Utaka not petering out

Peter Utaka has been in characteristically potent form for Ventforet Kofu of late, and the veteran striker is showing no signs of slowing down even as he approaches his 40th birthday… (日本語版)

Over the years plenty of foreign strikers have fired their way into the affections of J.League fans.

In the 1990s Ramón Diaz, Patrick Mboma, and Hwang Sun-hong were among the golden boot recipients, more recently the likes of Josh Kennedy, Michael Olunga, and Leandro Damião have also played pivotal roles in their clubs’ success, while, after putting up almost 400 goals between them, the Brazilian trio of Marquinhos, Ueslei, and Juninho all sit in the all-time top 10 J1 scorers list.

When it comes to consistency in front of goal, Peter Utaka is also right up there with the best of them.

The Nigerian marksman is another to have picked up a J1 top scorer gong after registering 19 goals for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2016 – sharing the honour with Leandro of Vissel Kobe – and in his eight campaigns in Japan ahead of this year (including a half-season loan with Tokushima Vortis in 2018) the lowest his strike rate has ever dropped is fractionally below a goal every three games.

Utaka returned to Ventforet Kofu at the start of 2023 after leaving Kyoto Sanga – where last season he finished as their top scorer with nine goals in the top flight – and he made an instant impact on his second debut in blue and red by scoring in the 2-1 loss to Yokohama F. Marinos in the Fujifilm Super Cup on 11 February, in the process becoming the oldest player to score in the competition at the age of 38 years and 364 days.

“It’s my second Super Cup, scoring in both of them,” he said in the mixed zone at Tokyo National Stadium after that game. “The first one was for Hiroshima against Gamba [Osaka], which we won (in 2016), and now another one. Thirty-nine tomorrow – that’s why I needed this goal!”

You certainly wouldn’t have known Utaka was edging closer to 40 by his enthusiasm levels after completing 90 minutes against the reigning J1 champions, and that eagerness also remains on full display on the pitch as well.

“I’m feeling positive,” he said of his hopes for Ventforet’s season. “It’s a different style [to Kyoto] – I’ve been pressing forward for the last three years without waiting for anybody, and now you have to wait, wait, and it’s all about timing here.”

Being of similarly steadily-advancing years and just a year younger than Utaka I suggested that a less energy-consuming approach sounds slightly more appealing, but he insisted with a laugh that he has no preference.

“I don’t mind. I really don’t mind, ‘cos I can run! I do whatever is needed. If the coach says ’run’ I run, if he says ‘wait’ I wait – it doesn’t matter.

“Football is my hobby, and if you look at me, the way I move, I don’t move like I’m 39 years old. I take care of my body, I take care of myself. My body is not weak and I’m mentally very, very strong. Physically as well, I consider that I’m strong. I just love playing football, and as long as I can move as fast as I can then I’ll keep playing. Until I don’t have the motivation anymore, and then that will be the day.”

The fire is clearly still burning bright 11 games into the J2 season, with Utaka having started every game so far and contributing four goals and three assists – including the winners in Ventforet’s two most recent games, 1-0 victories over Tochigi SC and early pacesetters Machida Zelvia – to leave them sitting well placed in fourth.

As well as pushing for a return to J1, this season also comes with the added bonus of participation in the AFC Champions League – a competition Utaka has played in before for Beijing Guoan and Sanfrecce – and while there is a danger that the schedule could take its toll on top of Kofu’s regular domestic commitments, Utaka is confident he has the discipline to cope with the extra demands.

“As I’m getting older I know, ‘OK, I can’t eat this cos if I eat this I’m going to get a bit fat’, and why would I eat it if I’m then going to have to work it off in the next day or the next two days, you know what I mean?

“As you’re getting older, you know it gets harder to lose weight and to lose fat and things like that,  so for me I try to avoid things and focus on what keeps my body healthy. I don’t do dieting, to be honest with you. I just don’t eat cheese or things that definitely aren’t good for your body.”

Indeed, in amongst all the goals Utaka perhaps isn’t always given the credit he deserves for his dedication to the team and selflessness on the front line, and as well as being a lethal finisher the former Shimizu S-Pulse and FC Tokyo man also serves as a superb foil for those around him, dragging defenders out of position and being just as likely to provide a killer pass as he is shot.

