Matsumoto Yamaga were relegated last season. Here’s what they’ll be wearing in J2. Green home, white away, red and blue are the ‘keepers’ gear!

Graphic for Shimizu S-Pulse home shirt for their J2 season in 2016.

And S-Pulse neighbours Jubilo Iwata, who have switched places with them in J1 for 2016.

Vissel Kobe home and away, with a special close-up on their home shirt, too.

Kawasaki Frontale 2016 20th Anniversary “Gremio” shirt!

Kawasaki Frontale Home, away, “cup” shirts

V-Varen Nagasaki home (orange) and away

Yokohama F•Marinos home (blue), away (pink) and three cool GK shirts

Albirex Niigata home (orange) and away

Ventforet Kofu home (blue) and away

Kashiwa Reysol home (yellow) and blue GK shirt

Urawa Reds

Thespakusatsu Gunma home (blue away (white) and two GK shirts

FC Tokyo home / away authentic version

Nagoya Grampus home and away

Kashima Antlers home (red) and away

Fujieda MYFC home

Nara Club (JFL), home, away, GK

Montedio Yamagata away

Mito HollyHock home (blue) and away

Zweigen Kanazawa home

At the bottom of J1, S-Pulse are down, and Montedio are all but gone, but mathematically in with a chance of survival as I write. Again, worth noting just in case there is any confusion, the relegation places are decided on the overall season/two stages combined table. Matsumoto Yamaga need to make up five points on Vissel Kobe, or six on Sagan or Albirex to reach safety. A tall order, right?

At the top of J2, Omiya Ardija appeared to have the Championship sewn up weeks ago but are now doing their best to lose it. Jubilo are just two points clear of Avispa Fukuoka with the top two going up to J1 without a play-off fight. Fukuoka seem to be the favourites of many now, while Cerezo Osaka have faded away in the last few games although are still well withing the play-off spots.

The play-offs will be 3rd-placed team v 6th placed, and 4th v 5th, over two legs, with a final play-off for a spot in J1 between the winners of those two ties.

Verdy have dropped a few points recently, while Ehime have also flirted with that 6th spot. Giravanz looked good for the play-offs earlier in the season but are not five points away, while the unlikely names of Roasso Kumamoto and Tokushima Vortis have risen into the frame, although it would be a huge surprise, but there are still 15 points to play for in five remaining games. Anythong COULD (and will?) happen.

At the bottom of J2 Tochigi are six points away from safely, although only two points away from earning a play-off spot – as opposed to straight relegation – against the 2nd placed J3 team. FC Gifu have flirted with wins but have dropped back into danger, just four points clear of Oita in that 2nd relegation (play-off) spot. With five matches to go Kyoto Sanga and Mito HollyHock are still well within reach of the lower teams, too.

At the top of J3 Yamaguchi Renofa are looking good for promotion as the Champions, while Machida Zelvia have pulled away from Nagano going for that play-off spot.

At the bottom of J3 we see the J.League Under 22 selection who, of course couldn’t be relegated anyway, although it seems will be replaced by an Under 19 team next season?! Fujieda MYFC are ten points clear of Y.S.C.C. although it should be noted that no teams will be relegated this season as the J3 expansion continues. With rumours of four (at least) “2nd XI” teams from J1 being added to J3 next season, including Gamba Osaka and Urawa Reds, interesting times are ahead! Not necessarily well-received times, though?!

Report from AFC web site:

The Chinese Super League champions were handed the lead after just five minutes courtesy of an own goal from Kashiwa captain Daisuke Suzuki before mid-season signing Paulinho (pictured) doubled the advantage before half-time with an eye-catching 40-yard set-piece.

Guangzhou, who beat Kashiwa 4-0 in their 2013 AFC Champions League semi-final first leg in Japan en route to claiming the continental title, added a third at the start of the second half through China striker Gao Lin.

Kashiwa striker Masato Kudo was able to pull a goal back inside the final minute, but Guangzhou will still take a substantial advantage into next month’s second leg.

Guangzhou coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was without Brazilian striker Elkeson although compatriot Paulinho was handed a first start in the competition, while Kashiwa were without injured duo Hidekazu Otani and Naoki Wako.

And Paulinho was quickly into the action in front of a vibrant capacity crowd at Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium as Huang Bowen’s fifth minute free-kick from the left was headed into his own net by Suzuki as the Kashiwa captain looked to stop the delivery from reaching the Brazilian close to the penalty spot.

