Category Archives: In the Mix

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In the Mix, Previews

J1 Preview – Cerezo Osaka vs Sagan Tosu at Kincho Stadium Oct.6, Matchday 28 – JSoccer Magazine

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Team News
Cerezo Osaka – DF/MF Maruhashi is suspended.
Sagan Tosu – No suspensions or injuries reported.

Head to Head – Cerezo won 5-0 in the Nabisco Cup this year, and held Sagan to a 0-0 draw away. Other meetings were in J2 since 2007, all in 6 wins for Cerezo, 5 for Tosu and that scoreless draw.

Match Preview – Cerezo Osaka pulled six points away from the drop zone with last week’s come-from-behind win away at Vissel Kobe and have now won four of their last five. Finally, some consistency from a team that have been decimated by players leaving or missing games through Olympic duties. Coach Levir Culpi returned with the express job of keeping Cerezo in J1 – with 7 games to go I estimate they need only 4 or 5 points but would like to keep the wins going. They were perhaps fortunate last weekend to get the win at Kobe, but they all count and they never gave up. I expect them to make it hard for Sagan.
Sagan Tosu have drifted to seven points away from a top three finish but, let’s face it, who expected them to do this well anyway!? They were outclassed 4-1 by Sanfrecce last weekend but will fancy their chances against Cerezo but I think the best that they can expect this time is A DRAW!!

In the Mix

JSoccer Magazine Jリーグ　J1 ゲーム リポート　9月29日

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サンフレッチェ広島４-１サガン鳥栖

広島が攻めの形を貫き、鳥栖の堅守を突き崩した。前半30分、右サイドの清水が仕掛け、守備陣にひるむことなくネットに突き刺す。その４分後のＰＫは、守備側への間接ＦＫとなるべきファウルだったが、誤審によりイエローカードまで受ける始末。佐藤寿人が確実に決め、これで２点差。３点目は、相手ミスからボールを奪った佐藤が、一対一でＧＫをかわすと、中央を駆け上がってきた森崎浩にどんぴしゃのパス。鳥栖は後半47分に豊田がヘディングで１点を返すが、その直後、佐藤が今日２点目となるループシュートでとどめを刺した。

柏レイソル１-２浦和レッズ

柏の先制点は奇想天外なＯＧだった。ゴール前に入ったボールがディフェンダーに当たり、さらにＧＫの頭に当たってクロスバーを叩くと、その跳ね返りがサイドＧＫに当たってゴールイン。しかし浦和は前半39分、マルシオリシャルデスのシュートはＧＫに止められたが、そこに梅﨑が詰めて同点に追いつく。その後、柏木が二度ほど勝ち越しのチャンスを得たが、決め切れない中、またしても意外なプレーから決勝点が生まれる。ＤＦとＧＫの間にあったボールをポポが触ると、ボールはペナルティエリアを転がり、ゴールに転がり込んだ。首位サンフレッチェを追走するレッズには貴重な勝ち点３となった。

清水エスパルス３-１ベガルタ仙台

アウェイの仙台は、前半14分、ノーマークの菅井が先制点。ところが、仙台は鎌田が累積警告で退場となり、後半は10人での戦いを強いられる。エスパルスは後半25分、金賢聖が同点弾。39分には瀬沼がＧＫとＤＦの間に飛び込みヘディングシュート。さらに終了間際、金がこの日２点目を見事なロングシュートで叩き込み、ダメ押し。ＧＫは処理しなければならないボールだった。エスパルスはこれでまた順位を上げた。

川崎フロンターレ１-０コンサドーレ札幌

Ｊ１残留の徳俵に足が掛かった札幌は、川崎の猛攻を必死で凌ぐ。しかし後半35分、途中交代のレナトに強烈な左足をシュートを決められ万事休す。残り７試合を残しての降格決定は史上最速。

