse Youth!
Semi-Finals
Shimizu S-Pulse Youth 6-2 Gamba Osaka Youth
>>Click to launch video digest stream
Vissel Kobe Youth 1-1 (PK 3-1) Yokohama F Marinos Youth
>>Click to launch video digest stream
Finals
As someone who spends time writing about football in Japan, I have to admit it is easier to find overarching themes if the teams that consistently make it to the top are to some degree predictable. But if this year, and writing for this blog, has taught me anything, it's that sometimes lessons can be learned in the exceptions to the rule. You have teams with undeniable strength in defense, you have teams that are young and can become unstoppable if they get momentum, you have teams that take advantage of individual excellence, you have teams with tremendous presence in their veterans and leaders, you have teams that have managers who know how to strategize.
The Sahara Cup finals this year took place between two teams that weren't really expected to end up there. It wasn't Gamba Youth, with their artillery of talent. It wasn't Verdy Youth, who were aiming for their third title of the year. And it wasn't even Marinos Youth, with their army of players with international experience.
Both Shimizu S-Pulse and Vissel Kobe Youth clubs have had so-so years. But the fact that they made it to the finals in this final competition of the year does show that they have grown and acquired on a game to game basis a strength of character and power of spirit. Not to mention, a mental cohesion and balance of the team. And maybe it is fitting that in this final month of the year, when it is easy especially for young players to start getting distracted and lose focus, other teams that have depended on pedigree and individual talent could not put forth that little bit extra to clinch a win.
Shimizu S-Pulse Youth 4-1 Vissel Kobe Youth>>Click to launch video digest stream
Both Shimizu and Vissel managers were far from impressed when they first took over their respective teams about a year ago. One said he couldn't believe this was the youth club for an actual professional J league team, the other said of his team that in the Youth clubs theirs was the worst team. Under their harsh but perhaps honest evaluation, it took them a year or so, both teams gradually matured and got their act together -- and the result was their ascension to the finals of this Cup just before the close of the year.
Both sides played with a 4-4-2 system, with their strength in defense and liking their attack via the sides. But Shimizu had one ingredient Vissel didn't -- attacking options via the top scorer Nagasawa. Shimizu put on an aggressive display, pressing well and switching to a speedy attack when they gained possession. Kobe, in retrospect, may have gotten overly careful and played too timidly. Though Kobe were helped by some good saves from their GK, and woke up to play some good football in the second half, Shimizu had the momentum and took it to the final whistle.
The Youth program is of course foremost seen as the developing grounds for the professional stage. And in that respect, the current Youth scene, characterized by the lack of eye catching break-out talent, is something that has people worried with respect to the future. But it is also important for these young players to acquire a taste for winning. Football is a sport, and in the end winning is everything in the pros. The art may be in the technique and talent, but the drama is in the knife's edge difference between losing and winning.
Congratulations to Shimizu S-Pulse Youth!
Celtic 2-1 Livingston
The blackout and the ungranted PK aside, happy news from this nerve-wrecking game. Shunsuke Nakamura scored his 3rd goal of the season. Quite dramatic actually, as it was something like 88 minutes and the score was 1-1 at the time. Nope, this was not a free kick -- it was a very nice dribbling effort completed by a fast low shot. Pretty sweet.
>>Someone has posted the video here
Shinji Ono Back
It's so good to hear. Was reported that Shinji Ono was on the bench in this weekend's Feyenoord game against AZ. Feye won 2-0, and Ono did not play, but it is a big step to him returning from his injury. It's been 3 months! Ok, Shinji, no - more - injuries ...!
You're One of Us Now
Gamba Osaka's Masashi Oguro announced it's official. Sayonara will become Bonjour -- his transfer to France's Grenoble is set. He visited the Gamba clubhouse to say thanks and farewell, and reports say he was bawling. Oguro is a Gamba Boy through and through; the club has been involved in his life since Oguro was six years old, so it must be like leaving a true family.
Another Returning?
Messina forward Atsushi Yanagisawa might be coming back to the J. We all know how little play time he is getting in Italy, but the team loves to keep him. They don't want to let him go -- at least, they don't want to let their Japanese player go. I heard a rumor that Yanagisawa has said he wants to come back to the Jleague, to Kashima Antlers. Messina is okay with that, only if they get another Japanese player in exchange... Right now the guy at Kashima most wanting to go abroad is Mitsuo Ogasawara, so that exchange may happen. I still think Messina's posture regarding Japanese players is creepy, and I'd prefer Ogasawara to go to a club that actually wants him for himself. But I think Serie A may be a good place for him to build his streetsmarts (like Nakamura did), getting used to rougher player and quicker thinking.
Inamoto Sits it Out
Junichi Inamoto, who has been playing full matches for about 7-8 games now had to sit this last game against ManU out due to injury/strain of his thigh. From what I have heard he has been playing at 120% this past couple months, and I had been worried about an injury...hopefully he is ok.
The blackout and the ungranted PK aside, happy news from this nerve-wrecking game. Shunsuke Nakamura scored his 3rd goal of the season. Quite dramatic actually, as it was something like 88 minutes and the score was 1-1 at the time. Nope, this was not a free kick -- it was a very nice dribbling effort completed by a fast low shot. Pretty sweet.
>>Someone has posted the video here
Shinji Ono BackIt's so good to hear. Was reported that Shinji Ono was on the bench in this weekend's Feyenoord game against AZ. Feye won 2-0, and Ono did not play, but it is a big step to him returning from his injury. It's been 3 months! Ok, Shinji, no - more - injuries ...!
You're One of Us Now
Gamba Osaka's Masashi Oguro announced it's official. Sayonara will become Bonjour -- his transfer to France's Grenoble is set. He visited the Gamba clubhouse to say thanks and farewell, and reports say he was bawling. Oguro is a Gamba Boy through and through; the club has been involved in his life since Oguro was six years old, so it must be like leaving a true family.
Another Returning?
Messina forward Atsushi Yanagisawa might be coming back to the J. We all know how little play time he is getting in Italy, but the team loves to keep him. They don't want to let him go -- at least, they don't want to let their Japanese player go. I heard a rumor that Yanagisawa has said he wants to come back to the Jleague, to Kashima Antlers. Messina is okay with that, only if they get another Japanese player in exchange... Right now the guy at Kashima most wanting to go abroad is Mitsuo Ogasawara, so that exchange may happen. I still think Messina's posture regarding Japanese players is creepy, and I'd prefer Ogasawara to go to a club that actually wants him for himself. But I think Serie A may be a good place for him to build his streetsmarts (like Nakamura did), getting used to rougher player and quicker thinking.
Inamoto Sits it Out
Junichi Inamoto, who has been playing full matches for about 7-8 games now had to sit this last game against ManU out due to injury/strain of his thigh. From what I have heard he has been playing at 120% this past couple months, and I had been worried about an injury...hopefully he is ok.
The JFA announced the 22 member list for the National Team's January-February training camp and friendly with the US.