The visitors continued to dominate as the half progressed with Zhang Linpeng and Zheng Long flashing efforts off target for Guangzhou with Kashiwa struggling for a foothold in the game with the absence of experienced midfielder Otani and defender Wako being particularly felt by the home side.

And five minutes before half-time, with the home side having not registered a shot on target, Guangzhou doubled their lead as Paulinho’s vicious swerving free-kick spectacularly found the top corner from all of 40 yards with Kashiwa goalkeeper Takanori Sugeno rooted to the spot.

Kashiwa striker Cristiano was unable to match his compatriot’s effort 10 minutes into the second half as the Brazilian’s free-kick from just outside of the penalty area drifted wide, although it did signal an improved display from the home side at the start of the second 45 minutes.

But seven minutes before the hour mark Guangzhou added a third as Gao’s angled glancing header from Huang’s chipped left wing cross into the penalty area looped over Sugeno.

Cristiano and substitute Ederson threatened for Kashiwa inside the final 20 minutes but Guangzhou goalkeeper Zeng Cheng remained largely untested.

But after Kosuke Taketomi saw a late header rebound off the crossbar, Zeng was beaten inside the last minute of normal time as Kudo converted from close range to give Kashiwa a glimmer of hope for the return meeting in three weeks’ time.

http://www.the-afc.com/afc-champions-league-2015/acl-qf-kashiwa-reysol-1-3-guangzhou-evergrande

South China Morning Post report:

Guangzhou Evergrande took a major step towards booking a berth in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League with a 3-1 win over Kashiwa Reysol in Japan on Tuesday night.

Paulinho, making his debut in the competition after joining Guangzhou from the English Premier League club last month, scored with a sensational free kick from close to 40 yards and was also instrumental in his side’s opener as the 2013 champions looked in good touch.

“That was definitely the best goal of my career,” said the 27-year-old, whose long-range effort left Kashiwa goalkeeper Takanori Sugeno rooted to the spot.

The Chinese Super League champions were handed the lead after just five minutes courtesy of an own goal from Kashiwa captain Daisuke Suzuki before Paulinho doubled the advantage before half-time with his super strike.

Guangzhou, who beat Kashiwa 4-0 in their 2013 AFC Champions League semi-final first leg in Japan en route to claiming the continental title, added a third at the start of the second half through China striker Gao Lin.

Kashiwa striker Masato Kudo was able to pull a goal back inside the final minute, but Guangzhou will still take a substantial advantage into next month’s second leg.

Despite the result, Scolari remained cautious, saying: “It was an exciting game and both teams were very strong. We were able to make good decisions on the pitch and that was the main difference, but the result of the first leg is not decisive in this kind of competition.

“I am very confident about my team’s performance in the second leg, but I also respect Kashiwa and we will not underestimate them. I think Kashiwa is the strongest opponent I have faced in my 12 games in charge of Guangzhou so far. The Kashiwa coach had prepared his team very well and they put us under a lot of pressure.”

http://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/1852550/paulinho-inspires-guangzhou-evergrande-3-1-victory-over-kashiwa-reysol

After two away wins for our Japanese teams – Kashiwa 3-2 at Suwon Samsung, Gamba 3-1 at FC Seoul… a draw, a 1-0, even a 2-1 loss and Reysol are through. A win, of course will be much better! Gamba have a two goal cushion AND three away goals. They can afford to lose 2-0, but they won’t. Enjoy the games!

Despite an away defeat to Becamex Binh Doung in their final group match in this tournament, having already qualified, Reysol had opted to give time to squad players and are not concerned about coming into the knockout stages on a loss.

Reysol have been struggling for consistency in the league this season – currently sitting 13th and looking to have no hope of gaining any ground to a play-off spot in the 1st Stage. Theories abound that they are putting it all into the ACL to qualify for the quarter finals before concentrating on the 2nd Stage!

Suwon are returning to the knockout stage for the first time since 2011 when they were knocked  out in the semi-finals by eventual winners Al Sadd. While Suwon took care of a hapless Urawa Reds in ACL group play this year, Reysol have lost just once in nine ACL matches against Korean opposition. They must be confident!

In the other Tuesday night match in the Eastern half of the ACL draw Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will entertain Beijing Guoan.