ＦＣ東京２-１ジュビロ磐田

先制はジュビロ、前半９分の菅原のヘディング。東京も反撃。ＣＫから、まずは高橋のヘディングがポストを叩けば、前半終了直前、ルーカスのヘディングがＧＫのファインセーブに阻まれる。同点弾は、後半９分。ブチチェビッチのシュートがＧＫにセーブされたところをエジミウソンが押し込む。決勝点もブチチェビッチがからむ。渡辺の右サイドからの低いクロスをきれいに合わせ、逆転劇を演じた。

ガンバ大阪２-２鹿島アントラーズ

立ち上がりはガンバだったが、先制したのはアントラーズ。前半９分、レナトが中距離弾を決める。しかしガンバは25分、スローインを二川が頭で落としたところをレアンドロが見事なボレーで同点に追いつく。ガンバはその後、遠藤のクロスに今野が頭で合わせるも、強烈なヘディングはバーをわずかに越えた。アントラーズの勝ち越し点は前半の38分。レナトの中距離弾をＧＫ藤川がファンブル。そこをドゥトラがすかさず詰めてゴールに蹴り込んだ。
試合はこのまま鹿島の勝ちかと思われた後半のロスタイム。ガンバを救ったのは、またしてもこの男、レアンドロだった。抜群の得点感覚、殺し屋のような冷静さでゴールを量産中だ。８試合で11得点は見事の一言に尽きる。

大宮アルディージャ０-０横浜Ｆマリノス

両者互いに相譲らず。大宮は、村上のシュートがポストを叩けば、ノバコビッチのシュートがバーに嫌われる。マリノスも小野裕二が再三のチャンスを逃す。10人で戦った大宮が、体を張った守りで勝ち点１を手にした試合だった。

ヴィッセル神戸２-３セレッソ大阪

先制は神戸。前半７分、都倉からのコントロールされたパスを小川がきっちりと決める。13分にも追加点のチャンス。野沢のＦＫのヘディングによる折り返しを李光善がゴールに入れるが、無情にもオフサイドの旗。明らかにディフェンスが触ったボールを二人の審判が見逃す誤審だった。しかしそのわずか３分後、ヴィッセルは相馬が追加点を決める。セレッソの反撃は22分、丸橋の長距離弾が大きくブレながらゴールを襲う。処理に困った徳重がはじき返したボールをシンプリシオが詰めた。同点弾もシンプリシオ。後半28分、中盤で奪い取ったボールが柿谷から出るところをヘディングで決める。勢いに乗るセレッソは、後半36分、今度は枝村がゴール隅に叩き込んで勝ちを引き込んだ。

アルビレックス新潟５-０名古屋グランパス

試合は後半になって急に動き出す。きっかけは、これまた微妙な判定。後半10分、金珍洙がスルーパスに反応、ペナルティエリアに侵入したところを後ろから倒されＰＫを獲得。ミシェウが決める。ナビスコ杯でのエスパルスが受けたＰＫの判定にも物議が醸し出されたが、これもそれに負けず劣らずの「選手には厳し過ぎる」判定だった。結局、新潟に傾いた流れは、８分後、ミシェウがこの日２点目を決め、ＯＧと続く。４点目はブルーノロペス。さらにはロスタイムに坪内がダメ押しの５点目を入れる。降格争いを演じるチームに大量失点で負けることに癖づいてしまったかのようなグランパスの試合だった。

In the Mix, Reports

Vissel Kobe 2-3 Cerezo Osaka – extended report, see highlights below!

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Vissel Kobe 2-3 Cerezo Osaka

This game started with a bang, as Hashimoto, Okubo and Mogi all had shots within the first 30 seconds as Vissel went for it from the whistle, but to no avail, but it didn’t take long for the home team to open the scoring when, in the 7th minute, Tokura controlled a pass, turned and threaded the ball to Ogawa running into the channel and the youngster made no mistake to give Vissel the lead. Kobe should have been 2-0 up in the 13th minute when a Nozawa free kick was headed on to Lee, who volleyed home with aplomb. The flag was up for offside on the flick-on, the only problem being that the flick-on was from a defender’s head – how both officials missed that is anyone’s guess, but a grave injustice for the ever-improving Korean centre back.

