News
The J.League is Back! ... uh ... well, Kinda.
The J.League 2020 season kicked off just over four months ago, yet there is still only one match in the books for J1 and J2 teams, and J3 teams have yet to begin 2020 play. The J1 will not resume until next weekend, but J2 and J3 teams got back under way on Saturday and Sunday.
Another Season Dawns
Are you ready? The J.League 2020 season kicked off this weekend, and JSoccer has a full roundup of the results.
What to Do When the J.League Season Is Over?!
The end of the J.League 2019 season is just around the corner.... but soon the exciting story lines will conclude, leaving a need to be entertained and to compete until the top division of Japanese football gets underway once again.
Clash of the Titans
The J.League resumed play this weekend, as the season moves into its final stretch. The top four teams all played one another, and the results narrowed the title chase significantly.
A word or two on Jay Bothroyd’s twilight years in the Land of the Rising Sun
Anyone curious enough to have a look at how Jay Bothroyd is getting on in the Japanese top-flight will be shocked to see that the former Cardiff striker seems to be playing with the ease and grace of a man half his age. Bothroyd, now 38, can’t go on forever and logic tells you that retirement is the next milestone in his career, but there’s no sign yet of the sun setting on his playing days. And what a career it has been, with Bothroyd playing for as many as 12 different clubs since he became a professional in 2000. Indeed, it has been a career that has taken him from London to Perugia , before ending up at Cardiff, then finally on to the Far East with stints in Thailand and now the J-League in Japan.
In many ways, it’s been a strange old ride at times with the common denominator being that Bothroyd has a tendency to fall out with people around him. When he speaks of Mick McCarthy and calls him a 'clown manager' you are inclined to believe that he is susceptible to confrontation. After all, his last act in an Arsenal shirt was to throw it at his coach Don Howe after being replaced in a Premier League Youth Cup final when he was 18 years old. The next thing Bothroyd knew was that the Gunners had sold him to Coventry.
Jay Bothroyd's antics to a return to management ?
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 13, 2018
Mick McCarthy was pure gold on #PLTonight this week ? pic.twitter.com/VgziF2y1ci
Despite it being a productive time in Japan with Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, it hasn’t been one that has produced any silverware. It must be said, though, that it is proving impossible to stop Kawasaki Frontale from their current domination of the J-League. The latest odds on Japanese soccer as far as the winners of the J-League go will show Kawasaki Frontale at outrageously short odds of 1/33 to defend their title. With that in mind, you can understand the enormity of the task that awaits Bothroyd and his Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo teammates every season. That is, of course, the same for every J1 team as they try and make their mark on the league.
Jay Bothroyd is still out in Japan. Scoring for fun. pic.twitter.com/mSDzEGHvDd
— MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) August 19, 2019
Whether Jay Bothroyd will still be playing by the time Kawasaki Frontale are toppled remains to be seen. The Englishman’s contract is up at the end of January 2022. If it is to be the end, that will mean that Bothroyd would have spent the longest that he has at any club over the course of his career. The smart money, however, would be on a contract extension for Bothroyd. Indeed, something just says that the lanky striker will carry on plying his trade in the J-League well into his 40s.
September Survival
As the J.League moves into its final stretch run, the title race is beginning to tighten up, albeit with only two teams in real contention (Sanfrecce and Frontale). At the bottom end of the rankings, however, the tension is rising and the margin for error narrowing.
Takin Care of Business
As the 2018 J.League season enters the final stretch, the title chase has narrowed to just two real contenders. But everyone else needs to take care of business, since over half of the teams in the league are still within a loss or two of relegation danger.
Chasing the Snitch
As the J1 campaign moves into its final third, there are signs that one, or at most two teams may break away from the pack and produce a most un-J-like stroll to the finish line. Can the second-tier teams rein in Sanfrecce Hiroshima? Read on for all the details.
Jordy Buijs – Welcome to Japan!
Jordy Buijs joined V-Varen Nagasaki from Sydney FC in July of this year and, judging by the outpour of support and well-wishing from Sydney fans online, he will be missed in the A-League.
Footie Food at J.League Games!
If there are two things Japan does well, they're soccer and food. When you bring the two together you have a real match made in heaven.