On an exciting evening in the J-League, champions Urawa Red Diamonds moved into 1st place for the 1st time this season after Gamba Osaka dropped 2 unlikely points at bottom club Yokohama FC.
Urawa had no such problems and thrashed Ventforet Kofu 4-1. The game was over as a contest by the break with the visitors leading 3-0. Ventforet pulled a goal back only after the restart however were always 2nd best and Tatsuya Tanaka sealed the triumph after 63 minutes.
Tanaka also got the ball rolling after 6 minutes.Keita Suzuki and the in-form Yuichiro Nagai were the other scorers.
When Yasuhito Endo gave Gamba Osaka the lead midway through the 2nd half at the hapless Yokohama FC, the odds were on an away triumph however only 2 minutes later the hosts were level thanks to Tukumi Wada and the game finished 1-1.
With Kashima Antlers in 3rd and 4th placed Albirex Niigata in action Sunday evening, Yokohama F Marinos picked up a 4th straight win, a 3-0 win at Nagoya Grampus Eight, to move above Albirex into 4th.
Shimizu S-Pulse are in 5th after a 3-1 triumph over the inconsistent Kawasaki Frontale.
At the bottom, Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the 6 pointer with fellow strugglers Oita Trinita 2-0 and JEF United moved further away from trouble with a 3-2 win over Jubilo Iwata.
Elsewhere, Kashiwa Reysol jump 2 places from 9th to 7th with after a 1-0 triumph at FC Tokyo.
In the 1st full round of action in Japan after a 6 week summer break, the story was the 8-1 thrashing that Yokohama F Marinos handed out to city rivals Yokohama FC.
In only the 2nd ever meeting between the 2 clubs, 6 of the goals came in the 2nd half as the Marinos turned the screw on the visitors in front of over 60,000 fans.
Yokohama FC are still 6 points adrift at the bottom of the league and looking at a swift return to the 2nd tier.
Hideo Oshima put the Marinos ahead on the half hour and Daisuke Sakata made it 2 only before the break.
The 3 time champions went to town in the 2nd half. Oshima helped himself to 3 more goals after the break. Koji Namase scored a brace and brother Yukihiro got one.
At the top of the pile, Gamba Osaka extended their lead to 4 points with a 3-1 home triumph against Albirex Niigata. A 1st half own goal got the leaders on their way before Brazilian hotshot Bare made it 2-0 only before the hour. Akira Kaji added a 3rd with 12 minutes remaining before the visitors grabbed a late consolation.
Urawa Reds in 2nd will see their 1-1 draw against Kashiwa Reysol as 2 points dropped especially as Tatsuya Tanaka gave the champions a 60th minute lead. Just 9 minutes later however, Masahiro Koga earned a point for the visitors.
Jubilo Iwata could have gone 3rd with a triumph however were thrashed 4-0 by Vissel Kobe whilst Kawasaki Frontale move up into 5th place with a 3-1 triumph at struggling JEF United thanks to a hat trick from Brazilian player Juninho.
Elsewhere, Oita Trinita moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 triumph at FC Tokyo whilst Omiya Ardija picked up a valuable point with a 2-2 draw at Shimizu S-Pulse.
On Sunday, Nagoya Grampus 8 host Sanfrecce Hiroshima whilst Kashima Antlers take on Ventforet Kofu.
Jubilo Iwata midfielder Naoya Kikuchi was sacked by the J-League club after being arrested earlier this month for having sex with a 15 year old girl.
'We need to regain the trust of the fans as quickly as possible,' Jubilo Chairman Hiroshi Ukon was quoted as saying in Japanese media on Saturday.
'This sort of thing can never happen again. Kikuchi is 22 years-old and has a long life ahead of him. If people can forgive him he can set out on the road to rehabilitation.'
Ukon himself will take a 20 percent pay cut for 6 months whilst similar financial sanctions were imposed on other top Jubilo officials.
Kikuchi admitted that to having sex with the high school student in a car in late May, as stated by police reports. He was arrested after the girl reported the case to the police with a wallet containing Kikuchi's driver's license.
Kikuchi, who was a member of Japan's 2004 Athens Olympics squad, tried to hand her 10,000 yen ($81) in cash, however left his wallet in the basket of her bicycle.
29 June 2007
Forward Ryoichi Maeda has jeopardised his place in Japan's Asian Cup team by putting club before country at this week's training camp.
The Jubilo Iwata forward, who has recently recovered from knee surgery, admitted that he did not train flat out due to this weekend's crunch J-League game with champions Urawa Reds.
'I did not try very hard at Japan's training,' Maeda was quoted in Friday's Nikkan Sports daily.
'There was my knee to think about too and the main thing was our game with Urawa.'
Japan coach Ivica Osim's decision to start the training camp a day early upset several J-League clubs and only 10 players turned up for the 1st day at the weekend.
Osim's side will be bidding for a 3rd successive Asian Cup crown after winning campaigns in 2000 and 2004.