Vissel did eventually make it 2-0 just three minutes later when Ogawa turned provider, setting up Okubo who’s shot was too hot to handle for the keeper, who could only palm it out to a quickly-reacting Tokura, who turned the ball back across the goal where Soma was waiting to pop the ball into the open goal!

Cerezo were back in the game in the 22nd minute, when a long distance shot from Maruhashi moved wickedly in the air, giving Tokushige problems, the keeper only able to palm the ball out and Simplicio followed up and blasted the ball home to make it 2-1 – game on! Could have been, should have been 3-0, but now it was 2-1 – game changer from the officials, unfortunately.

Lee then got himself a yellow card as he came up behind Cerezo keeper Kim as he tried to throw the ball out. The keeper’s arm caught the retreating defender and the Cerezo players screamed at the ref. What else could the official do but pull out his card – it wasn’t the last time that the away team surrounded the official demanding cards. The interesting thing is that Kim was handling the ball often – including in this instance – as he tried to get distance on his throws. Standing on the line, his arms were often over the line when his throws were completed. I guess the sharp-eyed Assistant Referee who saw the non-offside wasn’t as sharp-eyed as we thought, after all! He also missed Kempes (and Kakitani) in an offside position when Kempes got his head onto a deep cross and got the ball on to the bar!

Just hitting the hour mark Maruhashi earned himself a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Nozawa, who needed treatment and the away team were down to ten men with 30 minutes remaining. Then another game changer, perhaps from the officials? Lee challenged Kakitani on the wing, just yards away from the assistant referee, the Cerezo player grabbing the Kobe defender’s shirt all the way then going down. The referee gave the foul FOR Cerezo, the crowd went wild, the Cerezo players begged for a card and basically put enough pressure on the referee that whatever Lee did next he would be yellow carded. Vissel coach Nishino had no choice but to replace Lee – Takagi came on – lest Vissel also go down to ten men soon. Sugimoto – just on as a sub – hit the bar with a glancing header from the free kick and it wasn’t long before Simplicio had his second goal of the game, stealing in totally unmarked from a midfield position at the back post to head home a Kakitani cross to make it 2-2.

Edamura made an appearance for Cerezo in the 78th minute and, as it turned out, he was the game winner for Cerezo although it was that man Takagi who gifted him the chance, but what a finish! It was just a simple throw-in on the half way line but Takagi completely misjudged the bounce of the ball, it went over his head, Edamura broke, advanced, Kitamoto blocked him off from moving inside but the S-Pulse loanee didn’t need to – he let fly from 20 yards and the ball flew into the corner – 3-2 Cerezo, game over! Well, not quite, Mogi, Kitamoto, Ogawa, Okubo AND Fernand all had half chances in the final minutes as Vissel piled on the pressure looking for a point but it was not to be. Cerezo moved up and, arguably, safe, Vissel dropped into danger.

Vissel Kobe – Tokushige, Mogi, Lee (Takagi, 68), Kitamoto, Soma, Tanaka (Morioka, 78), Hashimoto, Nozawa, Ogawa, Tokura (Fernand, 77), Okubo

Archives, In the Mix

Shinji Ono arrives in Sydney – ready for action!

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Western Sydney Wanderers’ “marquee signing”, former Japanese international, Shinji Ono arrived in Sydney on Monday morning and was even greeted at the airport by a few of the fans of the new A-League team.

“I’m surprised there are so many people here, [especially] to sing a song about me already,” Ono said to gathered reporters. “Now I just want to give my everything for the club. It’s very exciting to play here. I think I’ll be ready (for Saturday’s match in the A-League against Central Coast Mariners at Parramatta Stadium) but I need to speak with the manager of the team. I feel ready to play. I want to play here. I want to show the people what I can do. I hope a lot of people come to the stadium to watch the game.”

Ono had received tips on living in Sydney from former teammate at Shimizu S-Pulse, Alex Brosque, who himself also made a move this weekend – to a new life in the UAE!

