It always feels a little strange that domestic club
football below J2 should be afforded such little nationwide coverage.
Obviously, there would be little market for regular live broadcasts of the
third national tier, the Japan Football League, but the emphatically J.
League-centric nature of Japanese television rights-holders – which already
relegates competitions like the Asian Champions League and Emperor’s Cup to
second-rate status – dictates that just to find the scores from elsewhere, you’re
going to have to do your own searching.
Such ignorance seems a little hypocritical to the ideals of the J. League’s
Hundred Year Vision, which aims to nurture “a new sporting culture rooted in
community-based sports clubs” throughout the entire country. In England,
football results services will routinely drop two or three tiers below League
Two to cast an eye over the Conference North/South and even the top divisions
of the regional leagues below. This surely serves not only to sate, but also to
fuel the curiosity of the casual observer. But in Japan, it is evidently
assumed that interest in events beyond the 40 J. League members should stay the
domain of the otaku.
At least, this is true on a national level; a recent trip to Nagano revealed
widespread excitement surrounding the local club, Nagano Parceiro, with banners
and merchandise on display throughout the city in celebration of a debut JFL
campaign last year that saw them beat neighbours and now J2 newcomers Matsumoto
Yamaga by two positions to finish second. Parceiro were denied promotion
themselves as their small stadium rendered them ineligible for J. League
associate membership, and so for the time being, they will not be afforded a
place in the wider Japanese consciousness.
However, the situation may be about to change. Throughout the first 20 years of
J. League history – the anniversary was this Tuesday – new members have been
welcomed aboard as soon as they demonstrate the necessary footballing and infrastructural
wherewithal. But with the admission of Matsumoto and Machida Zelvia, J2 has now
reached its full quota of 22 clubs, meaning that for the first time, relegation
back down to the JFL becomes a possibility as of this season. An associate J.
League member finishing as champions of the third tier will replace the second’s
bottom team by right; a similarly eligible runner-up would enter a two-legged
playoff against either the 21st or (in the case of a non-qualifying champion) 22nd
team in J2.
Instead of the old status quo of only watching new teams once they’ve actually
made the J. League step-up, then, supporters of sides in the bottom half of J2 –
at least – should now be glancing pre-emptively upon the division below and
those looking to steal their places in front of the SkyPerfectTV cameras. Kamatamare
Sanuki, whose eligibility for promotion has already been confirmed, are
currently second in the JFL after 11 matches. Immediately behind them are
V-Varen Nagasaki and Nagano, both of whom are pushing hard for associate member
status. Blaublitz Akita, currently ninth but only three points behind Kamatamare
with a game in hand, could also soon enter the reckoning.
The continued trend for expansion, the cessation of its automatic nature for
teams fulfilling the promotion criteria, and the inevitable – if, as yet,
unofficial – talk surrounding the future creation of a J3 sits uncomfortably
with some long-term JFL members. Koji Sadanaga, a colleague and fellow
Kansai-based freelance writer, has firmly sided with clubs like Sagawa Printing
and Honda FC, which have continued to hold true to the pre-1992 model of
corporate football ‘departments’ and bear no ambitions of J. League membership,
in questioning the viability of a professional third division as an
entertainment-based economic entity. Their argument, he
writes, is that relegating these company teams to the fourth tier would
strike a fatal blow for motivation – currently derived from testing themselves at
the highest possible level of amateur football and effectively serving as ‘gatekeepers’
for opponents who are looking to qualify for J2 through their JFL position.
Board members could pull the plug, thus denying opportunities for skilled
amateurs still eager to combine playing with separate working careers.
However, in a nation that has been held back by political, fiscal, and
corporate conservatism over the past two decades – during which China and South
Korea have grown into rather more than noisy neighbours – Japanese football
stands out as the perfect example of how progressive thought can deliver astonishing
results on both microscopic and macroscopic levels. The newfound global status
of the national team and the eagerness of major European clubs to procure its
top players have evolved against a background of long-term initiatives to
develop football as a positive influence within society as a whole, under the
aforementioned Hundred Year Vision. JFL clubs that understand the concept of genuine
socioeconomic planning already attract crowds of several thousand; even pushing
into five figures on occasion. Undeterred by the lack of nationwide coverage –
or spurred by the desire to share in its spoils – it is only natural that more
and more municipalities should grow keen to follow and ultimately join the J.
League model.
The interests of parent companies must take second billing to those of the
hometowns that clubs under the progressive system will represent, for this
trend is now not only well established, but diversifying. Following the example
of Fagiano Okayama, who rose from the fifth-tier Okayama Prefectural League
Division 1 in 2004 to take their place in J2 just five years later, Matsumoto
and Machida were both able to soar through the ranks thanks to the will and
wider vision of those associated therewith. In January 2010, S.C. Sagamihara
were awarded J. League associate membership months after finishing as champions
of the seventh-tier Kanagawa Prefectural League Division 2B; they
currently sit atop the Kanto Soccer League Division 1 table following two
successive promotions since. From Nara Club in Kansai to Volca Kagoshima in
Kyushu, the regional leagues are growing ever more awash with teams
demonstrating similarly lofty intentions.
