J-League, Let's Go!

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Kashiwa Reysol won the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day, beating Gamba Osaka 1-0 in the final at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Reserve defender Hirofumi Watanabe scored the goal with an absolute bullet header from a corner in 34th minute. This is Kashiwa's first Emperor's Cup win since the J-League started in 1993.

The final also brings to an end the 2012 pro season in Japan. To recap:

1. Sanfrecce Hiroshima won J1 -- their first ever title -- and are joined in the Asian Champions League 2013 by Vegalta Sendai, Urawa Reds and Cup winners Reysol.

2. Relegated out of J1 are Gamba Osaka, Vissel Kobe and Consadole Sapporo, who are in turn replaced by J2 champions Ventforet Kofu, Shonan Bellmare and promotion play-off winners Oita Trinita.

3. FC Machida Zelvia finished dead last and became the first team ever to be relegated from J2 to the third tier JFL, with newcomers V Varen Nagasaki going in the other direction for 2013.

Mind you, relegation from J2 looks set to become more commonplace, with the news having been announced that from 2014 the J-League will also include a 10- or 12-club J3. Indications are that the hurdles for entry into the new division, such as use of a home stadium with a specific capacity, will be set lower than is currently the case for the likes of V Varen coming into J2. But the announcement represents good news for ambitious JFL and Regional League clubs like Blaublitz Akita, Kamatamare Sanuki, SC Sagamihara and Fukushima United.

[Anton Gramscescu]

J-League, Let's Go!

What's attendance like at J2 matches? How big a jump in attendance do teams need to really "make it" at the next level?

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

I reckon the average gate in J2 2012 was about 6000. The largest was 23,000 but there were probably about ten fixtures that pulled in fewer than 2000 people. As things stand, to enter J2 from the JFL a club needs a home stadium with a capacity of 10,000 and an average gate for their home games of 3000 -- conditions which V Varen Nagasaki have obviously met. Of the other serious contenders in the JFL, AC Nagano Parceiro have good support but problems with the stadium side of things, Kamatamare Sanuki are looking at an average of maybe a little less than 2000 and Blaublitz Akita and Zweigen Kanazawa are somewhat further away.

For the new J3 there will clearly be a significant relaxation of these sorts of prerequisites, e.g. it looks as if there will be no requirement for a home stadium even to have floodlights. My guess is that there will be a maintaining of facility and finance-related standards if a club wants to get promoted from J3 to J2, but what the new division will do is effectively to syphon off a particular type of club from the Regional Leagues and the JFL. The latter is actually set up as the top *amateur* league in the country, and has therefore been rather contorted by developments over the past few years that have seen it become a de facto hot house for wannabe J-League clubs.

To give you some idea of the change in make up of the JFL, in 2012 only six of the 17 participant teams were company clubs -- and one of those, former powerhouse Sagawa Shiga, at the end of the season decided to fold. But when the JFL was set up in its current format in 1999, the same year as the establishment of J2, more than three-quarters of its members were company or university clubs. It might be easy to be sympathetic towards clubs aiming for the J-League and to regard company outfits in the current set-up as rather getting in the way, but this is to ignore not only the purpose of the JFL, but also the history of the club game in Japan, which up until the start of the J-League was based pretty much entirely around corporate, university and college teams.

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

A regular part of the J-League calendar is the pre-season announcement of each member club's slogan for the year ahead. With the campaign due to kick off on the first weekend in March, the first such slogan (with accompanying graphic) has been released and, fittingly, it's from new champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Unfortunately, it's this rather boring effort.

[jefe]

J-League, Let's Go!

Question: I saw a lone J-league kit being worn yesterday at Disneyworld, but couldn't ID the team as he passed me. Mostly black, with thin white stripes and a couple flashes of orange around the shoulders, about the size of a Nike swoosh. On the back was 11, and the name was of a Brazilian import that started with I, but I forgot the other 6 letters.

Any of this ring a bell?

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

That one's going to require some research, jefe. In the meantime the goals from final of the All-Japan High School Tournament, staged at the National Stadium today between Kyoto Tachibana and Hosho from far-off Miyazaki prefecture, can be seen here.

