This is just a marker post for the time being; this thread is a continuation of the original Japan 2008 thread on the old OTF board, which began here. The pre-season preview texts on all 33 J-League clubs can be found here.

Furtho, maybe after Japan's 1-0 defeat in Bahrain you'll have something to say. Terrible error by Kawaguchi, fumbling a cross he shouldn't have had any problems with. Isn't there anyone else eligible who can actually catch a ball?

Rowdy Elements is quite correct - welcome, Rowdy, by the way - to observe that Japan slipped to a disastrous 1-0 defeat away against Bahrain in their second World Cup 2010 qualifying tie on Wednesday night. Coach Takeshi Okada fielded a team mystifyingly populated by players from out-of-form J1 trio Gamba Osaka, Kawasaki Frontale and Urawa Reds, while reigning champions Kashima Antlers - who have also roared out of the starting blocks this season - were entirely unrepresented in his selection.

Indeed, some fans have in the aftermath of Bahrain's win suggested that simply fielding the Antlers first eleven minus their foreign players would be a much better alternative than Okada's misguided and unmotivated line-up. There seems little doubt that they would perform more impressively than the likes of front pair Seiichiro Maki of JEF United and Vissel Kobe's Yoshito Okubo. The only glimmer of hope for Japanese fans came in the shape of reasonably encouraging displays from wingback Yuichi Komano, central defender Yuji Nakazawa and midfielder Koji Yamase - all of whom play their club football for a Yokohama F Marinos side who are undefeated and playing well in their four games so far in 2008.



In case anyone's forgotten, like

The goal itself came as the result of a mistake by Jubilo Iwata keeper Yoshi Kawaguchi, who flapped indecisively at a tame cross from Ismail Abdullateer to allow midfielder Alaa Hubail to head in - a deserved winner for the hosts, who now top the group. Okada, meanwhile, has a lot of work to do ahead of Japan's next matches in the first week of June, home and away encounters with Oman that have taken on a considerable degree of importance in the light of the debacle in Bahrain.

Asian Group 2 Standings

1. Bahrain 6 (+2)
2. Japan 3 (+2)
- - - - - - - - - -
3. Oman 3 (-)
4. Thailand 0 (-4)

Here are video clips of the two J1 Goals of the Week so far this season. Note, these are in the .asx format - you should simply be able to left-click on the link and it will launch Windows Media Player or something similar. Anyway, here's defender Daigo Watanabe's spectacular long-range bastard for Kyoto Sanga against Omiya Ardija in Week 2 and old duffer Brazilian Ueslei for Oita Trinita in their shock 2-1 win over Shimizu S-Pulse in Week 1.

The J-League are hard at work promoting the fact that J2 now includes a trio of clubs - Avispa Fukuoka, Roasso Kumamoto and Sagan Tosu - from the southern island of Kyushu. The latter two teams play each other on Saturday, the first in a mini-series being marketed as the Kyushu Derby...



And here it is, the J-League's Kyushu Derby poster

Kashima Antlers beat Yokohama F Marinos 2-1 in a fast-paced early season top-of-the-table J1 match on Sunday, Danilo netting the winner five minutes from time... second in the table now are dark horses Vissel Kobe, 3-2 winners over a lacklustre Jubilo Iwata thanks to two goals from veteran midfielder Keisuke Kurihara... rock bottom are still Albirex Niigata after the Swans were crushed 3-0 at a resurgent Urawa Reds... Yokohama FC failed to take advantage of Sanfrecce Hiroshima having the weekend off in J2. The Sky Blues needed to come from two down to get a point at Mito Hollyhock and remain second as a result... the Kyushu Derby ended in a 1-1 draw between Sagan Tosu and Roasso Kumamoto...



Marquinhos flaunts all that's wrong about Kashima's shirts against Marinos

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 3

FC Tokyo 3-3 Kyoto
Gamba 2-1 Verdy
Kashima 2-1 Marinos
Kashiwa 1-2 Sapporo
Kawasaki 2-0 JEF
Kobe 3-2 Jubilo
Nagoya 2-1 Oita
S-Pulse 0-0 Omiya
Urawa 3-0 Niigata

******************

1. Kashima 9 (+7)
2. Kobe 7 (+4)
3. Nagoya 7 (+3)
4. Oita 6 (+2)
5. Marinos 6 (+1)
6. FC Tokyo 5 (+1)
7. Kyoto 5 (+1)
8. Omiya 4 (+1)
9. S-Pulse 4 (-)
10. Kawasaki 4 (-1)
11. Gamba 4 (-2)
12. Jubilo 3 (-)
13. Urawa 3 (-)
14. Kashiwa 3 (-1)
15. Sapporo 3 (-4)
- - - - - - - - - -
16. Verdy 1 (-3)
----------------
17. JEF 1 (-3)
18. Niigata 0 (-6)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 5