In the West, also on Tuesday, it’s 2011 winners Al Sadd against domestic league champions Lekhwiya, who successfully defended their title under Danish coach Michael Laudrup, facing off in an all-Qatari tie, while Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal face Iran’s Persepolis at the Azadi Stadium.

On Wednesday night, May 20th, it’s Gamba Osaka’s turn to represent Japan when they travel to FC Seoul. The last time these teams met was a big day for Takashi Usami who made his professional debut for Gamba – six years ago this very day – May 20th, 2009 – making club history as their youngest ever player at the age of 17 years and 14 days. And.. he scored, too! Here’s hoping for similar success in this one.

Seoul, who will be without suspended Spanish defender Osmar Barba, reached the knockout stages as Group H runners-up after Mauricio Molina’s last-gasp winner to ensure passage at the expense of beaten opponents Kashima Antlers two weeks ago in Ibaraki, Japan.

The other match in the East sees two-time Asian champions Seongnam FC of Korea Republic and 2013 AFC Champions League winners Guangzhou Evergrande from China set to face off in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie on Wednesday with both sides looking to lay a foundation for another tilt at continental honours.

Seongnam – known as Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma when they won the AFC Champions League in 2010 – will entertain Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou at Tancheon Sports Complex after finishing second in Group F behind 2008 winners Gamba, after their dramatic 2-1 loss to the Japanese treble winners on the final Matchday.

Fabio Cannavaro’s Guangzhou, meanwhile, comfortably won Group H ahead of Korea’s FC Seoul to return to the knockout stage for a fourth consecutive year.

Seongnam are appearing in the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League for a fifth time after losing at the same stage in 2012 to Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor.

On Wednesday, in the western side of the draw, we see an all-Emirati tie between United Arab Emirates champions Al Ain and domestic rivals Al Ahli, while Naft Tehran entertain Saudi side Al Ahli after the Iranian play-off winners continued their fine debut in the AFC Champions League with qualification for the last 16 as Group B runners-up.

After losing to Kashima Antlers a fortnight ago at Parramatta Stadium, Western Sydney Wanderers go into their final showdown with Group H victors Guangzhou Evergrande five points behind the 2013 champions from China and a point adrift of Kashima and FC Seoul, who currently share second place.

So, WSW need a win, but also need the match in Japan between Kashima and FC Seoul to be a draw to guarantee progress to the Round of 16. Japan-watchers should note that Western Sydney will be without Yusuke Tanaka due to suspension.

If there is a winner between Kashima and FC Seoul, and, of course we are hoping, no, EXPECTING it to be Antlers, they would take the runners-up place in Group H and eliminate their opponent as well as Western Sydney.

FC Seoul have defender Kim Jin-kyu out due to suspension.

In Group G Suwon Samsung have already qualified for the Round of 16, the other entrant into the knockout stages from Group G will be either China’s Beijing Guoan or Brisbane Roar of Australia. Beijing need just a point from the meeting with Suwon in Korea Republic to secure progress due to their three point advantage, although they are missing Lang Zheng, Ha Dae-sung and Yu Dabao to suspension. Their roughhouse tactics finally coming back to haunt them?

Brisbane need to defeat the already eliminated Urawa Reds AND hope that Beijing slip up against Suwon. It has been reported that Reds have sent a much depleted squad to Australia, something that might not go down too well with Beijing if results go against them, although the pathetic showing of Reds in the ACL this season can only mean that any decent display is an improvement and, as is often the case, sending players who actually have a place in future matches to play for – players with something to prove, players with the motivation to show that they should be preferred over the failures of past matches – may well work for Reds (and Beijing) in the end!

In Group D, Al Ahli of the UAE must beat already eliminated Tractorsazi Tabriz of Iran in Dubai and hope group winners Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia overcome Nasaf with the Uzbek side currently holding two point advantage.

In Group C, Al Hilal and 2011 winners Al Sadd will face off at Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium to determine the winner of the group C, although both sides have already qualified for the knockout stages. A draw would be enough for Qatar’s Al Sadd having earlier beaten the 2014 finalists 1-0 at home, while Al Hilal must win without their suspended striker Nassir Al Shamrani.

On Wednesday nine teams will be fighting for five remaining places in the qualifying stages!

Iran’s Persepolis and Naft Tehran, Qatar’s Lekhwiya, Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor, China’s Shandong Luneng, Thailand’s Buriram United, Korea’s Jeonbuk Motors and our own Gamba Osaka will be looking for the right results to qualify.