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

It was Japan's equivalent of the Charity Shield, or whatever it's now called, today. Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 at the National Stadium in Tokyo, and highlights (worth watching, actually) are here. The 2013 J-League season starts next weekend.

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

The J-League season started over this weekend, champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima kicking off the defence of their title with a 2-1 defeat at home to an Urawa Reds side coached by ex-Sanfrecce boss Mihailo Petrovic. Most exciting J1 game was promoted Shonan Bellmare's 4-2 loss to near-neighbours Yokohama F Marinos (highlights here, Shonan in green). Of the other promoted teams, Oita Trinita lost 2-1 to FC Tokyo and Ventforet Kofu picked up a 1-1 draw at last year's runners-up Vegalta Sendai - who are, incidentally, predicted by many to be facing a much tougher season this year.

In J2 most eyes were on Gamba Osaka's second-tier debut after their shock relegation. Their 3-3 draw with Kyoto Sanga was peppered with controversy in the shape of one goal that was chalked off and two dodgy-looking penalty decisions -- all three going in Gamba's favour. Judge for yourself in the highlights here, Kyoto in white. The other two relegated teams both won 1-0 away, Vissel Kobe at Tokushima Vortis and Consadole Sapporo with the last kick of the match at JEF United. League newcomers V Varen Nagasaki drew 1-1 at Fagiano Okayama.

J1 results

Cerezo 1-0 Niigata
Hiroshima 1-2 Urawa
Kashiwa 3-1 Kawasaki
Marinos 4-2 Shonan
Nagoya 1-1 Jubilo
Oita 1-2 FC Tokyo
Omiya 2-2 S-Pulse
Sendai 1-1 Kofu
Tosu 1-1 Kashima

J2 results

Ehime 3-1 Yamagata
Gamba 3-3 Kyoto
Gifu 0-2 Yokohama FC
JEF 0-1 Sapporo
Kitakyushu 1-2 Toyama
Kumamoto 1-2 Tottori
Mito 1-1 Gunma
Okayama 1-1 Nagasaki
Tochigi 0-1 Matsumoto
Tokushima 0-1 Kobe
Verdy 0-1 Fukuoka

[TheFourMarys]

J-League, Let's Go!

Many thanks Furtho, for continuing your great coverage of one of the most interesting and watchable leagues in the world.

Who's your pick to win it all this year, then?

Pleased to see Nagasaki up in J2! I hope they have enough to keep themselves up this year. I beleve you once mentioned that V-Varen are not actually based in the city, but more out in the provinces? Is their set-up likely to vex the big boys like Gamba when they come a calling?

Also, Sapporro to Nagasaki, that's a hell of an away day. I'm presuming there wouldn't be a direct train all that way.

Cheers, again. I look forward to your updates throughout the year.

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Cheers TFM. The J-League is notoriously hard to predict, which of course is one of the reasons why it is such a fantastic competition to follow. If I had to make a choice I have a feeling that maybe Petrovic is good enough and has enough local experience to take Urawa to the title this time, but really it could be any one of a dozen teams.

One of the criteria that a club must meet in order to gain entry into the league in the first place is a nominated home stadium which meets a given specification in terms of capacity, etc. V Varen Nagasaki's ground is located in the city of Isahaya -- not actually in Nagasaki itself but not as far away as Shimabara, where they staged many of their games as a non-league team. Whether by accident or design V Varen's first home fixture in J2 is against Gamba next weekend, so we'll see how it all works out then.

As you rightly say, Sapporo to Nagasaki is quite a trip -- 950 miles or so, according to Google -- but V Varen aside there are three other J2 clubs based on Kyushu, so journeys of this sort of distance will not be unfamiliar to the Consadole players. Japan is absurdly over-endowed when it comes to local airports and for those kinds of games they will definitely fly.

Mind you, next year there is the possibility that a team from even further away -- Okinawa's FC Ryukyu -- will gain a J-League place, as it seems almost certain now that a J3 will be established. We need to bear in mind that this is in the context of the J-League's so-called 100-Year Plan, but longer term the idea seems to be that as more and more clubs are able to meet the membership criteria J3 will split into Eastern, Western and Central regions with a maximum of 20 clubs in each. For 2014, however, most people are expecting that it will be a straight national division with ten teams.

