There was a typically exciting start to the new J-League season over the weekend, some good quality play being coupled with a major dollop of emotion. Reigning champions Kashima Antlers commenced the year with a 2-0 triumph over Urawa Reds, superb finishing by Shinzo Koroki and Marquinhos taking advantage of less than stellar Reds defensive play. Many pundits have Nagoya Grampus down as Kashima's most likely challengers and Grampus managed to come away from Gamba Osaka with an excellent win, their goals coming from the little-and-large Keiji Tamada / Josh Kennedy partnership.

There was emotion by the bucketload to be found in Saitama, where the recent news that Omiya Ardija defender Taishi Tsukamoto has been diagnosed with cancer has not surprisingly had a significant impact upon all associated with the club. A clearly motivated Squirrels team tore into newly-promoted Cerezo Osaka, Ardija going on to record a deserved 3-0 win that was afterwards dedicated to the young Tsukamoto by a tearful Omiya captain Chikara Fujimoto. Until the next round of fixtures at least, however, Taishi Tsukamoto is able to say that he's a squad member of the very top team in Japan.

If Cerezo suffered the heaviest defeat of the weekend across the whole of the J-League, the two sides who have come up with them experienced differing fortunes. Shonan Bellmare will be pleased enough with a point from a closely-fought home game played in terrible conditions against Montedio Yamagata, even if Shonan's equaliser did come in the form of a comedy own goal by Tatsuya Furuhashi. At Jubilo Iwata, though, North Korean star Ryang Yon Gi scored the only goal of the game in the very first minute to pull off a stunning win for last year's J2 champions Vegalta Sendai.



Vegalta Sendai before their game at Jubilo Iwata

Among the favourites to follow in Vegalta's footsteps by coming up from J2 this year are Ventforet Kofu, but they got their promotion challenge off to an awful start and were well beaten at Avispa Fukuoka, for whom Yusuke Tanaka scored twice in a comfortable 3-1 win. J-League newcomers Giravanz Kitakyushu were outclassed at Yokohama FC, managing barely three shots all game and losing to two goals scored by Keiji Takachi, one of a whole group of players brought from Sagan Tosu by new Yokohama coach Yasuyuki Kishino, formerly in charge at, er, Sagan Tosu.

Of the teams relegated from J1, Kashiwa Reysol and Oita Trinita actually played each other, Kashiwa picking up a straightforward 2-1 thanks to a couple of goals from Franca, but JEF United conceded a late goal in a 1-1 draw at Roasso Kumamoto; a similar thing happened to Consadole Sapporo at Tosu. Elsewhere, 2009's woodenspooners Fagiano Okayama beat Ehime FC and FC Gifu came from behind to beat Kataller Toyama, while Delicatemoth's new favourites mighty Mito Hollyhock scraped past their neighbours from Tochigi SC.



They're soaked and they lost. Welcome to J2, Giravanz Kitakyushu

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 1/34

FC Tokyo 1-0 Marinos
Gamba 1-2 Nagoya
Hiroshima 1-1 S-Pulse
Jubilo 0-1 Sendai
Kashima 2-0 Urawa
Kawasaki 2-1 Niigata
Kobe 2-0 Kyoto
Omiya 3-0 Cerezo
Shonan 1-1 Yamagata

1. Omiya 3 (+3)
2. = Kashima 3 (+2)
2. = Kobe 3 (+2)
----------------
4. = Kawasaki 3 (+1)
- - - - - - - - - -
4. = Nagoya 3 (+1)
6. = FC Tokyo 3 (+1)
6. = Sendai 3 (+1)
8. = Hiroshima 1 (-)
8. = S-Pulse 1 (-)
8. = Shonan 1 (-)
8. = Yamagata 1 (-)
12. = Gamba 0 (-1)
12. = Niigata 0 (-1)
14. = Jubilo 0 (-1)
14. = Marinos 0 (-1)
----------------
16. = Kyoto 0 (-2)
16. = Urawa 0 (-2)
18. Cerezo 0 (-3)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 1/36

Ehime 0-1 Okayama
Fukuoka 3-1 Kofu
Gifu 2-1 Toyama
Kashiwa 2-1 Oita
Kumamoto 1-1 JEF
Mito 2-1 Tochigi
Tokushima 1-0 Kusatsu
Tosu 1-1 Sapporo
Yokohama FC 2-0 Kitakyushu