GK
Yoichi Doi - FC Tokyo
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi - Jubilo Iwata
Histoshi Sogahata - Kashima Antlers
DF
Makoto Tanaka - Jubilo Iwata
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto - Gamba Osaka
Keisuke Tsuboi - Urawa Reds
Yuji Nakazawa - Yokohama F Marinos
Teruyuki Moniwa - FC Tokyo
Shinji Murai - Jubilo Iwata
Alex Santos - Urawa Reds
Akira Kaji - FC Tokyo
Yuichi Komano - Sanfrecce Hiroshima
MF
Takashi Fukunishi - Jubilo Iwata
Yasuhito Endo - Gamba Osaka
Yuki Abe - Jef Chiba
Makoto Hasebe - Urawa Reds
Mitsuo Ogasawara - Kashima Antlers
Masashi Motoyama - Kashima Antlers
FW
Takayuki Suzuki - Kashima Antlers
Tatsuhiko Kubo - Yokohama F Marinos
Seiichiro Maki - Jef Chiba
Hisato Sato - Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Kubo is back after almost a year and half away due to continuing injuries to his back and legs. The Dragon is back!
Newcomers: Urawa's defensive midfielder Makoto Hasebe and Sanfrecce's goal-getter Hisato Sato. Sato is the top scorer in the J-league this year among Japanese players. Hasebe plays a defensive midfield position at Urawa, but is also able to (or at least desires to) become a play-maker.
Nagoya GK Narazaki was hurt in the last round league game. Gamba forward Oguro had a slight injury scare during the taping of a tv variety show last week (twisted his ankle trampoline-ing into a wall). FC Tokyo defensive midfielder Konno is also injured.
The Europe-based players have not been called because they are currently in the midst of their league season.
GK
Yoichi Doi - FC Tokyo
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi - Jubilo Iwata
Histoshi Sogahata - Kashima Antlers
DF
Makoto Tanaka - Jubilo Iwata
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto - Gamba Osaka
Keisuke Tsuboi - Urawa Reds
Yuji Nakazawa - Yokohama F Marinos
Teruyuki Moniwa - FC Tokyo
Shinji Murai - Jubilo Iwata
Alex Santos - Urawa Reds
Akira Kaji - FC Tokyo
Yuichi Komano - Sanfrecce Hiroshima
MF
Takashi Fukunishi - Jubilo Iwata
Yasuhito Endo - Gamba Osaka
Yuki Abe - Jef Chiba
Makoto Hasebe - Urawa Reds
Mitsuo Ogasawara - Kashima Antlers
Masashi Motoyama - Kashima Antlers
FW
Takayuki Suzuki - Kashima Antlers
Tatsuhiko Kubo - Yokohama F Marinos
Seiichiro Maki - Jef Chiba
Hisato Sato - Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Kubo is back after almost a year and half away due to continuing injuries to his back and legs. The Dragon is back!
Newcomers: Urawa's defensive midfielder Makoto Hasebe and Sanfrecce's goal-getter Hisato Sato. Sato is the top scorer in the J-league this year among Japanese players. Hasebe plays a defensive midfield position at Urawa, but is also able to (or at least desires to) become a play-maker.
Nagoya GK Narazaki was hurt in the last round league game. Gamba forward Oguro had a slight injury scare during the taping of a tv variety show last week (twisted his ankle trampoline-ing into a wall). FC Tokyo defensive midfielder Konno is also injured.
The Europe-based players have not been called because they are currently in the midst of their league season.
The Schedule:
January 29: The team undergoes strenuous endurance and physical training for a week under Satouchi's whip.
February 5: The team flies to California.
February 10: Game against the US National team in San Francisco.
It was a busy weekend, and the Emperor's Cup quarter-finals sort of went by in a blur. I had thought this last opportunity for a title would get the teams remaining to put on more of a stubborn fight, but the games all finished without any nail-biting PKs. Some teams just didn't have that extra "something" to pull themselves out of a tough situation, and other teams had the momentum.
SportsNavi has included video highlights streams from the game, so I've posted the links below. You may have trouble getting uninterrupted streaming if the demand is high, but maybe try the links again in a day or two.
Cerezo Osaka 3-1 Gamba Osaka
>>Click to see video stream of 1st half
>>Click to see video stream of 2nd half
This last Osaka Derby of the year (I think it was the fifth time these two teams met this year) ended with an unquestionable first victory for Cerezo. Giving away 3 goals is not outside the scope of a Gamba game, but usually they have the firepower to get more goals than they give up. Unfortunately, against a full-strength Cerezo chomping at the bit to finally stamp their foot down and get a win over the league champs, Gamba had little in its reserves.
Cerezo were very strong. The team was effectively thinking as a unit, and their style and aims were very clear. The most inspiring thing about the way Cerezo played was the dynamism with which their front players ran towards the goal when they got possession. With players coming at them at full speed, the Gamba 3-back line was pulled apart, not knowing who to cover on the cross.
Gamba on the other hand, without Araujo and Oguro, had tried to play their style of football relying on individual talent to create inroads, but lacked the finishing creativity and depth. The weakness of a team that has relied heavily on individual skill when they suddenly lose two of their top scoring players.
What hurt Gamba was also that Cerezo put on such a quick threat when they won the ball back, that the players in the back half of midfield, like Endo, who usually play a big role on the offense, could not seem to find good timing to go up and join the attack. Gamba were also a little unlucky on a couple shots, a free kick by Endo hitting the bar, among some other close calls. But overall, watching as a third-party spectator, I was won over by the Cerezo play. And in particular, the importance of Cerezo's veteran stars like Morishima and Nishizawa were a big part of their unity and strength. Nishizawa looked like he was ready to keel over from exhaustion towards the end, but for most of the game he showed why he was still such a key player. His ability to keep the ball, not get pulled down by defenders, it was a great example of some of the fighting spirit we would like to see throughout the J-league next season.
The photo above, from J's Goal, is of the Cerezo supporters thanking the team for a great Xmas present (the win).
Kashima Antlers 0-1 Omiya Ardija
>>Click to see video stream digest of 1st half
>>Click to see video stream of digest 2nd half
Going into the match the comment coming from the Omiya camp was "Even if we defend for 99% of the game, if we can just get that 1% chance. That is our hope." But actually, Kashima were caught on the back foot several times in the first fifteen minutes of the game, with some amazing dribbling by Omiya players like Sakurai, and even sideback Nishimura (boy, could he dribble!), the Orange were this close to scoring very early in the game. But Kashima regained control, and the game for the most part was Kashima's to win.
Unfortunately, it was the same old same old case of The Finish. While Omiya's Morita got through and converted on a sole run past the defense for their one "1% chance" goal, Kashima could not find the back of the net once. Not once. Sigh. To add insult to injury, Ogasawara was given his second yellow of the game was expelled from the pitch in the final minutes.
This finishing has been Kashima's problem for a number of years now, and it will be interesting to see whether the new manager of Kashima will be able to do something about it next season.
Congratulations to Omiya Ardija! They played smart, to their strengths. They knew Antlers would be gunning to come forward, and their simple and dynamic counters were effective and speedy in this game. Very nicely done.
Urawa Reds 2-0 Kawasaki Frontale
>>Click to see video stream digest of 1st half
>>Click to see video stream digest of 2nd half
Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 Jubilo Iwata
>>Click to see video stream digest of 1st half
>>Click to see video stream digest of 2nd half
SportsNavi has included video highlights streams from the game, so I've posted the links below. You may have trouble getting uninterrupted streaming if the demand is high, but maybe try the links again in a day or two.
Cerezo Osaka 3-1 Gamba Osaka
>>Click to see video stream of 1st half
>>Click to see video stream of 2nd half
This last Osaka Derby of the year (I think it was the fifth time these two teams met this year) ended with an unquestionable first victory for Cerezo. Giving away 3 goals is not outside the scope of a Gamba game, but usually they have the firepower to get more goals than they give up. Unfortunately, against a full-strength Cerezo chomping at the bit to finally stamp their foot down and get a win over the league champs, Gamba had little in its reserves.
