Gamba Osaka probably do. Their nightmare run of crucial losses to Urawa Reds began in last season's Super Cup, when they were spanked 3-1 in front of 35,674 fans at the National Stadium in Tokyo. They hit back - kind of, by drawing 1-1 with Urawa on the opening weekend of the 2006 season, but they then lost 3-2 in the last round of the J-League, to hand the crown to Urawa. To top it off, they also lost 1-0 in the Emperor's Cup Final, despite outplaying the Saitama-based club for the entire match.

So it's back to the drawing board for Gamba, and they might look upon this match with some degree of tedium, given that the team standing in the way of a potential piece of silverware is the ubiquitous Urawa. Fans in Japan could be forgiven for getting slightly bored with the endless Gamba - Urawa grudge matches, but the J-League has never shied away from giving a dead horse its proverbial flogging. Urawa won the double last season, meaning the traditional showdown between League and Cup winners was made redundant, with Cup runner's-up Gamba getting the nod over Kawasaki Frontale, who finished second place in the league.

There are actually some talking points in this match - and its not just the debut of Yuki Abe in Urawa colours that has the fans buzzing...or at least, humming softly. Last season Gamba Osaka scored 80 goals in the league - 42 of them coming from their strike force of Magno Alves and Ryuji Bando, but they conceded 48. Their chance to catch Urawa on the final day of the season was hindered by the fact that the Reds had a better goal difference than Gamba. So what has the club decided to do? Naturally they have decided to sign another high-profile striker!

By bringing in Bare, who scored 14 goals for Ventforet Kofu last season, coach Akira Nishino seriously risks upsetting the balance of his side. How three of the more fragile egos in Japanese football fit into two striking positions is anyone's guess - unless Gamba opt for a 3-4-3 formation this season, which could see them concede even more goals against teams top-heavy with quality midfielders. Like Urawa.

At any rate, the Super Cup clash between Urawa and Gamba promises to be a mildly interesting affair. I won't be there personally - there's only so much of the National Stadium that I can take, but rest assured, I'll be putting my feet up and occasionally flicking over to the game from whatever bizarre soap opera I'm watching, to bring you all the thrills, chills and occasional spills of the match.

Don't let the snappy title fool you. This is no laughing matter. Yuki Abe has moved to Urawa Reds. And the fate of the entire Universe may rest upon his shoulders.

Not really, although a lot of people here in Japan were kind of disappointed that Yuki Abe has joined the dark side, setting a record for the highest fee paid for a Japanese player in a domestic transfer in the process. It's not that they begrudge Abe success - after eight years at JEF United, you could hardly begrudge the man anything - it's just that some J-League fans are claiming that Urawa are strengthening their team, by dismantling others. Hey, if it works for Chelsea, it could work anywhere!

After virtually single-handedly (or should that be, single-footedly?) firing JEF United to successive League Cup crowns, Yuki Abe virtually WAS the team at JEF United. His sale may have raised around $US3 million dollars, but it has left United without their talisman. Curiously, they've chosen to remedy this by getting rid of half their squad, although the fact that most of those players were entirely useless was probably a solid basis for doing so.

In other news, there have been several more juicy transfers in the J-League so far. Paulo Wanchope to FC Tokyo! Takayuki Suzuki to Yokohama F. Marinos! Yoshito Okubo to Vissel Kobe! The entire Jubilo Iwata over-30's brigade to another team! None of these matter. No, my friends...the only transfer that matters, is former Espanyol and Bolton striker Akinori Nishizawa's move to Shimizu S-Pulse.

It seems that the S-Pulse management have heeded my calls to get rid of Marquinhos. That's probably because I persisted in making those calls about five metres away from the S-Pulse bench. Marquinhos will be diving and writhing in agony for Kashima Antlers next season - just his fifth club in his long and loyal six year career in the J-League so far. He will be replaced by none other than Nishizawa himself, a player that struck fear into the hearts of every fan sitting in Row F last season, with his wayward finishing and strange hairstyles.

Fear not, Akinori. I have faith. And what's more, I don't even sit in Row F.