Well that was quick. After provoking howls of fury from certain sections of the domestic press for his frank assessment of the A-League, new Australia coach Pim Verbeek has seemingly won over some of his detractors following the Socceroos' clinical defeat of Qatar in their opening World Cup qualifier. 

Australia hammered Qatar 3 - 0; it should have been at least six, with the Qatari's seemingly overwhelmed by a Socceroos line-up containing the likes of Everton star Tim Cahill, Palermo ace Mark Bresciano and Celtic striker Scott McDonald. The goals were all scored within the opening thirty-three minutes and but for some wayward second-half finishing the Aussie's could have run-up a proverbial cricket score.

The victory was enough to momentarily silence some of the critics who seemed ready to blame Verbeek for everything from a potential dip in attendances at A-League games to the severe storms currently lashing the country - I wouldn't have been surprised if someone tried to rename La Nina - "La Verbeek."

Still, the straight-talking Dutchman just seemed happy to have got the job done. The real test now comes in the form of China at altitude next month. If Australia needs any reminder of just how much of a role weather can play in the outcome of matches, they need only watch a tape of the Japan - Thailand clash, with the Thai's looking visibly uncomfortable in the snow in Saitama.

Evidently not one to be too perturbed by the machinations of the press, Verbeek did let one cat out of the bag. When TV commentator Simon Hill reminded the Dutchman that former Socceroos assistant-coach Johann Neeskens had not only learned the words to the Australian national anthem but actually sung it with gusto during the World Cup, Verbeek suggested that he hopes to have learned the lyrics after fourteen qualifying matches - and went on to claim that he'll sing it on TV when he does!

From Euro-snob to "Aussie Pim" - it's a funny old game indeed.

The news that Australia talisman Harry Kewell has been overlooked by new coach Pim Verbeek for Australia's opening World Cup qualifier against Qatar provoked less wailing and collective gnashing of teeth than I might have expected.

That's probably because Australian football fans have already worked themselves into an hysterical frenzy over Verbeek's frank assessment that he would rather select European-based players who were training regularly, over players currently plying their trade in the A-League.

The reaction that Verbeek's statement caused was immediate and sadly indicative of Australia's insular mindset. The suggestion that the Dutchman pack his bags and head back to his snobby Euro-football might have been a predictable one from the average flag-waving fan, but when the calls are led by Fox Sports commentator Robbie Slater and Sydney FC coach John Kosmina, it's harder to fathom.

The fact that not a single ball has been kicked under Verbeek's reign has been incredibly overlooked. Nor has Verbeek's obvious knowledge of Asian football been taken into account - the Dutchman was formerly coach of J-League sides Omiya Ardija and Kyoto Sanga FC, and was twice an assistant coach of the South Korean national team, before guiding them as head coach during the 2007 Asian Cup. Oddly enough the same Australian fans who snipe that the Koreans played "boring football" remain silent on the subject of some of the football on offer in the A-League. The fact that Sydney FC coach Kosmina grumbled about how to utilise 2002 World Cup winner Juninho surely speaks volumes.

Now Verbeek has walked into the lion's den - desperately under-prepared as his team faces up to a tricky looking Qatar in Melbourne. An all A-League Socceroos side could only manage a 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory at the weekend, in Australia's only hit-out before the World Cup campaign kicks off. That surely vindicates Verbeek's claim that an all A-League team would struggle to qualify for the World Cup.

Patriotic jingoism aside, Verbeek's decision to drop Harry Kewell smacks of an attempt by the Dutchman to assert some authority over the squad. Kewell is, after all, the most storied player in the Socceroo ranks. As a 17-year-old he scored in both legs of Australia's agonising World Cup defeat at the hands of Iran. In 2003 he tormented England in a 3-1 demolition of "the Old Country" at Upton Park and was instrumental in Australia's epic World Cup playoff win over Uruguay in 2005. Crucially, he scored the goal the sent Australia through to the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Yet the erstwhile Liverpool midfielder has been plagued by injury and poor form over the past few seasons. His poor spot-kick against Japan in the 2007 Asian Cup sent Australia on the way to a penalty shoot-out loss, and his chances of regular first-team football appear limited at Liverpool. Form and fitness aside, Harry Kewell simply should not be expected to carry the national team every time he takes to the pitch.

