Tag Archives: Leandro
Kashiwa Reysol and Gamba Osaka look to qualify for the ACL quarter finals …
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!
J1 Preview – Vegalta Sendai vs Gamba Osaka at Yurtec Stadium – Oct.6, Matchday 28
Team News
Vegalta Sendai – DF Kamata is suspended. MF Sekiguchi is very doubtful.
Gamba Osaka – Long term injuries GK Kimura, DFs Nakazawa, Eduardo and FW Kawanishi are all, no new injuries reported.
Head to Head – with Vegalta only returning to J1 in 2010 there have only been 5 meetings since then, 2 wins for Gamba, 1 for Vegalta and 2 draws. In the 2003 season each team won the away leg of their games!
Match Preview – Vegalta Sendai were beaten at S-Pulse last weekend and GK Hayashi had a nightmare, the confidence will be shot, the pressure is on to claw back the five point deficit at the top and who is visiting? Gamba Osaka, who hit five goals past Reds and Grampus away in recent games. Sendai do have the experience of falling from grace in the final weeks of the season (see 2011) so will that see them know what to avoid? A slow start, followed by a decent period after settling in, saw Wilson hit the net regularly, but he has stalled again now that other teams know what to expect and his failure to score puts it all on the shoulders of Akamine. If the porous Gamba defence can keep Akamine under wraps, the game is as good as theirs.
Gamba Osaka have not lost a game that Leandro has started in – since he arrived he has scored 11 goals in nine games – missing the 4-1 defeat to Sagan Tosu. If Leandro is fit and firing on all cylinders expect J1’s top-scoring team (54 goals, from 16th spot?!) to add a few more, but, as always we can’t expect a clean sheet for Gamba can we!? It looks tough on paper for Gamba, but they have performed better away from home against the top teams! EXPECT a high-scoring game and a WIN for GAMBA OSAKA!
J1 Preview – Sat. Sept.15th – 19:00 Gamba Osaka vs Albirex Niigata at Banpaku
Gamba Osaka – GK Kimura, DF Nakazawa and FW Kawanishi all out with broken legs. DFs Kaji and Eduardo out injured. FW Leandro is hopeful of returning from injury.
Albirex Niigata – MFs Uchida and Nakamura injured
7 wins for Gamba, 5 for Albirex, and 5 draws over the last decade, all in J1
Gamba have Leandro to thank for inspiring them to an unbeaten run that got them out of the bottom three and, sure enough, when he was out injured in the last league game Gamba went down to Sagan Tosu. This game is a real six pointer in the battle against relegation and Gamba will be hoping their Brazilian hot shot is fit. If so, expect goals – Gamba ARE the 2nd highest scorers in J1, even though they are in the lower reaches – and the points to go to Gamba.
The Gamba defence is still leaking goals, too, though, but the incoming loan of Iwashita seems to have settled them a little. Albirex are struggling to score goals but Gamba rarely keep a clean sheet, so perhaps we can expect a high scoring game? Albirex Niigata, though, are the lowest scorers in J1, having notched only 16 goals in 24 matches, and have lost three of the last four – surely the form of a team bound for J2?
EXPECT a WIN for GAMBA OSAKA!
J1 Preview Aug.25th – 19:00 Gamba Osaka vs Consadole Sapporo at Expo'70
Gamba Osaka – GK Kimura, DF Nakazawa are out with broken legs. FW Kawanishi is working hard to return from a broken leg but not yet match fit. RBs Kaji and Eduardo both injured!
Consadole Sapporo – FW Sakaki joins a long injury list.
Head to Head – Gamba won 4-0 away earlier this season and in 2008 there was a draw and another Gamba victory. That’s all between these two.
Gamba Osaka are on a roll, at last, and are entertaining the bottom team on the back of a 5-0 away thrashing of 2010 Champions Nagoya Grampus, so will be expecting another high-scoring win to take them out of the relegation zone and improve their goal difference. Two wins and two draws in the last four games have seen them come within touching distance of that safe 15th spot, although they will be setting their sights on a much higher position if they can win this one. The return of ace Leandro has kick-started the team into action, Konno scored his first goal for the club last week, Paulinho is a decent back-up player who is scoring goals and Sato sees himself high up in the scoring charts. Amazingly, even in such a lowly position, only three teams in J1 have scored ore goals this season!
Consadole Sapporo have been hit by numerous injuries over the season but seemed to be destined for an immediate return to J2 from the start of the season. They have now conceded 52 goals in their 22 games – scoring just 17 in the process – and bringing in the likes of Tele and Ramon does not seem to be the answer – they have certainly not proved themselves to be J1 players, although, being completely honest, the team are probably already rebuilding for a season in J2 in 2013! Forwards Kondo and Maeda seem set to return from injuries, but will they be given a place over the Brazilian imports? The last four games have seen two wins for Consadole – over Vegalta and Grampus – but the fans have probably accepted that the team are headed for J2 – perhaps this is the only change they have – playing without pressure because they know they are doomed already!?
EXPECT a WIN for GAMBA OSAKA!
Nagoya Grampus DESTROYED by Rampant Gamba Osaka …
J.League Matchday 22 – August 18th – Nagoya Grampus 0-5 Gamba Osaka
Gamba Osaka went into this tough away game at Nagoya on an unbeaten J1 run of three games – a great improvement on what had gone before – and knowing that a win, and results going well elsewhere, would go a long way to seeing them edge toward safety from relegation. The team were confident, and the fans were boisterous, but who could have predicted this result?!
Gamba had the better of the opening exchanges including Sato forcing a fine save from Narazaki in the Nagoya goal when the Gamba fans were already on their feet celebrating!
But it was heading toward half time when the breakthrough finally came. An Endo corner was headed point blank at the keeper by a defender. Narazaki made the snap save, but the ball fell to Leandro who, in classic poacher mode, controlled, and blasted home from close range with his left foot to open the scoring in the 38th minute. It was soon 2-0 – and the home team were down to ten men – from an Endo penalty kick, after Masukawa had made a hash of controlling the ball, lost out to Sato, the Gamba forward advancing into the area and being brought down by the Grampus defender. Masukawa took an early bath, Endo doubled the score from the spot.
Leandro just missed adding to the score as half time approached, his 20 yard strike coming back off the bar with the keeper beaten. But the score was increased in the 68th minute, a short Endo corner was returned to the influential no.7 and his deep cross found Konno at the far post to head home – his first J.league goal for Gamba – and it was 3-0, Gamba cruising, and, moments later, it was 4-0 – a low, hard Futagawa cross deftly flicked past the helpless keeper by Sato to take his goal tally for the season to 10.
Yet it was not over for Nagoya, who must have been hoping for a final whistle sooner rather than later and Paulinho, on as a substitute minutes before, rounded out the scoring with another close-up finish from a low cross as Gamba ran rampant on the wings. Nagoya Grampus 0-5 Gamba Osaka and Gamba made it two wins, two draws in their last four games as the journey to mid-table consolidation, or beyond, continued apace.
More importantly, perhaps, for the Gamba defence was that clean sheet. After dropping points against the likes of Urawa Reds and Sagan Tosu, while dominating those home games for long periods, perhaps the winning mentality has finally returned. Not a moment too soon! Gamba moved to within two points of Ardija (who won) and Cerezo (who lost), and above Albirex. Bring on Consadole Sapporo next week!
Gamba Osaka – Fujigaya, Iwashita, Niwa, Konno, Fujiharu, Myojin, Endo (Omori, 81), Futagawa (Takei, 71), Kurata, Sato, Leandro (Paulinho, 71)