May 23rd sees Japan take on Azerbaijan at Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka. An opposition – a lowly FIFA ranked team – that Japan coach Zaccheroni actively requested, to allow his team to gain experience of playing against a similarly-ranked team to Oman and Jordan, who Japan play in World Cup Qualifying in June, along with Australia.
May 28th Japan take on Colombia in Tokyo, before concentrating on their two qualifiers in Saitama – June 3rd v. Oman and June 8th v. Jordan, before a trip to Brisbane to face Australia in further qualifying for WC 2014.
It will be interesting to see who Zac selects – who do YOU think will be in? Has Miyaichi done enough? Is Honda match fit? Will Kagawa’s mind be on a Premier League move? Is Genki Haraguchi back!? Has Hisato Sato done enough to get another chance for Japan? Will Tulio EVER play for Japan again? Will Kiyotake be selected or allowed to concentrate on London2012 (and Nuremburg plans!)? Will any of the S-Pulse youngsters get the call?
To go with my match report, here’s what Mr. Ghotbi had to say…
Cheered on by a home crowd of over 15,000, we never gave up. This is the spirit that will make this team a contender for the championship! In the last second, a scramble in the goalmouth salvaged an important point.
Our players started the match without the energy or the concentration necessary to collect all three points. A good week of preparation including several meetings to warn against complacency went on deaf ears. Players proud of their previous achievements forgot the essence of their success. For the first thirty minutes, we were always one metre too far or one second too late. A costly uncharacteristic error by Hayashi left our goal unattended, and Cerezo punished us. We improved gradually, but we always lacked the sharpness to break through. Alex (Brosque) had the best chance of the first half, but his free-kick was pushed wide by Cerezo’s goalkeeper, Kim Jin Hyeon.
I tried to activate and recharge our players with a tough discussion at half time, and decided to wait on any substitution. Frankly, I could have changed nine players without hesitation. Unfortunately, the rules limit me to three substitutions per game! In the second half, we started to control the game. Our passing game improved, but we could not create any meaningful chances. Cerezo defended in numbers, and they looked dangerous on their counters. I had to go to my bench, bringing on Takahara (55), Kobayashi (63) and Franca (78). All three changes improved our team. I altered our tactical organization with the addition of Franca as a second central striker, and moved Kawai to right back. Two changes with my last substitution improved our attack both on top and the right flank. With four strikers and attacking with wide defenders, the pressure on Cerezo’s goal increased every minute. Franca and Kobayashi had the best chances to equalize, but Franca”s header missed the mark, while Kobayashi’s header was cleared off the line. Finally, the determination of our players was rewarded with Alex scoring his fourth goal of the season, after a scramble in front of goal. Bravo to our fighting spirit, and huge thanks to our supporters for believing in us.
Finally, I am disappointed by our performance against Cerezo Osaka. However, I am encouraged by our never give up spirit.
FC Tokyo – MF Otake out for the season, probably. FW Hirayama expected to be out for two more weeks. MF Tanabe hoping to return from hamstring injury, but probably not this week.
Consadole Sapporo (P10 W1 D1 L8 GD -10) struggle to rack up some points, while FC Tokyo (P9 W4 D0 L4 GD 0) have hit an inconsistent patch and lie mid-table after a spectacular start. They snapped a three game losing streak last week with a win over Albirex Niigata, but that’s no big deal! And a win over Consadole will also be no big deal, but two wins in a row after the rough patch will do the team a world of good! Ex-Marinos pair Watanabe and Aria Jasura Hasegawa (if he can stay on the field long enough) are becoming more influential in their new team’s ways. Expect a WIN for FC TOKYO!
Over the last decade FC Tokyo have won two of the four head to heads, with Sapporo winning once and one draw.
15:00 Kawasaki Frontale v. Kashiwa Reysol at Todoroki Stadium
Kawasaki Frontale – DFs Komiyama and Jeci out for at least another month each.
Kawasaki Frontale (P10 W5 D1 L4 GD -1) are riding the crest of the Kazama wave – a new coach, a new team, a new outlook – the Brazilians are benched and they look like a new prospect for a top 10 finish at least, whereas I had them down for a relegation-fighting season under Naoki Soma, who started the season coaching them! They have hit the goal trail since Kazama took over, thankfully, and, while they still have a negative goal difference, even while sitting in 6th place, things are changing at Kawasaki!
