Saitama Stadium regularly hosts international matchesCoach Zico's charges faced Malaysia in a February 7th friendly. Without any of the European-based players, Japan overwhelmed a group of amateurs from southeast Asia 4-0. Playing away in freezing temperatures, Malaysia, ranked 99th in the world, rarely had possession. Japan, which is ranked 25th, probably could have run up the score even more. A complete waste of time. Then, on February 12th, Iraq came to play at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Against a team that only resumed practice recently, Japan came away with a hard-fought--if not lucky--2-0 victory. In their final pre-World Cup qualifier warm-up, Japan looked sluggish and often lost in midfield.
Japan's first World Cup qualifier took place on February 18th when Japan faced Oman infront of a packed house in Saitama. With Shinji Ono out with an ankle injury, Japan looked adrift from the start. Yokohama striker Tatsuhiko Kubo came off the bench in the second half in place of the hapless Atsushii Yanagisawa and scored in injury time to give the home team a 1-0 win--and three key points for the victory. Zico's side, however, produced few opportunities against a solid Omani team. Shunsuke Nakamura missed from the penalty spot in the first half--and then blew two other chances in what was a dreadful performance. Though Japan had the lion's share of possession, Al Habsi in the Omani goal, was never challenged and Japan could not break down the visitors' defense. It took a fortuitous or, unfortunate, from the quite unlucky Omani perspective, deflection off a defender's leg that landed at Kubo's feet for Japan to finally score. In spite of the win, the omens for the remainder of the campaign look grim. Prior to the match, one player was anonymously quoted as saying that Zico - can't remember our names...he confuses players. He does everything on the fly." Following the match, captain Hidetoshi Nakata could only say, "Only if we could have capitalized on our chances. But that's nothing new for us." The knives are being sharpened. Had Zico not won, rumor had it he would have lost his job. Perhaps for the long-term well-being of the national team, it was unfortunate Kubo scored.
In other news, the Japan Football Association announced that Japan will meet England at the City of Manchester Stadium on June 1st. That match joins fixtures against the Czech Republic on April 28th in Prague, Iceland on May 30th again in Manchester, and Germany at home on December 16th.
Wasaburo Kashiwagi, the mayor of Tsunacho, where England based for World Cup 2002, has been awarded an MBE for the town's hospitality towards the England team.
- I think he's calm. He seems calm!" - Yes, he certainly is Calm!" - Boy is he CALM!" Thus ranted the announcers prior to the debut of 18-year-old Sota Hiroyama on February 8th. Still a high school student--at national champion Kunimi High School--Hiroyama is the answer to many a Japanese prayer. He is 1.90 cm and has a delicate touch on the ball. (The older boys at the Japan Football Association are no doubt thinking: a Japanese Kluivert.) Amazingly, Hiroyama did seem unfazed by the intense media scrutiny surrounding the match against a solid side from Iran as a warm-up for the first Olympic qualifier on March 1st. The cameras followed his every move, and in the corner of the screen read: - The debut of the Hiroyama Monster!" The announcers barely mentioned other players, and, as if scripted, he headed home a lovely cross from tricky Tatsuya Tanaka to put Japan up in the first half. Japan had a slight edge in possession and chances, but Iran pulled even on a brilliant free-kick. Another positive note in the game was the play of Tulio Tanaka, the recently naturalized Brazilian who commanded the backline. At 185 cm, he is big and tough and goes up front on corner kicks to join Hiroyama--and Japan now actually wins headers in the box. Three nights later, against Russia's national A team, the Olympic team held on for a 1-1 draw. Russia's best were stronger, faster, and better on the ball - but to their credit Japan's Under-23 side didn't panic. A good effort against a side headed to Portugal for Euro 2004.
Marcus Tulio TanakaJ.League Chairman Masaru Suzuki announced in late January that the 2004 opening day will feature 2003 Nabisco Cup winners Urawa Reds against defending champions Yokohama Marinos. They will meet at International Stadium Yokohama on March 13th.
The J.League will buy out second division squad Sagan Tosu, a first in the J.League. As a public-interest corporation, the League is prevented from owning shares of the team outright. It will seek a buyer for Sagan, which is sagging under debts of 75 million yen ($711,000).
Transfers
Former Japan forward Masayuki Okano will return to the Reds after two years in Kobe. A wild and speedy forward with little skill on the ball, Okano is best remembered for his overtime "golden" goal in 1998 that put Japan through to its first ever World Cup appearance.
Shimizu S-Pulse and Japan international Alex dos Santos has also moved to Nabisco Cup champion Urawa Reds. The twenty-six year-old midfielder will join another Brazil-born Japanese at Urawa: Tulio, a strapping defender who was recently naturalized in time to play for the Olympic team.
Another escapee from S-Pulse is Korea international Ahn Jung Hwan. After a brief spell at Perugia, in Italy's Serie A, Ahn went on to star for South Korea in the World Cup. In a strange turn of events, this led Perugia's nationalistic boss, in a fit of pique, to cast off Ahn—who thus found his way to the J.League. Ahn again tried to get back to Europe, but found no takers.