The majority of the first batch of J3 member clubs it's anticipated will come from the third-tier JFL (in which FC Ryukyu currently play), such as Fukushima United, Zweigen Kanazawa and Blaublitz Akita, with the possibility of one or two from the Regional Leagues in there as well -- Grulla Morioka and Nara Club seem to be close to the top of that list. The position regarding relegation is unclear at the moment but you would expect that one team will drop down from J2 seeing as FC Machida Zelvia were relegated from J2 to the JFL at the end of 2012.

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Four teams retain a 100% record after Saturday's second round of the new J1 season. Yokohama F Marinos are top after they crushed a dismal-looking Shimizu S-Pulse 5-0 away, a result which included the league's first hat-trick of the year by veteran striker Marquinhos. An impressive 3-0 defeat of Kashiwa Reysol has FC Tokyo second on goal difference, with Urawa Reds and Cerezo Osaka joint third. There's been talk of slightly disappointing attendance figures for some games, so it was notable that Urawa's narrow win over Nagoya Grampus was attended by fully 16,000 more people than Reds' average gate last year. At the bottom of J1 the only team still on your nul points are predicted strugglers Albirex Niigata, while all three of the promoted sides - Oita Trinita, Ventforet Kofu and Shonan Bellmare - have one point each.

J1 results

FC Tokyo 3-0 Kashiwa
Jubilo 0-1 Omiya
Kashima 3-2 Sendai
Kawasaki 1-1 Oita
Kofu 1-2 Cerezo
Niigata 1-2 Hiroshima
S-Pulse 0-5 Marinos
Shonan 1-1 Tosu
Urawa 1-0 Nagoya

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

After Sunday's fixtures Vissel Kobe and Avispa Fukuoka are the only teams to have won both their games in the sparkly new J2 season. Relegated Kobe brushed aside FC Gifu 4-0 and Fukuoka recovered from conceding an early goal to beat Montedio Yamagata. Gifu and Yamagata are two of the three teams yet to pick up a point, the other being Roasso Kumamoto, beaten 3-0 at home by JEF United.

A short jaunt cross the Ariake Sea from Kumamoto, more than 18,000 people attended V Varen Nagasaki's first home game as a J-League club, but Gamba Osaka had far too much for the newcomers and were three up at half time. Experienced Gamba watchers will know that that sort of lead can rarely be relied upon, such is the fragility of their defence, but although V Varen played much better after the break they were only able to pull a single goal back and it ended 3-1.

J2 results

Ehime 1-1 Matsumoto
Fukuoka 2-1 Yamagata
Gunma 0-0 Tottori
Kobe 4-0 Gifu
Kumamoto 0-3 JEF
Kyoto 0-0 Verdy
Mito 1-0 Toyama
Nagasaki 1-3 Gamba
Okayama 0-0 Kitakyushu
Sapporo 0-1 Tochigi
Yokohama FC 2-2 Tokushima

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

First up, a video compilation of contenders for J-League Goal of the Season 2012 is here. Pretty well unmissable, this, if you've any interest in the J-League (or football, or goals).

Three games in and the number of J1 teams with 100% records is now down to two, as Urawa Reds drew with Oita Trinita and FC Tokyo lost at Cerezo Osaka to drop points for the first time. Cerezo themselves are one of the leading pair, second on goal difference from Yokohama F Marinos, who looked pretty decent in their 2-1 win over Jubilo Iwata.

Speaking of Jubilo, their striker Ryoichi Maeda is the subject of a major media preoccupation at the moment, as someone's noticed that every year since 2007 the first team that he's scored against at the start of the season has gone on to get relegated. A prolific goalscorer in a career stretching back to 2000 Maeda has yet to find the net this season, thereby cranking up the tension for the press as they wait for what's been labelled his Death Goal.

Game of the weekend in J1 was at Sagan Tosu, where last season's top division rookies were at home to a Kawasaki Frontale side who've made a very jittery start to 2013. Tosu were 1-0 up at half time, four in front after barely an hour but eventually were left hanging on desperately to a 5-4 win. Some absolutely cracking goals in the highlights, which are here. I especially like the moment when the Tosu coach is applauding his team going 4-0 up, looking as if it was the end of a classical concert at which friends of his had been performing but which he hadn't much enjoyed.