1. Fukuoka 3 (+2)
2. Yokohama FC 3 (+2)
3. = Gifu 3 (+1)
-----------------
3. = Kashiwa 3 (+1)
3. = Mito 3 (+1)
6. = Okayama 3 (+1)
6. = Tokushima 3 (+1)
8. = JEF 1 (-)
8. = Kumamoto 1 (-)
8. = Sapporo 1 (-)
8. = Tosu 1 (-)
12. = Oita 0 (-1)
12. = Tochigi 0 (-1)
12. = Toyama 0 (-1)
15. = Ehime 0 (-1)
15. = Kusatsu 0 (-1)
17. Kofu 0 (-2)
18. Kitakyushu 0 (-2)
[n/p Verdy]

There's really only one place to go for the first photo special of the new season. Since the announcement that defender Taishi Tsukamoto is suffering from cancer in his knee, the match between Omiya Ardija and Cerezo Osaka was always going to receive huge amounts of media attention, given that Tsukamoto had indicated that he wanted to attend the game. He was clearly overwhelmed by the support that has come not only from Ardija fans but from followers of clubs all over Japan - including Cerezo, whose supporters had made, brought and displayed a large banner with a message of encouragement.



Ardija fans prepare one of their own banners



Tsukamoto says Thank You



A message from Osaka: Tsukamoto, Don't Let It Beat You

Are the highlights being shown on any TV channel in England?

Live J-League games and highlights shows are on Eurosport 2. You can see Youtube highlights clips from most matches by clicking on the appropriate link in the results sections in entries on this thread.

This weekend sees the start of the 2010 season in the JFL, the third-tier competition that at the same time constitutes Japan's lowest-level nationwide league and the top of the amateur football pyramid. As has been discussed on this and previous Japan threads, over the past few years the main focus of attention in the JFL has become those clubs that are working towards J-League entry, in particular those who have achieved J-League associate member status. Even so, the fact remains that the corporate teams which make up a third of the league's membership are still very competitive.

Indeed, in 2009 three of the top four in the final standings were company sides and champions Sagawa Shiga FC and runners up Yokogawa Musashino are likely to be in contention this year too; Honda FC have historically always been strong and although the last couple of seasons have not quite been so successful for Jubilo Iwata and Shimizu S-Pulse's Shizuoka neighbours, they can never be dismissed. So who are the J-League hopefuls that will need to overcome the challenge of the corporates if they are to follow Giravanz Kitakyushu up to J2?

As things stand, there are four associate members, three of whom were JFL members last year and failed to match Kitakyushu. Gainare Tottori came the closest but in the end were too inconsistent to hold on to the top four position required to be in with a chance of promotion. As they seek to avoid a repeat of that disappointment Tottori have brought in as coach Takeo Matsuda, the peak of whose career to date is a very brief spell in charge of Tokyo Verdy - but who in reality has little experience of club management and may therefore be something of a gamble.



Gainare's Tottori Bird Stadium

Neither FC Machida Zelvia or V Varen Nagasaki got themselves into a strong enough position to make a real play for promotion in 2009 and they also face significant difficulties off the field, particularly in relation to home stadia and the securing of appropriate levels of sponsorship. As such, it could be that the team which most recently gained associate membership, Matsumoto Yamaga Club, may be best positioned to challenge, although this will be Matsumoto's first year at this level after moving up from the Regional Leagues.

Also newcomers to the JFL are surprise package Tochigi UVA, who have separated from their former parent company Hitachi and indicated that they intend to turn pro. UVA have populated their squad to a great extent with players released by J2 neighbours Tochigi SC, while former international striker Tatsuhiko Kubo has raised eyebrows by joining Zweigen Kanazawa, last year in the same Regional League as Matsumoto. Kanazawa too are aiming at the J-League, as are the northerners of Blaublitz Akita following their severance of formal ties with TDK.

The ropey start to the 2010 Asian Champions League made by the four J-League participants continued with the second round of Group Stage matches on Tuesday and Wednesday. It's already looking as if a couple of Japanese teams will not make the knock-out phase, given that first-time entrants Sanfrecce Hiroshima and also Kawasaki Frontale have a grand total of no points in the bag so far. Sanfrecce in Group H almost got a draw at Pohang Steelers but conceded in injury-time to lose 2-1, although the sense is increasing that the sale of midfielder Yosuke Kashiwagi to Urawa Reds has weakened the team significantly.

