I once had my photo taken with Takeda Shingen. It wasn't the real Takeda Shingen - he died in 1573, according to Wikipedia - but rather a friendly local dressed as the legendary "daimyo" for Kōfu's annual Takeda Shingen festival. I was especially impressed with the moustache our modern Takeda Shingen had drawn on in thick black texta for historical accuracy.

Yamanashi-ken may be isolated, but it's a friendly place full of students and young families - not to mention several Takeda Shingen impersonators - so I was looking forward to making the train trip out passed Fuji-san and on to capital Kōfu. Unfortunately the apocalyptic rain  lashing Shimizu Station as I awaited the Limited Express (one assumes the "limited" refers to how infrequently the train runs) suggested a wet afternoon was in store. 

Lo and behold, the clouds parted just long enough in Kōfu to enjoy an action-packed afternoon in the congenial company of Ken Matsushima, editor of The Rising Sun News and all-round encyclopaedia on the Japanese game, as we sat down to enjoy Ventforet Kōfu's clash with Consadole Sapporo in J2.

A crowd of 11,252 packed into Kose Sports Park for Ventforet's home opener with the Hokkaido outfit - slightly less than the 13,734 fans the home side averaged in J2 last season - but no doubt the menacing clouds that hung low over the mountains kept some fans at home and in front of their TV screens.

The swirling wind blowing down off the Southern Alps made life difficult for both keepers, and no doubt it contributed to Ventforet's opener. Yohei Onishi surprised everyone - including himself - when his attempted cross from a free-kick flew straight into the top corner of Yuya Sato's goal.

If there was any doubt about Onishi's finishing ability, he dispelled it soon after with a well-taken strike, as the lively front man steadied himself following a swift counter-attack, before thumping a skidding drive across Sato and into the far corner of the goal. 

The goals were slightly harsh on a Sapporo side that looked well up for this hard-fought encounter, and following a sustained period of pressure after the restart, they pulled one goal back when defender Hiroyuki Nishijima flicked a header home on the hour mark.

Nevertheless it was the hosts who finished the stronger, and they should have added to their lead late on, only for some wayward finishing from Korean striker Kim Shin-Young and Brazilian front man Maranhao to let them down.

They may hail from one of the most isolated regions in the country, but Kōfu fans can be forgiven for dreaming of a return to the top flight, where they stunned many under the guidance of popular coach Takeshi Oki by managing to stay up in 2006.

The "swarm defence" is long gone and so too is Oki - incredibly he was dismissed when Ventforet suffered relegation in 2007 - but with fans as passionate as the Kōfu faithful, I have no doubt the mountain men will be in the mix when it comes to promotion this season.

It may only be a pre-season friendly, but there will be plenty of interested onlookers when Shimizu S-Pulse host local rivals Jubilo Iwata for the "SDT Cup" at Outsourcing Stadium Nihondaira tomorrow.

Both teams have been busy with pre-season kickabouts of varying intensity. Shimizu's most recent engagement saw them split two games with Korean giants Seongnam Ilhwa - losing the first 2-0, before winning the second 2-1. 

Jubilo beat J2 side Sagan Tosu 2-0 before drawing 1-1 with the same opponents in their most recent matches, but a Shizuoka derby is always going to up the ante - even if it occurs some three weeks before the J. League season kicks off.

S-Pulse fans will no doubt run the rule over new signings Yuichiro Nagai and Frode Johnsen, and there's growing belief in this part of the world that the 2009 vintage could be one of S-Pulse's best teams in years.

A lack of depth in defence leaves an obvious question mark, but compared to Jubilo's threadbare looking squad, the team from the orange half of Shizuoka-ken look in good shape.

By contrast Jubilo haven't managed to attract any decent signings of note - save, perhaps, for the versatile Daisuke Nasu - who swaps the mediocrity of Tokyo Verdy for the potential mediocrity of Jubilo for the current campaign.

The team from Yamaha-town will be leaning heavily on Brazilians Rodrigo and Gilsinho this season, but how new coach Masaaki Yanagishita could do with a return to form of some of Jubilo's other heavyweights such as Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, ex-Sanfrecce Hiroshima man Yuichi Komano and Bobby Cullen.

Only Ryoichi Maeda provided sporadic glimpses of his best last season, but the occasional Japan international will need more support from his team-mates in what could be a make-or-break season for both Maeda and club.

It may be one of a spate of derbies to take place around the globe this weekend, but it could be a confidence-boosting one for either Shimizu S-Pulse or Jubilo Iwata. Plenty to play for then - pre-season friendly notwithstanding.