Cerezo were very strong. The team was effectively thinking as a unit, and their style and aims were very clear. The most inspiring thing about the way Cerezo played was the dynamism with which their front players ran towards the goal when they got possession. With players coming at them at full speed, the Gamba 3-back line was pulled apart, not knowing who to cover on the cross.
Gamba on the other hand, without Araujo and Oguro, had tried to play their style of football relying on individual talent to create inroads, but lacked the finishing creativity and depth. The weakness of a team that has relied heavily on individual skill when they suddenly lose two of their top scoring players.
What hurt Gamba was also that Cerezo put on such a quick threat when they won the ball back, that the players in the back half of midfield, like Endo, who usually play a big role on the offense, could not seem to find good timing to go up and join the attack. Gamba were also a little unlucky on a couple shots, a free kick by Endo hitting the bar, among some other close calls. But overall, watching as a third-party spectator, I was won over by the Cerezo play. And in particular, the importance of Cerezo's veteran stars like Morishima and Nishizawa were a big part of their unity and strength. Nishizawa looked like he was ready to keel over from exhaustion towards the end, but for most of the game he showed why he was still such a key player. His ability to keep the ball, not get pulled down by defenders, it was a great example of some of the fighting spirit we would like to see throughout the J-league next season.
The photo above, from J's Goal, is of the Cerezo supporters thanking the team for a great Xmas present (the win).
Kashima Antlers 0-1 Omiya Ardija
>>Click to see video stream digest of 1st half
>>Click to see video stream of digest 2nd half
Going into the match the comment coming from the Omiya camp was "Even if we defend for 99% of the game, if we can just get that 1% chance. That is our hope." But actually, Kashima were caught on the back foot several times in the first fifteen minutes of the game, with some amazing dribbling by Omiya players like Sakurai, and even sideback Nishimura (boy, could he dribble!), the Orange were this close to scoring very early in the game. But Kashima regained control, and the game for the most part was Kashima's to win.
Unfortunately, it was the same old same old case of The Finish. While Omiya's Morita got through and converted on a sole run past the defense for their one "1% chance" goal, Kashima could not find the back of the net once. Not once. Sigh. To add insult to injury, Ogasawara was given his second yellow of the game was expelled from the pitch in the final minutes.
This finishing has been Kashima's problem for a number of years now, and it will be interesting to see whether the new manager of Kashima will be able to do something about it next season.
Congratulations to Omiya Ardija! They played smart, to their strengths. They knew Antlers would be gunning to come forward, and their simple and dynamic counters were effective and speedy in this game. Very nicely done.
Urawa Reds 2-0 Kawasaki Frontale
>>Click to see video stream digest of 1st half
>>Click to see video stream digest of 2nd half
Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 Jubilo Iwata
>>Click to see video stream digest of 1st half
>>Click to see video stream digest of 2nd half
Hi everyone,
Sorry for lack of posts in the past few days. I had to give back the computer I was borrowing.
But....
Have ordered a new computer and it should be arriving some time this week. Yes! Finally my new baby is coming... At which point I shall be able to get back to properly posting again.
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!
The year is coming to an end, and I'd like to start the 2005 Thank You process with a tribute to the supporters of the J league. For those of you who don't normally get to see Japanese club supporters in action, here is a great collection of all 18 J1 club supporters doing their various chants and songs. Some footage was taken at away games, so you don't get the full impact of the home game crowds, but it's still a lot of fun to see and hear.
The order is in the order of the final J1 rankings result this year, from bottom of the table to top (Vissel Kobe up to champions Gamba Osaka last).
>>Click to download video
Odds'n'Ends Videos
>>Click to see Japan football video search at YouTube Includes best goals of 2005, compilation vides of Nakata and Nakamura, goal from Angola game, and some misc.
>>Click to see Nakamura@Celtic compilation video (you will have to register to the forum)
>>Right-click download to see Daisuke Matsui's jumping, falling back header shot from Le Man's game against Bordeaux a couple weeks ago. He didn't get the goal...
Sorry for lack of posts in the past few days. I had to give back the computer I was borrowing.
But....
Have ordered a new computer and it should be arriving some time this week. Yes! Finally my new baby is coming... At which point I shall be able to get back to properly posting again.
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season!
The year is coming to an end, and I'd like to start the 2005 Thank You process with a tribute to the supporters of the J league. For those of you who don't normally get to see Japanese club supporters in action, here is a great collection of all 18 J1 club supporters doing their various chants and songs. Some footage was taken at away games, so you don't get the full impact of the home game crowds, but it's still a lot of fun to see and hear.
The order is in the order of the final J1 rankings result this year, from bottom of the table to top (Vissel Kobe up to champions Gamba Osaka last).
>>Click to download video
Odds'n'Ends Videos
>>Click to see Japan football video search at YouTube Includes best goals of 2005, compilation vides of Nakata and Nakamura, goal from Angola game, and some misc.
>>Click to see Nakamura@Celtic compilation video (you will have to register to the forum)
>>Right-click download to see Daisuke Matsui's jumping, falling back header shot from Le Man's game against Bordeaux a couple weeks ago. He didn't get the goal...
The Scottish Sun's December 17th issue wrote a blurb about Comic Shunsuke, a little 4-square comic strip that is presented in the Pocket Shunsuke services available as a cellphone feature for fans in Japan. Registered members can access via their phones, and get a more personal Shunsuke experience... The comic character is also joined by a band of "superheroes" called Spo-Rangers (the Spo is a shortened expression of "sports"). The comic character is kinda cute, ain't he?Anyway, the cellphone service (which I don't subscribe to) also includes frequent voice messages from the Celtic midfielder, with topics ranging from Celtic and JapanNT game content to more private comments about things going on in his personal life (though to be honest, Shunsuke is such a private person, I don't think he says anything that is exceptionally revealing). If you live in Japan, you can access and register via Nakamura's website >>Click to go to website.
Nakamura's message following last weekend's Inverness game:
"This game against Inverness was particularly significant in our bid to widen the points between Celtic and the second place Hearts (who lost to Rangers in the same round).
Just after the starting whistle blew, we gave up a rather unlucky goal, but with Hartson's goal we were able to even the score by halftime.
The second half was a difficult game for Celtic; we couldn't get the needed goal. Inverness's strategy was to defend well first and aim for a counter. We were well defended against, and we could not find a way in, lacking in offensive options. It felt like were just passing the ball around. We fell into the trap of the opponent's strategy. Inverness played an ideal game for a team in their position (being lower in the ranks).
The result was a draw, but the content was Inverness's win.
I don't think we have to change the definition of our style/play, but we do need to improve the quality of each individual play.
The next round is our last of the year, and the one after an important encounter with Hearts awaits. I want us to get the victories along with good content."
I have introduced a couple "Captain Tsubasa" entries this year, and some of you may wonder "what the hell?" In all honesty, I have never read a Captain Tsubasa comic. But I remember my younger brother did when he was in grade school. He bought all the comics, he even filled pages of notebooks with his own attempts at drawing Tsubasa characters. And most of all, it influenced him to choose football as his afterschool sports of choice. It was a tremendous cultural phenomenon back in those days among Japanese children.