With 118 goals in 264 J.League games (45 in 115 J1 appearances and 73 in 149 in J2) it is primarily the scoring charts where Utaka is leaving his mark though, and when all is said and done he looks likely to be sitting pretty near the summit.

Matching Juninho’s 181 goals combined across the top two tiers will be too tall an order, but if he can maintain his fitness and form for another season or two then Utaka will certainly fancy his chances of overhauling former Yokohama FC and Omiya Ardija goal-getter Abdurahim ‘Ibba’ Laajab (82 goals) to become the most prolific foreigner in J2 history.

“When I wake up every morning, I want to go training,” he said after the Super Cup. “That’s the feeling that’s kept me going.

“The day I wake up and I don’t feel like going to training, that will be the last day – I’ll be like, ‘No guys, I’ve had enough’. Any day I’m going to feel something like that, that will be it for me. But for now, I still want to score 20 goals, do you know what I mean?

“In J2, I still want to score 20 goals. If I can’t get double digits in J2 then I’ll think maybe it’s about time. But as long as I can keep getting those double digits then it’s not a problem, I’ll keep going.”

He’s on course to comfortably make that target again this season, and the age of Utaka doesn’t look like it will be petering out any time soon.

Main man Moberg

Urawa Reds have been in resurgent form of late after a dismal start to the 2022 season, and David Moberg has been the jewel in the diamonds’ crown as they’ve moved to the brink of another AFC Champions League final… (日本語版)

Whisper it quietly – especially if you’re behind the home goal at Saitama Stadium, we don’t want any more fines for making unapproved noise – but Urawa Reds are quietly slipping into some impressive form as the 2022 season nears its end.

Ricardo Rodriguez’s side eased their way into the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League with confident wins against Johor Darul Ta’zim (5-0) – who eliminated the highly-fancied Kawasaki Frontale and Ulsan Hyundai in the group stage – and Makoto Teguramori’s BG Pathum United (4-0) this week, setting up a mouthwatering semi-final against fellow two-time continental champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Thursday.

As well as that the Saitama side have also found their feet in J1 after a frankly appalling start to the campaign, racking up six wins and three draws in their last 10 league games to hoist themselves up to eighth in the table and consequently onto the fringes of the battle for a place in next year’s ACL.

Such a set of circumstances looked a long way off three months ago, when Reds sat just outside the relegation places after picking up only two league wins in their first 15 games – at home to Shonan Bellmare and Jubilo Iwata – a run that also produced a bizarre sequence of seven consecutive draws.

After going down 2-0 away to Cerezo Osaka on 25 May the side’s fortunes have steadily improved, however, and their impressive form since has seen them keep five clean sheets and score 21 goals (a return that was admittedly boosted somewhat by the recent 6-0 drubbing of Jubilo on 13 August) – although it did also include elimination from the Emperor’s Cup at the hands of J2 strugglers Thespakusatu Gunma, managed by former Urawa boss Tsuyoshi Otsuki.

Even that disappointment – which came despite the fact Rodriguez essentially sent a full-strength  11 out at Shoda Shoyu Stadium – didn’t knock the team off course though, and nine of those players started again four days later as they rebounded with a huge three points against fellow slow starters Vissel Kobe.

David Moberg was the hero for Reds that day, arcing home a sublime free-kick in the last minute to snatch the win at Noevir Stadium, and his presence has been a huge factor in the team’s recent strong form both at home and in Asia.

Japan’s entry requirements meant the Swede didn’t appear in any of the club’s first six games of the season, of which they lost four and won just one, before demonstrating his quality immediately upon his debut by stroking home an excellent goal three minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute in the aforementioned victory over Jubilo in March.

He then featured in one way or another in each of Urawa’s’ next seven J1 matches, and although they again only won once in that spell they also didn’t lose – something that wasn’t the case as he missed the following three games, when the defeat to Cerezo was sandwiched between draws against Kashima Antlers and Avispa Fukuoka.