Frontale slumped to a 3-1 home defeat by Beijing Guoan to go bottom of Group E, meaning that realistically they must win all of their four remaining games to have a chance of going through. Given that in Group G Gamba Osaka could only draw at home to another Chinese side, Henan Construction, the best J-League performers so far are without question Kashima Antlers, who soaked up the pressure at Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors before scoring a cracking late winner through young midfielder Yasushi Endo. The next lot of matches are in a couple of weeks' time and it's looking like make or break for Hiroshima and Kawasaki.



Soon-to-be-disappointed fans of Sanfrecce Hiroshima

ACL Group E - Scores & Standings @ Round 2/6

Kawasaki Frontale 1-3 Beijing Guoan
Melbourne Victory 0-2 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunwa

1. Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 6 (+4)
2. Beijing Guoan 6 (+3)
----------------
3. Melbourne Victory 0 (-3)
4. Kawasaki Frontale 0 (-4)

ACL Group F - Scores & Standings @ Round 2/6

Changchun Yatai 9-0 Persipura Jayapura
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1-2 Kashima Antlers

1. Kashima Antlers 6 (+2)
2. Changchun Yatai 3 (+8)
----------------
3. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3 (+2)
4. Persipura Jayapura 0 (-12)

ACL Group G - Scores & Standings @ Round 2/6

Gamba Osaka 1-1 Henan Construction
Singapore Armed Forces 0-2 Suwon Samsung Bluewings

1. Suwon Samsung Bluewings 4 (+2)
2. = Gamba Osaka 2 (-)
----------------
2. = Henan Construction 2 (-)
4. Singapore Armed Forces 1 (-2)

ACL Group H - Scores & Standings @ Round 2/6

Pohang Steelers 2-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Shandong Luneng 0-2 Adelaide United

1. Adelaide United 6 (+3)
2. Pohang Steelers 3 (-)
----------------
3. Shandong Luneng 3 (-1)
4. Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0 (-2)

Furth know where the Tokai Soccer League website,I'm looking for when you start the regional league ^^

Hello Daichi. Unfortunately there is no Tokai League website, so it can be quite difficult to find information about that league. My Regional League season preview is already written and will be posted here in a couple of weeks or so.

Hi Daichi. It looks like the Tokai league doesn't start up until May, as there are prefecture shakaijin games in Mie and Aichi in April. You can usual find the Tokai league schedule on the Suzuka Rampole website, but I don't think it has been announced yet.

Thanks ^^a pity that no web but I now find the web Rampole Suzuka, certainly if you wish through this site you can find again news of the Emperor Cup Qualifiers blogs.yahoo.co.jp/maison_de_kota/folder/...51.html?m=lc&p=1

Sorry I misunderstood what you meant, Daichi.

not much English what I meant is that I have located the other websites of regional leagues and that through this link that I have passed you can get news of the Emperor Cup qualifiers

It's round 2 of the J-League season over the weekend, as well as the start to the new JFL campaign and there are a number of fixtures on the schedule that catch the eye. Top of the list is probably Cerezo Osaka against Gamba Osaka, the eagerly-awaited first league derby game between the two since 2006 - although both need to put in a decent performance, after Gamba's sluggish ACL displays and Cerezo's humbling reverse on Sunday at a fired-up Omiya Ardija. Champions Kashima Antlers meanwhile go to Kyoto Sanga, amongst whose fans there are already rumblings of discontent.

A potentially key game takes place at title hopefuls Nagoya Grampus, where Dragan Stojkovic's Red Whales take on a Kawasaki Frontale side who easily overcame Albirex Niigata last weekend, but then slumped at home to Chinese opposition in the ACL. In the Kanto region, most of the attention will be on the fragility of the Urawa Reds defence for the visit of FC Tokyo, for whom star midfielder Naohiro Ishikawa looks set to come on as a substitute as he did to match-winning effect in the season opener against Yokohama F Marinos.

J2 new boys Giravanz Kitakyushu stage their first ever J-League home match against Tokushima Vortis and early leaders Avispa Fukuoka make the long trip up to Hokkaido and Consadole Sapporo; Ventforet Kofu need to bounce back from their loss at Fukuoka by beating Mito Hollyhock. As for the JFL, Sagawa Shiga FC begin the defence of their 2009 crown at home to Machida Zelvia but the match of the round has to be at promoted Matsumoto Yamaga, where fellow J-League associate members Gainare Tottori are the visitors.