This year's tournament takes place from July 7-29 and will be staged jointly by Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Japan are in Group B with Vietnam, UAE and Qatar.
23 June 2007
Japanese international midfielder Yuki Abe tuned up for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup with a goal to give defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds a 1-0 triumph over Shimizu S-Pulse in the J-League on Saturday.
The goal came in the 24th minute when Brazilian Ponte's corner connected with Abe's diving header. "I am glad that I scored, however the game was not over. I was more glad to win at the moment when I heard the final whistle," mentioned Abe after netting his 3rd goal of the season.
Urawa's German coach Holger Osieck appeared satisfied with the display of his players. "It was a perfect week for us. We won all 3 games without losing a goal. Furthermore, our performances were very good. I feel my players have enhanced a lot this week," mentioned Osieck.
"I do not point out a particular player, I only would like to praise everybody of the team. For example, Tulio is an important player and when he got an injury to be replaced, the substitute player did a very good job. It is the team's possible that everybody can do the same. I really would like to praise all of my players," he added.
But Urawa did not close on front-runners Gamba Osaka, who overwhelmed FC Tokyo 6-2 later in the day with Brazilian forward Magno Alves and Ryuji Bando scoring 2 goals each.
Osaka raced on to 38 points to retain a 5 point lead over Urawa, followed by Albirex Niigata on 29 points, Jubilo Iwata on 28 and Kashima Antlers on 27.
Niigata defeated JEF United Chiba 2-1, and Iwata downed Kawasaki Frontale 3-2, whilst Kashima will play Nagoya Grampus 8 Sunday.
In other games, Yoshito Okubo was pulled down in the area in injury time and then scored a decisive penalty to give Vissel Kobe a 3-2 triumph over Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Kashiwa Reysol were 4-2 winners over Yokohama FC, whilst Ventforet Kofu defeated Oita Trinita 2-0.
20 June 2007
Brazilian born Marcus Tulio Tanaka overcame an ankle injury to lead defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds to a 2-0 triumph over Vissel Kobe Wednesday in the J.League.
Tulio, who injured his right ankle Sunday, proved he could be ready for Japan's defence of their AFC Asian Cup title next month by scoring his 1st goal of the season.
It came in the 39th minute when Brazilian midfielder Ponte sent the ball on a corner to set up Tulio's six-metre header.
Brazilian forward Washington's 1st penalty shot in the 27th minute was saved by Kobe goalie Tatsuya Umemoto, however Ponte cashed in on the 2nd opportunity to give Urawa a bit of insurance.
"I have lots of chances to score and I would not before. I am glad I in the end scored a goal today," mentioned Tulio.
"Our trainer had taken care of my injury. I'd like to thank him for being able to play on the pitch," he added.
"We are still behind Gamba Osaka, however it will be fine if we can finish top when the league ends. I'll do my best for that."
Urawa enhanced their record to 8 wins, 6 draws and one defeat for 30 points, reducing the deficit to 5 points against Osaka, who were held to a goalless draw by Yokohama Marinos.
They were followed by Kashima Antlers and Albirex Niigata on 27 points, and Kawasaki Frontale, Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata on 25 points.
Brazilian Edmilson scored 2 goals as Niigata overwhelmed struggling Yokohama FC 3-1, whilst Kashima edged past Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 thanks to Brazilian forward Marquinhos' goal in injury time.
Kawasaki drew with Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-1, Shimizu defeated Nagoya Grampus 8 2-1, and Iwata finished up with a scoreless draw with Omiya Ardija.
In other games, FC Tokyo defeated Ventforet Kofu 2-1, and JEF United Chiba edged out Oita Trinita 1-0.
17 June 2007
The Brazilian duo of Bare and Sidiclei helped J-League front-runners Gamba Osaka to a 3-1 comeback win over Nagoya Grampus 8 on Saturday.
After going 1-0 down, Bare nodded home a five-metre shot in the 63rd minute, before Sidicley fired in a right footer from close range to make it 2-1 in the 75th. Bare added his 9th goal of the season 6 minutes from time.
"We kept the balance pretty well in the 2nd half to score those goals, however it was the bottom line to get 3 points from a win," mentioned Osaka coach Akira Nishino.
"We were forced to work hard in our recent games, because our opponents played with some good tactics against us. I hope we can continue to hit the last shots at goal as we did today."
The result moved Osaka moved on to 34 points, 10 ahead of Kawasaki Frontale, Kashima Antlers, Urawa Red Diamonds and Jubilo Iwata. They are followed by Kashiwa Reysol and Albirex Niigata on 23 points, and Nagoya Grampus 8 and Shimizu S-Pulse one point further back.
Kawasaki were held to a goalless draw by Kashiwa, whilst Kashima beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 5-1. Iwata downed rock-bottom Yokohama FC 2-1, whilst Urawa will face FC Tokyo Sunday.