The commotion over Verbeek's A-League assessment and the subsequent omission of Kewell has at least generated feverish interest in the clash with Qatar. Should Verbeek's men register a first-up victory at a restlessly sold-out Telstra Dome it might silence the sceptics - for now. It won't, however, dampen the perception that Australians are growing increasingly intolerant of outsiders. One thing is the same - when it comes to being criticised, Australians remain as reactionary as ever.

Brazilians Marcos Aurélio and Marcos Paulo Alves have lobbed up at Shimizu S-Pulse, following the announcement yesterday that S-Pulse had lured Marcos Aurélio from Santos FC on a one year loan deal.

The signing of Marcos Aurélio is not exactly the big-name replacement for departed Korean star Cho Jae-Jin that S-Pulse fans were hoping for. Since 2002 Marcos Aurélio has played for no less than seven Brazilian clubs, and he seemed to spend the latter half of 2006 playing for Serie C side Bragantino. His stats at Santos FC, not that I'm fluent in Portugese, appear anything but flattering.

Clearly Shimizu S-Pulse have taken a gamble on Marcos Aurélio, and he'll most likely start behind Shinji Okazaki and Takuro Yajima in the pecking order. These one year intercontinental loan deals hardly ever work out well though, and in checking out the Santos FC website this morning, I noted that FC Tokyo defender Evaldo was on his way back to Brazil having signed for Santos after hardly getting on the pitch in the J-League.

Shimizu's other signing in Marcos Paulo Alves appears more promising. The former Brazilian international counts Udinese and Sporting Lisbon among his former clubs, although he failed to break through at either side. Indeed, Marcos Paulo's career seems to amount to little more than a succession of starts at no less than nine different clubs!

At least Marcos Paulo is accustomed to Japanese football, having made eleven appearances in the second half of Yokohama FC's ill-fated 2007 campaign. Indeed Marcos Paulo appeared embarrassed to even be on the pitch for Yokohama FC - clearly his agent failed to mention that he was joining one of the worst teams in the history of football, and his expression upon making his debut for Yokohama FC in their 8-1 pummelling at the hands of cross-town rivals Yokohama F. Marinos was priceless.

Yet even the signing of Marcos Paulo is somewhat puzzling. He generally features as a defensive midfielder, yet Shimizu S-Pulse already possess a defensive midfielder - one of the best in the Japanese game in Teru Ito, who has played more than 400 league games for S-Pulse!

It's clear that S-Pulse's twin signings are an exercise in strengthening the depth available to coach Kenta Hasegawa, with the permanent transfers of left-back Arata Kodama and midfielder Fernandinho from Gamba Osaka, after their one year loan deals with S-Pulse had expired, seen as the most important piece of business during the off-season.

Yet I can't help but feel concerned about the prospect of the new season. The departure of Cho Jae-Jin leaves a gaping hole in the S-Pulse squad and puts added pressure on Okazaki and Yajima up front. Maybe that's what they need but if one of them gets injured, here's hoping that Marcos Aurélio adapts to life in Japan quickly, otherwise it could be a long-season indeed for the orange faithful.

The former Santos FC schemer is Nagoya's second major foreign signing in as many days, after the club announced that they had signed Serbian defender Milos Bajalica from, surprise, surprise, Red Star Belgrade. Nagoya's new coach is of course ex-Red Star President and former Nagoya legend Dragan Stojkovic.

Magnum's decision to sign for Nagoya was probably prompted by (apart from a shiny new Toyota) Kawasaki's decision to recall from loan Brazilian striker Hulk. The aptly-named Hulk has scored an astonishing 62 goals in two seasons in J2 - for two different clubs! He scored a leisurely 25 goals in 38 leagues games for Consadole Sapporo, before firing Tokyo Verdy back to the top flight with 37 goals in 42 league games last season.

Kawasaki have justifiably come to the realisation that those are numbers they can no longer ignore, with Frontale's strikerforce set to take on utterly frightening proportions. They already possess last-season's top-scorer in J1 in Juninho, not to mention the bullocking Chong Te-Se. What price ex-Japan international Kazuki Ganaha starts afresh elsewhere? He should give disgruntled Gamba Osaka striker Ryuji Bando a call... they could jet off into the sunset together.

Speaking of Gamba, they've replaced their old and slow Brazilian defender Sidiclei with another seemingly old (and possibly slow) defender called Mineiro, last of Internacional. The bigger news was they that they lured ex-Stade Rennais striker Lucas Severino over from FC Tokyo - hardly what the seemingly out-of-favour Ryuji Bando was hoping for. They'll also be loaning out their talented youngster Akihiro Ienaga - my question is, who will sign a player whose only capability appears to be putting the ball into Row F every time he touches it? (Answer: Gamba - Akira Kaji).