Next week, this column will pay a visit to FC Osaka, the three-times reigning
Osaka Prefectural League champions now aiming to achieve an unusual double
promotion en route to eventually becoming the city’s third J. League representatives.
The ninth in my
weekly series of tactics articles for Goal.com takes a first look at both Sagan
Tosu, performing so superbly in their debut J1 season, and Omiya Ardija. Click
on the image below for the main Japanese version, or scroll down for the English
edition.
9. Sagan Tosu 1-1 Omiya Ardija (J1 matchday 11, 12 May 2012)
Both sides were forced into an attacking reshuffle ahead of Saturday’s
meeting at the Best Amenity Stadium, with Sagan Tosu missing star forward Yohei
Toyoda through suspension and Rafael only fit enough for a place on the bench
after picking up a knock against Gamba Osaka. The visitors brought in Yu
Hasegawa for a first start of the season, while Kei Ikeda took the advanced
role in front of Ryunosuke Noda for Tosu in what was nominally a meeting of two
4-2-3-1s.
However, the differing patterns of the respective front fours had a profound
effect on the balance of play over the first hour. While Omiya were
astonishingly rigid for a 4-2-3-1, the home attackers moved and interchanged as
a unit. This was particularly significant when not in possession as Sagan
defended ferociously from the front, with Ikeda dropping back to play his part
in the pressing game – effectively creating a temporary 4-2-4-0 as he did so –
while the energetic Noda charged on to apply additional pressure when Ardija’s
back four retreated.
It meant that when the Squirrels did get the opportunity to build possession,
they were forced to do so from a highly withdrawn starting point. Although
Keigo Higashi showed keenness to pass and advance, their short, patient moves
typically reached a stalemate shortly beyond halfway and ended with long,
hopeful crosses towards the unsupported Hasegawa. Tosu showed greater variation
going forwards in terms of both speed and the length of their passes. The only
disappointment was that their relative control of the game produced a
succession of half-chances but no real gilt-edged ones.
Jun Suzuki sent his troops out for the second half with the instruction to play
more longitudinal balls and do a bit more pressing themselves. The shift in
momentum was reinforced by the introduction of Rafael for Higashi in what
became a 4-4-2, or 4-4-1-1, with the Brazilian in a freer striking role. Omiya’s
more direct approach helped prevent their defence from getting pushed back;
Tosu’s pressing grew tired and their ability to attack in numbers deteriorated.
A substitution apiece in the 80th minute had a direct impact on the opening
goal, which followed almost instantaneously. Suzuki introduced volante Kota Ueda for the frustrated Cho Young-Cheol, allowing Carlinhos to
switch to the right flank and combine cleverly with his compatriot, Rafael. As
the number 10 cut inside, his tricks and turns attracted five opponents –
including Yusuke Inuzuka who, having just replaced Tomotaka Okamoto,
unnecessarily charged across to provide additional cover from midfield. This
left the space for Takuya Aoki, who had started the move, to continue his run
and collect Rafael’s pass to score.
It appeared as if Tosu had fallen into the visitors’ trap, as Omiya quite
comfortably retained possession immediately thereafter. However, when Suzuki
sent on Kim Young-Gwon as an extra defender on 88 minutes, they suddenly
stepped onto the back foot again. The 193cm Kim Kun-Hoan advanced into attack
as the hosts eagerly accepted the invitation to fire balls into the box. A long
throw from the prodigious arms of Naoyuki Fujita produced the equaliser –
ironically, the last unfortunate touch came off Hasegawa, who had so seldom
threatened the opposite net.
As the European club season approaches its conclusion,
attention begins to turn towards next month’s European Championships in Poland
and Ukraine. While Giovanni Trapattoni was right on the ‘b’ of the ‘bang’ in
announcing his Republic of Ireland squad this Monday, new England boss Roy
Hodgson is another set to get off the mark quickly when he names his final –
and, indeed, first – 23 next Wednesday, prompting excited speculation as to who
might and might not make the cut.
It is at this stage of the build-up to every major international tournament
that I am confronted with a particular pet peeve. There is nothing wrong with
the desire to speculate and make one’s own predictions – doing so is perhaps
even one of the great joys of following the football soap opera – but what
riles me is the entirely unsystematic way in which not only most fans, but even
many paid professionals go about doing it.
