Hold me closer, Tony Danza...

What the hell is wrong with Tokyo Verdy? They crashed to an embarrassing 1-0 loss at home to lowly Ehime FC in J2 last weekend, when the rest of Japan was transfixed by the national team's exploits in the Kirin Cup. One look at Verdy's squad - which includes the likes of ex-Jubilo Iwata veterans Hiroshi Nanami and Toshihiro Hattori, Brazilians Ze Luis and Diego, and last season's J2 top-scorer Hulk - signed from Consadole Sapporo at the start of the season, suggested that Tokyo Verdy would have no problem challenging for promotion back to the top flight this year. Instead Verdy are currently lying in eighth place in the thirteen team Second Division, having won eight, lost eight and drawn two of their eighteen fixtures so far. Their problem seems to come in the form of coach Rui Ramos. A legend in Japanese football, Ramos was brought in as the supposed saviour of Tokyo Verdy after they were relegated from the top flight at the end of the 2005 J-League season. Ramos virtually "guaranteed" promotion at the first attempt, but after a disappointing first season in J2, the Tokyo club splashed out the yen this season in a bid to propel themselves back into J1. Yet after a series of embarrassing defeats - including a stunning 5-1 loss to bottom club Mito Hollyhock at the National Stadium in Tokyo, the club that left Kawasaki to rebrand as Tokyo Verdy in 2001 look likely to spend another season in the bottom tier of Japan's professional game.

Consadole Sapporo, on the other hand, appear set to grace the top flight again next year for the first time since 2002. They've raced out of the blocks in J2, opening up a ten point gap on nearest rivals Vegalta Sendai. The two popular northern clubs are joined in the top three by unfashionable Montedio Yamagata. While Sapporo and Sendai were expected to challenge in 2007, Yamagata's form comes as somewhat of a surprise, particularly with the likes of Cerezo Osaka, Kyoto Sanga FC and Avispa Fukuoka - who were all relegated from J1 at the end of last season, also involved in this season's title race. Cerezo Osaka must be wondering where it all went wrong. On the final day of the 2005 season Cerezo Osaka were leading the J-League going into injury time. They conceded an injury-time equaliser to FC Tokyo with virtually the last kick of the season, however, dropping down from first place to fifth in the process and handing the title to cross-town rivals Gamba Osaka. Despite signing the likes of Yoshito Okubo from Mallorca and the aforemented Hiroshi Nanami for the 2006 season, Cerezo were amazingly relegated for the second time in their history. They bounced straight back up to J1 after playing the 2002 season in the Second Division, but given that they are currently lying in tenth on the J2 table - a massive twenty-four points behind leaders Consadole Sapporo, they look unlikely to repeat that feat in 2007. 

One side effect of relegation is that clubs in J2 do not take part in the Nabisco League Cup. Speaking of the League Club, six sides booked their places for the quarter-finals in late May, joining AFC Champions League participants Kawasaki Frontale and Urawa Reds. Those sides are Gamba Osaka, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Ventforet Kofu, Kashima Antlers, FC Tokyo and Yokohama F. Marinos. Not surprisingly, the J-League keeps flogging that dead horse meaning that Gamba Osaka will take on Urawa, with the other match-up's consisting of Kawasaki Frontale vs Ventforet Kofu, Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Kashima Antlers and an intriguing match up between FC Tokyo and Yokohama F. Marinos. The latter booked their place in the quarter-finals after finishing equal on points, goals scored and conceded with Shimizu S-Pulse in their League Cup group. Yokohama went through on the basis of possessing a better head-to-head record over Shimizu.

As for Japan, they lifted the Kirin Cup after putting in two excellent performances over Montenegro and Colombia. They beat Montenegro 2-0 at Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi thanks to headers from Yokohama F. Marinos defender Yuji Nakazawa and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Naohiro Takahara, while for Montenegro Igor Burzanovic rolled a spot-kick wide in the second half. Three days later Japan turned in an even more impressive performance against Colombia, but despite overwhelming the South Americans in the second half, they failed to break the deadlock as the two teams ultimately played out a 0-0 draw. That was enough to see Japan lift the trophy, and fire a reminder to their opponents at the upcoming Asian Cup that the defending champions are not to be taken lightly in South-East Asia. "Osim's Japan" may have been misfiring in the past, but they suddenly look like rediscovering their best form - no doubt to the concern of South Korea, Saudia Arabia, Australia et. al.