Ono has had a storied career over 17 years since he actually originally spurned the advances of his local team – S-Pulse,  in 1998, signing for Urawa Reds where he played from 1998 to 2001, returning for a second stint in 2006-07). He also played for Feyenoord, in Holland’s Eredivisie (2001-05),Vfl Bochum in Germany (2007-10) before returning to Reds, an then finally returning “home) to join Shimizu S-Pulse in 2010.

Ono also has 56 caps for Japan, including a shock inclusion for the France 1998 World Cup (when Kazuyoshi Miura was dropped at the last minute), as well as the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

West Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic said,

“(Shinji) is an experienced player at all levels and has played on some of the biggest stages in the world, his professionalism at the top level will be good for all to see.”

Ono had not been playing regularly at S-Pulse this season, due to niggling ankle injuries and the emergence of new players at the club and S-Pulse coach Afshin Ghotbi was not going to stand in the player’s way when this offer came along. The club and the Iranian coach agreed to cancel his contract in order for the move to be transfer-free, and wished him the best of luck in his new venture.

“It is a new chapter in his career and, as he was not playing at S-Pulse, we were not going to hinder his progress by asking for fee or making ti difficult for Ono to find another club. He moves on with our best wishes and our thanks for his service to S-Pulse”.

In the Mix, Previews

JSoccer Magazine J1 Previews September 29th, 2012

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Kawasaki Frontale v. Consadole Sapporo at Todoroki – Sapporo to Scrape a Point Off Dire Frontale?

Team News
Kawasaki Frontale – GK Nishibe, DF Morishita, MF Inamoto and FW Kobayashi all out through injury.
Consadole Sapporo – DF Takaki is suspended. The team have no new injuries to report but a long list of players who are not match fit.

Head to Head – 2008 Nabisco Cup is the only time Consadole have beaten Frontale in 13 matches since 2003, with 10 wins for Frontale and 2 draws.

Match Preview – Last week’s fortunate win – it seems – for Frontale may well have saved them from an immediate relegation fight and, with Consadole Sapporo clinging to the bottom all season, this SHOULD be another win for Frontale, especially at home – who would bet against them in this match? But the Kawasaki club have been poor all season and, while a chance of manager brought a little mid-table hope for a while, even a top three shot at one point, it’s been all downhill for a while now and only last week’s poor display but big result and a win today will allow the team to relax for the final month or so? Then, at the end of the season, the position of the manager, and perhaps the fact that he is playing his two sons
needs to be examined a little more! If the Kazama brothers can show their true talent in the next few games, all will be good, if not …?

Consadole Sapporo – what can you say about them that isn’t negative? Bottom all season, heading for a record low in points and a record high in goals conceded, they may just be the worst team to ever play in J1? Injuries didn’t help, but then bringing in the likes of Tele and Ramon as new foreigners arguably made them worse? They must have been cheap, and recommended by agents with no qualms at taking the money. Poor Australian international Jade North – who arrived from FC Tokyo this season – must wonder what he did to upset the football gods! I can see nothing here expct a WIN for KAWASAKI FRONTALE!

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Shimizu S-Pulse v. Vegalta Sendai at Nihondaira – S-Pulse to Make it Hard for Vegalta!

Team News
Shimizu S-Pulse – Takagi is set to return, probably from the bench, after a hamstring injury. Alex Brosque will say goodbye to S-Pulse fans after making the move to Al-Ain in UAE. DF/MF Matsumura is suspended. DF Yoshida needs a fitness test.
Vegalta Sendai – MF Sekiguchi is considered doubtful.

Head to Head – Sendai’s only win against S-Pulse came in J1 in 2003. It’s 4 wins for S-Pulse and 1 draw in 5 meetings since Vegalta returned to J1 in 2010.

Match Preview – S-Pulse have lost Alex Brosque to the UAE and reports say Shinji Ono is lining up a move to the A-League. last week’s defeat may well have put paid to any lingering title hopes but a top three spot is still not out of reach and two cups are also to play for, so the money made on the sale of Brosque should be able to go to rebuilding for a tilt at the title in 2013. With the likes of Ishige coming out of the youth programme, and Omae and Takagi blossoming the future looks bright but Kim has to start scoring – then the team may look a little more complete.