To give an example, I distinctly remember watching a television programme in
the weeks preceding the 2010 World Cup, during which a fairly sizeable panel of
Japanese media experts gathered to debate the players that Takeshi Okada ought
to be taking to South Africa. Echoing any number of conversations that will
undoubtedly take place in pubs across England this coming weekend, their
discussion began with each participant eagerly making the case for their own
favourites. “You’ve got to pick him!” “He would definitely be in my squad.” The
two clearly inherent problems here are that the conversation will immediately
focus on candidates whose inclusion is less than certain, and that more often
than not, people’s eyes will have been caught by those who either convert or
create chances. As a result, the first dozen ‘must-haves’ mentioned by this
panel two years ago soon gave us half a squad full of attacking fringe players.
Again, it is fine to have our own personal preferences, and if we all knew how
to think like top-class international managers, the FA’s golden handshake bill
over the past six years would have been several digits shorter. But seriously, this
whole naming game is really not that difficult; you just have do it the complete
opposite way around. Start with the likely first eleven, add the most
obvious/regularly called-upon alternatives and substitutes, then ensure you
have a full quota of two backup goalkeepers. Once you’ve done that, you can see
how many places are left, which positions you don’t have cover for, and make
your choices accordingly.
When I
sat down and pencilled out my 23 for Okada Japan, twenty of the names I
chose ultimately did find themselves with a squad number for the southern
hemisphere winter. Even the three discrepancies – I had Shusaku Nishikawa as
third-choice ‘keeper instead of Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, the Dortmund-bound Shinji
Kagawa ahead of Yoshito Okubo, and Ryoichi Maeda in place of Kisho Yano – were arguably
Okada idiosyncrasies and were, indeed, quickly reversed by his successor,
Alberto Zaccheroni. But none of this made me a genius, clairvoyant, or even
vaguely clever. It was simply the practice of a common sense, logical argument
methodology; as opposed to counting off five fingers the Gamba Osaka players
who had excited me most from the Banpaku terraces and shoehorning a national
squad around them.
Ah yes, Gamba Osaka. For, you see, we football observers enjoy making
predictions so much that, a lot of the time, we’re not even consciously aware
that we’re doing it, and this only makes us more prone to fall into the same logical
trap. One particular favourite, the jolly cliché “too good to go down”, is
usually bandied about as a qualitative judgement of a team that might not
happen to be playing so well at the present moment, but has enough good players
to be really rather better once they finally get their arses in gear.
However, relegation is not just a qualitative issue. Like most things in
football once you think about it – the score of any individual game, for
instance – it is actually very quantitative. You get three points for every
league win (regardless of margin), plus one point for each draw, and your
cumulative points tally over the course of the season determines your position
in the division once tabulated and ranked against those achieved by your
rivals. In many high-profile leagues, and specifically in J1, the bottom three
clubs will then be demoted. Too good to go down? Alright, then. But first, you’re
going to have to decide upon the unfortunate trio – at the very least – of sides
who are actually going to wind up with a shorter points total than that rabble
in which you seem to have such blind faith.
Essentially, this principle was what saved last year’s Urawa Reds, who were
rubbish all season but could point to the presence of two others who were
utterly out of their depth plus, happily for their sake, a Ventforet Kofu that
didn’t quite have enough either. As for whether Gamba will be able to rely solely
on similar fortune this term, I’m not so sure.
The ludicrous situation whereby Brazilian-born former Japan international
Wagner Lopes was supposed to be appointed as managerial successor to Akira
Nishino, only nobody had realised that he wasn’t actually qualified and thus
had to come along holding the hand of long-term ‘mentor’ José Carlos Serrão –
who predictably turned out not to have a clue what he was doing – was thankfully
short-lived. But the turmoil it created may yet go down as rather more than just
a footnote in the Osaka club’s history. To quote from a
definitive piece written in Japanese by my colleague, Jun Nagata, in the
wake of the management team’s dismissal in late March:
“The team began work this season still surrounded by the question – ‘Exactly
which one of the two is actually in charge?’ Watching them actually train, ‘head
coach’ Lopes would give the players their instructions, with ‘manager’ Serrão
providing backup. But officially, Serrão was always the man at the top. If he
was really a ‘puppet’ manager, the club were not admitting it. Interviews after
training consisted almost solely of ambiguous, empty comment from Serrão… The
players, too, were unhappy with the lack of clarity over the manager’s
position. They were presented with no specific tactical direction, and once the
season began, they were suddenly asked to do things quite differently to the
orders they had received throughout the training camp. In such circumstances,
it was quite ridiculous to expect them to maintain much faith in the coaching
staff.”
Things have improved under the charge of former playing stalwart Masanobu “Mr.