Since then Moberg has played a part in each of the team’s subsequent nine league matches, with the 3-0 loss to Nagoya on 6 August the only time he has tasted defeat in J1.

In the process he has established himself as the key attacking threat in a team full of attacking threats, and as well as keeping opposing defenders constantly on their toes with his direct dribbling and ability to find space where it seemed there was none he has also demonstrated a lethal touch in front of goal, leading Reds’ scoring charts in both the league (eight goals) and ACL (tied with Yusuke Matsuo on five).

Such a clinical edge is exactly what Reds’ will need as the season reaches its climax, and there won’t be many sides relishing having to deal with their right-side combination of Moberg and Hiroki Sakai. 

“We work on it every day,” Moberg said of the way the pair dovetailed against BG Pathum – another game in which he found the net with a trademark vicious strike. “It gets better and better, and hopefully we can do even better in the future.”

Jeonbuk were taken to extra time in both their Round of 16 and quarter-final ties against Daegu and Vissel and certainly won’t be looking forward to trying to contain the in-form and confident Moberg at what is sure to be a heaving Saitama Stadium in the semi-final, and the 28-year-old insisted he and his teammates will be raring to go for the decisive tie in front of home support. 

“Now it’s the last game of the Champions League till next year,” he said, with reference to the fact that the 2022 final actually takes place in February 2023. “We have a lot of energy left and we have to fight.”

After starting the season a little punch drunk Reds have shown plenty of gumption to regain their footing, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Moberg land another knockout punch or two in the weeks ahead.

Fans United

The protests that saw Manchester United v. Liverpool postponed showed fans do still have a say in the way their clubs are run, they just might need to shout a little bit louder… (日本語版)

In the end, let’s admit it, there was probably more excitement on the Old Trafford pitch on 2 May than there would have been if the inevitable cagey draw between Manchester United and Liverpool had been played as scheduled.

In some ways, the scenes around and inside one of the most famous football venues on earth were also a better advert for the passion of domestic football in England than another tiresome stalemate between these old rivals – seven of whom’s last 11 meetings have ended all square.

Of course violent clashes between protestors and the police aren’t something we’re supposed to condone, but they only accounted for a tiny proportion of the activity in Manchester, and at a time of steady disenfranchisement when we are increasingly viewed less as individuals and more as customers this was a refreshing reminder of the culture and enthusiasm that helped English football to develop into the most popular in the world.

The protests by United fans were ostensibly in reaction to the club’s announcement at the end of April that it was one of the 12 members of the (quickly-folded) European Super League, although as one of the participants in the protests explained in The Guardian the seeds had been sown long before that when the most successful side in the Premier League era fell into the hands of its current owners (one of whom, United co-chairman Joel Glazer, was named as a vice-chairman of the Super League).

“This is all to do with the Glazers,” Jamie of the United We Stand fanzine wrote with regards to the leveraged buyout through which the American family acquired control of the club 16 years ago. “It has been a long time in the making, because we protested in 2005 [when they bought the club], and again in 2010. I can understand people saying: “It’s just because you’re not winning things any more.” But that’s not the point – this is about a football club and a community that surrounds it.

“Will there be more protests? Yes. Maybe not on that scale again because this was United-Liverpool, a worldwide audience, on a bank holiday Sunday, but there will be more.”

And the world really was watching, with the actions of the protestors as they caused the first match postponement on account of fan behaviour in the Premier League era being beamed around the globe. “We decide when you can play” was one of the chants favoured by the supporters as they gathered outside Old Trafford and the Lowry Hotel at which the United players were staying in advance of the game, hinting at another long-running gripe the Super League fiasco had brought to a head.

Match-going fans, whose fervour and cash had initially enabled the English game to elevate itself, have found themselves gradually sidelined as the Premier League behemoth has grown into a global business endeavor, with kick-off times increasingly arranged to suit broadcast partners rather than those attending in person.

The coronavirus has added insult to injury in this sense, with the empty rhetoric of the ‘Football is Nothing Without Fans’ tarpaulins draped over deserted terraces being proven glaringly untrue as the Premier League beast has rolled relentlessly on without them for over a year now.