Perhaps the most amusing news, at least for those of us who are not JEF United fans, was first posted a couple of days ago over at the F2FF (From the 2nd Floor of Fukuari) blog.

According to F2FF, Hiroki Mizumoto, Koki Mizuno, Yuto Sato, Naotake Hanyu, Satoru Yamagishi and Seiichiro Maki could all be headed for the exit door in Chiba. That might cut into United's calendar sales somewhat, since all six grace the cover of the 2008 version! On a more serious note, if even half of those players leave then United will once again be battling against the drop.

For the record, the goal-shy Maki looks bound for Omiya Ardija (he's just the type of player that Omiya love to sign... a striker who never scores). Japan internationals Yamagishi and Hanyu look set to join rival clubs in the Kanto region, while Scottish giants Celtic are rumoured to have made an approach for Koki Mizuno. Hiroki Mizumoto looks set to head for just about anywhere that will take him... I say we have a whip around here in Shimizu and try and lure him to Nihondaira Stadium!

Yuto Sato has apparently signed for newly promoted Kyoto Sanga FC, where he'll be joined by ex-Kashima striker Atsushi Yanagisawa. Down the road Vissel Kobe have pulled off a bit of a coup by signing Korean enfant terrible Kim Nam-Il. I wonder if that will get the fans back into Kobe Wing Stadium? (Probably not). Just about every club in the J-League is lining up to strip Sanfrecce Hiroshima of their highly-talented assets, although the whereabouts of Japan internationals Hisato Sato and Yuichi Komano for next season has still not been definitively decided.

Phew, all that and we're just a week in to the silly season! No doubt there'll be much more to come.

That's quite a team they've got brewing up there at Saitama Stadium. Evidently finishing second in the J-League didn't go down too well with the biggest club on earth last season. So they've dangled 1.5million euros in the face of Eintracht Frankfurt and snatched Naohiro Takahara from the Hessen club.

Takahara's transfer is a bit of a strange one. The former Hamburger SV man wasn't especially thrilled with Frankfurt's signing of Czech striker Martin Fenin this January, but then a cynic might suggest that one way to answer his critics might be for Takahara to get fit and start banging in the goals for Frankfurt again. He banged them in last season. But then, Takahara has always been a fits-and-spurts kind of guy.

Anyway, the 28-year-old will be back in the J-League next season. He's a high profile player, so his signing is likely to regenerate a bit of interest in a league that has stagnated somewhat of late. How Takahara fits in to a strike force that already contains Tatsuya Tanaka, Yuichiro Nagai and the newly-signed Edmilson is anyone's guess, although Nagai already looks the odd-man-out in that foursome.

Urawa have been doing a fair bit of wheeling and dealing this winter, and given the funds available to the club, that's really no surprise. The Reds are trying to offload the eternally-injured Shinji Ono, but a quick physical by Ruhr-strugglers VfL Bochum revealed what everyone in Japan already knows - Ono hasn't got the knees for the professional game any more.

The Reds have apparently signed Oita Trinita midfielder Tsukasa Umesaki for a whopping 300 million yen, although where Umesaki fits in to the Urawa line-up is anyone's guess. Urawa will have to make do without injured playmaker Robson Ponte for up to six months, while Makoto Hasebe is apparently on his way to Serie A outfit Siena. Yet with ex-Japan international Alex reportedly on the verge of a move back to Urawa from Salzburg, the highly-rated Umesaki could find his chances at Urawa limited.

That's not likely to be a problem for Naohiro Takahara. Still, you could forgive the cynics among us for chanting "are you Chelsea in disguise?" the next time the Reds machine rumbles in to town.

Six months ago the suggestion that Kashima Antlers would be crowned double winners in Japan seemed ludicrous. Yet with the long campaign having wrapped up with the season-ending Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day, Kashima Antlers stand alone as the dominant force in Japanese football.

Kashima predictably beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-0 in front of a packed National Stadium in Tokyo, with young defender Atsuto Uchida and surprisingly Brazilian misfit Danilo scoring the goals.

Kashima had reached the final with a clinical 1-0 victory over Kawasaki Frontale three days earlier, with Masashi Motoyama's stupendous volley belying the fact that the Antlers spent almost the entire match doing everything possible to dampen the attacking threat of Kawasaki's Juninho and Chong Te-Se.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima sprung an upset in beating Gamba Osaka 3-1 at Ecopa Stadium in the other semi-final, but while plenty of hearts hoped for another Hiroshima upset in the final, there were just as many heads that predicted a routine Kashima victory.

