J-League News November 2013
Paul Williams
The J.League is renowned for its close finishes, with four of the last six titles being decided on the last day of the season. And what do you know; it looks like we're set for another final day decider this season, with the top four sides separated by just three points going into the final three games of the season.
Yokohama F.Marinos leads the pack, ahead of Urawa Reds, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kashima Antlers.
And with the finishing line in sight the top three all stumbled in their last outing, missing the chance to get an edge on their rivals.
Yokohama earned the ire of their fans with an insipid display against Nagoya at home, Sanfrecce salvaged a point after going down to Kashiwa Reysol and in the final match of the round Urawa threw away three points when they conceded in the last minute of injury time against Vegalta Sendai.
At the start of this season this correspondent wrote that Yokohama, after a bright start to the season, had a genuine chance to claim their first J.League title in almost a decade and their ability to maintain that form throughout the campaign has proven that to be correct.
If it does come down to the final day of the season it's going to be one hell of a final day, with the top six sides (as they currently stand) due to face each other:
Kawasaki Frontale (6) vs Yokohama F.Marinos (1)
Urawa Reds (2) vs Cerezo Osaka (5)
Kashima Antlers (4) vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima (3)
The only thing guaranteed is that nails will be bitten all over the country over the final three weeks of the season, and this being the J.League who knows how it could end.
Maeda Curse is broken
At the start of this season we discussed the odd phenomenon that was the Maeda Curse. To recap, in every season since 2007 the team Jubilo Iwata striker Ryoichi Maeda scored his first goal of the season against had been relegated.
That unfortunate honour this year fell to Urawa Reds, who had only just staved off relegation in 2011. But the curse has finally been broken, Urawa will survive and could very well win the Championship. In a cruel twist of fate it is Jubilo who will drop down to J2 next season for the first time in their history, after a disastrous campaign in which they've won only three of their 31 games to date.
While Takashi Sekizuka, who took Japan to the London 2012 Olympic Games, took over at the mid-season break, he could do nothing to stop the former J.League champions facing the humiliation of relegation.
They join Gamba Osaka (2012) and FC Tokyo (2010) as recent big-name casualties. The silver lining for the Shizuoka club is that both Gamba and FC Tokyo went on to win J2 the following season and returned straight back to J1.
And that takes us on to Gamba Osaka, who sealed the J2 title last weekend after a 3-2 win at home to Montedio Yamagata. Truth be told, it was never in doubt.
After a series of draws to begin life in J2 (they won only one of their first five games, drawing the other four), they've gone on to win 24 of their next 36 games. The only blot on their copy book being back-to-back defeats at the end of September/early October. But the title and subsequent promotion was never in doubt.
Vissel Kobe, the other big name casualty of 2012, has done likewise and will be back in J1 next season. Who joins them is still up in the air, with the final four playoff spots to be decided on the final day.
Only Kyoto Sanga is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, with the three clubs who current occupy the final three playoff places - V-Varen Nagasaki, JEF United Chiba and Tokushima Vortis - all needing results on the final day to guarantee their spot, with Nagasaki and Tokushima facing off in just one of a number of crucial games.
Sayonara Gosford, Konichiwa Sendai
The big news from an Australian point of view over the last week has undoubtedly been that of Central Coast Mariners coach Graham Arnold signing on to coach Vegalta Sendai in the J.League next season.
With Makoto Teguramori moving on to take over the Japanese U23 side, Arnold will take over the hot seat and look to take the club back to the top of the table after dropping back to the pack this season.
His signing is a significant moment for Australian football, with Arnold the first of the new breed of coaches to graduate from the A-League and move to a bigger league overseas. Just as he did as a player, when he was one of the first Australian players to move to Europe, Arnold will once again be a pioneer.
Of course Arnold is no stranger to Japan, having spent two seasons at Sanfrecce Hiroshima at the end of his playing career under Eddie Thomson, the only other Australian to have coached in the J.League.
With Sendai still in the Emperor's Cup, and therefore still a chance to clinch an AFC Champions League spot, many will be hoping they can do just that…and then get drawn against Arnold's former side, Central Coast.
It would be quite the storyline.
Copyright: Paul Williams & Soccerphile.com
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Paul Williams is creator and editor of the Asian Football Feast website
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