Gamba” Matsunami, most notably in terms of morale and cohesion. But results are
still only marginally better, and while the defence still concedes by the
bucketful (as they always did under Nishino, even when they were champions),
this is no longer being compensated for by a free-scoring attack. The core
problem, as has
been discussed on multiple occasions on these pages before, stems from a
haphazard player recruitment policy, and it is neither easy nor fair to make a
value judgement on Matsunami given the difficult situation into which he has
been parachuted. To very quickly cite one example, the departure of the classy
Lee Keun-Ho has simultaneously exposed the hole left by Takashi Usami, the
age-associated concerns surrounding Yasuhito Endo, and the simplistic nature of
Rafinha’s striking brain. Former Tokushima Vortis journeyman Akihiro Sato is
the best of a quite average bunch brought in, almost at random, to complement
the latter.
Early elimination from the AFC Champions League (ACL) for the first time since
2006 is undoubtedly a blessing in disguise, and it is worth remembering that
Oswaldo de Oliveira’s Kashima Antlers also flirted with the nether regions of
the J1 table throughout the early months of last season before rallying to
eventually finish up in sixth. But the most urgent task facing Matsunami is to
ensure that the acute depression that set in under Serrão/Lopes does not become
chronic. Ten games in is still early doors, but it will be a most uncomfortable
three weeks of self-reflection should Gamba fail to escape the drop zone before
the J. League pauses for June’s World Cup qualifiers. Fixtures at home to
leaders Vegalta Sendai, away to resurgent Yokohama F Marinos, and then at home
again to surprise package Sagan Tosu dictate, however, that a high points haul before
then will be no small challenge.
Failing that, who might save them if things do get out of control? Returning to
our quantitative premise, Consadole Sapporo and Albirex Niigata both represent
the kind of strugglers that even Gamba in their present guise would hope to
outscore (although it’s marginal for the latter, with whom they could only draw
in Matsunami’s first game in charge). But who else? Characteristically, positions
four (Urawa) down to fourteen (Kashima) are so incredibly tight that it is
foolish to make predictions, and more to the point, every one of the sides in
that mix have played well for at least some of this season so far. With no
obvious Kofu this time, you’re either looking for Tosu’s bubble to explode (as
did Montedio Yamagata’s in their first J1 season, back in 2009), the slow
retrogression of an Omiya Ardija or a Kawasaki Frontale, or the post-Olympic
decimation of youthful city rivals Cerezo Osaka.
None of these options appear greatly more probable than the chances – a discussion
for another time – of Kashiwa Reysol’s struggles with being champions and the
additional, consequent demands of the ACL lasting all the way through to December.
As such, Gamba really will need to get their arses in gear and actually prove
that they are too good for all this pessimism after all.
The return of the
blackboard this week takes a first look of the season at 2010 J. League
champions Nagoya Grampus, and by sheer coincidence happens to feature this
column’s second straight 3-2 away win for Kawasaki Frontale – albeit with a
different manager.
8. Nagoya Grampus 2-3 Kawasaki Frontale (J1 matchday 10, 6 May 2012)
The key tactical difference between new manager Yahiro Kazama’s revised
line-up and the previous versions of Kawasaki Frontale that we have seen this
season is the positioning of Junichi Inamoto as a third central midfielder,
starting just in front of the back four. This is a neat way not only of
covering the defence with numbers in the middle, but also of ensuring cohesion
from back to front and allowing the wide players greater freedom to break
forwards. It replicates the belated introduction of Yuki Abe by former Japan
boss Takeshi Okada in the run-up to South Africa 2010 – Inamoto might have got
his chance then too had the switch from 4-2-3-1 come sooner – which was
incorrectly derided by a naïve domestic media as being negative in its
intentions.
With Joshua Kennedy returning from injury, Nagoya Grampus’s first half system
varied between 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-1-1 thanks to the movement of a highly mobile
supporting trio. This lent itself to characteristically sustained possession
and patient passing going forwards, while defensively, the hosts’ relatively
high line kept its shape and looked to play the offside trap. In a contrast of
approaches, Kawasaki retreated more deeply but pressed much more determinedly
in their own third before looking to attack on the counter – almost exclusively
via bursts down the flanks and balls in towards the effective but occasionally
isolated Takuro Yajima.
Three goals in the opening 14 minutes gave the visitors a 2-1 advantage upon
which they could sit and play to their strengths. Yajima created the opener by
drawing both Nagoya centre-backs towards him to head down for the consequently
unmarked Yusuke Tasaka. The Frontale defence was then pulled out of position
slightly when Jungo Fujimoto and Keiji Tamada dropped deep, allowing Kennedy
the space to shoot superbly from 25 yards. But they were back in front soon
afterwards, when Yajima easily got in behind to head home a Kengo Nakamura
cross after Marcus Tulio Tanaka had tried and failed to play offside.
Although Grampus generally dominated the possession thereafter, the effect of the
visitors’ shape was to eventually and predictably force the former’s passing
moves out wide, from where they were usually quelled. It is worth noting that
their two best chances in the remainder of the half came through breaking runs
from Mu Kanazaki which dragged Inamoto sideways and thus freed up space in the
centre. Neither produced a goal, but Kawasaki found a third right on half time
when Yajima beat another offside trap to another Nakamura pass and fired in at
the near post.