So it turned out, as flying defender Atsusto Uchida continued Kashima's trend of relying upon goals from anyone but their strike force of Yuzo Tashiro and the pedestrian Marquinhos. Uchida smashed an unstoppable opener in the ninth minute, as fans tuning in on TV settled in for an afternoon feast of Kashima casually knocking the ball around for eighty minutes in an attempt to hold on to a one goal lead.

Kashima were never really threatened, and with NHK switching to a shot of the suspended Yosuke Kashiwagi sitting high in the stands every sixty seconds or so, the point that Hiroshima would have presented far more of an attacking threat with the effervescent Kashiwagi in their side was made with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

This being Japan, all that was left - besides the final whistle, was an appropriate cameo from Kashima's aging veteran Atsushi Yanagisawa. Kashima's club captain appears to be on his way out of the Ibaraki giants, with his average of about two league goals every five or so seasons not even satisfying the often goal-shy Antlers these days. Nevertheless Yanagisawa came on to set up a second goal for perhaps the only player at the club even less effective than he, as Brazilian midfielder Danilo surprised everyone by proving that he does indeed know what a football looks like, as he smacked the round thing into the back of the net in stoppage time.

So Kashima end the season as by far-and-away Japan's best team. Urawa fans will probably disagree - why wouldn't they, when their club can afford to splash out a cool 300 million yen for the likes of Oita Trinita's star Tsukasa Umesaki? The trophy count tells the tale, however, and while Urawa end the season as Asian champions, it's Kashima who have trumped them as they end the season as double winners in Japan, and deservedly so.

Having visited the incredible Toyota Stadium during the recent FIFA Club World Cup, I began to consider some of the best stadiums I've ever seen games in.

I've been fortunate enough to watch football in many different stadiums. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup I attended games at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, the Allianz Arena in München and the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart.

At the FIFA Club World Cup, we saw games at the National Stadium in Tokyo, the futuristic Toyota Stadium and of course Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. I've seen games in more ramshackle grounds too - my favourite being the Südstadion in Köln, where I once saw Fortuna Köln striker Seyedali Mousavi hit a passing train with a hopelessly inaccurate penalty against VfL Bochum.

These days I watch the majority of my football at Shimizu S-Pulse's atmospheric Nihondaira Stadium.

Set amongst the Nihondaira hills with a spectacular view of Mount Fuji and the port city of Shimizu below, it's hard to imagine a more picturesque venue for a football stadium.

The ground itself isn't too bad either, with four distinct stands rising up over the landscape. The so-called 'Back Stand' features a roof that stretches only three-quarters of the way across the stand. Like many I had been duped into believing it was so that the view of Mount Fuji was not obscured, but wikipedia's Shizuoka Sensei (whose photo I have lovingly republished here) assures us that the reason for the missing section is because there is not enough room behind the stand to lay the necessary foundations to support the roof!

Before moving to Shimizu, my venue of choice was the Sydney Football Stadium, home of A-League misfits Sydney FC.

The stadium would have to be the subject of one of the most ridiculous arguments I've ever stumbled across; that being whether Sydney FC should play out of a ground located in the city centre, or whether they should move to a stadium in the suburbs, closer to the geographical centre of Sydney - one of the world's most sprawling cities.

Personally I think it's ludicrous to suggest that Sydney FC should play anywhere but in the heart of the city itself, but when Sydney FC fans are not donning their town planning hats, they're often maligning the stadium's frustrating roof. Heralded as an architectural masterpiece, the roof over the Sydney Football Stadium is everything that modern architecture should never be - nice to look at and completely useless. The roof is supposed to represent a wave, or something, and meanders up and down over the stands in an eye-catching manner. Unfortunately it also covers about 10% of the stands below, allowing the majority of the crowd to leave A-League games wet, since a Sydney FC home fixture is synonymous with wet weather in the Harbour city.

Before the advent of the A-League, the ground I frequented most often was Borussia Dortmund's legendary Westfalenstadion.

There are hardly enough superlatives to describe what is rightly considered one of the world's truly great football grounds. Dortmund's Südtribüne (pictured) - where I used to stand in Block 12, is Europe's largest standing terrace, and is packed with more than 25,000 of Dortmund's most vocal supporters on Bundesliga matchdays. When I used to attend games in 2000, the capacity of the Westfalenstadion was 63,000. That was increased to 80,000 (or 65,000 as an all-seater) as Dortmund hosted a semi-final at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and these days Borussia Dortmund enjoy the highest average attendance of any club in Europe.