Persepolis currently occupy second spot in Group A and sit just a point behind table-topping Lekhwiya despite losing 3-0 to the Qatar champions a fortnight ago, but Al Nassr are only a point behind ensuring a grandstand finish on the final Matchday.

And Saudi Arabian champions Al Nassr must at least draw against a Lekhwiya side who still need to avoid defeat to ensure their own qualification, while also hoping Persepolis fail to win in Tehran to stand any chance of making their first appearance in the Round of 16 since 2011.

Elsewhere, although Al Ain have already secured their passage to the last 16, the newly-crowned Emirati champions will face second placed Naft at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium looking to secure top spot and home advantage in the second leg of their last 16 tie later this month. However, with Pakhtakor just two points behind Naft in third, a victory for the Uzbek club over already-eliminated Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia could see them leapfrog Naft and take the remaining ticket to the knockout stages if the Iranians were to lose in Al Ain.

In Group E, with Kashiwa Reysol already assured of a place in the last 16, Jeonbuk and Shandong see a winner-take-all showdown in Jeonju to decide who will join Reysol in the draw for the next round.

Jeonbuk will be without suspended midfielder Lee Ho and defender Cho Sung-hwan for the visit of the Chinese Super League side, who have midfielder Zhang Chi suspended.

Unbeaten Reysol will wrap up their group stage campaign with a visit to Binh Duong and will be expecting a win to take them confidently into the qualifying stages unbeaten.

And so to Group F, with both Gamba and Buriram remaining in the hunt for the remaining place in the last 16 alongside Korea’s Seongnam FC. Seongnam secured their place in the last 16 two weeks ago, but they will look to clinch the group at Gamba, who must match Buriram’s result against already-eliminated Guangzhou R&F of China to advance with the pair currently level on points but with the Japanese side winning any tie on points with head-to-head advantage.

There is even the possibility of Seongnam, Gamba and Buriram finishing level on points at the top of the table, although then the Korean side are ensured of progress in at least second place due to their head-to-head record against both Gamba and Buriram.

(Pictures, and some text, courtesy of World Sport Group)

On Tuesday (tonight, as I write), 2007 champions Urawa Reds are in dire straits at the bottom of Group G, with one point from four matches. Nothing short of a win at home to Suwon Samsung of Korea will give them ANY chance of progressing.
Suwon will be missing key defender Oh Beom Seok, who is suspended, while a familiar face to Japanese fans – Chong Tese – will be in the forward line for the Koreans.

Reds lost the away “leg” of this match 2-1 and will be hoping for a positive result this time.

Also on Tuesday, Kashima Antlers face Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia. After a victory over China’s Guangzhou Evergrande in their last match, Antlers are also in a must-win situation.

Western Sydney are the reigning ACL champions but have not shown championship form this season – at home, or in the ACL – if the Australians lose this one, they could be eliminated, depending on results elsewhere, and they will be missing suspended defender Antony Golec.

On the other hand, Antlers Samurai Blue defender Shoji Gen is also be suspended, but with an unbeaten run of four matches in J1.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Kashiwa Reysol are at home against yet another Korean club, Group D leaders, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Reysol need only a draw to clinch a spot in the Last 16.

Finally, in Group F, Gamba Osaka travel to Guangzhou R&F having won their last match away at Buriram FC in Thailand to keep qualification hopes alive. That result put them only three points off the top two, but nothing less than a victory will be what the former champions from Osaka will be looking for.

Gamba will have Patric back from suspension and Takashi Usami is on a hot streak, helping his team’s to four straight wins.

Yasushi Endo (above) helped Antlers to the last-gasp away win to raise hopes of qualification!

Lins (below, right) finished with aplomb to give Gamba hope, while Koki Yonekura (above) supplied the one-touch volley cross to set up Keitaro Omori for Gamba’s winner.

Leandro was instrumental in Reysol’s goal-fest and could have won it for the away team near the end.

Tomoaki Makino (below) grabbed Reds’ goal but it was not enough for the win.

Pictures courtesy of World Sport Group

Below: all the results from Matchday 4 in the ACL Group stage.

Graphic from the-afc.com

Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande face Kashima Antlers in the AFC Champions League on the same night,  with the former winners looking to cement their place in the knockout stage, while the J.League side are under pressure to claim their first points of the campaign in Group H.