It is likely that the timing of the Super League announcement was not coincidental either, with those involved perhaps hoping they could force it through without fans being at grounds to voice their opposition. It is fair to say they grossly underestimated the depth of feeling and sense of attachment supporters have with their clubs.

Owners, managers, and players come and go, but fans are the one constant. Those connections are passed on from generation to generation, and the protests that prevented United-Liverpool being played were a defiant roar against the ongoing commodification and sterilisation seeking to take top level football further away from its origins – of which the Super League would have been the latest escalation, featuring the same uber-rich teams playing each other repeatedly in games contested for huge profit but with no risk.

“Of course we’d love to have watched a Manchester United-Liverpool game but ultimately this is much bigger than that,” Jamie added of the protest. “If we get a points deduction we would not care.

“I do get that some people say a line was crossed because it was illegal [entering Old Trafford] but there’s only so much passive resistance can do. You can tweet “#Glazersout” but what good does it do?”

The Old Trafford protests served as a timely reminder that supporters aren’t just consumers who should just blindly cheerlead, but are instead one of the foundations upon which clubs are built.

Fans have voices and shouldn’t be afraid to use them. When they shout loud enough, they are heard.

Soul for survival

Matsumoto Yamaga’s form has dropped off after a steady start to the season, but they have a chance for a confidence-boosting win this weekend as fellow strugglers Gamba Osaka come to town… (日本語版はこちら)

Ahead of this season Matsumoto Yamaga manager Yasuharu Sorimachi said his target back in the top flight was to finish in the “top 15” – not ‘survival’ but the ‘top 15’ – and that he hoped the team would make a stronger start to the 2019 campaign than they had in J2 last year, when they failed to win any of their first six games and picked up all three points just once in their first eight matches.

After recovering superbly to ultimately earn promotion as champions in 2018 they did begin this season more brightly, claiming four points from their first two games and winning three of their first eight as they beat fellow promoted side Oita Trinita and struggling big spenders Vissel Kobe and Sagan Tosu.

Things have tapered off since though, and the 1-0 smash and grab away to Nagoya on 26 May is Yamaga’s only win in their last eight games, a run during which they have scored just twice, to leave them with 16 points from as many games.

“We wanted to make it to 20 points in the first half of the season, but unfortunately that’s been difficult,” Sorimachi said after the most recent defeat, 1-0 away to Yokohama F.Marinos last Saturday.

“So far we’ve been averaging one point per game to bring us to 16, which I think is a pretty difficult level. Having come up this season our aim of finishing in the top 15 is a big one, and from now on we really have to devote ourselves to achieving that.

“I have said it many times, but even if we are lacking some things we will do all we can to creep up the table. I want us to show that ‘Matsumoto Soul’.”

While averaging a point a game would just about have been enough to avoid the drop in three of the last four seasons (33, 30, and 34 were enough in 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively), last year the unusually high watermark of 41 points was needed to ensure Grampus, Sagan, Shonan Bellmare, and Marinos stayed up – although Jubilo did have to contest the relegation/promotion play-off with the same number as a result of their inferior goal difference.

Continuing at the same rate would likely make things too close for comfort this year then, and Hayuma Tanaka knows the team need to improve in the second half of the season if they are to do better than 2015, when they were relegated after their only previous year in the top flight.

“Of course four years ago it was the first time ever for the club to be in J1,” he said after the defeat to his former club Marinos.

“At that time there were hardly any players with experience playing in J1, and the same was true for the people behind the scenes at the club. Honestly speaking, perhaps it was only me who had that experience.

“Since then four years have passed, and we have been battling the whole time in order to be able to stay in J1. I think the club has really taken on board that experience from four years ago, and we are fighting this year to avoid making the same mistakes.

“It’s true we have issues to improve upon, but the overriding aim is to survive in J1 and results are everything, rather than thinking too much about tactics or the way of playing. We have to keep pushing on towards getting those results and show that in the second half of the season and the next game.”

That next game is a huge one, and sees them come up against a resurgent Gamba Osaka, who sit two places higher in the rankings but just one point ahead of Yamaga after Ryotaro Meshino’s 91st minute strike delivered a 1-0 win over Shonan last weekend to extend their unbeaten run to five matches.