The 2009 J. League fixture list is out - leaving husbands and boyfriends up and down the country to explain long absences over weekends and crucial holiday periods (although in the female-friendly J. League... wives and girlfriends mostly drag themselves along).

A convenient "computer glitch" was no doubt behind an opening day crackerjack as Kashima Antlers get set to host Urawa Reds at Kashima Stadium, with the locals no doubt frothing at the mouth to remind the hated Saitama outfit of just who has recorded back-to-back J. League titles.

The rest of the opening weekend Saturday fixtures all look like fairly ho-hum affairs. JEF United doing battle with Gamba Osaka again? Expect another dull scoreless draw.

As predicted, Omiya Ardija host Shimizu S-Pulse on the Sunday in a battle to determine which of the two sides has a more naff-sounding stadium name. The elegant "Nack5" rolls off the tongue like the sort of fur-balls my cat used to produce all over the kitchen floor, but I just reckon Shimizu S-Pulse's new "Outsourcing Stadium Nihondaira" could take the cake for the most ridiculous new stadium name, with S-Pulse fans set to outsource their pride all over the country in embarrassment over that one. 

The other Sunday game sees Kyoto take on Vissel Kobe in a Kansai derby at Nishikyogoku Stadium - although Gamba Osaka have registered an early application in the "pride of Kansai" stakes by actually managing to win one or two things of late.

Matchday 2 sees Urawa Reds welcome hot-headed regional rivals FC Tokyo to Saitama Stadium, while the locals in Chiba will be getting all hot and bothered as Kashiwa Reysol host JEF United in a local derby that always threatens to reach nuclear proportions. Here's hoping that the Reysol fans put away their flag poles for that one!

Japan-based Australian football writers in Shimizu will be furrowing their brows in earnest to come up with some sort of port-related analogy as S-Pulse welcome the team from "that other port" in the form of Yokohama F. Marinos to Hot Sauce Stadium, while the Sunday fixtures on Matchday 2 see J1 returnees Sanfrecce Hiroshima host Omiya Ardija at Big Arch.

The rest of the fixture list meanders along in similar vein for all of 34-rounds, while the format of the Nabisco League Cup group stage has once again been altered to the point that it looks like it was drawn by a blind man throwing darts at a balloon in a wind tunnel.

One thing that does stand out for Shimizu S-Pulse fans is that the club have reverted to playing Urawa Reds at Ecopa Stadium once again. They've cited "security reasons" for doing so (um, yeah right) but they'll want to draw a decent crowd, given that matchday costs are around three-times higher than they are at Nihondaira.

Makes the grand gesture of that "Our pride in this place - all home games in 2007 at Nihondaira Stadium!" t-shirt the club put out a couple of years seem pretty hollow.* Oh well, I guess the price to pay to shield your own supporters from the horrors of Urawa Reds fans willing to insult those wearing Pul-chan hand puppets is an 80km trip down the Tokaido line.

* anyone want to buy a slightly used 2007 Shimizu S-Pulse t-shirt?! 

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek has named a 22-man squad for his country's upcoming World Cup qualifying blockbuster against Japan in Yokohama.

There are several notable casualties - with Blackburn Rovers midfielder Brett Emerton expected to miss the rest of the season after he suffered cruciate knee ligament damage in Blackburn's scoreless draw with Middlesbrough in the English Premier League last weekend.

Emerton's Blackburn team-mate Vince Grella returns to the squad, but Australia are missing talismanic Galatasaray star Harry Kewell for what is shaping up as the most anticipated clash of Pim Verbeek's reign so far. 

Lanky striker Joshua Kennedy has been named despite falling out of favour with his club side Karlsruher SC, with reports in Kicker Magazin suggesting that Kennedy has requested a transfer after he was substituted in Karlsruhe's dismal German Cup defeat to Second Division side SV Wehen-Wiesbaden last week.

Japan face Finland in a friendly tomorrow in their final warm-up before their clash with the Socceroos at a sold-out Yokohama International Stadium, and coach Takeshi Okada has named a 25-man squad for both matches.

VVV Venlo midfielder Keisuke Honda has surprisingly been dropped following Japan's most recent 1-0 defeat to Bahrain in Asian Cup qualifying, while there was no room for Catania youngster Takayuki Morimoto.

Veteran goalkeepers Seigo Narazaki and Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi are both injured - prompting a surprise call-up for Kashiwa Reysol keeper Takanori Sugeno.