Dragan Stojković frankly described the opening 45 minutes as “catastrophic”,
and looked to claw a way back with three substitutions and a shift to 4-3-3.
Tulio replaced the physical presence of the struggling Kennedy up front,
flanked by Tamada and Kensuke Nagai. This immediately enabled them to
concentrate things more centrally without compromising their domination of
possession; Tulio holding up play and serving as an effective target man. It
was, as Stojković admitted, a much better way of emphasising their own qualities,
but alas failed to produce more than a single Fujimoto goal in response.
Frontale adjusted to the aerial threat, continued to retreat deeply, and worked
hard to hold on for a 3-2 win.
This week’s
blackboard looks at a five-goal thriller at the Sapporo Dome last Saturday.
After seven days’ absence for the Japanese Golden Week holiday, both the
tactical column and the usual articles here at Football Japan (which have been
on a brief hiatus for the past month) will return in the second week of May.
7. Consadole Sapporo 2-3 Kawasaki Frontale (J1 matchday 7, 21 April 2012)
Home side Consadole Sapporo take a 2-0 half-time lead and look set to
record their first victory since returning to J1. Then Kengo Nakamura comes off
the bench and a resurgent Kawasaki Frontale win 3-2. It all makes for a very
nice headline. But was it really that simple?
Throughout the first half, Sapporo played as if they accepted that their
opponents should be superior but were prepared to compensate with greater
mental strength and dexterity. They began the game with such a wonderfully
fluid front four that it was difficult for Kawasaki to assess and respond to
their shape. Defensively, while the back line and two deeper midfielders
pressed to a moderate degree, their narrowness without the ball was key in
inviting the visitors to attack the flanks – especially the left, with the
overlapping Takanobu Komiyama. Consadole’s greater numerical and physical
presence in the middle made them favourites to deal with the incoming crosses;
a rather straightforward 4-4-2 made Frontale’s early movement predictable.
Kawasaki were quick to retreat upon losing possession, making it hard for the
hosts to get in behind them despite their numbers in central areas. But Sapporo
remained patient and, given just two opportunities, demonstrated perfect use of
the specific wide options available to them in their 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 formation.
For the opener, Shunsuke Iwanuma’s high position at left-back went entirely
uncovered, allowing Jumpei Takaki to get in behind the exposed Yusuke Tanaka
and cross back for Shunsuke Maeda, who ran across the hurriedly retreating
defenders to head home at the near post. Takuma Hidaka was later left unchecked
on a right-sided counter to switch for Takaki, dashing inside through the vast
spaces that had then opened up on the left.
Caretaker boss Tatsuya Mochizuki’s half-time change was more nuanced than
systematic. Immediately, Kawasaki looked to play the ball more directly and
through the middle, with Renato and Yusuke Tasaka coming slightly narrower
while central midfielders Junichi Inamoto and Ryota Oshima, crucially, took
turns to break forwards – and, indeed, test the goalkeeper.
With this clearly proving likelier to pay dividends as Sapporo were pushed
backwards, Mochizuki could withdraw Inamoto for the more naturally creative Nakamura.
Fatally, not one Consadole player took responsibility for picking him up in the
21 seconds it took the Kawasaki number 14 from entering the fray to run through
the centre and reduce the deficit to 2-1. The momentum suddenly reversed, it
was another longitudinal pass from Kengo that drew the equalising penalty;
albeit for an admittedly harsh handball decision.
Despite a panicked series of personnel and formation changes in the final
quarter, Nobuhiro Ishizaki was unable to help his side resist the Kawasaki
pressure and pressing for more than a few minutes. At the very end, Sapporo had
three central defenders tired and overworked by three narrow forwards, and
Tasaka backheeled for Koji Yamase – another substitute – to run in behind
Tatsuki Nara and complete the recovery. The flow of this match was
re-determined by Mochizuki’s subtle change in emphasis; Nakamura was the ideal
player to help him achieve it.
Vegalta Sendai
feature again in this week’s blackboard column after their successful visit to
Kashiwa Reysol on a very rainy afternoon last Saturday.
6. Kashiwa Reysol 2-3 Vegalta Sendai (J1 matchday 6, 14 April 2012)
A trip to reigning champions Kashiwa Reysol served up the perfect
opportunity for current J1 leaders Vegalta Sendai to lay down a marker as
genuine title contenders. They got off to the perfect start with a headed goal
from Naoki Sugai before the contest had time to settle, and despite the
concession of two equalisers, managed to lead the scores for all bar 15 of the
90 minutes en route to a well-merited 3-2 victory.