You must remember, this was all back when Japan didn't even have a very clear idea of football, before the J-league, before we as a country could even dream of assuming to participate in the World Cup.
Many people say that had it not been for Captain Tsubasa, we may have not been able to culminate enough interest to launch the J-league to begin with, and thus would not have had the opportunity to host the World Cup as quickly. It may be hyperbole, but even so it shows that the comic had a tremendous influence over football-consciousness in Japan... not as a reality perhaps, but as an ideal. The fantastic technique, the miracle plays, the overarching themes of loyalty and friendship, teamwork, sportsmanship, and hope even as underdogs and even when everything else was working against them. >>Here's one fan site
I mentioned in earlier entries, a few instances of where the fantasy world of Tsubasa intersected with the real world of football. The first time, it was a brief aside, mentioning that the creator of the comic, when asked a few years ago, who he imagines is the closest to fitting into the Tsubasa character. He said it was Shinji Ono (pictured sleeping next to his dog Chocolat in a Tsubasa tee) if he played at Barcelona. This was a while ago, so I'm not sure if he still would answer in the same way.
The second time was to show how Captain Tsubasa has successfully gotten exported worldwide. The France league's Grenoble football team mascot is based on the Captain Tsubasa comic characters, and I also mentioned that various famous European players (like Zidane and I think Totti) have shared they were influenced by Tsubasa as children.
In a recent interview, Daisuke Matsui said that his ideal is still defined by the limitless sense of inspiration and creativity displayed in the Tsubasa comics. And when I saw a very old photo of Japan goalkeeper Narazaki as a young boy, he was dressed in the black long-legged long-sleeved outfit with the cap, just like Tsubasa goalkeeper Wakabayashi -- despite the mid-summer heat (as did my brother, who was the GK at his school when he was a boy, and I used to tease him about copying a comic character). Wakabayashi was by far the "coolest" (kakko-ii) member of the team... The "golden midfield" that we know in today's Japan NT, players like Nakata et al are considered the generation of Japanese footballers who read the comics in its heyday and grew up to lead our national team.
We are continuing to see the aftereffects. Those same kids who grew up reading the comics til the pages were worn have now grown up into young mothers and fathers. But it was still a little suprising to see the first names "Tsubasa" and "Misaki" among the list of the real life current U-14 National team. The U-14 is in Korea right now training and playing a few local friendlies.
In the comics, the full name was Tsubasa Ohzora (Tsubasa means "wings" and Ohzora means "big/great sky"). It is a rare name to see in real life, and I would say that anyone who names their kids Tsubasa is aware of its immediate correlation with the comic character. The character Misaki's full name is Taro Misaki, but in the comics he went as "Misaki", his last name. And here again, it is quite pointed to name your boy Misaki as a first name. You almost can't help but immediately connect it to the comics. He was known as the character with a pure and straight nature, so perhaps the hope was that their baby boy would grow up to have the same kind of purity and openness of heart.
With such names, the two actual boys in question, Tsubasa Yamasaki and Misaki Uemura (both born in 1991), must get a lot of curious comic-related questions or teasing. And the fact that there are two players now on the U-14 team with the Captain Tsubasa-related names is probably what is most interesting. It does make one expect to see amazing plays and shots, the kind you only see in the...well, world of comics. They obviously show promise, otherwise they would not have been chosen as part of the JFA Elite Development Program. But they are two of twenty, so I guess the important thing is for all these kids to get as much opportunity to play and learn.
As a sidenote, there is also a player on the same U14 team called "Atomu" (or "Atom")... as in the manga Tetsuwan Atom (you might know it as Mighty Atom or Astro Boy), another extremely popular manga that dominated the tv ratings from the 50s. >>Click to see website
Come to think of it, people name their kids after all types of things/people. I heard that recently a Scottish couple, a Celtic fan, named their newborn son "Shunsuke" (boy, that little boy is headed for some awkward moments introducing himself). So I guess anything goes. (Though a few years ago I remember some parents in Japan wanted to name their boy "Akuma", meaning devil, and the government wouldn't allow it...)
You must remember, this was all back when Japan didn't even have a very clear idea of football, before the J-league, before we as a country could even dream of assuming to participate in the World Cup.
Many people say that had it not been for Captain Tsubasa, we may have not been able to culminate enough interest to launch the J-league to begin with, and thus would not have had the opportunity to host the World Cup as quickly. It may be hyperbole, but even so it shows that the comic had a tremendous influence over football-consciousness in Japan... not as a reality perhaps, but as an ideal. The fantastic technique, the miracle plays, the overarching themes of loyalty and friendship, teamwork, sportsmanship, and hope even as underdogs and even when everything else was working against them. >>Here's one fan site
I mentioned in earlier entries, a few instances of where the fantasy world of Tsubasa intersected with the real world of football. The first time, it was a brief aside, mentioning that the creator of the comic, when asked a few years ago, who he imagines is the closest to fitting into the Tsubasa character. He said it was Shinji Ono (pictured sleeping next to his dog Chocolat in a Tsubasa tee) if he played at Barcelona. This was a while ago, so I'm not sure if he still would answer in the same way.The second time was to show how Captain Tsubasa has successfully gotten exported worldwide. The France league's Grenoble football team mascot is based on the Captain Tsubasa comic characters, and I also mentioned that various famous European players (like Zidane and I think Totti) have shared they were influenced by Tsubasa as children.
In a recent interview, Daisuke Matsui said that his ideal is still defined by the limitless sense of inspiration and creativity displayed in the Tsubasa comics. And when I saw a very old photo of Japan goalkeeper Narazaki as a young boy, he was dressed in the black long-legged long-sleeved outfit with the cap, just like Tsubasa goalkeeper Wakabayashi -- despite the mid-summer heat (as did my brother, who was the GK at his school when he was a boy, and I used to tease him about copying a comic character). Wakabayashi was by far the "coolest" (kakko-ii) member of the team... The "golden midfield" that we know in today's Japan NT, players like Nakata et al are considered the generation of Japanese footballers who read the comics in its heyday and grew up to lead our national team.
We are continuing to see the aftereffects. Those same kids who grew up reading the comics til the pages were worn have now grown up into young mothers and fathers. But it was still a little suprising to see the first names "Tsubasa" and "Misaki" among the list of the real life current U-14 National team. The U-14 is in Korea right now training and playing a few local friendlies.
In the comics, the full name was Tsubasa Ohzora (Tsubasa means "wings" and Ohzora means "big/great sky"). It is a rare name to see in real life, and I would say that anyone who names their kids Tsubasa is aware of its immediate correlation with the comic character. The character Misaki's full name is Taro Misaki, but in the comics he went as "Misaki", his last name. And here again, it is quite pointed to name your boy Misaki as a first name. You almost can't help but immediately connect it to the comics. He was known as the character with a pure and straight nature, so perhaps the hope was that their baby boy would grow up to have the same kind of purity and openness of heart.
With such names, the two actual boys in question, Tsubasa Yamasaki and Misaki Uemura (both born in 1991), must get a lot of curious comic-related questions or teasing. And the fact that there are two players now on the U-14 team with the Captain Tsubasa-related names is probably what is most interesting. It does make one expect to see amazing plays and shots, the kind you only see in the...well, world of comics. They obviously show promise, otherwise they would not have been chosen as part of the JFA Elite Development Program. But they are two of twenty, so I guess the important thing is for all these kids to get as much opportunity to play and learn.