Cerezo 1-0 Gifu
Fukuoka 2-0 Ehime
Mito 2-2 Yokohama FC
Sendai 1-0 Kusatsu
Shonan 2-3 Tokushima
Tosu 1-1 Kumamoto
Yamagata 0-0 Kofu

******************

1. Hiroshima 10 (+7)
2. Yokohama FC 9 (+3)
-----------------
3. Cerezo 9 (+1)
- - - - - - - - - - -
4. Sendai 9 (+1)
5. Tosu 8 (+2)
6. Fukuoka 7 (+2)
7. Gifu 7 (+1)
8. Ehime 6 (-2)
9. Shonan 6 (-1)
10. Mito 5 (-2)
11. Yamagata 4 (-1)
12. Kofu 4 (-1)
13. Kumamoto 4 (-2)
14. Kusatsu 4 (-3)
15. Tokushima 4 (-5)

Wednesday evening saw a full fourth round of J1 fixtures played out across Japan, Kashima Antlers unsurprisingly maintaining their 100% record at bottom side Albirex Niigata... but new coach Dragan Stojkovic is having a big effect on Nagoya Grampus, who put in an irritatingly good performance to beat Omiya Ardija and move into second place... the fancied three of Kawasaki Frontale, Gamba Osaka and Urawa Reds are all recovering rapidly from their dodgy starts and picked up away wins... Tokyo Verdy remain in trouble following their defeat by Jubilo Iwata but will no doubt be perked up by their having rescued goal machine Hulk from his traumatic spell at Kawasaki...



Urawa players and fans, all happy again. Well, that's just terrific

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 4

JEF 1-1 Kobe
Kyoto 0-1 Kashiwa
Marinos 3-0 FC Tokyo
Niigata 0-2 Kashima
Oita 1-2 Gamba
Omiya 1-2 Nagoya
Sapporo 0-2 Kawasaki
S-Pulse 1-2 Urawa
Verdy 1-2 Jubilo

******************

1. Kashima 12 (+9)
2. Nagoya 10 (+4)
3. Marinos 9 (+4)
4. Kobe 8 (+4)
5. Kawasaki 7 (+1)
6. Gamba 7 (-1)
7. Jubilo 6 (+1)
8. Oita 6 (+1)
9. Urawa 6 (+1)
10. Kashiwa 6 (-)
11. Kyoto 5 (-)
12. FC Tokyo 5 (-2)
13. Omiya 4 (-)
14. S-Pulse 4 (-1)
15. Sapporo 3 (-6)
- - - - - - - - - -
16. JEF 2 (-3)
----------------
17. Verdy 1 (-4)
18. Niigata 0 (-8)

Oh, and while we're at it, here's the Goal of the Week from round 3 at the weekend, a neat half-volley from Kyoto Sanga forward Yutaka Tahara against FC Tokyo. Again, it's an .asx file, so just click the link and it should launch in Windows Media Player or some such.

Nagoya Grampus continued their run of form with a 2-0 win over Yokohama F Marinos in the big match in round 5 of the new J1 season, ex-Rosenborg striker Frode Johnsen getting the opener... Marquinhos of Kashima Antlers is the division's top scorer, though - the Brazilian got his fifth of the year as the 2007 champions strolled past JEF United... most impressive of the promoted sides are still Kyoto Sanga, who won 1-0 at Kawasaki Frontale... J2 is shaping up to be a close contest this year. Sagan Tosu were the big winners of the weekend, beating Ehime FC to go second. Leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima could only draw at FC Gifu, while Tokushima Vortis stunned underachieving Avispa Fukuoka 3-1...



Sagan Tosu's Kenzo Taniguchi yells at coach Yasuyuki Kishino after scoring against Ehime

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 5

FC Tokyo 1-0 Sapporo
Gamba 2-0 S-Pulse
Jubilo 1-2 Urawa
Kashima 4-1 JEF
Kashiwa 0-0 Niigata
Kawasaki 0-1 Kyoto
Kobe 0-1 Verdy
Nagoya 2-0 Marinos
Omiya 2-0 Oita

******************

1. Kashima 15 (+12)
2. Nagoya 13 (+6)
3. Gamba 10 (+1)
4. = Urawa 9 (+2)
4. = Marinos 9 (+2)
6. Kobe 8 (+3)
7. Kyoto 8 (+1)
8. FC Tokyo 8 (-1)
9. Omiya 7 (+2)
10. Kawasaki 7 (-)
11. Kashiwa 7 (-)
12. Jubilo 6 (-)
13. Oita 6 (-1)
14. = S-Pulse 4 (-3)
14. = Verdy 4 (-3)
- - - - - - - - - -
16. Sapporo 3 (-7)
----------------
17. JEF 2 (-6)
18. Niigata 1 (-8)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 6