In a sense, this denied us the opportunity to see how Sendai would take the
game to their opponents since the early opener afforded them the luxury of
embracing their role as away side. With both teams looking to counter, Kashiwa
demonstrated a certain degree of positional rotation between Junya Tanaka,
Masato Kudo, and Leandro Domingues early on; while the overlapping runs of
Hiroki Sakai completed an attacking quintet with a slight right-sided bias.
In response, the visitors’ defence adopted a much deeper line without the ball
than they had against Jubilo Iwata last week, while central midfielders
Toshihiro Matsushita and Shingo Tomita also dropped right back to sit just in
front of them. This had the dual effect of quelling Reysol’s interchanges with
well-organised pressing, and of ensuring numerical superiority with six men
versus five.
- Sendai always have at least one spare man in defence (pink dotted lines)
- More positionally static target man Kitajima replaces Tanaka at half time for
Kashiwa
The introduction of Hideaki Kitajima for the anonymous Tanaka at half time
was a masterstroke because of the different options the 33-year-old could
immediately offer in such circumstances: a) defending from the front, b)
holding his position to form a strike duo when Kudo got forwards, and c)
serving as a target man for long passes out of defence. The latter quality led
directly to Kashiwa’s leveller ten minutes after the restart – a long ball from
Tatsuya Masushima drawing the aerial foul from Taikai Uemoto on Kitajima and a
free kick that was brilliantly converted by Leandro.
Within seconds of kicking off, however, Vegalta had pressed themselves back in
front. On their right flank, Tomita pressurised Akimi Barada, Shingo Akamine
closed down Ryoichi Kurisawa, and Sugai quickly stole in from Jorge Wagner. The
Reysol defence was pulled left as a result, and Wilson’s clever individual
skill left Kunimitsu Sekiguchi as free to score in the middle as he had been
against Iwata.
For the hosts, it was back to Plan B. Eventually, they were able to unsettle
the Sendai defence with a succession of crosses and set pieces. Leandro
equalised again from Masato Fujita’s hopeful cross; though it was massively
assisted by Park Joo-Sung’s hesitation and a rare goalkeeping slip by Takuto
Hayashi.
Finally, for 12 minutes, we had parity. Kashiwa were unable to provoke another
mistake despite some sustained possession; Sendai stepped forwards from the
back and, with their front two working as hard as ever, looked to bypass the
soaking wet midfield with quick balls out wide. In the end, it was Akamine’s
reading of the game that allowed him to retreat from his marker and convert a
low cutback from Yoshiaki Ota for the winner.
My fifth article on
J. League tactics for Goal.com features Saturday’s entertaining meeting of the
top two at the start of play, Vegalta Sendai and Jubilo Iwata.
5. Vegalta Sendai 2-2 Jubilo Iwata (J1 matchday 5, 7 April 2012)
An early top-of-the-table battle, Vegalta Sendai versus Jubilo Iwata
provided another different example of what can happen when 4-4-2 meets 4-2-3-1
in an intense encounter of contrasting shapes, styles, and intentions.
Most strikingly, this was a contest of two back fours that liked to adopt
aggressively high lines, albeit for differing purposes. The home side with the
positive 4-4-2, Vegalta used theirs as a launching point for persistent
attacking ambitions that sought to push the visitors backwards. Jubilo,
however, held firm; pressing the hosts’ forwards and playing very narrowly as a
unit to deny them space in central areas.
The overall setup was conducive to the way that both sides like to play, though
Sendai increasingly became the greater beneficiaries in terms of territory and
possession. Iwata settled quickly and looked to get in behind on the
counterattack with either pace or balls over the top. After the initial quarter
of an hour, however, the side in yellow found their rhythm. They immediately
looked to get the ball into wide areas, switching play to the opposite flank if
necessary, while either Wilson or Shingo Akamine – the two forwards – would
come deep and very wide to help play develop through midfield. As the visitors looked
bereft of ideas during sustained possession (and frequently conceded it as a
result), it was Sendai who created the chances – albeit rarely gilt-edged ones
due to the congestion in the middle.
Wilson and Akamine came slightly more inside after the interval and instantly
seemed to combine more intuitively, but were frustrated by a succession of
offsides. A rare absence of concentration then allowed Iwata to score quite out
of the blue; swapping flanks by chance rather than design, Hiroki Yamada cut
inside and crossed from the left for an unmarked and unnoticed Minoru Suganuma
at the far post.
Jubilo paid for their narrowness when Sendai worked a defensive throw-in on the
right-hand side across for left-winger Kunimitsu Sekiguchi to run freely into
the centre for the equaliser. However, the introduction of Yoshiro Abe for
Takuya Matsuura just beforehand pushed Iwata closer to a 4-4-2, distracting
Taikai Uemoto and allowing Kosuke Yamamoto to punish a fatally standoffish
defence with their second goal from only two real attempts.
(Left) Jubilo back four caught too narrow leaving Sekiguchi free to make it
1-1...