Cerezo Osaka announced the signing of two Croatians: defender Ivan Radeljic and striker Kruno Lovrek. The latter has played for Croatia in international matches; the former has represented his country at the youth level. Cerezo also revealed that Petar Nadoveza will not be coaching for them this season. Because of heart problems, the former Yugoslavia international has had his contract with the Osaka club absolved.
Nagoya Grampus continued a signing binge with the addition of midfielder Harutaka Ono on a one-year loan deal from Kashiwa Reysol. He will join former national player Yutaka Akita, under-23 defender Makoto Kakuda, and under-20 goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima at Grampus.
Kashima Antlers announced two acquisitions: former Gamba Osaka midfielder Toru Araiba and Brazilian striker Fabio Junior. Fabio has played at Palmeiras and AC Roma and 15 times for his country.
Kashiwa Reysol signed Brazil Olympic star Dudu on an 11-month contract from Vitoria. In the 2003 World Youth championships held in the United Arab Emirates, which Brazil won—defeating Japan en route—midfielder Dudu was awarded the Golden Boot for his outstanding play.
Fiery Brazilian goal-machine Will has been released by Oita. The top goal scorer in 2001 has bounced around the League—Oita, Sapporo, Yokohoma, back to Oita—with a trail of yellow cards following him. He was fired from the Marinos last year for kicking his own teammate in the middle of a match for failing to pass the ball to him.
Turkish Delight
And, in the big transfer of the off-season, Turkish international Ilhan Mansiz has signed with Kobe Vissel to play for a team that just avoided relegation last season. Papers in Turkey reported that the heartthrob forward has demanded and trousered 450 million yen ($4.3 million) for a two-year deal. The Japanese media thronged the Besiktas forward and World Cup star - his golden goal put Turkey through to the semi-finals in Korea last summer—upon his mid-February arrival in Japan.
A3 Cup Dates Set
J.League champion Yokohama Marinos will face their Chinese and
Korean counterparts in the upcoming A3 Cup. The second annual tournament will take place in February in Shanghai. Chinese champion Shanghai Shenhua, Korean champs Seongnam Ilhwa, and Inter Shanghai will compete along with the Marinos for the title. The round-robin tournament begins on February 22nd, with matches also slated for the 25th and 28th.
A scheduling problem, however, has the Marinos and the J.League in a quandary. In addition to the A3 Cup, the Marinos are set to
play an Asian Champions League (ACL) match on February 24th against Indonesia's Persik Kediri in Yokohama - which would conflict
with the A3 schedule. The J.League is searching for an alternative date for the ACL match. Yokohama coach Takeshi Okada has voiced concern about the wear and tear on his players.
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi: FC Nordsjaelland
The Danish league is now on break until March. Kawaguchi hopes to find time on the national team--which would only happen if the current keeper(s) went down with an injury--to keep fresh for the coming season.
Junichi Inamoto: Fulham
Ina got on the scoresheet as Fulham moved into the fifth round of the FA Cup. Inamoto scored on a lovely strike from 25 meters out to put Fulham up in a match against Everton on February 4th. This was his first match action in six games and his first goal since last October. That brings his season total to three.
Off the field, Inamoto is pressing for a full transfer from Gamba Osaka. He is currently on a one-year loan deal, which will soon expire.
Kazuyuki Toda: Den Haag
Japan international Toda resigned with Shimizu S-Pulse and will
move to ADO Den Haag in the Dutch First Division on a one-year loan deal. After getting a pink slip from Tottenham, Toda turned down
Den Haag's original offer. Desperate not to return to the
J.League, he resumed talks with the club and has signed. In an early February match against Wilhelm II, he played the entire game—but
was on the losing end 1-0.
Hidetoshi Nakata: Bologna
Since his transfer to Bologna from scandal-plagued Parma, Nakata
is seeing playing time and his new club has suddenly found a second
wind. As of the first week of February, Bologna had three wins and a tie to show for itself. Reunited with former Perugia coach Carlo
Mazzone, Nakata appears thrilled. On why he decided to move to Bologna: "If for no other reason, it's because Mazzone is there."
On February 7th, against Udinese, Nakata scored in a 3-1 win. This was his first goal in more than 11 months.
Atsushi Yanagisawa: Sampdoria
Japan striker Yanagisawa hurt his lower back in early January and
was forced to sit out several matches. Against Inter Milan in early February, he was subbed in at the 38-minute mark of the second half.
The game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Shunsuke Nakamura: Reggina
Shunsuke also has been hit by the injury bug. He has had recurring
knee problems and was questionable for this month's World Cup qualifier. Prior to that, though, he got on the field for the
first time in 11 games in a February 7th match against Brescia.
Takayuki Suzuki: Heusden-Zolder
Suzuki played the entire Ghent match, which ended in a 1-1 tie.
Naohiro Takahara: SV Hamburg
Takahara is seeing time as a substitute and has not scored this year. Against Bochum he played a half but was not involved in any scoring opportunites.
Shinji Ono: Feyenoord
Because of a nagging ankle injury, Ono was not on the bench in the Vitesse match.
Nozomi Hiroyama: Montpelier
The French First Division is now off for winter break. Hiroyama may go on the auction block in the off-season. He will try to heal his many niggling injuries.
Shiranami Stadium Guide Kagoshima