The stadium was originally built as a 40,000 capacity venue for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. With the capacity having doubled since those days, some Dortmund fans now complain that the atmosphere at the ground has been diluted, with half the fans in attendance simply there to enjoy the spectacle of one Europe's biggest crowds. Still, it's hard to look passed the Westfalen as a venerable temple of football, and it's generally regarded as one of the most intimidating venue in the Bundesliga, at least when frustrated Dortmund fans aren't jeering their own team.

These days stadiums built in the 20th Century seem to have passed their use-by-date. They are increasingly being replaced by stock-standard stadia built on the outskirts of town, far from commercial and residential areas, and the potential for social interaction that these areas encompass. It seems the days of enjoying a pint or two in pubs that line the route to the ground are numbered.

The question of what makes a great stadium is also subjective. Some talk about capacity, others prefer location, while others still mention the atmosphere created inside the ground. For me a great stadium entails all of those things. But I'm interested to hear what you think. Which do you consider to be the best stadium in world football?

Nihondaira Stadium

Sydney Football Stadium

Westfalenstadion

The 2007 Emperor's Cup has been whittled down to just four, following the completion of the quarter-finals last weekend.

The last eight kicked-off with Gamba Osaka beating Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 in extra-time at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, thanks to substitute Shinichi Terada's 92nd minute strike. The win ends Shimizu's hopes of playing a semi-final on home territory (of sorts), with the semi-final on their side of the draw scheduled to take place at Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi - some seventy kilometres from the town of Shimizu.

Saturday's second quarter-final saw Japan Football League side Honda FC take on Kashima Antlers at Yurtec Stadium in Sendai. Non-leaguers Honda took newly crowned J-League champions Kashima to extra-time, before finally succumbing to veteran Atsushi Yanagisawa - who is reportedly on the move to newly promoted Kyoto Sanga FC, and who scored a 110th minute winner to keep Kashima's hopes of a League and Cup double alive.

In keeping with the Japan Football Association's infuriating policy of scheduling Emperor's Cup fixtures in baffling venues, the third quarter-final was long set down to take place at Saitama Stadium. Clearly the JFA and its Urawa-loving President Saburo Kawabuchi were banking on the Reds reaching the quarter-final stage. No one told Ehime FC, however, and the J2 side unceremoniously dumped defending champions Urawa out of the competition back in Round 4.

After beating Yokohama FC in the last round, Ehime FC's run finally came to an end at the hands of Kawasaki Frontale, who won 2-0 but who could probably have wracked up a cricket score if they had actually been trying. These two sides last met in J2 back in 2004, but these days Ehime and Kawasaki are world's apart, with Kengo Nakamura, Juninho and co. having transformed Kawasaki into one of the hottest teams in Japanese football.

The final quarter-final saw two of Japan's most dismal performers go head-to-head in a clash that was surely marketed as "The Match-Up Of The Mediocre!" FC Tokyo will proudly go home in the knowledge that they are perhaps the only team this season to make Sanfrecce Hiroshima look good, as Hiroshima came away from Kumamoto Stadium with a 2-0 win thanks to goals form Yosuke Kashiwagi and Yuichi Komano, both of whom are rumoured to be heading for the exit door at newly relegated Hiroshima.

Gamba Osaka will thus meet Sanfrecce Hiroshima at Ecopa Stadium, while Kawasaki take on Kashima in what appears to be a far more appealing contest at the National Stadium in Tokyo, with both ties taking place on December 29. Three days later the National Stadium will be rocking for the Final, as the long Japanese season draws to a close with the traditional New Year's day Emperor's Cup final.

How on earth were Sanfrecce Hiroshima relegated? How did a team that contains two current Japan internationals, three current Japan under-22 internationals, a host of former Japan internationals, former Korean and Bulgarian internationals and the highest scoring foreign player in J-League history... end up in J2?

Big teams have been relegated in the J-League before. In 2006 Cerezo Osaka went from losing out on the J-League title in stoppage time the previous season, to the indignation of relegation just twelve months later. Tokyo Verdy went down the season before. But in both cases Cerezo and Verdy struggled throughout the entire season. Yet Sanfrecce Hiroshima never really looked in danger of going down in 2007, until the penultimate round of the season.