Kashiwa Reysol (P9 W2 D2 L5 GD -5) have not found it easy in their post-Championship season so far, also having to juggle their virgin ACL campaign has made it a tough start to 2012. In my opinion, the acquisition of Ricardo Lobo to disrupt a winning team has not helped. How can this player keep someone like Junya Tanaka on the bench? Coach Nelsinho needs to wake up, smell the Brazilian coffee and then select the local blend! Expect a WIN for KAWASAKI FRONTALE!
Six wins for Frontale over the last decade to three wins for Reysol, and three draws over 12 meetings between these two teams.
Hiroshi Kiyotake will be the latest Japanese up-and-coming youngster to leave Cerezo Osaka and move to Germany after various media outlets “revealed” the badly-kept secret that the U-23 star will move to the Bundesliga’s FC Nuremburg in the European summer transfer window. In a nutshell, the deal had been on the cards for months but both parties were waiting for confirmation that the team would still be in Germany’s top division for next season. Nuremburg were also reported to have shown interest in Takashi Inui and Takashi Usami, both of who are still on their radar – what a trio that would be for the German team!
Kiyotake’s agent, Yoshinori Nishimata of JSP, revealed to me last week that the deal was 99.9% done and the full details would be released as soon as possible. It appears that Cerezo Osaka will be getting a fee somewhere a little closer to a “real” value – compared to the paltry fee that Borussia Dortmund paid the club for Shinji Kagawa – around 1 million Euros is the quote making the rounds. The player himself smiled quietly to himself, and kept his lips sealed when I quizzed him about it on Sunday…. wait and see! Or more of a case of I can’t talk about it, YET!
In an interview for Issue 2 of JSoccer Magazine last autumn, Kiyotake spoke about a move to Europe, and did not deny that he had his heart set on a move abroad sooner rather than later, but said that he couldn’t really discuss it in detail at that time! I noted that he should at least wait until after the Olympics – I actually meant to wait to make the DECISION, not the actual move but, hey, I did my best!
In the last year teams as disparate as Manchester City, Leicester City, Rangers, Feyenoord, and most of Germany have been keeping tabs on the player as he made the successful graduation from the Olympic youngsters to the full national team and Nuremburg faced interest from other clubs, but, with the JSP – Thomas Kroth (executive director of the agency PRO Profil) connections, it was only ever going to be the Bundesliga for Kiyotake!
Kiyotake Walks
Personally I would have hoped that Kiyotake would wait until the end of the 2012 season, rack up a few National team appearances, and have more of a choice of club to move to (in England’s Premier League, for example, a player needs to have played in 75% of the last two years’ national team games) in 2013 but he and his agents have taken this step before the player has had the chance to qualify for that Premier League visa! I expect Manchester City will keep tabs on “Kiyo” and, in a few years Nuremburg will be cashing in, while the agents count their percentages, too!
As for Cerezo Osaka, they replaced Shinji Kagawa. They did without Takashi Inui. They moved on from Akihiro Ienaga. Saying sayonara to Hiroshi Kiyotake is just business as usual for the J.League’s most inconsistent club – perhaps I can give a hint as to why they’re having trouble putting together that winning feeling that they seek season after season!
What a game! Hail, thunder, rain, yellow cards (five to be exact) matching the color of Sendai’s uniforms, fantastic goal, undeserved red card, and championship spirit from our orange men. I am proud of our players, staff, and supporters for a well-deserved victory against the unbeaten Sendai.
The opening exchange was guarded, as stakes were high between the 1st and 2nd teams in J1. After 13 minutes, hail the size of ice cubes started falling from the sky. The dark clouds rolled in, followed by lighting and thunder.
The match was suspended for almost forty-five minutes. It gave me a great opportunity to make some adjustments. In a short meeting, we used video images from the high camera and showed ways we could achieve our mission.
When the match resumed, our players reacted perfectly. With a slicker surface after the hail and rain, we were able increase the ball speed making more space and creating several good scoring opportunities. A timely goal came on a move started by a quick re-start and a perfectly weighted pass from Takagi to Genki (Omae). The lofted pass finds Genki behind the defense, and he makes sure to head it down for the only goal of the game.
We went into the second half with the intention of controlling the game with long possession and more goals. Genki and Sho both had wonderful chances. Calvin’s second yellow card forced us to use our last substitution, bringing Hiraoka into the central defence. We defended in a 4-2-3 formation, and stood strong for 26 minutes, including added time, earning a hard-fought victory.
A third victory, a clean sheet, and a heroic performance over a week giving us twenty-one points in the league so far. I want to thank all the supporters who made the long journey and shared this very special game with us. You are our inspiration.