As a sidenote, there is also a player on the same U14 team called "Atomu" (or "Atom")... as in the manga Tetsuwan Atom (you might know it as Mighty Atom or Astro Boy), another extremely popular manga that dominated the tv ratings from the 50s. >>Click to see website
Come to think of it, people name their kids after all types of things/people. I heard that recently a Scottish couple, a Celtic fan, named their newborn son "Shunsuke" (boy, that little boy is headed for some awkward moments introducing himself). So I guess anything goes. (Though a few years ago I remember some parents in Japan wanted to name their boy "Akuma", meaning devil, and the government wouldn't allow it...)
The J-league Awards Ceremony took place Tuesday in Yokohama. >>Click to see previous entry that lists all the nominees.
MVP Award: Araujo (Gamba Osaka)
Top Scorer: Araujo
>>Click to see video of Araujo accepting his award
(Araujo in tux accepting his awards; click photo below to go to J-league site)
Best Newcomer: Robert Cullen (Jubilo Iwata)
>>Click to see Cullen accepting award
Best Eleven:
GK: Motohiro Yoshida (Cerezo Osaka)
DF: Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds)
DF: Stoyanov (Jef Chiba)
DF: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F Marinos)
MF: Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers)
MF: Yuki Abe (Jef Chiba)
MF: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka)
MF: Fernandinho (Gamba Osaka)
MF: Tatsuya Furuhashi (Cerezo Osaka)
FW: Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
FW: Araujo (Gamba Osaka)
Individual Fairplay Award: Teruyuki Moniwa (FC Tokyo) & Masashi Oguro (Gamba Osaka)
>>Click to see Moniwa accepting award
Best Manager: Akira Nishino (Gamba Osaka) >>Click to see acceptance speech
Manager Special Recognition: Ivica Osim (Jef Chiba) & Shinji Kobayashi (Cerezo Osaka) >>Click to see Kobayashi acceptance speech
Recognition of Services to the J-league: Leslie Mottram (Chief Referee Instructor) & Bismark >>Click to see acceptance speeches
JLeague Best Pitch: Saitama Stadium 2002
Join Award: To the supporters of the J-league who banded together and organized a nationwide effort to collect donations to pay for Baby Ayaka (>>Click to see website) to fly to the United States and get an organ transplant. They collected about US$895,000, and Baby Ayaka has now safely undergone surgery and is currently under ICU care.
MVP Award: Araujo (Gamba Osaka)
Top Scorer: Araujo
>>Click to see video of Araujo accepting his award
(Araujo in tux accepting his awards; click photo below to go to J-league site)
Best Newcomer: Robert Cullen (Jubilo Iwata)
>>Click to see Cullen accepting award
Best Eleven:
GK: Motohiro Yoshida (Cerezo Osaka)
DF: Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds)
DF: Stoyanov (Jef Chiba)
DF: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F Marinos)
MF: Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers)
MF: Yuki Abe (Jef Chiba)
MF: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka)
MF: Fernandinho (Gamba Osaka)
MF: Tatsuya Furuhashi (Cerezo Osaka)
FW: Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
FW: Araujo (Gamba Osaka)
Individual Fairplay Award: Teruyuki Moniwa (FC Tokyo) & Masashi Oguro (Gamba Osaka)
>>Click to see Moniwa accepting award
Best Manager: Akira Nishino (Gamba Osaka) >>Click to see acceptance speech
Manager Special Recognition: Ivica Osim (Jef Chiba) & Shinji Kobayashi (Cerezo Osaka) >>Click to see Kobayashi acceptance speech
Recognition of Services to the J-league: Leslie Mottram (Chief Referee Instructor) & Bismark >>Click to see acceptance speeches
JLeague Best Pitch: Saitama Stadium 2002
Join Award: To the supporters of the J-league who banded together and organized a nationwide effort to collect donations to pay for Baby Ayaka (>>Click to see website) to fly to the United States and get an organ transplant. They collected about US$895,000, and Baby Ayaka has now safely undergone surgery and is currently under ICU care.
Very very very sorry to all for the inconvenience and confusion, but my last attempt to shake off the problems I've had with my email (>>read what's been going on) have followed me to the new email address I created previously with goo. Though it seemed to have solved the problem for a number of people, it still was having problems with some, so now I am changing my email address yet again. This time, I have checked and double checked, and hopefully it will work for everyone.
I took Otto's suggestion to use gmail, so here it is (thanks Otto!):
New Email: depflight(at)gmail(dot)com
Again, very sorry for all this, but hope you understand.
I took Otto's suggestion to use gmail, so here it is (thanks Otto!):
New Email: depflight(at)gmail(dot)com
Again, very sorry for all this, but hope you understand.
A very quick update of highlights from our players in Europe this weekend.
Celtic 1-1 Inverness
The current SPL leaders took a trip to the land of Loch Ness for their encounter with the difficult Inverness on Sunday. Inverness have clipped at many of the strong teams this season, and from what I gather it was a lucky 1 point for Celtic. A poor performance from Celtic allowed the home side the first goal, but an equalizer from Hartson kept things even until the end. There seemed to be a lot of instability in the defense, causing the team to lose balance. Despite what I said earlier in a previous comment about the team's ability to unite under difficult circumstances, it sounds like this is too much like shooting yourself in the foot. For a possession team like Celtic, it is important to stabilize the defense, and Keane's insertion into the squad seems to be the hot topic of discussion.
I was concerned about the back injury to Shunsuke Nakamura, but he started and played the full 90 mins.
Heracles 1-1 Utrecht
Sota Hirayama chipped in a crucial equalizer in this game against Utrecht. The GK dived to deflect a shot, and Hirayama was in the position to pick up the loose ball and chip it over the goalie right at the right post. It is his 4th goal of the season. It was the second game that he started, and played the full 90 mins. He was selected MOM.
Hamburg SV 1-1 Werder Bremen
Naohiro Takahara substituted in at 65 mins when Hamburg was losing 1-0. Two minutes later, his cross to Kucukovic resulted in the equalizer. A valuable assist for Takahara, who is currently in negotiations with a number of clubs for a possible transfer. One club name that has been linked to Takahara is Bielefeld.
WBA 0-1 Portsmouth
Junichi Inamoto started in his seventh consecutive game, but was not able to do much on the pitch and was the target of much criticism in his performance this match. He has not been able to play this much in 4 years, so it is important for him to keep his starting position. Hopefully he will be able to perform better next round.
Le Mans 0-2 Lens
Another defeat. Daisuke Matsui maintained his starting position, but it's a bad result. He was taken out very early in the second half.
Mallorca 2-2 Atletico Madrid
Yoshito Okubo was being punished for his outburst at the ref in last week's game. Apparently he said something to the ref after the whistle blew, and grabbed his hand, and the ref didn't like the tone (he didn't understand the content since it was in Japanese). A red was given, and right now Okubo is in the doghouse with his manager as well. He appears to be duly penitent for his mistake, though he said that he didn't say anthing obscene or insulting, just that the referee should not have blown the final whistle right after Mallorca was given a corner kick.