It was only at the end of Round 33 that it became obvious Sanfrecce Hiroshima would have to fight their way out of trouble in a promotion/relegation playoff. That's because Leandro's wonder-goal in stoppage time at Ajinomoto Stadium propelled Omiya Ardija to a 2-1 win over FC Tokyo and subsequent safety. At the same time Hiroshima were thumped 3-0 by Kawasaki Frontale at Todoroki Stadium, practically condemning them to the playoff against the third-placed finisher in J2.

Even so, few expected Hiroshima to have too many problems in seeing off a Kyoto Sanga FC side that had finished dead last in the First Division a season earlier. Kyoto had mustered a late season surge to finish in third place in J2, and their good form continued in a 2-1 win over Hiroshima at Nishikyogoku Stadium in the first leg of the playoff. Despite copping an absolute battering at Big Arch Stadium, Kyoto somehow hung on to record a 0-0 draw, with Sanfrecce substitute Ryuichi Hirashige incredibly hitting the post with a bicycle kick in stoppage time that would have kept Hiroshima in the top flight!

Predictably, most have pointed the finger at Hiroshima's Austrian coach Mihailo Petrovic for the team's failure. Yet perhaps Hiroshima have also learned the value of vocal supporters. While JEF United struggled throughout 2007, they always looked capable of retaining their top flight status when playing in front of their vociferous fans at the Fukuda Denshi Arena. Hiroshima, meanwhile, played out of the eternally-maligned Big Arch Stadium - a concrete colosseum on the outskirts of town that holds over 50,000, but which often struggles to attack even five figure crowds in J1.

Hiroshima will have no such worries next season. They'll be plying their trade against the likes of Tokushima Vortis and Mito Hollyhock - hardly giants of world football, no disrespect intended. Star striker Hisato Sato has already declared his intentions to try and fire Hiroshima to their second promotion in five years, after the Mazda-backed club were also relegated at the end of the 2003 season. Whether new Japan coach Takeshi Okada looks favourably on Sato's decision remains to be seen - Sato was overlooked for Okada's first 33-man training squad.

Hiroshima have been in this position before. But like Tokyo Verdy and Cerezo Osaka before them, they might find promotion from J2 as difficult a prospect as maintaining their place in the top flight.

With referee Yuichi Nishimura's whistle bringing an end to Kashima Antlers 3-0 demolition of Shimizu S-Pulse, Kashima players streamed on to the pitch, while coach Oswaldo de Oliveira pumped his fists in celebration. Suddenly the players stopped on the half-way line, transfixed by the video screen beaming images from Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. The match between bottom club Yokohama FC and defending champions Urawa Reds was still in progress. Score? Yokohama FC 1, Urawa 0.

For three agonising minutes the Kashima fans watched as Yokohama FC hoofed long balls forward, mimicking Rugby players as they attempted to find touch at every opportunity. Suddenly Toshimitsu Yoshida blew full-time at Nissan Stadium, and as the Urawa players dropped to their knees, pandemonium erupted inside Kashima Stadium.

Kashima Antlers are the 2007 J-League champions, after a day of sheer drama across Japan. The Ibaraki giants moved to the top of the table for the first time on the only day that matters, as they claimed their fifth J-League title, and reiterated that for all the misplaced media hype, they truly are the most successful team in Japanese football.

After a start to the season so poor that coach Oswaldo de Oliveira was under intense pressure, Kashima turned things around thanks in no part to the return of mercurial midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara from a failed spell at Italian club Messina. Ogasawara was immense against Shimizu, leading his team around the park in a manner that suggests that new Japan coach Takeshi Okada can ill-afford to overlook him for national team duty.

Yet Kashima's win was a triumph of attacking football over the dour style favoured by Urawa coach Holger Osieck. The two sides could hardly have experienced a more contrasting change of fortunes, with Kashima embarking on a club-record nine match winning run to claim the title at the death, whilst Urawa picked up just three points from the fifteen on offer in their last five J-League matches. The defending Emperor's Cup champions were also knocked out of that competition by J2 strugglers Ehime FC last Wednesday, and their loss to Yokohama FC capped an utterly miserable week for the Saitama side.

Urawa must now regroup for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, where they could face Iranian side Sepahan in a re-match of the recent AFC Champions League final, in which Urawa lifted their first ever continental crown. All the plaudits belong to Kashima Antlers, however. In a season in which the J-League proved once again that it is surely one of the most exhilarating competitions in world football, Kashima proved that perhaps, after all, slow and steady truly does win the race.