(Right) ...but four minutes later, Abe’s run distracts Uemoto and Kamata gives
Yamamoto space to put Jubilo 2-1 ahead
Hitoshi Morishita’s side could then go like-for-like, dropping slightly deeper
and defending the wings more thoroughly. Their patience ensured the hosts
looked much less likely to score than they had all game, even (perhaps
especially) after the desperate 89th-minute introduction of Atsushi Yanagisawa.
Ironically, the last-second equaliser duly arrived anyway thanks to a hopeful
Naoki Sugai long ball and the individual magic of Wilson. It was an odd match
with three goals coming against the run of play, but the draw was the least
Sendai deserved.
The fourth in my
series of tactical analyses for Goal.com looks at the failure of Yokohama F
Marinos to function as anything more than an immovable object during their 0-0
draw at home to Kashima Antlers on Saturday.
4. Yokohama F Marinos 0-0 Kashima Antlers (J1 matchday 4, 31 March 2012)
Yokohama F Marinos manager Yasuhiro Higuchi promised us a year of attacking
football. Kashima Antlers like to get the ball forwards quickly in their
classic 4-4-2. All sounds promising. But this wound up being the only one of Saturday’s
nine J1 matches to finish goalless. Why?
Well, the atrocious weather hardly helped, but much of the problem stemmed from
how the home team lined up. Marinos supposedly deployed a 4-2-3-1 system, but
in practice – if not intentionally – it looked suspiciously more like an ultra-defensive
4-5-1. Nominally starting off the striker, Shunsuke Nakamura dropped so deep
both with and without possession that he was frequently seen behind the two volante,
Hiroyuki Taniguchi and Kosuke Nakamachi. Greater midfield numbers allowed them
to pass the ball around nicely at times, but most of this took place on their
own side of halfway. Even on the few occasions where the isolated Masashi Oguro
was able to support an attack in wide areas, Yokohama had nothing coming
centrally (bar, occasionally, Taniguchi) and neither Manabu Saito nor Shingo
Hyodo boast sufficient penalty area presence on their own to threaten from
long, hopeful crosses.
The positioning of Kashima’s back line was hardly aggressive, but a lot of the
time, Marinos were positively entrenched. A tone was set in the ninth minute
when the home defence retreated behind a Shinzo Koroki dribble and forced him
to shoot from distance. Half an hour later, a 30-second spell of Antlers
possession saw fully nine Yokohama outfielders drop to within 25 yards of their
goal line before Mitsuo Ogasawara’s deflected shot hit the top of the crossbar.
The visitors looked for opportunities with quick, longitudinal passes and
overlapping runs from Alex on the left – Daigo Nishi on the opposite side was
busy effectively neutralising Saito – but Marinos’ wilfully deep defending
meant that Kashima’s 11 goal attempts were never more than half-chances at
best.
Just before the hour mark, the elephant in the room was exposed. Yasushi Endo
dispossessed the unusually advanced Yuji Nakazawa just beyond the centre
circle, and ran straight through to test Hiroki Iikura from outside the box. A
faster, more goal-hungry attacker might have turned it into a better
opportunity, but for the rest of the match, Nakazawa practically never left his
own third. His ‘Bomber’ nickname is starting to sound sadly ironic – perhaps ‘aircraft
carrier’ would better describe his turning speed – and while his outstanding
organisational experience was key to Marinos’ clean sheet, the fear of strikers
getting in behind has the knock-on effect of pulling the entire eleven backwards.
You can appreciate what Higuchi is trying to achieve, but there seem to be a
few too many square pegs in round holes at the moment.
This week’s
tactical column looks at the 2-0 victory for J2 champions FC Tokyo away to
fellow high-fliers Vissel Kobe. Click the banner below to read the article in
Japanese at Goal.com, or scroll down for an English-language version.
3. Vissel Kobe 0-2 FC Tokyo (J1 matchday 3, 17 March 2012)
There are two, intrinsically related mistakes that people often make when
attempting to discuss football theory. The first is to equate tactics with
formations; the second is to then forget that one team’s interpretation of the
same formation will differ from another’s.
Looking at the pre-match numbers alone, it might be tempting to assume that
Vissel Kobe were making the same mistake that Gamba Osaka suffered during the
previous weekend’s derby – in facing up to FC Tokyo’s neat 4-2-3-1 with a
4-4-2. But while nominally part of a ‘front two’, a long time has passed since
Yoshito Okubo could really be called an out-and-out striker. His willingness to
adopt much deeper positions and even provide cover on either flank ensured that
the risk of Vissel being outnumbered in midfield was minimised.