J1 results

Cerezo 1-0 FC Tokyo
Hiroshima 0-0 Kashima
Kofu 0-1 Nagoya
Marinos 2-1 Jubilo
Oita 2-2 Urawa
Omiya 1-1 Niigata
Sendai 2-1 Kashiwa
Shonan 1-1 S-Pulse
Tosu 5-4 Kawasaki

J1 top six

1. Marinos 9
2. Cerezo 9
3. Urawa 7
4. FC Tokyo 6
5. Tosu 5
6. = Kashima 5
6. = Omiya 5

J1 bottom six

13. Shonan 2
14. S-Pulse 2
15. = Jubilo 1
15. = Kofu 1
15. = Niigata 1
18. Kawasaki 1

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Relegated Vissel Kobe are now the only team in J2 with a 100% record after they beat Consadole Sapporo 1-0 and previous joint frontrunners Avispa Fukuoka lost at home to Kyoto Sanga. But looking at the table, what's striking is that two of the current top four would normally be considered among the J-League's weakest teams; Kataller Toyama however scrapped out a win over Ehime FC and Gainare Tottori came from behind to beat Mito Hollyhock.

In the Sunday evening game FC Gifu picked up their first point of the year in a draw with Thespakusatsu Gunma. Gifu fans, in the main resigned to a season of struggle, likely had this one down as a must-win but an over-defensive attitude cost their team two valuable points. Followers of today's opponents, meanwhile, are still getting their heads round their team's new name - an expansion of Thespa Kusatsu incorporating the name of Gunma prefecture, with the hope of drawing in support and sponsorship from a wider area. We'll see, eh.

J2 results

Fukuoka 1-2 Kyoto
Gamba 0-0 Yokohama FC
Gifu 0-0 Gunma
Kobe 1-0 Sapporo
Matsumoto 1-2 Kumamoto
Tochigi 0-0 JEF
Tokushima 1-2 Kitakyushu
Tottori 3-1 Mito
Toyama 1-0 Ehime
Verdy 1-1 Okayama
Yamagata 2-0 Nagasaki

J2 top six

1. Kobe 9
2. Tottori 7
3. Fukuoka 6
4. Toyama 6
5. Gamba 5
6. Yokohama FC 5

J2 bottom six

17. Sapporo 3
18. Kumamoto 3
19. Verdy 2
20. Tokushima 1
21. Nagasaki 1
22. Gifu 1

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

There's been a full round of Wednesday J2 games this week, the big result being Kyoto Sanga's 4-1 demolition job of leaders Vissel Kobe. Gamba Osaka let slip a 2-0 lead to draw at Roasso Kumamoto and another side that was in J1 last season, Consadole Sapporo, fell to second bottom of the league following a defeat by Matsumoto Yamaga. V Varen Nagasaki picked up their first-ever J-League win against Kataller Toyama but FC Gifu remain last - their 0-0 draw at Ehime FC means they still haven't scored in the four games so far.

J2 results

Ehime 0-0 Gifu
Gunma 1-0 Yokohama FC
JEF 1-1 Tottori
Kitakyushu 1-1 Verdy
Kumamoto 2-2 Gamba
Kyoto 4-1 Kobe
Nagasaki 1-0 Toyama
Okayama 1-1 Mito
Sapporo 1-2 Matsumoto
Tokushima 2-1 Fukuoka
Yamagata 2-1 Tochigi

J2 top 6

1. Kobe 9
2. Kyoto 8
3. Tottori 8
4. Matsumoto 7
5. Gamba 6
6. Gunma 6

J2 bottom 6

17. Tochigi 4
18. Kumamoto 4
19. Nagasaki 4
20. Verdy 3
21. Sapporo 3
22. Gifu 2

[TheFourMarys]

J-League, Let's Go!

Yay Nagasaki!

We are staying up, say we are staying up!

Is Kyoto vs. Kobe felt to be a derby?

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Nice result for V Varen, TFM, although many are noting that it was attended by barely 2000 people - 16,000 fewer than were at their home debut against Gamba. Ouch. Kobe and Kyoto are reasonably near neighbours but there's no special rivalry between them.