Vegalta Sendai are an enigma – many critics are still waiting for the bubble to burst and the inexperience to show. Well, this time last year the bubble WAS bursting so they’ve experienced that and it may help make sure it doesn’t happen again. The loss to Sanfrecce two games back was hard to take but a plucky come-from-behind win against Vissel last week will have helped bring back the confidence. This is a must win for Vegalta, but I feel it may well be a WIN for SHIMIZU S-PULSE!

 

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Sanfrecce Hiroshima v. Sagan Tosu at Hiroshima Big Arch – … and Tosu to Make it Hard for Sanfrecce!

Team News
Sanfrecce Hiroshima – nothing to report! Mikic appears to be fit again …
Sagan Tosu – DF Niwa is suspended.

Head to Head – Tosu’s solitary win against Sanfrecce came at home in J1 this season. In the Nabisco Cup Sanfrecce destroyed Tosu and in previous J2 meetings since 2003 we see 6 wins for Sanfrecce and a draw!

Match Preview – Sanfrecce beat fellow title-challengers Vegalta two weeks ago and then got a VERY late winner last week through Moriwaki – the signs of a title winner? They do not have the experience of being on top and the pressure may tell, while Sagan Tosu have nothing to lose at all. If Tosu don’t worry about an ACL spot for 2013 and just play like they can – efficiently and calmly, the best defence in the league might well keep out J1’s top scorer, Sato. What Sanfrecce do well is being patient, persevering (see last week’s late win), and score goals… will they be able to do that against such a strong defence?

Sagan have not got that many goals this season – just 33 – but if they can hold off Sanfrecce with their solid defence I think that this can be a low scoring game with Sanfrecce dropping points, and IF Tosu’s forwards are in form, and Toyoda is fully fit they might even shock Sanfrecce with a few goals. I can see Tosu getting a point where many expect nothing? EXPECT a DRAW!

 

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FC Tokyo v. Jubilo Iwata at Ajinomoto – Tokyo to Kill Off Jubilo Title Hopes?

Team News
FC Tokyo – MF Kaga joined the injury list that includes Otake, as a long term victim. FW Hirayama, MF Kawano and DF Ota are all on the road to recovery and could be in contention for selection.
Jubilo Iwata – MFs Matsuoka, Baek, Kitaji and Sakurauchi are all out testing the midfield resources of the team. FW Kanazono is approaching fitness after a long break. GK Kawaguchi is still recovering from an Achilles operation.

Head to Head – 21 meetings since 2004 with 8 wins each and 5 draws, historically anything can happen!

Match Preview – FC Tokyo are having an up and down season, beset by injuries and having an initial unsuccessful ACL campaign to think about too, so have suffered from wild inconsistency – they beat Sanfrecce earlier this month, but then have lost to Omiya Ardija and a dire Kawasaki Frontale, who must have wondered how they got the points. They have reached what many think is the magic number of 37 points to avoid relegation, with 8 games to go, so can relax a little but, if they are to rise up the table must string some wins together. They are just five points behind Jubilo, so a win here could go a long way to placating bored fans looking for some action!

Jubilo Iwata, on the other hand, have been so close to breaking into that top three so many times, and then fall back. Last week they were held scoreless (the first time this season?) by lowly Albirex Niigata when they could have moved to within a point of Urawa Reds. who lost big time against Gamba. The injuries have piled up for Jubilo this season but they have a decent, deep squad and have pulled through quite effectively at times, when it seemed another key player was missing. Baek is still out and he IS a big loss, for me. Perhaps the pressure of aiming for that top three spot is finally telling? EXPECT a DRAW!

 

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Albirex Niigata v. Nagoya Grampus at Tohoku Den – Grampus to Push Albirex Deeper Into Trouble!

Team News
Albirex Niigata – MFs Nakamura and Uchida are long term injuries, no other problems reported.
Nagoya Grampus – Reserve GK Takagi is out, MF Isomura long term injury victim.

