Tag Archives: Cho

In the Mix, Previews

JSoccer Magazine J1 Preview Sept.22nd, Matchday 26 – 16:00 Jubilo Iwata vs Albirex Niigata at Yamaha Stadium

Leave a comment

Jubilo Iwata – DF Cho may be available for selection but GK Kawaguchi, MFs Baek, Rodrigo Souto, Matsuoka and Kitaji all unavailable.
Albirex Niigata – MFs Nakamura and Uchida, and FW Suzuki are all long-term injuries.

8 wins for Iwata, 4 for Niigata and 6 draws since 2004.

Jubilo Iwata were lucky to come out of last week’s match away at Vissel Kobe with a win, thanks in no small way to some help from the referee and are feeling the pressure from a list of injuries. It is surprising to many that they are still in with a chance of an ACL-qualifying top three place, although the top three seem to be locked in now. They should find it no problem against Albirex Niigata – a team that has scored just 17 goals all season, even less than bottom-dwellers Consadole! On the other hand their defence has been strong, but will be sorely tested against a rampant Jubilo, who average more than two goals per game and have won three out of their last four – despite all those injuries.

Maeda, for Jubilo, is looking to creep up on the goalscoring crown-to-be of Hisato Sato at Sanfrecce, and cement his place in the national team, while Albirex are just looking for another season in J1. A decent keeper, an Olympic defender, and some decent players all told are hampered by a total lack of firepower up front, with Bruno Lopes, Yano and Hirai, among others, totally failing in their duty.

EXPECT a WIN for JUBILO IWATA!

Previews

J1 Preview – Sept.15th -19:00 Vissel Kobe vs Jubilo Iwata at Kobe Universiade

Leave a comment

Vissel Kobe – DF Inoha is suspended. DF Hayashi is out for the season, MF Haneda is doubtful, but not in contention for selection anyway!?

Jubilo Iwata – MF Fujita is suspended. FW Kanazono still reported injured. GK Kawaguchi and MF Matsuoka out for the season. DFs Sakurauchi and Cho out. MFs Yamamoto, Baek and Rodrigo Souto all out injured.

8 wins for Jubilo, 7 for Vissel and 3 draws since 2003, Vissel winning both of the last two games 3-1, home and away!

Vissel Kobe lost narrowly, and probably deserved a draw, last time out at Kashima Antlers, and the team were probably disappointed with that. Then they lost in the Emperor’s Cup to lower league opposition, so plenty of players will have plenty to prove to their fans… another loss will be very upsetting for the Vissel faithful. The team are “only” nine points away from a 3rd place spot right now. ON the other hand they are also nine points away from a relegation spot – very middling. They will be looking to put on a final spurt in the last ten games with a view to finishing in the top 6. A tough call, but not impossible, they can then build on that in 2013 and become a championship-challenging team – or that is what the plan is! The likes of Ogawa and Morioka must mature together with the experience of Okubo and Kitamoto, blending together to make a real team. These are games that they must win if they are to gain the confidence to move up the table.

Jubilo Iwata remain in touch with the leaders, having held Sanfrecce Hiroshima to a draw last time out, and beating Kashiwa Reysol and Cerezo Osaka before that. Jubilo may be the top scorers in J1 this season, but they have conceded a lot, too – in fact one more goal than Vissel Kobe up to this game. Let’s go for a HIGH-SCORING DRAW!!

Previews

J1 Preview Aug.25th – 19:00 Kashiwa Reysol vs Jubilo Iwata at Kashiwa

Leave a comment

Jubilo Iwata – GL Kawaguchi and MF Matsuoka out for the season, DF Cho, MF Yamamoto and FW Han out injured. DF/MF Riki Kitawaki has been allocated number 28 and may be considered for selection soon.

Head to Head – 9 wins for Jubilo, just 3 for Reysol, and 3 draws since 2003, all in J1.

Kashiwa missed the influence of suspended midfielder Leandro Domingues last week and struggled to create chances, but I question their wisdom in bringing in Neto Baiano and leaving the likes of Sawa and Tanaka on the bench. Proven goalscorers, team players doing well, replaced by a player who was a complete failure in his previous stint in Japan. I can only presume that Reysol see a huge improvement since then and feel he is worth a place – I will reserve judgement for now.
This is certainly a HUGE game for both teams – Reysol have drawn their last three games after an impressive run took them up the table, while Jubilo have been inconsistent lately but still cling to 6th place, just two points behind Reysol. Jubilo have won only one in their last four but remain J1 top-scorers, unfortunately they are 4th worst in defence, having conceded 35 goals. Japan national team forward Maeda scored two late goals to get all three points for Jubilo against Cerezo last week and will be looking to consolidate his position in the Samurai Blue ahead of the World Cup 2014 qualifier against Iraq
Reysol are only two goals behind Jubilo in the scoring stakes so perhaps we can expect a HIGH SCORING DRAW here today!?

Previews

J1 Preview Aug.18th – 19:00 Jubilo Iwata vs Cerezo Osaka at Yamaha

Leave a comment

Jubilo Iwata – GK Kawaguchi is out for the season. FW Kanazono is out for at least another two months. MF Matsuoka is out for the season. MF Yamamoto out for a month, DF Cho out for at least another two weeks. FW Han out for a month or so.

Cerezo Osaka – MFs Yamaguchi and Ogihara and FW Sugimoto have returned from Olympic duty.

7 wins for Jubilo, 6 for Cerezo and 2 draws since 2003 – all in J1, of course. Jubilo have never been relegated.

