Wednesday, 29 April 09, 09:47 PM
Shimizu S-Pulse and Urawa Reds played out a pulsating 2-2 draw in front of 30,851 fans at Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi yesterday.
In bright sunshine on a glorious Shōwa Day public holiday, it's unlikely that too many of the fans inside Ecopa were reflecting on Japan's period of prosperity under the former Emperor, with football fans concerned by more pressing matters as two of the league's most passionately supported clubs came head-to-head.
The first surprise of the afternoon came with Kenta Hasegawa's ultra-defensive starting eleven, as veterans Teruyoshi Ito and Marcos Paulo Alves were both recalled to start alongside the similarly defensive Masaki Yamamoto, with the S-Pulse game plan apparently to bamboozle Urawa with a series of square balls and back passes.
An even bigger shock was the decision to leave out 4-goal top scorer Shinji Okazaki, as fellow youngster Kazuki Hara started in his stead alongside the recalled Frode Johnsen, with former Urawa striker Yuichiro Nagai dropping back to the bench.
It was the effervescent Hara who was causing all sort of problems for the Urawa defence in the first half, and not surprisingly it was he was who was up-ended in the penalty area some seventeen minutes in. With most S-Pulse fans expecting Frode Johnsen to step up to the spot, it was instead the redoubtable Hara who confidently sent Ryota Tsuzuki the wrong way from the spot.
Despite stringing a defensive wall in front of the back four, S-Pulse were still struggling to contain Urawa's pacy counter-attacks. Not surprisingly it was the Reds who scored next, as Robson Ponte took advantage of Urawa's superior numbers inside the box to level the scores before the break.
With two outstanding teenagers on the pitch in the form of 17-year-old Genki Haraguchi and 18-year-old Naoki Yamada, Urawa possessed plenty of pace and penetration. And didn't the S-Pulse defence feel it, as with sixteen minutes remaining the electrifying Yamada brushed off a series of attempted tackles, before bursting into the penalty area and curling an inch-perfect strike into the far corner of the goal.
Roared on by a partisan and increasingly desperate home crowd, Shimizu S-Pulse surged forward in search of an equaliser. They almost found one when substitute Nagai got his head to a cross, but somehow Ryota Tsuzuki managed to scramble back and claw the ball out before it crossed the goal-line.
Nevertheless with three minutes remaining S-Pulse eventually managed to pull a goal back, and they did so through the unlikeliest of sources, as stand-in captain and full-back Arata Kodama demonstrated his years of experience to place a precise side-footed volley between Tsuzuki and his near post, and send the massed ranks of Shimizu fans behind the goal wild with delirium.
Both teams collapsed to the turf in exhaustion at the final whistle, following a battling display in what was a bruising encounter at times. Respective coaches Kenta Hasegawa and Volker Finke will have plenty of food for thought, however, after an encounter in which both defences were beaten for pace by exciting youngsters, only to see a couple of veterans in the form of Robson Ponte and Arata Kodama chime in with priceless goals of their own.
Wednesday, 07 January 09, 10:46 PM
Shimizu S-Pulse have pulled off a real coup, in my opinion, with the announcement that Kenta Hasegawa's side have lured disgruntled ex-Urawa Reds striker Yuichiro Nagai to Nihondaira Stadium.
Nagai has real pedigree - he came up through the youth ranks at Urawa before playing almost 300 games for the Saitama side, and scored four goals during a season-long loan spell at 2.Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC in the late nineties.
He's also played four times for his country and was named the Player Of The Tournament in the 2007 AFC Champions League, but after being confined to a bit-part role by now departed coach Gert Engels last season, Nagai has departed in a huff to take up a new challenge in Shimizu.
Nagai will be welcomed with open arms by a club that has released Brazilian attackers Fernandinho and Marcos Aurelio, while the bullocking Takuro Yajima has signed on with Kawasaki Frontale and veteran Akinori Nishizawa has departed for J2 to link up with his former club Cerezo Osaka.
S-Pulse already possess Japanese youngsters Shinji Okazaki - who recently made his full international debut - and Kazuki Hara up front, while Norwegian veteran Frode Johnsen has also inked a deal in Shimizu, as the club look to return to rediscover the form they displayed during Korean striker Cho Jae-Jin's goal-laden spell at the club.
Nagai could be just the kind of player to propel S-Pulse into the AFC Champions League.
He's vastly experienced, deceptively quick, has a good finish and, perhaps most importantly, Nagai has a point to prove.
Like several other Urawa players he grew increasingly disillusioned with the back-room politics threatening to split the Reds star-studded squad apart. Rather than play second fiddle to Edmilson and Naohiro Takahara - who both endured decidedly mediocre campaigns in 2008 - Nagai will instead look to stamp his authority on Shimizu S-Pulse.
At just 29 he's arguably still got his best football in front of him.
He may have arrived from the hated Reds, but Shimizu S-Pulse fans won't care. Yuichiro Nagai is in the prime of his career. Here's hoping that his link-up with S-Pulse proves a match made in heaven.
Sunday, 19 October 08, 09:15 PM
Hey ho, fellow J. League lovers!
I recently sat down with Shimizu S-Pulse fan Yuichi Korenaga to discuss his opinion on Shimizu's season and chat about his attitudes towards football in general.
He had some interesting things to say about the J. League and overseas football, so check out the interview here.
Cheers!
Friday, 25 July 08, 07:57 PM
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.
Wednesday, 07 February 07, 01:15 PM
Tuesday, 09 January 07, 08:27 PM
Tuesday, 05 December 06, 01:11 AM
Tuesday, 28 November 06, 12:58 AM