Head to Head – 21 meetings since 2004 with 8 wins each and 5 draws, a very even history!

Match Preview – Albirex have ground out 2 vital draws in their last two games – a late PK gave them a point at Gamba after a 2nd half onslaught and last week they held high-scoring Jubilo Iwata to a scorless draw but, with Omiya, Gamba and Cerezo all winning, they lost ground in the race for safety and must win games to survive now. To win games they need to score goals and that is something they can’t do this season – 17 goals in 26 games is a sad return but their tight defence has kept them in some games… now the forwards have to do their job! The forwards at Niigata have been a BIG disappointment this season! They can’t do worse than give Hirai an extended chance to prove himself before they hit J2. When playing regularly he hit the net with ease for Gamba, but in and out off the bench is not good for confidence.

Nagoya Grampus succumbed to a VERY late winner against Sanfecce last week when a win would have taken them to within three points of that team. Instead they find themselves off the lead by 9 points with 8 games to go – havetheir title hopes been shattered? Who knows – it is so tight at the top anything could happen but Nagoya MUST win this one to keep in touch. This week saw the news that Kennedy had been refused a move to UAE (Alex Brosque went instead) and that could be the key to their season. The big man makes space and chances for those around him and, with Tamada fit again, and Nagai returning from suspension, that Niigata defence had better beware! EXPECT a WIN for NAGOYA GRAMPUS!

 

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Vissel Kobe v. Cerezo Osaka at Home’s – Vissel Kobe to Win This Six-Pointer!

Team News
Vissel Kobe – DF Hayashi is out for the season, FW Tashiro is having treatment on a muscle injury.
Cerezo Osaka – FW Nagai has confirmed a loan move to Perth in Australia. MF Sakemoto is the only injury report.

Head to Head – Cerezo have not beaten Vissel away since 2003, and have won just 3 times in 11 meetings, with 6 wins for Vissel and 2 draws.

Match Preview – Despite some excellent performances, Vissel have just one point to show from their last four games and will find themselves slipping into the relegation dogfight if they don’t pull out a win or two in the next 3 or 4 games. They are 7 points clear of Niigata but Cerezo are just a point behind, Omiya two behind them, and Gamba – on form too – are closing in, also. If Vissel can survive in J1 – and they do probably need only 5 or 6 points, then they should be all set for a top three push in 2013, under the long-term planning of coach Nishino! But to do that they must consolidate their J1 position – little room for error! In Nozawa they have a set piece specialist, in Tashiro and Tokura they have a couple of good centre forwards to get on the end of those set pieces, and the likes of Ogawa and Morioka, Inui and more have a bright future. Just get those points on the board and plan for next season boys!

Cerezo Osaka have had a wildly fluctuating season, going from the sublime to the ridiculous from one game to the next. This can easily be blamed on the fact that they lost Kiyotake and Kim to overseas moves (and Ogihara and Kakitani seem to be the next targets!) and were without Ogihara and Yamaguchi for the duration of London 2012, too! They have recently switched coaches, bringing back Levir Culpi with the sole aim of J1 survival – the Emperor’s Cup is of no concern to the team’s management right now. Three wins in their last five games have seen them pull away from the bottom three, but they are not that far away and will be wary of the good form of Gamba and Ardija. This game is vital to both teams – for Vissel it may well be the points they need for safety, or very close. For Cerezo a win will keep them out of the clutches of the in-form teams below them. EXPECT a WIN for VISSEL – narrowly!

 

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Omiya Ardija v. Yokohama F.Marinos at NACK5 – Marinos to Halt Ardija Revival in its Tracks.

Team News
Omiya Ardija – Omiya are missing only DF Kataoka to injury.
Yokohama F.Marinos – Marquinos is suspended. DF Nakazawa has right thigh trouble and is doubtful. MFs Ogura and Taniguchi under treatment, DF Amano is out until November at least.

Head to Head – 7 wins for Omiya, 6 for Marinos and TEN draws since 2005 in 23 games.