“Of course it’s an important game between two teams near the bottom of the table, but we’re at home,” Paulinho said of the upcoming clash.

“Being able to play in front of our supporters who give us so much backing provides us with a real boost, and I want us to really show our feeling to make sure we win the game.”

Much is often made of the support generated at Yamaga home games, and while Alwin is truly one of the best places to watch football in Japan the atmosphere in the stands has failed to translate into many points for the team so far this season.

Thus far Yamaga have won just twice on their own patch – the aforementioned victories over Vissel’s and Sagan’s traveling stars – and Paulinho thinks it is time the players start adding a little more quality on the pitch to match that off it.

“Every game the fans create a fantastic atmosphere, but we are still lacking a little maturity,” the Brazilian midfielder conceded. “We’ve only just come back up to J1 and there remain areas we are still not quite used to. That’s not an excuse but I think it’s true, and I’m hoping we can start picking up more wins from now on.”

Three points against Gamba this weekend would certainly come as a welcome boost at the halfway point in the season, but another defeat could serve a decisive blow to the team’s confidence as they move into the crucial second half of the campaign.

Antlers in ACL ascendancy

Japan’s most successful club is aiming to create more history after Kashima Antlers confidently put one foot in a first ever ACL semi-final this week… (日本語版はこちら)

Rarely can a quarter-final have been so one-sided.

Kashima Antlers sauntered past Tianjin Quanjian in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, and the 2-0 score-line hardly did justice to the ease with which Go Oiwa’s side established control ahead of the second leg on 18 September.

Antlers burst out of the traps with plenty of intent against their lethargic visitors, keeping Paulo Sousa’s side penned back in their own half for the majority of the first period and winning seven corners in the first half-hour alone.

They were unable to make that supremacy count, however, and with things scoreless at half-time there was a lingering fear this game could follow the pattern of so many others in which a Japanese team lacking a killer touch is punished for their profligacy by a more ruthless opponent.

Such concerns were dispelled as soon as play resumed after the break though, with the flow of the game picking up exactly where it had left off and Tianjin offering absolutely nothing to counter Antlers’ increasing pressure.

That finally paid off on the hour mark, when Leo Silva latched onto a loose ball headed into the area by Yasushi Endo and drilled it beyond Zhang Lu in the Tianjin goal to give the hosts a richly deserved lead.

Even falling behind didn’t spark any kind of recovery in the visitors, and 12 minutes later Serginho followed his compatriot’s lead and rifled home Kashima’s second to give them some breathing space at the halfway point in the tie.

“In the first half we were attacking a lot but unable to make the breakthrough, but we didn’t grow impatient and stuck to the way we wanted to play, which in turn led to us scoring the two goals,” Shuto Yamamoto said after the game.

“We did everything we needed to do with regards to dealing with Tianjin, which meant we were able to keep our composure when attacking. We were able to play the football we wanted to at home and keep a clean sheet, and I think we have picked up a result which will help us looking ahead to the next game.”

The eight-time J.League champions are now clear favourites, but surely won’t find things so straightforward in China.

They were utterly dominant over the 90 minutes, racking up 68.3% possession, making more than double the passes of their opponents – 437 to 214 – and achieving an 80.3% passing accuracy rate as 83.4% of the game was played in the middle or Tianjin thirds of the pitch.

On top of that they notched up 15 corners to Tianjin’s one, attempted an incredible 46 crosses to Tianjin’s 10, and took twice as many shots, 21 to 10.

Even so, they were served a warning in the final minute of regular time after an uncharacteristically sloppy clearance from Yamamoto fell to Yang Xu, who drew a smart stop from the impressive Kwoun Sun-tae.

That is exactly the kind of complacency Oiwa will be desperate for his players to avoid in Tianijin next month, especially in the early stages when the CSL side can be expected to throw some caution to the wind.

Their talisman Alexandre Pato is certainly not expecting his team to put up such a timid showing in the second leg, and cut a philosophical figure after the defeat.

