Football Leagues » J-League » J. League set for another bumper season
J. League set for another bumper season
Mike Tuckerman
Japanese football is on the crest of a wave. The national team are back in favour after winning the Asian Cup, and interest in the J. League has been rekindled by a new name on the trophy, Nagoya Grampus. Now the 19th edition of Japan's professional football league is set to kick-off, and all signs point to 2011 being a bumper year.
The Contenders
Nagoya may be reigning champions, but coach Dragon Stojkovic is experienced enough to know his side are just one of a handful of genuine contenders. Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has already anointed Stojkovic as his preferred successor, and like Wenger, the former Yugoslav international adopts a low-key approach to transfers.
The defending champions have made just two major signings for the new campaign, but both could prove significant. Jungo Fujimoto started the recent Asian Cup final, and the Japan midfielder has arrived from Shimizu S-Pulse. But it's the signing of Fukuoka University goal machine Kensuke Nagai that has set tongues wagging, after Nagai finished as top scorer at the 2010 Asian Games.
"He has a football intelligence and speed and I think it will be a good surprise for everybody in the J. League," Stojkovic told reporters at the season opening Kick Off conference.
Kashima Antlers have lost a goal machine of their own, with veteran Brazilian striker Marquinhos allowed to depart for Vegalta Sendai after the Antlers opted not to renew his contract. "Marquinhos didn't have enough motivation to carry on in Kashima," said coach Oswaldo de Oliveira.
The Antlers have put their faith in 20-year-old striker Yuya Osaka for goals, while mercurial midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara will once again lead Japan's most successful team around the park. Kashima have also added 190cm Brazilian target man Carlao to their ranks, and veteran defender Daiki Iwamasa told reporters his team has the depth to challenge on two fronts - with Kashima also looking to add a first ever AFC Champions League title to their glittering trophy cabinet.
Gamba Osaka finished second in the league last season, and they've poached free-scoring striker Adriano from city rivals Cerezo for the new campaign. South Korean winger Kim Seung-Yong has also arrived, but the departures of Michihiro Yasuda and Lucas Severino could be keenly felt, while Pedro Junior has been shipped out on loan to second tier side FC Tokyo after his public spat with coach Akira Nishino last season. That said, Gamba have plenty of depth and experience, and if they can overcome a serious injury to veteran midfielder Hideo Hashimoto, they look to have a squad capable of challenging for the title.
While Nagoya, Kashima and Gamba look the most obvious candidates to win the league, plenty of other teams will be jostling for position towards the top of the table.
The Hopefuls
Kawasaki Frontale finished fifth last season - a disappointing result which saw coach Takashi Sekizuka step down at the end of the year. He has been replaced by former Frontale player Naoki Soma, who cut his coaching teeth at local Japan Football League rivals Machida Zelvia. Soma takes over a squad shorn of Brazilian misfits Renatinho and Vitor Junior, while experienced defenders Hideki Sahara and Shuhei Terada have retired. The once effective Hiroyuki Taniguchi and Yusuke Mori have joined local rivals Yokohama F. Marinos and Tokyo Verdy respectively, with Koji Yamase, Yusuke Tanaka and Kosei Shibasaki travelling in the other direction.
After losing patience with underperforming coach Volker Finke, Urawa Reds terminated his contract a year early to replace him with a familiar face in Zeljko Petrovic. The Montenegrin spent three years as a player with the Reds, and he knows he's under immediate pressure to bring the glory days back to the Saitama side. Marcio Richardes is the obligatory big-money signing, arriving from Albirex Niigata to replace the departed Robson Ponte. Whether Urawa have enough depth to challenge is the question at hand - particularly with former midfield lynchpin Hajime Hosogai now plying his trade in the Bundesliga - but the Reds are nevertheless a formidable opponent, especially at home.
Cerezo Osaka may struggle to replace the goals of Adriano, but Levir Culpi's side are a tight-knit unit who punched above their weight last season. If they can avoid injuries and hang on to the influential Takashi Inui, they may once again challenge for a top-five finish. Yokohama F. Marinos sold Inui to Cerezo in 2009, but the Tricolore have plenty of big names in their midst, including new club captain Shunsuke Nakamura. The popular port city side have brought ex-Japan striker Masashi Oguro to the club in a bid to bolster their attack, while Hiroyuki Taniguchi and ex-Shimizu S-Pulse defender Naoaki Aoyama could also prove useful additions.
The Pretenders
New coach Afshin Ghotbi is confident his team can challenge for the title, but 2011 will surely be a year of transition for Shimizu S-Pulse. No less than ten first team regulars have departed along with former coach Kenta Hasegawa, including Asian Cup representatives Jungo Fujimoto, Takuya Honda and Shinji Okazaki, veteran Norwegian striker Frode Johnsen and club captain Akihiro Hyodo.
In their place come Shimizu-born front man Naohiro Takahara - arguably the most injury-plagued Japanese star of all time - the recently capped Taisuke Muramatsu and Australian attacking talent Alex Brosque. The latter is perhaps Shimizu's most intriguing signing, with the wispy midfielder-come-striker considered one of the finest players to have ever featured in Australia's nascent A-League.
Shimizu's local rivals Jubilo Iwata won the League Cup last season, but a significant failure to invest means Jubilo will be closer to the bottom three than the top five this season. The Shizuoka side will once again rely heavily on the goals of Ryoichi Maeda, but elsewhere the fallen giants look distinctly bereft of creative talent, even allowing for the sporadic brilliance of diminutive Brazilian Gilsinho.
Albirex Niigata have lost playmaker Marcio Richardes to Urawa Reds, while rival clubs are circling around South Korean star Cho Young-Cheol. The northern giants are likely to scrap it out in mid-table with Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who at least have plenty of attacking thrust in the form of Hisato Sato and Tadanari Lee.
The Relegation Candidates
Omiya Ardija reached a new low even by their standards when the Saitama side became embroiled in an attendance figure scandal last season. It almost cost them their place in the top flight, but after avoiding a points reduction which would have condemned them to the second tier, the Squirrels hung on by the skin of their teeth.
Omiya are likely to be joined in the struggle against relegation by the eternally unpopular Vissel Kobe, who salvaged their top flight status with a miraculous final day win away at Urawa Reds last season. Northern sides Montedio Yamagata and Vegalta Sendai could join them in the fight against the drop, not least because all three promoted sides have plenty of J1 experience.
The Promoted Sides
Kashiwa Reysol streaked away to the title last season, although they found runners-up Ventforet Kofu a worthy opponent. The pair will be joined by Avispa Fukuoka in the top tier, with all three having enjoyed extended stints in the top flight before.
Kashiwa and Kofu look the best equipped to stay up - the former courtesy of shrewd coach Nelsinho's input, the latter thanks to the potential goals of Paulinho and Mike Havenaar - but the returning Fukuoka could struggle on their return to the top tier, with goal scoring likely to be a problem for Yoshiyuki Shinoda's side.
Predictions
Champions: Gamba Osaka
Runners-up: Kashima Antlers
Relegated: Montedio Yamagata, Vissel Kobe, Avispa Fukuoka
Copyright: Mike Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com
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