Ehime 1-2 Tosu
Gifu 1-1 Hiroshima
Kofu 3-2 Cerezo
Kumamoto 1-2 Yamagata
Kusatsu 1-2 Shonan
Tokushima 3-1 Fukuoka
Yokohama FC 1-1 Sendai

******************

1. Hiroshima 11 (+7)
2. Tosu 11 (+3)
-----------------
3. Yokohama FC 10 (+3)
- - - - - - - - - - -
4. Sendai 10 (+1)
5. Shonan 9 (-)
6. Cerezo 9 (-)
7. Gifu 8 (+1)
8. Yamagata 7 (-)
9. Fukuoka 7 (-)
10. Kofu 7 (-)
11. Tokushima 7 (-3)
12. Ehime 6 (-3)
13. Mito 5 (-2)
14. Kumamoto 4 (-3)
15. Kusatsu 4 (-4)

Just time to post a Celebration Special of images from this weekend's J-League matches, starring Tokyo Verdy, Ventforet Kofu and Tokushima Vortis.



Teenage midfielder Hiroki Kawano and Hulk get cosy in their tight Italian Verdy kits




Ventforet Kofu fans whoop it up with striker Josimar after their first win of the year




Yet more happiness, this time courtesy of minnows Tokushima Vortis

No mention of the Squirrels' victory other than the score? Are you concerned about charges of Small Orange Club bias?

BTW, I (almost literally) ran into some Kashima youth players in the small piazza in front of our flat last weekend. They were evidently here for some kind of U-17 tournament, and were trying to haggle over the price of replica Milan and Inter kits with our local purveyors of such things.

Their English wasn't up to much (and their Italian non-existent), but they did exhibit great surprise that I even knew who Omiya Ardija were, let alone supported them.

Catania has a kit very similar to that Tosu number, btw.

That's pretty much the size of it, UA. I'm attempting to be scrupulously fair in my coverage and although the Squirrels result was very good, well, if I'm honest it didn't have that much significance in the broader scheme of things. Ouch, now that hurts. But I'm glad to know indeed that some kids will return to Japan with an utterly skewed perception of the international reputation enjoyed by Ardija - congratulations to you on a terrific piece of work.

Anyway, what I was going to say was: Lord, they take their food seriously in Japan. It seems as if every village has its own speciality - some way of preparing rice or tofu or noodles or fish or something (raw horse, in the case of the mountain city of Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture - a bit chewy but okay, seeing as you ask) that they only do in one particular area, and what they do is unquestionably the best, a source of incredible local pride. It's the kind of thing that leads to the phenomenon of the ekiben, boxed meals sold at railway stations that frequently draw upon whatever the speciality of the town might be, so that visitors take with them a true flavour of the place when they leave.

Footballistically-speaking, as Arsene Wenger might say, Japanese regional food inspires Kamatamare Sanuki's name and mascot - the Shikoku Leaguers even appeared in a hit indie film set in their home prefecture of Kagawa and called, inevitably, Udon - or in another manifestation a long-running feature on the Omiya Ardija official website, in which club staff produced a Soccer Gourmet page that listed, photographed and reviewed all the food that they purchased and ate at their opponents' stadium on each away trip.

In a country where non-league outfit V Varen Nagasaki sell their own brand of instant noodles, it therefore comes as little surprise to learn that Japanese football-related catering tends to offer a variety that is likely to send reeling matchgoers from other countries used only to over-priced burgers and fries for their half-time snack - as these images perhaps go some way towards demonstrating.



A genuine, no-nonsense Vissel Kobe bento box




Vietnamese-style rice and vegetables at Kashiwa Reysol...




... and squid-on-a-stick at Avispa Fukuoka. Yum!

Just the thing to wash down with a can of Pocari Sweat . . .

Actually, the squid and oysters/mussels are right up my street. Do you know what the rectangular bits are? Eel? Razor clams? Tofu?

You can actually get sushi at fancy baseball stadia in the US now (at least in San Francisco), but I wouldn't necessarily compare the quality with Vissel's sashimi.

I understand that it's scallops and (the rectangular bits) conger eel that Avispa Fukuoka are serving alongside their squid - and it's indeed perfectly easy to imagine that they are all quite delicious. But less cheerfully, it looks very much as if Shonan Bellmare's mascot should have stuck to the Pocari Sweat. I mean I'm not one for gossip but take a look at this...



King Bell, apparently the worse for wear after htting the Kirin vending machine

A belated thanks to Furtho for the welcome. As you may guess, I'm not exactly going to be a prolific poster.
In the Asian Champions League, Gamba Osaka won 4-3 at Melbourne Victory thanks to a late header from Lucas. Yasuda, who put in the cross for the winner, was particularly impressive, while with 20 minutes to go, Kashima Antlers won 1-0 at home to Beijing Guoan, the goal coming from Danilo.