There were nearly 38,000 fans present at the eagerly-awaited derby in Japan's second city on Sunday afternoon, J1 newcomers Cerezo Osaka coming from a goal down to claim a draw with neighbours Gamba Osaka - which means that neither have a win so far in the new season. Of the teams promoted with Cerezo, things are looking less rosy for Shonan Bellmare, however, as they were well beaten at Shunsuke Nakamura-inspired Yokohama F Marinos. But Vegalta Sendai now find themselves top of the pile in the top flight after a scrappy 3-1 win over Omiya Ardija.

Only one other team, Kawasaki Frontale, have won both their games and they erased recent memories of a disastrous start to their ACL campaign with a thrilling 3-2 triumph at Nagoya Grampus, which got underway with Frontale's Renatinho netting a free kick in the third minute and concluded with Frontale's Chong Tese firing into the top corner in injury time. Another stoppage time goal, by Diego of Kyoto Sanga, rather surprisingly prevented champions Kashima Antlers from making it two wins in two as Osvaldo Oliveira's team had to be satisfied with a draw.

Robson Ponte's early penalty meant that Urawa Reds triumphed in controversial style over FC Tokyo, who had new defender Masato Morishige sent off in the first half of a match attended by more than 50,000 people at Saitama Stadium. And the overall pattern that seems to be emerging in J1 is that this season will be as close and as unpredictable as ever, given that no teams have lost both their games. The mid-table in particular is set up to be extremely bunched, with little difference in quality between sides sixth from the top and sixth from the bottom.



Chong Tese of Kawasaki Frontale gets all excited

But what the heck has happened at Avispa Fukuoka in J2? Unable to get out of the bottom half of the table over the last few season, the Kyushu Wasps' inactivity in the transfer market over the winter gave their fans few causes for optimism in 2010. Following last week's shockingly easy defeat of Ventforet Kofu, however, on Saturday they delivered a 3-0 away hammering to a lightweight Consadole Sapporo. Also on maximum points are Yokohama FC - 1-0 winners at Fagiano Okayama - and Tokushima Vortis, who spoiled Giravanz Kitakyushu's J-League home debut by beating them 3-1.

That loss has Kitakyushu at the bottom of the early-season standings alongside Thespa Kusatsu and Tokyo Verdy, although Verdy have just played the one game having had a bye last week on account of the nineteen-team division. Kusatsu meanwhile went down 1-0 at home to Ehime FC, for whom the goalscorer was new striker and captain Kenji Fukuda, who during the close season signed for his hometown club at the age of 32 after an extraordinary globe-trotting career that has seen him play and score goals in Paraguay, Mexico, Spain and most recently Greece.

There were a good few goals flying around in the opening round of JFL matches on Sunday. Former Tokushima Vortis Second striker Yosuke Sakai was the hero for MIO Biwako Kusatsu, scoring twice in the first twenty minutes as his team beat JEF Reserves 5-0. Yokogawa Musashino came from behind late on to squeeze past promoted side Zweigen Kanazawa 3-2 and of the other new teams, Matsumoto Yamaga conceded a couple of penalties in a 3-0 loss at Gainare Tottori, while Tochigi UVA got themselves a decent draw at Sony Sendai.



Perhaps not the last time that Mito's away kit will feature this year

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 2/34

Cerezo 1-1 Gamba
Kobe 1-2 Hiroshima
Kyoto 1-1 Kashima
Marinos 3-0 Shonan
Nagoya 2-3 Kawasaki
Niigata 1-1 Jubilo
S-Pulse 3-0 Yamagata
Sendai 3-1 Omiya
Urawa 1-0 FC Tokyo

1. Sendai 6 (+3)
2. Kawasaki 6 (+2)
3. S-Pulse 4 (+3)
----------------
4. Kashima 4 (+2)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Hiroshima 4 (+1)
6. Marinos 3 (+2)
7. Omiya 3 (+1)
8. Kobe 3 (+1)
9. Nagoya 3 (-)
10. FC Tokyo 3 (-)
11. Urawa 3 (-1)
12. = Gamba 1 (-1)
12. = Niigata 1 (-1)
14. Jubilo 1 (-1)
15. Kyoto 1 (-2)
----------------
16. = Cerezo 1 (-3)
16. = Shonan 1 (-3)
16. = Yamagata 1 (-3)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 2/36