Match Preview – With two wins in-a-row and three in their last five games, Omiya are showing their usual just-in-time-to-escape-from-relegation form, but Cerezo and Gamba are keeping up with them (which means bad news for Vissel Kobe and Kashima Antlers, perhaps? But that’s another story!) … whether they can continue winning ways against a Marinos team that pulled out of a three game losing streak with a win at Kashima Antlers next week, we will wait and see. Last week a 5-0 defeat of cellar dwellers Sapporo helped their goal difference and saw thei first ever J1 hat trick for the team from Novakovic … can’t see the Marinos defence being that kind, even if the recently mistake-prone Nakazawa is out injured.

Yokohama F. Marinos will be without the suspended Marquinos after a rush of blood to the head before half time last week, so now is the time for the likes of Saito, Ono and Oguro to stand up and be counted. After a dire start Marinos fans could be happy with a mid-table finish, but then they had that impressive unbeaten run and the fans thought of ACL qualification. Then they lost three games in a row and it was back to mid-table average-ness! What can the fans expect in their final 8 games – the struggling team, or that team that went unbeaten for so long? I fancy the latter, but Omiya are on a run, too – EXPECT A DRAW!

 

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Gamba Osaka v. Kashima Antlers at Expo’70 – Gamba to Pull Antlers into a relegation Fight!

Team News
Gamba Osaka – FW Sato missed the last game and is a doubt for this one. Long term injury victims DF Eduardo and Nakazawa, GK Kimura and FW Kawanishi still missing.
Kashima Antlers – nothing new to report, the team is missing utility players Nakata and Yamamura.

Head to Head – 8 wins for Antlers, 7 for Gamba and 8 draws in 23 meetings since 2003.

Match Preview – Gamba Osaka have Leandro, Gamba Osaka will win! That’s all! In the only J1 game that Leandro has missed since his return Gamba lost 4-1 at Sagan Tosu, in the other games Leandro has inspired them to heights not seen since last season. The 5-0 away win over Reds last week will have buoyed the team no end into thinking they are world beaters again. Added to a 5-0 (away again) thrashing of Nagoya and a 7-goal-tally against Consadole, Gamba find themselves top scorers in J1! But, Gamba are also second worst in the defensive stakes (only Consadole have conceded more goals) so will be hoping for another clean sheet after last week’s Reds demolition. It is obvious that Leandro is the key man.

Kashima Antlers have plenty of talent in the ranks, young too, but are not quite gelling as a team (yet?). The likes of Osako and Endo, are ready to replace the old guard but is Dutra as good as it gets in the import area for Kashima? Surely they can do better. And will Jorginho keep his job if the best that this season gets is just surviving relegation? This team know that there will have to be changes for 2013, just how much change may depend on what they can get out of the final eight matches but I can’t see them getting much out of this game with Gamba on fire. Gamba can pull up to within 2 points of Kashima with a win here and they will know that – safety is within reach – EXPECT a WIN for GAMBA OSAKA.

 

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Kashiwa Reysol v. Urawa Reds at Kokuritsu – Reds to Bounce Back After 5-0 Humiliation Last Week!

Team News
Kashiwa Reysol – DF Masushima is suspended, but the team reports no injuries except three reserve goalkeepers. Will not affect team selection.
Urawa Reds – MF Suzuki is suspended. No injuries to report, only Naoki Yamada’s long-term season-ender.

Head to Head – 15 matches in J1 since 2003 have produced 5 wins for each team, and 5 draws, something will have to give today.

Match Preview – Kashiwa Reysol went down to Sagan Tosu last week, mauled to death at the fortress home of Sagan Tosu 3-1, putting Tosu above Reysol in J1 with 8 games to go. If Reysol can win this, they can haul themselves back to within a win of Urawa Reds, so this is the proverbial six-pointer for both teams. Again I saw it last week, Neto Baiano is an unnecessary luxury in a team that was scoring freely – Kudo, Sawa, Tanaka and more were doing enough so in comes a Brazilian who has failed to light up the team – in fact he seems to have done the opposite. Play the Japanese forwards, win the game, Reysol!?