Celtic 1-1 Inverness
The current SPL leaders took a trip to the land of Loch Ness for their encounter with the difficult Inverness on Sunday. Inverness have clipped at many of the strong teams this season, and from what I gather it was a lucky 1 point for Celtic. A poor performance from Celtic allowed the home side the first goal, but an equalizer from Hartson kept things even until the end. There seemed to be a lot of instability in the defense, causing the team to lose balance. Despite what I said earlier in a previous comment about the team's ability to unite under difficult circumstances, it sounds like this is too much like shooting yourself in the foot. For a possession team like Celtic, it is important to stabilize the defense, and Keane's insertion into the squad seems to be the hot topic of discussion.
I was concerned about the back injury to Shunsuke Nakamura, but he started and played the full 90 mins.
Heracles 1-1 Utrecht
Sota Hirayama chipped in a crucial equalizer in this game against Utrecht. The GK dived to deflect a shot, and Hirayama was in the position to pick up the loose ball and chip it over the goalie right at the right post. It is his 4th goal of the season. It was the second game that he started, and played the full 90 mins. He was selected MOM.
Hamburg SV 1-1 Werder Bremen
Naohiro Takahara substituted in at 65 mins when Hamburg was losing 1-0. Two minutes later, his cross to Kucukovic resulted in the equalizer. A valuable assist for Takahara, who is currently in negotiations with a number of clubs for a possible transfer. One club name that has been linked to Takahara is Bielefeld.
WBA 0-1 Portsmouth
Junichi Inamoto started in his seventh consecutive game, but was not able to do much on the pitch and was the target of much criticism in his performance this match. He has not been able to play this much in 4 years, so it is important for him to keep his starting position. Hopefully he will be able to perform better next round.
Le Mans 0-2 Lens
Another defeat. Daisuke Matsui maintained his starting position, but it's a bad result. He was taken out very early in the second half.
Mallorca 2-2 Atletico Madrid
Yoshito Okubo was being punished for his outburst at the ref in last week's game. Apparently he said something to the ref after the whistle blew, and grabbed his hand, and the ref didn't like the tone (he didn't understand the content since it was in Japanese). A red was given, and right now Okubo is in the doghouse with his manager as well. He appears to be duly penitent for his mistake, though he said that he didn't say anthing obscene or insulting, just that the referee should not have blown the final whistle right after Mallorca was given a corner kick.
(click on photo to see original enlarged at J's Goal: A last minute goal allowance meant an exit for Tokyo.) I introduced the Sahara Cup to you last week -- a youth cup that is taking place right now. >>Click to see previous entry
I thought I'd do a follow-up, since I attended a couple of the games that took place this weekend. Despite the numb toes and buttocks, it was just pure fun to sit and root and enjoy being outside. J's Goal has posted video digests of the games. I thought it would be fun to share what some of the youth look like.
>>Click to watch FC Tokyo Youth 0-1 Shimizu S-Pulse Youth
>>Click to watch Gamba Osaka Youth 1-1 PK(5-3) Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth
>>Click to watch Mitsubishi SC 3-3 PK(8-9) Yokohama F Marinos Youth
>>Click to watch Vissel Kobe Youth 1-1 PK(3-1) Nagoya Grampus Youth
A lot of PKs...
This was the last game left over from the Round 5, and the contrasting sides met up this weekend to determine who would go forward.
As you can see from the score, Gamba have not lost their knack for multi-goal games. What was interesting was seeing Reysol show up with a young team -- the average age of the lineup was something like 22/23 yrs old. It was refreshing to see the young Reysol players, despite being overclassed they fought spiritedly. These young players had nothing to lose and everything to enjoy, and it made for an entertaining game on the whole.
Gamba's Terada scored first, but then Kashiwa returned with two goals from Tatsuya Suzuki. Then Oguro equalized. But then Kashiwa's Ohtani chased with a 79th minute goal. Then Matsunami and Araujo finished things off with one and two goals respectively in the last five minutes of the game.
As you can see from the score, Gamba have not lost their knack for multi-goal games. What was interesting was seeing Reysol show up with a young team -- the average age of the lineup was something like 22/23 yrs old. It was refreshing to see the young Reysol players, despite being overclassed they fought spiritedly. These young players had nothing to lose and everything to enjoy, and it made for an entertaining game on the whole.
Gamba's Terada scored first, but then Kashiwa returned with two goals from Tatsuya Suzuki. Then Oguro equalized. But then Kashiwa's Ohtani chased with a 79th minute goal. Then Matsunami and Araujo finished things off with one and two goals respectively in the last five minutes of the game.
The Toyota Cup Club World Championships has ended with the trophy of World Club Championship trophy going to Sao Paulo! Congratulations to the club and supporters! Another star added!
Extremely sad news to hear about the death of Liverpool manager Benitez's father. It must have been a very anxious way to come into the game for the Liverpool family.
Sao Paulo 1-0 Liverpool
I'm sure those of you who have been following the CWC at all had already seen the game, so no need for me to go into it in detail here. I don't have deep knowledge of either Sao Paulo or Liverpool on the whole, but my impression was that the finishing capabilities that was displayed by Liverpool in their game against Saprissa did not come through. In particular, the changes in the front half of the lineup was a bit of a mystery to me -- Morientes, Kewell and Luis Garcia not being able to contribute as you'd hope they would. The Japanese air seemed to have agreed with Crouch in the Saprissa game, but he did not come on until the last five minutes of this final game.
Sao Paulo got their one precious goal at a very good time in the first half via Mineiro (27 mins), and they clung onto it with a unified team defense to run away with the victory. Sao Paulo controlled the minutes to victory with a steadfast focus, sometimes everyone retreating deep, sometimes pushing their back line up. A very Brazilian display of game smarts. Though Liverpool threw on a barrage of attacks, they just could not get past all that defending.
>>Visit Fifa's CWC page for videos and articles and photos.
Well, this is the end of 2005's Toyota Cup. What did ya think?
Australia and Japan
Sydney's 5th place win over Al Ahly was a nice victory for the home crowds. The Japanese tv broadcasting network exploited Kazu Miura like no one's business, using him to garner as much interest in the Sydney games as possible. I was uncomfortable with that, but understand that is pretty much all they had in their bag of tricks to get as good a ratings domestically as they could. With few people in Japan particularly knowledgeable of most of the clubs aside from Liverpool, it was all they could do to overexpose Kazu's participation in the competition as the only Japanese presence.
A lot of expectation was riding on him to score a goal, but he responded to that pressure as best he could. And though all that attention/support put on the Sydney team was irritating to not only me but probably a lot of the opponent teams as well, Kazu himself did not let it affect his relationship with his Sydney teammates. I think a nice bond was developed there, and considering Australia will be part of the Asian Football Confederation next year, it was valuable that this initiated a connection between Japanese and Australian football. I hear there are even some J-league teams looking at Sydney players for possible transfers.
First Time Jitters
From the performances, we saw that there is still a noticeable gap in performance levels as can be expected. In particular, I think some of the clubs could have put on a little bit better displays had it not been for some teams being unused to the huge climate changes (it was really cold in Japan this week, with the western coast getting dumped in snow) and the nervousness. But that is something that will take time to improve and get used to.
Put That Cookie Down
There was also some news about a couple of the referees getting taken out of the competition after Fifa determined they were not fit enough to be on the pitch... after they had already officiated a game. But there ya go, what competition would be complete without some refereeing controversies?
As a side note, Japan has placed Shinichiro Obata in the position of Chief Refereeing Instructor, after the departure of Leslie Mottram. Among some of the big changes for Japanese refs next year will be the focus on the fitness and health of referees. Up til now it was up to the refs to take care of their own fitness, but now the J will be training and monitoring the fitness levels in their refs. They have hired a Sports Medical consultant to manage that arena.