Following their action-packed encounter last month in southern China as Guangzhou edged a seven-goal thriller to maintain their 100% record, the 2013 champions are currently five points clear of defending champions Western Sydney Wanderers of Australia and 2013 runners-up FC Seoul.

Kashima, though, are a further four points off the pace after also losing to Western Sydney and FC Seoul and Toninho Cerezo’s side are in danger of missing out on securing a place in the last 16 for the first time since 2011.

“Although we lost the game, we were able to give a good match and play beautiful football. This is the charm of the sport: even if you don’t win you can give good matches,” said Cerezo following the 4-3 defeat in China a fortnight ago. Our pictures show Mu Kanazaki (above) and Gaku Shibasaki (below).

“I didn’t see any big differences between my players and the Guangzhou players. We just couldn’t convert our chances into goals so we may need some good strikers.”

Also in Group H, Western Sydney entertain FC Seoul after the pair shared a goalless draw in Korea Republic a fortnight ago.

In Group F, bottom side Gamba Osaka will take on undefeated leaders Buriram United of Thailand, with the Japanese champions needing to secure maximum points to claw back some of the six point margin that separates the two sides.

Having only scored once in their three group matches this season, former champions Gamba are further hampered by the suspension of Brazilian forward Patric (pictured above), a pivotal member of their treble-winning side in 2014.

On Wednesday night Kashiwa Reysol (above, Daisuke Suzuki in action) are away at Shandong Luneng, who they beat 201 two weeks ago, sitting atop the group with seven points – alongside Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors – while Urawa Reds (pictures below) – with no points to their name in Group G – entertain Beijing Guoan, who sit prettily on top of the group with maximum points after three matches.

Some teams may well have decided their fate by the end of this round. Or had their fate decided for them. Watch this space!

Images courtesy of World Sport Group

Two goals late in the first half – from Kudo and an own goal by David Vrankovic – sent Reysol on their way to the win before efforts from Kim Chang-soo, Kudo and Hidekazu Otani ensured the 2013 semi-finalists claimed all three points.

Reysol, who kicked off their campaign with a draw against Jeonbuk Motors on Matchday One, were rarely troubled by a Binh Duong side who battled hard despite the gulf in class before claiming a late consolation through Ganiyu Bolaji Oseni.

Kashiwa were quick out of the blocks and Cristiano should have scored just four minutes into the game when he had time and space behind the Binh Duong defence to do better than fire over the bar, while four minutes later Yuki Otsu sent his effort wide from six yards out.

Otsu tried his luck from long range in the 12th minute as Reysol cruised through the opening phase of the game, with only Le Cong Vinh presenting any threat for the Vietnamese when his free kick was collected by Takanori Sugeno in the home side’s goal.

Reysol, though, continued to dictate the tempo of the game; Kudo’s header was weak and straight at Nguyen Quoc Thien Esele in the 25th minute while Eduardo should have scored when the goalkeeper dropped the ball at his feet, only to stab over the bar.

With six minutes to go and against the run of play, Cong Vinh created the best chance of the half but his curling effort from just inside the Reysol half was deflected wide of goal.

That finally nudged Reysol out of their slumber in front of goal and, in the 43rd minute, Kudo put the home side in front with a crisp finish to the goalkeeper’s left after a low, firm cross from the right by Cristiano.

Two minutes later, Tatsumi Yoshida’s team doubled their lead when Vrankovic headed into his own goal, ensuring the scoreline better reflected Reysol’s dominance.

Nguyen Thanh Son introduced Mai Tien Thanh at the start of the second half as the Binh Duong coach sought a way back into the game and, eight minutes after the restart, he went close to opening the Vietnamese side’s account, only for the midfielder’s spectacular effort to cannon back off the cross bar.

But the result was put beyond any doubt three minutes later when Kim Chang-soo latched onto Akimi Barada’s perfectly weighted through ball before slotting home.

Kudo claimed his second of the game with a close range header in the 67th minute after Otsu glanced Barada’s corner across the face of goal while, eight minutes later, Otani found the back of the net when his shot from outside the area was deflected past substitute goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong.

Oseni pulled one back for Binh Duong nine minutes from time when he was played in on goal by a well-placed pass from Cong Vinh before sliding a fine finish beyond Sugeno, but it was not enough to spark an unlikely revival.

Report: http://www.the-afc.com
Picture: World Sport Group