The Australia squad to face Japan is:

Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer (Fulham, ENG), Adam Federici (Reading, ENG), Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor, TUR)

Defenders: Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel, SUI), Chris Coyne (Colchester United, ENG), Craig Moore (Queensland Roar), Lucas Neill (West Ham United, ENG), Jade North (Incheon United, KOR), Shane Stefanutto (Lyn Oslo, NOR)

Midfielders: Mark Bresciano (Palermo, ITA), Tim Cahill (Everton, ENG), David Carney (Norwich, ENG), Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven, NED), Vince Grella (Blackburn Rovers, ENG), Mile Jedinak (Genclerbirligi, TUR), Mile Sterjovski (Derby County, ENG), Carl Valeri (Grosseto, ITA), Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow, RUS)

Forwards: Richard Garcia (Hull City, ENG), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar, NED), Joshua Kennedy (Karlsruher SC, GER), Scott McDonald (Celtic, SCO)

The Japan squad to face Finland and Australia is:

Goalkeepers: Ryota Tsuzuki (Urawa Reds), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Takanori Sugeno (Kashiwa Reysol)

Defenders: Shuhei Terada (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Kazumichi Takagi (Gamba Osaka), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Michihiro Yasuda (Gamba Osaka), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic, SCO), Hideo Hashimoto (Gamba Osaka), Junichi Inamoto (Eintracht Frankfurt, GER), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Daisuke Matsui (Saint-Etienne, FRA), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg, GER), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka)

Forwards: Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Seiichiro Maki (JEF United), Yoshito Okubo (Wolfsburg, GER), Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa Reds), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)

Manchester United beat LDU Quito 1-0 in front of 68,682 fans at Yokohama International Stadium, with Wayne Rooney scoring the only goal of a largely one-sided affair.

United had to work hard for their victory following the 49th minute dismissal of central defender Nemanja Vidic for an elbow to the face of Liga de Quito striker Claudio Bieler.

Despite enjoying a one-man advantage Liga offered little in the way of attack, with midfielder Alejandro Manjos going the closest for the underdogs from Ecuador with two ferocious long-range strikes that were brilliantly saved by United's veteran keeper Edwin van der Sar.

Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute as he took an intelligent pass from Cristiano Ronaldo before burying an accurate right-foot strike in the bottom corner of the goal.

In the day's other game Gamba Osaka won the 3/4 playoff, beating Mexican outfit Pachuca 1-0.

Masato Yamazaki scored the only goal of the game, as the J. League team largely outplayed their central American opponents.

Manchester United will take on Liga de Quito in the final of 2008 FIFA Club World Cup after both sides won their respective semi-finals.

English giants United beat J. League outfit Gamba Osaka 5-3 in a pulsating encounter watched by 67,618 fans at Yokohama International Stadium, with Wayne Rooney coming off the bench to score twice for Sir Alex Ferguson's team.

A day earlier a crowd of 33,316 braved driving rain at the National Stadium in Tokyo as Liga de Quito took advantage of two defensive lapses to beat Mexican side Pachuca 2-0 in an error-riddled encounter.

Cristiano Ronaldo remained tight-lipped about the prospects of a move to Real Madrid in the aftermath of Manchester United's win, instead preferring to concentrate on the prospect of United becoming the first British club to lift the FIFA Club World Cup in its current incarnation.

The final will take place at Yokohama International Stadium on December 21. 

It was a lazy headline writer's dream overnight as the J. League continued its haemoraging of big-name Brazilian strikers, with Hulk leaving a club that most people in Europe have never heard of (Tokyo Verdy) to join a club that most people in Europe forget won the UEFA Champions League in 2004 (FC Porto).

Practically every single online news outlet across the globe greeted the signing with the news that Porto had signed "the incredible Hulk," although perhaps the most incredible thing about the bustling Brazilian was his penchant for spectacular tantrums.

After running the Urawa Reds defence ragged in Verdy's recent 3-2 loss to the Reds at Saitama Stadium, Hulk was incensed at his 73rd minute substitution by coach Tetsuji Hashiratani. Cue his usual outburst, which resulted in Hulk returning to Brazil - apparently to oversee the birth of his child, at least according to Tokyo Verdy.

Now the much-travelled striker has lobbed up at FC Porto, and the ex-European champions will do well to rein in the giant striker's combustible temperament. After joining Kawasaki Frontale in 2005, Hulk was loaned out to Second Division club Consadole Sapporo where he blasted home 25 goals in 38 league games. With Sapporo unable to meet Hulk's hefty wage demands the burly Brazilian then found himself at Tokyo Verdy, whom he fired back to the top flight with an even more impressive 37 goals in 42 games. Some 62 goals in two seasons in J2 was enough to prompt Kawasaki to recall Hulk for the 2008 season, but after playing just three games he was promptly sold to Tokyo Verdy, with Kawasaki officials claiming that Hulk had had a negative impact on the Frontale dressing room.