So the final rankings look like this:
1. Sao Paulo (S.Am)
2. Liverpool (Europe)
3. Saprissa (N/C.Am)
4. Al Ittihad (Asia)
5. Sydney (Oceania)
6. Al Ahly (Africa)
2006 and What to Do About Japan
Fifa seems to be responding in the affirmative to Japan's request to automatically participate in next year's Club Championships (which Japan will host again). For the sake of the financial feasability of the championships, and getting more people in the country to come out and watch games, it makes sense. And, considering World Cup hosts also automatically qualify for the WC it doesn't seem to be as big a stretch.
The stadia were quite empty this week overall, and though the broadcasting network spent a lot of their air time weeks in advance introducing all the teams and the key players and the countries/cities that the teams come from, there was still no real hook for fans to go buy tickets and sit in the freezing cold.
The JFA and J-league and the media have also not provided any support to the teams that participated in the Asian Champions League this year. Part of me wonders if we deserve to step on the pitch as participants if our football league is not willing to support the teams in the inital process of trying to win the ACL. As much as I think how wonderful it would be to see our teams out there playing the best clubs from all continents, I wonder if I can step up and say "Yes, we deserve to be put in".
Then again, there is something to be said about the value of the experience. In other words, if a J-league team is allowed to play in the CWC, that fact alone creates buzz and expectation. The pressure is on for that team to represent Japan, and there is nothing like the power of "saving face" in Japan. Whether we do poorly or unexpectedly well, the bar is set. And later on, if the Toyota Cup moves to another country, Japanese general opionion (like in the World Cup) will naturally be of expectation, forcing the league to support the J teams. It is a risk that could backfire if the J teams don't improve their performance over the next few years; if we don't do well and continue to get clobbered, it will validate the claim that Japanese football "sucks", thus discourageing many in Japan to give the domestic league any attention even if they follow football abroad.
Anyway, if Japan gets the opportunity, I will let go of my discomfort and wholeheartedly support the team and hope for a worthy performance.
Extremely sad news to hear about the death of Liverpool manager Benitez's father. It must have been a very anxious way to come into the game for the Liverpool family.
Sao Paulo 1-0 Liverpool
I'm sure those of you who have been following the CWC at all had already seen the game, so no need for me to go into it in detail here. I don't have deep knowledge of either Sao Paulo or Liverpool on the whole, but my impression was that the finishing capabilities that was displayed by Liverpool in their game against Saprissa did not come through. In particular, the changes in the front half of the lineup was a bit of a mystery to me -- Morientes, Kewell and Luis Garcia not being able to contribute as you'd hope they would. The Japanese air seemed to have agreed with Crouch in the Saprissa game, but he did not come on until the last five minutes of this final game.
Sao Paulo got their one precious goal at a very good time in the first half via Mineiro (27 mins), and they clung onto it with a unified team defense to run away with the victory. Sao Paulo controlled the minutes to victory with a steadfast focus, sometimes everyone retreating deep, sometimes pushing their back line up. A very Brazilian display of game smarts. Though Liverpool threw on a barrage of attacks, they just could not get past all that defending.
>>Visit Fifa's CWC page for videos and articles and photos.
Well, this is the end of 2005's Toyota Cup. What did ya think?
Australia and Japan
Sydney's 5th place win over Al Ahly was a nice victory for the home crowds. The Japanese tv broadcasting network exploited Kazu Miura like no one's business, using him to garner as much interest in the Sydney games as possible. I was uncomfortable with that, but understand that is pretty much all they had in their bag of tricks to get as good a ratings domestically as they could. With few people in Japan particularly knowledgeable of most of the clubs aside from Liverpool, it was all they could do to overexpose Kazu's participation in the competition as the only Japanese presence.
A lot of expectation was riding on him to score a goal, but he responded to that pressure as best he could. And though all that attention/support put on the Sydney team was irritating to not only me but probably a lot of the opponent teams as well, Kazu himself did not let it affect his relationship with his Sydney teammates. I think a nice bond was developed there, and considering Australia will be part of the Asian Football Confederation next year, it was valuable that this initiated a connection between Japanese and Australian football. I hear there are even some J-league teams looking at Sydney players for possible transfers.
First Time Jitters
From the performances, we saw that there is still a noticeable gap in performance levels as can be expected. In particular, I think some of the clubs could have put on a little bit better displays had it not been for some teams being unused to the huge climate changes (it was really cold in Japan this week, with the western coast getting dumped in snow) and the nervousness. But that is something that will take time to improve and get used to.
Put That Cookie Down
There was also some news about a couple of the referees getting taken out of the competition after Fifa determined they were not fit enough to be on the pitch... after they had already officiated a game. But there ya go, what competition would be complete without some refereeing controversies?
As a side note, Japan has placed Shinichiro Obata in the position of Chief Refereeing Instructor, after the departure of Leslie Mottram. Among some of the big changes for Japanese refs next year will be the focus on the fitness and health of referees. Up til now it was up to the refs to take care of their own fitness, but now the J will be training and monitoring the fitness levels in their refs. They have hired a Sports Medical consultant to manage that arena.
So the final rankings look like this:
1. Sao Paulo (S.Am)
2. Liverpool (Europe)
3. Saprissa (N/C.Am)
4. Al Ittihad (Asia)
5. Sydney (Oceania)
6. Al Ahly (Africa)
2006 and What to Do About Japan
Fifa seems to be responding in the affirmative to Japan's request to automatically participate in next year's Club Championships (which Japan will host again). For the sake of the financial feasability of the championships, and getting more people in the country to come out and watch games, it makes sense. And, considering World Cup hosts also automatically qualify for the WC it doesn't seem to be as big a stretch.
The stadia were quite empty this week overall, and though the broadcasting network spent a lot of their air time weeks in advance introducing all the teams and the key players and the countries/cities that the teams come from, there was still no real hook for fans to go buy tickets and sit in the freezing cold.
The JFA and J-league and the media have also not provided any support to the teams that participated in the Asian Champions League this year. Part of me wonders if we deserve to step on the pitch as participants if our football league is not willing to support the teams in the inital process of trying to win the ACL. As much as I think how wonderful it would be to see our teams out there playing the best clubs from all continents, I wonder if I can step up and say "Yes, we deserve to be put in".
Then again, there is something to be said about the value of the experience. In other words, if a J-league team is allowed to play in the CWC, that fact alone creates buzz and expectation. The pressure is on for that team to represent Japan, and there is nothing like the power of "saving face" in Japan. Whether we do poorly or unexpectedly well, the bar is set. And later on, if the Toyota Cup moves to another country, Japanese general opionion (like in the World Cup) will naturally be of expectation, forcing the league to support the J teams. It is a risk that could backfire if the J teams don't improve their performance over the next few years; if we don't do well and continue to get clobbered, it will validate the claim that Japanese football "sucks", thus discourageing many in Japan to give the domestic league any attention even if they follow football abroad.
Anyway, if Japan gets the opportunity, I will let go of my discomfort and wholeheartedly support the team and hope for a worthy performance.
Rumor is, Shinji Ono may be coming back to Urawa Reds. Feyenoord have apparently agreed to letting him come back to Japan. But there is some talk still of Ono holding out hope for a move to another Euro league. Though he just came back from his operation/injury, and has not played this season yet... so it will be highly unlikely, unless a club wants him for marketing purposes.