In effect, this often meant that the team without the ball could mirror their
opponents’ shape and cancel out the potential for attacking forays. In
possession, FC Tokyo played more narrowly as a team and passed it around
patiently, with Lucas coming deep to hold up the play, but they tended to lack
real potency in the final third barring a couple of early, marauding runs from
Aria Jasuru Hasegawa. The hosts, meanwhile, worked the ball into wide areas to
utilise the classic threat of the overlapping full backs. However, aside from
an 11th-minute chance for Takayuki Yoshida, their crosses were usually dealt
with comfortably, restricting Okubo et al to pot shots from outside the box.
But the underlying beauty of a 4-2-3-1 is the way its successful deployment allows
for – demands, even – devastating movement and rotation going forwards. Evidently
well drilled by Ranko Popović, FC Tokyo’s crucial opener arrived following the
breakdown of a Kobe attack that had left three defensive players in advanced
areas (see diagram). As Naohiro Ishikawa carried possession down the
right wing (phase 1), Hasegawa and Yohei Kajiyama began forward runs which
attracted the respective attentions of Masahiko Inoha and Gakuto Kondo (phase
2). When Kajiyama then carried the return pass to the left edge of the D,
Naotake Hanyu ran an arc around Kazumichi Takagi while Hasegawa curved his
movement to bring Inoha further inside as well (phase 3). With Takahito
Soma unable to sprint all the way back in time, this left Ishikawa totally free
at the opposite post to expertly convert a pinpoint low cross from Lucas.
White arrow: Movement of ball
Blue arrow: Movement of FC Tokyo player with ball
Dotted line: Movement of player without ball
Hasegawa’s soft second yellow came too late to really help Vissel, and the
visitors sealed victory through substitute Kazuma Watanabe via a long ball and
counter in the final seconds.
My
second weekly column on tactics can now be read in Japanese at Goal.com by
clicking on the banner below. Alternatively, scroll down to read an English
version. Please note that this article was written before Gamba Osaka’s frankly
disgraceful start to the season got even worse with another defeat, 2-0 away to
Adelaide United in the AFC Champions League, yesterday evening.
2. Cerezo Osaka 2-1 Gamba Osaka (J1 matchday 2, 17 March 2012)
Considering the passing style that Gamba Osaka favour, their choice of
formation for Saturday’s derby was a curious one. Hosts Cerezo Osaka
unsurprisingly retained their progressive 4-2-3-1 – a system that highlights
the energetic young talents of Takahiro Ogihara and Hotaru Yamaguchi at the
base of midfield, and of Kim Bo-Kyung and Hiroshi Kiyotake roaming behind the
striker. Gamba, however, opted for a basic 4-4-2; albeit with Hiroki Fujiharu
and Paulinho comprising a rather more aggressive left flank pairing than Akira
Kaji and Takahiro Futagawa on the right.
This played into Cerezo’s hands perfectly. With greater numbers and mobility in
midfield, the home side could almost toy with their opponents – patiently
allowing Gamba to stagnate in possession by blocking off space for attacking
runs or passes, then breaking with pace and fluidity on the counter. Despite a
limited contribution from Kempes, the tactic presented an effective test for
the visitors’ notoriously wobbly defence, while Yamaguchi was particularly
outstanding at closing down Gamba forays which, predictably, came mainly along
the left. Cerezo may not necessarily have had more of the ball in the first
half, but they created comfortably the most chances.
KEY POINTS
- Gamba FWs isolated (especially (37) LEE SEUNG-YEOUL), central MFs pushed back
- (6) YAMAGUCHI covers when Gamba attack along left
- Positioning and movement of Cerezo MFs creates much more space for them to
attack, often on the counter. (7) KIM BO-KYUNG excellent.
The opener came from one quick counterattack in the immediate aftermath of a
Gamba corner. Kiyotake beat Fujiharu to the ball in midfield, and when the
latter scampered back, he was easily sent off balance by Branquinho, who had
time to place his shot past Yosuke Fujigaya. Gamba were increasingly left
resorting to ‘Hollywood’ passes from Futagawa or Yasuhito Endo, but the one
pitfall to Cerezo’s pressing was the risk of conceding free kicks. Paulinho
netted beautifully from distance and, for the second week in a row, the neroblu
went in at a barely-deserved 1-1 thanks to the Brazilian’s individual brilliance.
To his credit, the embattled José Carlos Serrão recognised the need to defend
from the front. Though Cerezo continued to perform better as a unit,
proceedings became far more even – chess-like, perhaps – when Paulinho and
Futagawa adopted slightly narrower positions in the second period. When Shu
Kurata replaced the anonymous Lee Seung-Yeoul, Gamba’s system mirrored their
opponents’ almost identically, and the match appeared headed for stalemate.
But Gamba always carry the potential for defensive meltdown, and when, in the
94th minute, Noriyuki Sakemoto was given all the time in the world to pick out
a cross, Kempes had the all-too-easy task of beating 175cm Kaji to the header.
The timing was cruel, but Cerezo merited the points for their first half
display.