As for this weekend, the J1 clubs have been busying themselves with matches in the group stage of the much-maligned Nabisco Cup, one upshot of which is that Shimizu S-Pulse manager Afshin Ghotbi is under pressure from fans to resign following a calamitous 5-1 mauling by local rivals Jubilo Iwata -- highlights of which are here. S-Pulse currently stand 14th in J1 and a couple of weeks ago also suffered a humiliating 5-0 loss at home to Yokohama F Marinos.

Another set of disgruntled fans are at Gamba Osaka, whose team lie 8th in J2 after Sunday's games. As recently as 2008 Gamba were winning the Asian Champions League but the Blue and Blacks' longstanding failure to deal with their defensive weaknesses eventually saw them suffer what was still a shock relegation at the end of last year. The club have held on to most of their star players such as prolific striker Leandro and talismanic midfielder Yasuhito Endo, but their J2 record so far -- four draws in five games -- is in indication of how tough it might be to bounce straight back to the top division. Gamba are discovering that the norm for the year is that less celebrated opponents are all absolutely determined to raise their game against the big guns.

Vissel Kobe now have a three-point lead at the top of J2 as they beat Thespakusatsu Gunma 4-1 at the same time as their nearest challengers, Kyoto Sanga, were succumbing to a 1-0 loss at improving Kataller Toyama. Meanwhile poor FC Gifu made it five full games without scoring a goal in their 1-0 defeat by Tokushima Vortis.

J2 results

Fukuoka 0-1 Sapporo
Gamba 1-1 JEF
Gifu 0-1 Tokushima
Kitakyushu 1-2 Yamagata
Kobe 4-1 Gunma
Matsumoto 1-1 Nagasaki
Mito 0-1 Ehime
Tottori 1-1 Tochigi
Toyama 1-0 Kyoto
Verdy 1-1 Kumamoto
Yokohama FC 0-1 Okayama

J2 top six

1. Kobe 12
2. Tottori 9
3. Yamagata 9
4. Toyama 9
5. Kyoto 8
6. Ehime 8

J2 bottom six

17. Tochigi 5
18. Mito 5
19. Kumamoto 5
20. Nagasaki 5
21. Verdy 4
22. Gifu 2

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Yokohama F Marinos are now clear at the top of J1 after beating FC Tokyo 3-2 in an exciting game today. The Sailors were heading for a draw and their first dropped points of the season until striker Yoshihito Fujita popped up with a neat left-footed finish to win it in the last minute. In second now are Urawa Reds, 2-0 winners over a really poor Albirex Niigata, while Cerezo Osaka slipped to third following a 1-1 draw with Vegalta Sendai that included a tremendous Cerezo defensive mix-up/comedy own goal.

Highlights elsewhere included Sanfrecce Hiroshima cutting through the Shimizu S-Pulse defence like a knife through some kind of spreadable dairy product -- Hiroshima's 4-0 win in Shimizu means S-Pulse have conceded twelve in the first four games -- Yohei Toyoda's hat-trick of headers for Sagan Tosu and an impressive second half display by Omiya Ardija against Kashima Antlers, which included a blistering finish from Omiya starlet Takamitsu Tomiyama. See for yourself here.

J1 results

Cerezo 1-1 Sendai
Jubilo 3-3 Tosu
Kashiwa 3-1 Oita
Kawasaki 1-1 Kofu
Marinos 3-2 FC Tokyo
Nagoya 2-0 Shonan
Niigata 0-2 Urawa
Omiya 3-1 Kashima
S-Pulse 0-4 Hiroshima

J1 top six

1. Marinos 12pts
2. Urawa 10
3. Cerezo 10
4. Omiya 8
5. Hiroshima 7
6. Nagoya 7

J1 bottom six

13. Kofu 2
14. Kawasaki 2
15. Oita 2
16. Shonan 2
17. S-Pulse 2
18. Niigata 1

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Not much doubting the individual performance of the day in Sunday's J2 programme -- JEF United forward Kempes scored four in his team's 6-1 demolition of Giravanz Kitakyushu. Perhaps surprisingly a Brazilian by nationality, Kempes looked rather out of his depth in J1 with Cerezo Osaka last year but in the second tier is top scorer after six rounds of the new season. Highlights are here, JEF in yellow.