Gossip is, Kazu Miura may end up staying with Sydney FC. His contract was supposed to end after Sydney's final Toyota Cup game (5th place decider), but the club is extremely appreciative of the amount of press coverage and marketing power Kazu has brought to the team. And Litti also wants Kazu to stay.
Ramos wants Kazu too. Ramos, who you know just got his first job as part of the coaching staff at Kashiwa Reysol this season is rocketing up the career ladder like no one's business. He and Kashiwa manager Hayano essentially resigned from their responsibilities at Kashiwa this month, saying they had to take responsibility for Kashiwa's slide to the J2. But Ramos was jobless for about two seconds, when rumor has it an offer from Tokyo Verdy (also relegated for the 2006 season) came through for a proper manager position. There is talk that the former Verdy superstar wants to put together a Verdy-Loyal posse of coaches and players, including Kazu.
I was kinda shocked to see how poorly Takahara is looking in these past several Hamburg games (the three minutes he's played). He looks...grey. Sluggish and heavy, and his expression lacks vigor and strength, like he's retaining water. He reminds me of how Inamoto looked at the beginning of this year. Takahara is rumored to be looking for a transfer during the upcoming window. So two life-changing events await him in the course of the next month (he's getting married next week).
Do any of you know who Kenji Fukuda is? He has been playing as a forward in Paraguay and Mexico for the past couple years, after some time with FC Tokyo and Vegalta Sendai. He's more or less ignored in Japan, despite the fact that technically he is an "overseas" player; though sometimes when he gets goals in big tournaments or games there is some video coverage on tv news. >>Here is his blog. I like to keep an eye on his career because I like that he took the leap to move his career like he did, away from the comfort zone of Japan or even Europe (which, though it is a challenge to play in Europe, a lot of fuss and attention is made just for getting a contract). Anyway, it looks like Fukuda will be moving to the Liga 2nd division Castellon -- they are currently at the bottom of the table.
Gamba are galloping into 2006. I already told you about their offer for FC Tokyo's Kaji, and Oita Trinita's Magno Alves. Now they are out to get Vissel Kobe's forward Bando, Kashiwa Reysol's captain/midfielder Myojin, and Purple Sanga's defender Tejima.
Meanwhile, Urawa Reds may give Gamba some competition. I personally think it would be best not to change the Reds team around much, but certainly a few additions would be great to add depth. I already mentioned the possibility of Shinji Ono returning to his old haunting grounds, but even if he doesn't Urawa have some promising negotiations with Oita Trinita's Takamatsu and Tokyo Verdy's (well ex-Verdy) Washington, both forwards.
Gossip is, Kazu Miura may end up staying with Sydney FC. His contract was supposed to end after Sydney's final Toyota Cup game (5th place decider), but the club is extremely appreciative of the amount of press coverage and marketing power Kazu has brought to the team. And Litti also wants Kazu to stay.
Ramos wants Kazu too. Ramos, who you know just got his first job as part of the coaching staff at Kashiwa Reysol this season is rocketing up the career ladder like no one's business. He and Kashiwa manager Hayano essentially resigned from their responsibilities at Kashiwa this month, saying they had to take responsibility for Kashiwa's slide to the J2. But Ramos was jobless for about two seconds, when rumor has it an offer from Tokyo Verdy (also relegated for the 2006 season) came through for a proper manager position. There is talk that the former Verdy superstar wants to put together a Verdy-Loyal posse of coaches and players, including Kazu.
I was kinda shocked to see how poorly Takahara is looking in these past several Hamburg games (the three minutes he's played). He looks...grey. Sluggish and heavy, and his expression lacks vigor and strength, like he's retaining water. He reminds me of how Inamoto looked at the beginning of this year. Takahara is rumored to be looking for a transfer during the upcoming window. So two life-changing events await him in the course of the next month (he's getting married next week).
Do any of you know who Kenji Fukuda is? He has been playing as a forward in Paraguay and Mexico for the past couple years, after some time with FC Tokyo and Vegalta Sendai. He's more or less ignored in Japan, despite the fact that technically he is an "overseas" player; though sometimes when he gets goals in big tournaments or games there is some video coverage on tv news. >>Here is his blog. I like to keep an eye on his career because I like that he took the leap to move his career like he did, away from the comfort zone of Japan or even Europe (which, though it is a challenge to play in Europe, a lot of fuss and attention is made just for getting a contract). Anyway, it looks like Fukuda will be moving to the Liga 2nd division Castellon -- they are currently at the bottom of the table.
Gamba are galloping into 2006. I already told you about their offer for FC Tokyo's Kaji, and Oita Trinita's Magno Alves. Now they are out to get Vissel Kobe's forward Bando, Kashiwa Reysol's captain/midfielder Myojin, and Purple Sanga's defender Tejima.
Meanwhile, Urawa Reds may give Gamba some competition. I personally think it would be best not to change the Reds team around much, but certainly a few additions would be great to add depth. I already mentioned the possibility of Shinji Ono returning to his old haunting grounds, but even if he doesn't Urawa have some promising negotiations with Oita Trinita's Takamatsu and Tokyo Verdy's (well ex-Verdy) Washington, both forwards.
I was hoping Saprissa's nervousness was over and done with in the first half of the Sydney game a few days ago, but I think it this game against Liverpool may have been a little too much not to be nervous. Saprissa were way to quiet and docile, and it didn't help that Liverpool got a goal so early in the first half. Saprissa had no time to adjust, and I think they just couldn't find themselves on the pitch. Bolanos was the only one really making a real difference for his team; and Solis made his long-awaited entrance onto the pitch.
Liverpool were bigger, tougher, and better. Saprissa did threaten in the first half, especially down the middle, against the two centerbacks, but in the second half manager Benitez switched the defense to a 3-back to compensate.
>>Fifa has posted video highlights
Liverpool were bigger, tougher, and better. Saprissa did threaten in the first half, especially down the middle, against the two centerbacks, but in the second half manager Benitez switched the defense to a 3-back to compensate.
>>Fifa has posted video highlights
>>Read Guardian article
The rumors were flying for a while now, so what a relief it's finally out of the bag. Though I am unsure how I feel about it. In my typical careful Japanese nature (careful? you, depflight?), I am wondering what such a huge persona will do to the currently fantastic balance of the Celtic attack. It's true, the defense shows vulnerability, but somehow the entire team has contributed when things get hairy in the back, and I had always thought that the vulnerability in defense is what keeps the posture of the team at attention...
But having Keane come to Celtic could also mean Shunsuke Nakamura can go to the left and be joined by Petrov on the right... or maybe Strachan likes to keep Nakamura on the right, I don't know. If any of you have any ideas, please type away in the comments section.
The rumors were flying for a while now, so what a relief it's finally out of the bag. Though I am unsure how I feel about it. In my typical careful Japanese nature (careful? you, depflight?), I am wondering what such a huge persona will do to the currently fantastic balance of the Celtic attack. It's true, the defense shows vulnerability, but somehow the entire team has contributed when things get hairy in the back, and I had always thought that the vulnerability in defense is what keeps the posture of the team at attention...
But having Keane come to Celtic could also mean Shunsuke Nakamura can go to the left and be joined by Petrov on the right... or maybe Strachan likes to keep Nakamura on the right, I don't know. If any of you have any ideas, please type away in the comments section.