“Ok, we lost but we have another game at home and we can do better than today,” he told the-AFC.com. “Two-zero is not over, we have another game and we need to have more concentration at home and try to do our best.”

The former AC Milan star pointed out that Tianjin’s preparation had been far from ideal after they missed their initial flight two days before the match – something which certainly seemed to affect them and would go some way to explaining their sluggish performance.

“We arrived one day before the game – it’s not good. We needed to arrive two days before but we had some difficulties with the trip. It’s not an excuse, but of course if we have two days to recover our legs it’s better than one day.”

And the 28-year-old was adamant that a composed opening in Tianjin could still see his side progress at Kashima’s expense.

“We need to think about the game,” the Brazilian said. “We need to start good and try to do the best and then try to think about the goals.

“Of course at home we have the advantage and the supporters and we will try to do our best. They played better than us today, but we still have another game.”

Be that as it may, on this showing a spot in their first continental semi-final is now Kashima’s to lose.

Age old problems

Japan are appearing at the U20 World Cup for the first time in 10 years, and thus far they have shown all the usual signs of Japanese national teams… (日本語版はこちらです)

The players are younger, far less experienced, and haven’t had a huge amount of time playing together as a team, but Japan’s U-20’s shared a few things in common with the full national team in Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Uruguay.

Just as they’d done in their opening game against South Africa, Atsushi Uchiyama’s side started slowly, surrendering control of the game to the Uruguayans early on, as they seemed a little overwhelmed by the tenacity of their opponents.

As has also often been the case with the Samurai Blue when the pressure is on against the stronger teams in the biggest competitions the occasion also seemed to get to the players a little in the early stages, something that striker Yuto Iwasaki admitted afterwards.

”On this kind of stage, in international competition, we knew that if we won we’d have a better chance of qualifying for the knockout stage and so maybe we weren’t able to control our emotions completely,” the Kyoto Sanga player said.

“I think today a few of us had the feeling of wanting to make something happen, but perhaps we need to fight more as a team. Instead of looking to do things on our own we need to fight as a group.”

Centre-back Takehiro Tomiyasu had a shaky start in Suwon and almost gifted Nicolas De La Cruz an opener in the 11th minute, but was let off as the Uruguay captain sent his effort just past the post. The South Americans weren’t to be so wasteful with their later opportunities though, and Tomiyasu paid reference to the difference in the decisiveness of the two teams – another criticism regularly aimed at the Japan top team.

“I really sensed their ability to take their chances,” Tomiyasu said. “We put ourselves under pressure a lot from our own mistakes – I personally made a lot of passing errors. More than it being them forcing the issue it was us making errors which led to us being under pressure.”

The loss of centre-forward Koki Ogawa to injury in just the 20th minute threw another spanner in the works for Japan, with a key facet of their game-plan being eliminated by the loss of the Jubilo Iwata youngster.

“After Ogawa went off we lost him as the target up front, which meant we lost the option of long balls and crosses a little,” left winger Koji Miyoshi said. “When Ogawa is on the pitch we always have the option to send in crosses, and that went a little without him.”

The ability to ride out in-game problems and adapt to them is a trademark of winning teams – think of the way Portugal persevered to win Euro 2016 even after Cristiano Ronaldo went off injured, for instance – and Japan’s sensitivity in that resect was noted by Uchiyama in his post-match press conference.

“We intended to play by moving the ball around, but after conceding the first goal our players began to play more in one-on-one situations rather than playing as a unit or using our combinations,” the 57-year-old said.

“I spoke about trying to change that at half time, but I think ultimately the result came from the way in which Uruguay took advantage of our mistakes but we were unable to capitalize on theirs.”

This, too, is a regular issue for the senior men’s team in the biggest games, and Japan’s inability to turn their control of possession in the second half into a more sustained period of pressure in the final third was registered by Iwasaki.

“I think there was a difference in the number of times each team got into positions in front of goal here, and I also sensed a difference in each team’s ability to convert those chances.”

Ogawa’s replacement Takefusa Kubo missed one of Japan’s best opportunities, heading over from close range as the ball rebounded to him in the 55th minute, and the combinations between the 15-year-old FC Tokyo wonder-kid and Iwasaki did look a little clunky at times.