Now the 22-year-old will be hoping to make his mark on European football, but with Verdy having hardly missed the Brazilian in their most recent 2-1 win over Kashiwa Reysol - in which ex-Torino striker Masashi Oguro turned in an impressive performance alongside strike partner Kazuki Hiramoto, Hulk may need to buckle down as he seeks to have an impact in Portugal.

Yasuharu Sorimachi's Japan under-23 side came from behind to beat Australia 2-1 in front of a near-capacity crowd at Home's Stadium in Kobe.

Melbourne Victory striker Archie Thompson opened the scoring for the Olyroos in the 35th minute, but Japan pegged Australia back through goals from Cerezo Osaka teenager Shinji Kagawa and a last minute strike from substitute Shinji Okazaki.

After dominating the opening half hour Japan went behind against the run of play when a misplaced ball from Nagoya Grampus defender Maya Yoshida was picked up by Perth Glory striker Nikita Rukavytsya, who did well to hold off two defenders before teeing up an unmarked Archie Thompson to steer the ball passed Kaito Yamamoto in the Japan goal.

Roared on by a partisan home crowd Japan equalised through a move instigated by the outstanding Atsuto Uchida, whose incisive ball was flicked on by Catania striker Takayuki Morimoto, with an unmarked Shinji Kagawa charging through to stroke the ball beyond Reading shot-stopper Adam Federici.

Australia appeared to wilt in hot and humid conditions in the second half, with Japan retaining the ball at will in midfield. The Olyroos were lucky not to go behind when Kawasaki Frontale midfielder Hiroyuki Taniguchi hit the post after being played in by the ubiquitous Uchida just two minutes after the restart, with the Australian defence struggling to cope with Japan's off-the-ball running.

Just when Graham Arnold's side looked like they would hang on for a morale-boosting draw, the sprightly Okazaki - on for VV Venlo midfielder Keisuke Honda, stooped to glance home from Taniguchi's cross with a header that appeared to catch Federici by surprise.

The win was just desserts for Japan, but it's back to the drawing board for Graham Arnold's side, who seemed to struggle in the oppressive heat in Kobe.   

Liga Deportiva Universitaria's remarkable penalty shoot-out victory over Brazilian giants Fluminense in the recent Copa Libertadores final will cause headaches in Japan. That's because as continental club champions, LDU Quito have won through to face the likes of English champions Manchester United and Mexican outfit Pachuca at the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.

The 2009 and 2010 editions of the FIFA Club World Cup will be played in Dubai, and critics suggest that FIFA's desire to move the tournament away from Japan stems partly from a lack of local support. All three of the Club World Cup finals played at Yokohama International Stadium have drawn capacity crowds, yet the match-ups in those finals have been as follows;

Liverpool vs Sao Paulo

Barcelona vs Internacional

AC Milan vs Boca Juniors

To suggest that South American football is well regarded in Japan is true only to an extent. Certainly the J. League borrowed heavily from aspects of Brazilian and Argentinian football culture when Japan kicked-off its professional football league, and the biggest Brazilian and Argentinian teams are popular in Japan. Boca Juniors were well supported at last year's Club World Cup, but that was partly because current Urawa striker Naohiro Takahara once played for Boca, albeit briefly.

That fact that Liga de Quito have now booked their place in this year's Club World Cup will cause headaches for tournament organisers. Enticing local fans to the preliminary rounds of the competition was already a hard-sell, but FIFA have at least been able to rely on one European and one South American giant to sell tickets to semi-final fixtures. Now Liga de Quito will throw a spanner in the works, with the Ecuadorian club unheard of in Japanese football circles.

A Fluminense victory in the Copa Libertadores final would have been welcomed with open arms, given that Flu's powerful striker Washington scored 64 goals in just 85 J. League games for Tokyo Verdy and Urawa Reds. "Washington Returns" would have been the banner headline of the day, with the Japanese public no doubt keen to bask in the globe-trotting striker's reflected glory.

Liga de Quito will inspire no such headlines in Japan. Manchester United will invariably prove the biggest drawcard at the tournament - although the fake jersey sellers outside the National Stadium in Tokyo will groan in disbelief should Cristiano Ronaldo choose to move on, but even if a Japanese team manages to make it through to the semi-finals of the tournament, the prospect of a half-empty National Stadium looms large for what is supposedly a showpiece FIFA tournament.

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.