That win pushed JEF up to seventh and put Kitakyushu second bottom, although to see Giravanz struggling is not much of a surprise after they underwent a huge turnover in players and staff during the winter. Coach Yasutoshi Miura left for Tokyo Verdy, but if Miura thought it was going to be easy taking charge of the former giants of the J-League he was being pretty damn foolish: the 3-0 victory over FC Gifu today was Verdy's first win of the season, watched by barely 3000 people in the cavernous Ajinomoto Stadium.

Two cracking shots by Brazilian veteran Popo enabled Vissel Kobe to beat Matsumoto Yamaga as Vissel aim to bounce straight back up to J1. The other two sides relegated with them last year, Consadole Sapporo and Gamba Osaka, met in the Sapporo Dome and it was Gamba who ran out comfortable winners to move into third place; Consa slip into the bottom six. Newcomers V Varen Nagasaki pulled off an excellent win over surprise package Gainare Tottori and a surprise three points for Tokushima Vortis at Kyoto Sanga places the Whirlpools in fifth.

J2 results

Ehime 0-1 Okayama
Fukuoka 1-1 Mito
JEF 6-1 Kitakyushu
Kumamoto 1-1 Toyama
Kyoto 1-2 Tokushima
Matsumoto 1-2 Kobe
Nagasaki 3-1 Tottori
Sapporo 1-3 Gamba
Tochigi 3-0 Gunma
Verdy 3-0 Gifu
Yamagata 5-1 Yokohama FC

J2 top six

1. Kobe 15
2. Yamagata 12
3. Gamba 10
4. Okayama 10
5. Tokushima 10
6. Toyama 10

J2 bottom six

17. Kumamoto 6
18. Sapporo 6
18. Gunma 6
20. Yokohama FC 5
21. Kitakyushu 5
22. Gifu 2

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Just a comment on yesterday's Asian Champions League game in South Korea between Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Kashiwa Reysol. An extraordinary match, in which the home side were awarded four penalties and missed three of them, including two by North Korean World Cup crybaby Chong Tese. Thing is that within a couple of minutes of all four spot kicks, Reysol had gone up the other end and scored. They ended up winning 6-2 and there are some tremendous goals to see in the highlights, here.

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

A spring storm swept across Japan on Saturday, causing several of the round 5 games to be played out in torrential rain. One such was at champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima, where Yokohama F Marinos continued their perfect start to the new J-League season with a 3-1 win kickstarted by a crashing shot from defender Seitaro Tomisawa. Urawa Reds stay second due to Genki Haraguchi's injury time winner over Jubilo Iwata -- although The Sign is now hanging over Reds, on account of their being the first team in 2013 to concede a goal by Ryoichi Maeda. The Japanese press have latched on to the odd coincidence that, every year since 2007, whoever the veteran Jubilo forward first scored against has gone on to be relegated. Here's a-hopin'!

For a second week running a ridiculous defensive mix-up cost Cerezo Osaka points, this time at Kashima Antlers, and the Cherries slipped to fourth as a consequence of their 1-0 defeat. Moving into third are the surprise package so far, Omiya Ardija -- never anything more than also-rans since achieving promotion to the top division in 2005, the Squirrels' unbeaten run in the league stretches back 16 matches to August last year. Their latest triumph came thanks to Slovenian forward Zlatan Ljubijankic, who headed in the only goal of the game at FC Tokyo. Orange Happy Football indeed.

J1 results

FC Tokyo 0-1 Omiya
Hiroshima 1-3 Marinos
Kashima 1-0 Cerezo
Kashiwa 3-3 Nagoya
Oita 0-1 Kofu
Sendai 0-1 Niigata
Shonan 1-1 Kawasaki
Tosu 0-1 S-Pulse
Urawa 2-1 Jubilo

J1 top six

1. Marinos 15
2. Urawa 13
3. Omiya 11
4. Cerezo 10
5. Nagoya 8
6. Kashima 8

J1 bottom six

13. S-Pulse 5
14. Niigata 4
15. Kawasaki 3
16. Shonan 3
17. Jubilo 2
18. Oita 2

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Seven rounds in to the new J2 season and the pattern of results is becoming clear; namely, that there is no real pattern and that virtually any team is capable of taking points off anyone else. The two exceptions to this are Vissel Kobe and FC Gifu, given that Vissel's 1-0 win over Montedio Yamagata already places them five points clear of the pack, while a 3-0 defeat by Kyoto Sanga means that poor Gifu have scored a total of nought goals in the 630 minutes of play so far.