“Sometimes I feel we were too far apart and perhaps our timing wasn’t quite right,” Iwasaki admitted. “We knew exactly what each of our roles were though, and had spoken about that – I was trying to get in behind while he wanted to play in the space.”

Indeed, there were some promising signs as the game wore on, and in the same way that Japan improved in the second half against South Africa they looked far more confident and positive after settling into their stride against Uruguay.

Iwasaki thinks that ability to adapt to the flow of the game is a positive aspect of the team’s game, and is hopeful they can utilise it again while also sharpening up in front of goal in today’s vital last group game against Italy.

“I think this team has the ability react to the way the opponent is playing and correct things in the second half,” he said by way of explanation for the team’s Jekyll and Hyde displays so far. “Once we are used to their style we are able to think about how best to play.

“Italy also have good technique and are physically strong, so I think it will be like today’s game. We know we will only have very few chances and so we have to be prepared to finish the ones we get.”

It is crucial the team don’t wait until the second half to get going against an Italian side which itself needs points to guarantee progression to the last 16 though, and while Japan only have a couple of days to do so, lessons need to be learned and corrections need to be made if the side wants to qualify for the next round.

Antlers start reign with own-goal loss

The new J.League season got up and running in characteristically unpredictable fashion today, with last year’s two best sides both losing their first matches. I was in Kashima to see the champions Antlers splutter in their opener against FC Tokyo…

KASHIMA, Ibaraki — FC Tokyo caused an upset on the opening day of the J.League season, winning 1-0 away to reigning champion Kashima Antlers on Saturday.

It took an own goal to separate the sides, with the result ultimately decided by unfortunate Kashima substitute Yuto Misao in the 82nd minute.

Both teams had spells in the ascendancy during a closely contested battle, but FC Tokyo coach Yoshiyuki Shinoda was pleased his team was able to start with such an impressive scalp.

“It was the opening game of the season, so we were still a little rusty in some respects,” the 45-year-old said.

“Antlers are not the kind of opponent you can play for a draw against though, and we knew we had to aim to score goals over the whole 90 minutes if we wanted to take anything from this game.”

The visitors certainly started as the more expansive of the two sides, and their first sighter on goal came in the seventh minute when new signing Yoshito Okubo stung the fingers of Kashima goalkeeper Kwoun Sun Tae with an effort from close range.

Yojiro Takahagi then fired straight at Kwoun from distance in the 37th minute, before an unmarked Kensuke Nagai somehow failed to meet a Sei Muroya cross two minutes later.

Pedro Junior reminded Tokyo of the threat Antlers pose on the break with a swift counter in the 43rd minute, but the impressive Muroya recovered well to shut down the danger.

Fourteen minutes after the break it was Okubo’s turn to contribute a glaring miss to the proceedings.

The three-time J1 top scorer signed from Kawasaki Frontale over the offseason looked odds on to score, but got a little overexcited and lashed wildly over from point-blank range after Nagai had prodded a corner in his direction.

He was almost punished for that miss less than a minute later, but Tokyo keeper Akihiro Hayashi did well to foil Pedro Junior on another quick break.

“If Hayashi hadn’t made that save at 0-0 things could have been different,” Shinoda observed afterwards.

Instead it was Tokyo who went on to pick up the three points, with the winner coming eight minutes from time.

Substitute Shoya Nakajima had a shot from range more in hope than expectation, and which looked like a routine collection for Kashima keeper Kwoun.

The South Korean fluffed his lines, though, and spilled the ball into the path of fellow league debutant Misao, who couldn’t react in time to avoid inadvertently sending it into his own net.

Elsewhere, there was plenty of drama in the day’s early kick off as last year’s runner-up Urawa Reds also lost, going down 3-2 in a rollercoaster match away to Yokohama F Marinos.

Marinos took the lead through David Babunski in the 13th minute, but Rafael Silva then struck twice in three second-half minutes to put Reds 2-1 up.

Marinos secured a dramatic late win with a quickfire double of their own, as Hugo Vieira equalized in the 86th minute and Naoki Maeda converted the winner in the second minute of injury time.