Jubilo are suffering from a long injury list and are starting to tire and drop points when they really would like to be winning games. Influential Korean MF/FW Baek will be back from the Olympics and I feel he is a key man in the machine at Jubilo and may help turn things around for them but they must tighten up their defence – outside the bottom three they have the worst defensive record in J1. Having said that they have scored almost two goals per game on average so expect goals one way or another! They have won just one of the last five, and that was against bottom club Sapporo, and, if they are to stay in touch with the top 3 this is a must win for them.

Cerezo Osaka have been hit from all sides this season and must be wondering what they have to do to keep a fixed team. With Yamaguchi and Ogihara at London 2012 and Kim and Kiyotake shipped out, they have been playing with an entirely new midfield for the last few games and it’s only due to some timely goals from Kakitani that they are not deeper in trouble. The player, who signed with Cerezo before he was ten years old, but then spent the best part of three seasons at Tokushima Vortis developing his game, returned just in time to help the team get over the losses of Kagawa and Inui, and then saw Ienaga, Kim and Kiyotake also leave the team. He is the man to watch, a rising star, but how long will Cerezo be able to hold onto him? Jubilo injuries and players returning to Cerezo will swing it towards a WIN for CEREZO OSAKA!

Previews

PREVIEW May 12th 14:00 Sagan Tosu v. Omiya Ardija at Best Amenity Stadium

Leave a comment

Sagan Tosu – FW Toyoda is suspended, will be missed. DF Otani and MF Takahashi are long term injuries.

Toyoda will be a big miss for Sagan Tosu (P10 W4 D4 L2 GD +4), sitting pretty in 5th place and confounding the critics so far. But they must fancy their chances against an inconsistent Omiya Ardija (P10 W4 D2 L4 GD -5) who have already seen ups and downs in this short season! Home advantage may well be the key point in this match and Tosu are still unbeaten at home in J1 and will be hoping to keep that statistic intact today.

Omiya Ardija last week made it three home wins in a row since, well, forever, but on their travels they succumbed to Vissel Kobe 3-0 last week and looked very ordinary. The likes of Cho and Higashi have to pull their weight if Omiya are to rise to mid-table safety this season and Brazilian import Carlinhos has to do more to justify keeping Kota Ueda on the bench. Despite the missing Toyoda I am going to tell you to EXPECT a WIN for SAGAN TOSU!

Six wins for Omiya over the last decade, one win for Tosu and a draw in eight meetings, all in J2. This will be their first meeting in J1.

Previews

Preview – Vissel Kobe v. Omiya Ardija – May 3rd

Leave a comment

Vissel Kobe v. Omiya Ardija – Kobe to Stop the Slide for New Coach!

Vissel Kobe – FW Okubo out for at least six more weeks. MF Haneda out for a month. DF Komoto is back in training.

Vissel Kobe’s (P8 W3 D0 L5 GD -6) win against Kashiwa Reysol two matches back saved coach Wada’s job, temporarily, but the loss to Yokohama F. Marinos last week was the straw that broke the camel’s back and coach Wada was released, with Adachi taking over temporarily while Vissel iron out details with ex-Gamba coach Akira Nishino, if press reports are to be believed. The “new coach syndrome” always helps and Omiya Ardija (P8 W# D2 L3 GD -3) have been inconsistent, even though they have amassed some decent players for this season, especially Cho and Shimohira making a difference to the left side of the team.

It will be interesting to see which players Adachi goes for for Vissel or if a manager is already influencing him behind the scenes before he officially takes over. Whatever happens Vissel will have the home crowd, the adrenalin of a coaching change, EXPECT a WIN for VISSEL KOBE!

Five wins for Omiya, four wins for Kobe and four draws over the years, all in J1.

Previews

Vissel Kobe v. Omiya Ardija – PREVIEW – May 3rd

Leave a comment

Vissel Kobe – FW Okubo out for at least six more weeks. MF Haneda out for a month. DF Komoto is back in training.

Vissel Kobe’s (P8 W3 D0 L5 GD -6) win against Kashiwa Reysol two matches back saved coach Wada’s job, temporarily, but the loss to Yokohama F. Marinos last week was the straw that broke the camel’s back and coach Wada was released, with Adachi taking over temporarily while Vissel iron out details with ex-Gamba coach Akira Nishino, if press reports are to be believed. The “new coach syndrome” always helps and Omiya Ardija (P8 W# D2 L3 GD -3) have been inconsistent, even though they have amassed some decent players for this season, especially Cho and Shimohira making a difference to the left side of the team.

It will be interesting to see which players Adachi goes for for Vissel or if a manager is already influencing him behind the scenes before he officially takes over. Whatever happens Vissel will have the home crowd, the adrenalin of a coaching change, EXPECT a WIN for VISSEL KOBE!

Five wins for Omiya, four wins for Kobe and four draws over the years, all in J1.

Reports

Cerezo Osaka 3-2 Jubilo Iwata – April 28th

Leave a comment

When Kim Bo Kyung blasted the 3rd Cerezo goal home in the 83rd minute, Cerezo must have thought they had this game in the bag! Kiyotake had opened the scoring, and Ogihara scored the second goal just after the break and Cerezo were cruising…. so was the Titanic! Well, it wasn’t a complete disaster in the end, but Jubilo pulled a couple of goals back in the remaining minutes, through Hiroki Yamada with a splendid effort in the 87th before Cho added another in added time, but the comeback proved too late and the wildly inconsistent Cerezo showed both sides today, but came out of it with the three points! It’s never a dull moment being a Cerezo fan.