Game of the day on Sunday was Consadole Sapporo's long trip to Fagiano Okayama, one of the more recent additions to the ranks of the J-League and a good example of the sort of provincial side that the league wants to see develop. After several years of finding their feet as a fully pro club, the Pheasants made some significant progress in 2012 in particular due to Kengo Kawamata, a prolific young striker whose full-blooded approach seemed to energise the whole Fagiano team. But at the end of the year the on-loan Kawamata was recalled by parent club Albirex Niigata, leaving many to wonder if Okayama could continue in the same direction.

By way of replacement the club turned to Tomoyuki Arata, whose career had got off to a blistering start with goals aplenty over a couple of seasons at Mito Hollyhock, but then took a downturn when he tried his luck at a couple of bigger clubs. So far the move to Okayama seems to be working well and his early goal against Consadole was Arata's fourth of the season. The Hokkaido-ites, struggling to find their feet after relegation from J1, hit back in the second half, but two goals in the last ten minutes won it for the home side, who move into second behind Kobe.

J2 results

Gamba 0-0 Verdy
Gifu 0-3 Kyoto
Gunma 0-2 JEF
Kitakyushu 1-0 Ehime
Kobe 1-0 Yamagata
Mito 1-2 Matsumoto
Okayama 3-2 Sapporo
Tokushima 1-2 Nagasaki
Tottori 0-0 Fukuoka
Toyama 1-2 Tochigi
Yokohama FC 0-0 Kumamoto

J2 top six

1. Kobe 18
2. Okayama 13
3. JEF 13
4. Yamagata 12
5. Kyoto 11
6. Gamba 11

J2 bottom six

17. Kumamoto 7
18. Mito 6
19. Sapporo 6
20. Yokohama FC 6
21. Gunma 6
22. Gifu 2

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Blimey, well, two weeks in a row and I am officially allowed to mention Omiya Ardija as being among the big J-League stories. Their 2-1 win at Cerezo Osaka means the Squirrels haven't lost for 17 matches stretching back to the middle of last season, thus equalling the J1 record for the longest unbeaten run. I cannot believe I have just typed those words. And what a game it was, starting with Shin Kanazawa's laser-beamed opener from fully 50, five-zero, yards, pausing for a well-worked equaliser by Cerezo's razor sharp Yoichiro Kakitani and the sending-off of unbelievably tit-headed Ardija central defender Shohei Takahashi, before ending with Zlatan Ljubijankic flipping the ball over the defender and crashing in the half volley to win it five minutes from time. Highlights and lowlights alike are here.

Elsewhere it was derby weekend, with local rivals facing off in both J1 and J2. In Kanagawa prefecture, league leaders Yokohama F Marinos were heading for their first dropped points of the season as their match against neighbours Kawasaki Frontale headed into the 89th minute with the score at 1-1. But at was then that Marinos' in-form Shunsuke Nakamura floated over a corner which was promptly dispatched by Jin Hanato for a winner that keeps going the Sailors' 100% start to the season.

Frontale meanwhile lie 15th in the standings, two places above Jubilo Iwata, who in their Shizuoka clash with fierce rivals Shimizu S-Pulse created most of the better chances. But the Sky Blues failed to convert any of them and then let in Taisuke Muramatsu to score a rather soft goal ten minutes from time. Jubilo may be seriously struggling but S-Pulse seem to have recovered from their terrible start and are now occupying their familiar mid-table position.

Down Kyushu way, the Fukuoka Derby pitched Avispa Fukuoka up against Giravanz Kitakyushu, Avispa's 2-1 win meaning they're one of seven clubs on eleven points in the incredibly bunched J2 standings. Giravanz may in turn be struggling at fourth from bottom, but on the other hand they're four points off a play-off spot. Roasso Kumamoto made the short trip to J-League newcomers V Varen Nagasaki and were outplayed in a 1-0 loss that puts V Varen in a remarkable fourth position, level on points with the division's big guns Gamba Osaka.