Meanwhile, the newly promoted sides had muted days.

Cerezo Osaka drew 0-0 with Jubilo Iwata, while Consadole Sapporo and Shimizu S-Pulse both lost 1-0, against Vegalta Sendai and Vissel Kobe, respectively.

J.LEAGUE PREVIEW / Marinos move on after Nakamura departure

There were ructions at Yokohama F.Marinos in the off-season as club legend Shunsuke Nakamura departed in acrimonious circumstances, but coach Erick Mombaerts is unruffled heading into a new era for the Nissan Stadium club…

Yokohama F.Marinos manager Erick Mombaerts insists it will be business as usual at Nissan Stadium this year, despite the headline-grabbing departure of captain Shunsuke Nakamura.

The 38-year-old Nakamura left his boyhood club for Jubilo Iwata over the offseason, with rumors swirling of discontent behind the scenes and an uneasy relationship between coach and player.

Former France U-21 coach Mombaerts is unfazed by the upheaval though, and remains firmly focused on the task at hand in his third year at the helm.

“Whether Shunsuke was here or not, the aim would be to improve on last year, to show a better performance than last season,” the 61-year-old said.

“Our style is based upon speedy play with good combinations, and the objective is to fine-tune that. That isn’t dependent upon which players have left or come in, but is always the target.

“The players who are able to play that style are the ones who will appear in the games. If Shunsuke was still here, that would be the aim, and it doesn’t change because he’s not.”

The ongoing shift to a younger, more dynamic Marinos is epitomized by the team’s new captain, Manabu Saito.

“He’s a very important player at this club and I hope he will take on the extra responsibility this season,” Mombaerts said of his decision to select the livewire forward as Nakamura’s successor.

“He’s a national team player and gives everything he has in every single game, so I’m sure he can lead the team.”

Saito, who will also assume Nakamura’s No. 10 shirt, was chosen ahead of more experienced members of the squad, but knows he has their full backing.

“Many people are supporting me — Bomber [Yuji Nakazawa], Machi [Kosuke Nakamachi], Yuzo [Kurihara] — and so along with their help I will try to add something of myself,” the 26-year-old said.

“It’s not the case of wondering what will happen now that I’m captain, but instead to just work at improving the team. I think for that to happen it is important there are many voices being heard.

“There’s been a turnover of players and of course a legend has left, but Marinos will keep going.”

Cayman Togashi is another player who represents the emerging generation of talent at Marinos, and echoed the sentiments of both his coach and new captain.

“We want to continue with the things we were doing last year while also adding some new elements and trying to get some cohesion between the two,” the 23-year-old striker said.

“Of course, now we don’t have an absolute star player in the same mold as Shunsuke, but I feel that unconsciously the team is in the situation of feeling, ‘right, let’s get things done by ourselves.’

“Manabu has been made captain, but it’s not just up to him, and I think we are now in a position whereby all of us have to take responsibility.”

Nakamura played 338 times during two stints with his boyhood club — punctuated by a successful spell in Europe — but only appeared in just over half of his team’s league games in the two seasons since Mombaerts took charge.

In that time the club finished seventh and 10th in the overall table, and Mombaerts is looking to lift the team up a notch this campaign.

“Coaches all over the world say they want to win the league, that the target is to become champions, but that is easy to say,” he explained.

“What is actually important is to improve the performance of the team from last year to make the team better than before. That comes from working hard every day — not just words, but actually putting it into practice — and the results correspond with that.

“I want to raise the level of the team and have us move up the table and compete with the top sides. It is not words but playing quality that leads to results.”

Kashima give Real a run for their money

Kashima Antlers put in a sensational effort at the recent Club World Cup in Japan, taking Real Madrid all the way to extra time as the pair tussled for the world title.

I looked back at Antlers’ achievement of becoming the first Asian side to make the final of the competition for Soccerphile.

Antlers show spirit of Zico and do Japan proud

Kashima Antlers took Real Madrid all the way in the final of the Club World Cup last night, ultimately going down 4-2  in extra time.

Here’s my report from a remarkable match for Japan Forward.