Urawa Reds also took a beating last week, but 5-0 at HOME to a relegation-threatened team can not have done their confidence any good at all. The only thing that the team, and the fans can and should do, is forget last week’s defeat to Gamba Osaka completely and get on with winning the coming games and pushing those top two for a championship season. I feel that Reds have the experience that Sanfrecce and Vegalta don’t when it comes to handling the pressure in the final gmes of a season and Reds will use that experience to win here, forget about the big defeat and push the top two all the way to the final day. Haraguchi MUST get among the goals, though, because, at the moment the team are scoring from midlfield and even defence (hello Makino!)… they REALLY need a forward scoring goals to make their season complete in the final months. For today EXPECT a WIN for URAWA REDS!

Archives, In the Mix

Maya Yoshida Looking Forward to Life in the Premier League

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Maya Yoshida received a baptism of fire when he replaced the injured Jos Hooiveld less than 30 minutes into Southampton’s 6-1 defeat by Arsenal but then kept his place in the convincing 4-1 home win over Aston Villa. The team may have been stuck to the bottom of the Premier League without a single point to their name prior to the Villa visit, but they had drawn plaudits for their displays and it should be remembered that they had played all of last season’s top three teams in those opening four games. Before the Villa win the fans saw a stinging defeat to Wigan, which was not teh best performance but, ask any Southampton fan if they really expected points from Manchesters City and United, or Arsenal and they’d probably say no – the only way is up! But I digress, this is about Yoshida!

Before moving to Southampton Yoshida had spent three season in Holland’s Eridivisie, making 63 appearances for VVV-Venlo, who he had joined from the J.League’s Nagoya Grampus. His bicycle kick goal for VVV-Venlo off a corner kick on September 11th against PSV Eindhoven in a 3-3 draw earned “Goal of the Year 2011-2012″ in the Dutch Eridivisie. Between 2007 and 2009, Yoshida appeared for Nagoya 101 times, scoring 11 goals. Yoshida also captained the Japan team to the semi-final in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Yoshida joined Southampton on a three-year contract, reported to have been at a fee of £2,000,000 and arrived at the club – after Japan national team commitments – just the Wednesday before the Arsenal defeat.

“The Premier League is a very, very high level but I’ll try to do my best to win games for the supporters and the Club. When I was in the youth team of Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan at 15-years-old, I often watched games in the Premier League with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. I still like to watch and, now I’m here, I can play games in the Premier League. That’s a real success but I’m just standing on the starting line – now I want to show my quality in the Premier League”, the Japanese defender said to the official Southampton web site this week.

“It was a challenging game for me to play against Arsenal because they are a very big team,” he continued, “I enjoyed it because the Emirates is a great stadium and the opponent was very strong – and it was my debut in the Premier League. I played not-so-well in the 1st half – especially for the third goal, which was my mistake – but in the 2nd half I calmed down and was able to show my skill, I think. I have confidence that I can play in the Premier League. I am still looking forward to playing in our stadium and I want to show my best qualities to the Southampton supporters.”

Picture shows a page from JSoccer Magazine Issue 5, Maya Yoshida sharing the spotlight with VVV Venlo’s Yuki Otsu.

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Alex Brosque Signs for Al-Ain, in the UAE – picture!

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Yes, he couldn’t resist the lure of that oil cash – despite most of us thinking Alex was staying after the transfer window passed, I guess the BUYING club that has no transfer window can do as it likes. The club made an obviously too-good-to-resist offer TO Alex Brosque (apparently after being priced out of the market for Josh Kennedy?) and then Shimizu S-Pulse had to make the decision to not stand in the way of progress for Alex himself. The Shizuoka club said that it is not in the habit of holding on to players against their will and accepted Al-Ain’s offered transfer fee, and Brosque signed on the dotted line. Reportedly an initial one year contract with immediate effect.

Brosque will return to Japan for this weekend’s S-Pulse home game to say goodbye to the fans.