I ought to conclude by discussing one Tatsuya Arai, a gawky young reserve defender for lowly FC Gifu. The cash-strapped J2 minnows, coached by the former manager of the national team of Bhutan, Koji Gyotoku, had yet to find the net at all this season and were one down at Matsumoto Yamaga when Gyotoku to the bewilderment of the small band of travelling fans elected to throw on Arai as an unlikely and completely untested striker. Within fifteen minutes he'd scored twice -- both headers, not surprisingly -- to seal Gifu's first win since September.

J1 results

Cerezo 1-2 Omiya
Hiroshima 2-0 Tosu
Kofu 3-1 Kashiwa
Marinos 2-1 Kawasaki
Nagoya 2-0 Niigata
Oita 2-3 Kashima
S-Pulse 1-0 Jubilo
Sendai 2-1 FC Tokyo
Urawa 2-0 Shonan

J1 top six

1. Marinos 18
2. Urawa 16
3. Omiya 14
4. Nagoya 11
5. Kashima 11
6. Hiroshima 10

J1 bottom six

13. Tosu 6
14. Niigata 4
15. Kawasaki 3
16. Shonan 3
17. Jubilo 2
18. Oita 2

J2 results

Ehime 2-0 Gunma
Fukuoka 2-1 Kitakyushu
JEF 0-0 Okayama
Kyoto 0-1 Yokohama FC
Matsumoto 1-2 Gifu
Nagasaki 1-0 Kumamoto
Sapporo 2-1 Tokushima
Tochigi 0-1 Mito
Toyama 0-0 Kobe
Verdy 3-0 Tottori
Yamagata 0-1 Gamba

J2 top six

1. Kobe 19
2. Gamba 14
3. Okayama 14
4. Nagasaki 14
5. JEF 13
6. Yamagata 12

J2 bottom six

17. Sapporo 9
18. Yokohama FC 9
19. Kitakyushu 8
20. Kumamoto 7
21. Gunma 6
22. Gifu 5

[Furtho]

J-League, Let's Go!

Vissel Kobe remain five points clear at the top of J2 after beating Giravanz Kitakyushu 2-1 on Wednesday evening. Nine games in to the new season and it's another relegated side, Gamba Osaka, who lie second as an early own goal helped them past Matsumoto Yamaga. Interesting to note that Tokyo Verdy move into the top five having achieved such poor results in the opening few games, but the Green Machine currently boast the division's best defensive record.

At the bottom of the table there was disaster for FC Gifu, who came from two down to draw level with Kataller Toyama in 88th minute, only to lose it in injury time. Mind you their recent burst of form in front of the net means Gifu have now scored one more than fellow strugglers Thespakusatsu Gunma, whose latest loss came at home to Avispa Fukuoka.

J2 results

Gamba 1-0 Matsumoto
Gifu 2-3 Toyama
Gunma 0-1 Fukuoka
Kobe 2-1 Kitakyushu
Kumamoto 0-1 Ehime
Mito 2-0 JEF
Okayama 1-1 Kyoto
Tokushima 0-1 Tochigi
Tottori 0-2 Sapporo
Verdy 2-0 Yamagata
Yokohama FC 1-2 Nagasaki

J2 top six

1. Kobe 22pts
2. Gamba 17
3. Nagasaki 17
4. Okayama 15
5. Verdy 14
6. Tochigi 14

J2 bottom six

17. Tottori 10
18. Yokohama FC 9
19. Kitakyushu 8
20. Kumamoto 7
21. Gunma 6
22. Gifu 5

[TheFourMarys]

J-League, Let's Go!

Wahey! Go Squirrels!

Congrats, Furtho.

Not the best derby game I've ever seen but an enjoyable and deserved result to be sure. Ardija while not dominating at all, certainly looked more confident and complete as a unit than I've ever seen them before. After so many years of struggle an 18 game unbeaten run just seems bizarre.

I'm now wondering how many *other* slovene to Japanese translators there are in the world besides this guy. Can't imagine it's a particularly broad fellowship.

Great scenes of celebration in the incessant rain. Although I'm now going to have this Japanese take on 'You Are My Sunshine' in my head all weekend.

Happy for the Squirrels. Congrats again.