JEF 2-0 Tosu
Kitakyushu 1-3 Tokushima
Kofu 1-1 Mito
Kusatsu 0-1 Ehime
Oita 3-1 Gifu
Okayama 0-1 Yokohama FC
Sapporo 0-3 Fukuoka
Tochigi 0-0 Kashiwa
Verdy 1-2 Kumamoto

1. Fukuoka 6 (+5)
2. Tokushima 6 (+3)
3. Yokohama FC 6 (+3)
-----------------
4. JEF 4 (+2)
5. = Kumamoto 4 (+1)
5. = Mito 4 (+1)
7. Kashiwa 4 (+1)
8. Oita 3 (+1)
9. = Ehime 3 (-)
9. = Okayama 3 (-)
11. Gifu 3 (-1)
12. Tochigi 1 (-1)
13. Kofu 1 (-2)
14. Tosu 1 (-2)
15. Sapporo 1 (-3)
16. = Toyama 0 (-1)
16. = Verdy 0 (-1)
18. Kusatsu 0 (-2)
19. Kitakyushu 0 (-4)

JFL Scores & Standings @ Round 1/34

Blaublitz Akita 2-0 Arte Takasaki
Gainare Tottori 3-0 Matsumoto Yamaga
Honda FC 0-1 FC Ryukyu
MIO Biwako Kusatsu 5-0 JEF Reserves
Sagawa Printing 2-2 Ryutsu Keizai University
Sagawa Shiga 1-1 Machida Zelvia
Sony Sendai 0-0 Tochigi UVA
V Varen Nagasaki 2-0 Honda Lock
Yokogawa Musashino 3-2 Zweigen Kanazawa

1. MIO Biwako Kusatsu 3 (+5)
2. Gainare Tottori* 3 (+3)
3. = Blaublitz Akita 3 (+2)
3. = V Varen Nagasaki* 3 (+2)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Yokogawa Musashino 3 (+1)
6. FC Ryukyu 3 (+1)
7. = Ryutsu Keizai University 1 (-)
7. = Sagawa Printing 1 (-)
9. = Machida Zelvia* 1 (-)
9. = Sagawa Shiga 1 (-)
11. = Sony Sendai 1 (-)
11. = Tochigi UVA 1 (-)
13. Zweigen Kanazawa 0 (-1)
14. Honda FC 0 (-1)
15. = Arte Takasaki 0 (-2)
15. = Honda Lock 0 (-2)
17. Matsumoto Yamaga* 0 (-3)
18. JEF Reserves 0 (-5)

* indicates J-League associate member and thus potentially eligible for promotion

Forza Kashiwaaaaaa!!!!!!!

Ah, that's more like it. We're in familiar territory now.

That first Fukuyoka goal has me laughing and crying in equal measure, two and the keeper on the line busy getting in each other's way while a soft ball slowly loops in.

Well, in truth it was hardly the best of weekends for Kashiwa or Sapporo. A 0-0 draw away at Tochigi must have been a nasty reminder to Reysol that they are not in the top division any more; that incredible, defence-shredding 4-1 win at Urawa seems like a lot more than just six months ago. But obviously a draw is better than a heavy home defeat - Consadole have made a fair amount of money from sponsors off the back of the signing of veteran Masashi Nakayama, and the press attention led to a crowd of more than 20,000... whom they of course managed to send home in a mood of great disappointment.

But on to this week's photo special. One of the main stories of the weekend was Shunsuke Nakamura's return to Yokohama F Marinos, which we shall ignore to concentrate instead on the start of the JFL season. Gainare Tottori are one of the favourites for promotion and they began with a crushing win over Matsumoto Yamaga. There are potential J-League clubs everywhere you look, though - up north, where Blaublitz Akita are targeting a J2 spot and perhaps also in rural Shiga prefecture, with whispers of a possible merger between MIO Biwako Kusatsu and 2009 JFL champions Sagawa Shiga.



Go! Go! Tottori



Sagawa Shiga against Machida Zelvia



Blaublitz Akita against Arte Takasaki

Highlights Tochigi SC - Kashiwa Reysol?

Here you are, Daichi.