With only five days to go until coach Takeshi Okada names the squad that will be elimin... uh, that will represent Japan in the 2010 World Cup finals, the BBC are reporting here that the JFA have withdrawn from the race to host the 2018 tournament. Instead Japan will concentrate its efforts on seeking to secure the hosting of the 2022 finals.

A couple of extraordinary games lit up the top of the J-League in a full round of matches on Wednesday, the last day of the Golden Week holiday period. Shimizu S-Pulse were deservedly two down at the break at struggling Kyoto Sanga, but Kenta Hasegawa's S-Pulse got a somewhat lucky penalty shortly after the re-start and then dominated, eventually running out 4-2 winners. Kyoto sink to rock bottom but Shimizu are now four points clear of second-placed Kawasaki Frontale, for whom young midfielder Junpei Kusakami scored a hat-trick in the final sixteen minutes of a 4-4 draw at Gamba Osaka.

Another couple of youngsters, Genki Haraguchi and Yosuke Kashiwagi, were on target for Urawa Reds as they beat Nagoya Grampus to move back into the top four, but Kashima Antlers' patchy away form continued with a 2-1 loss at Cerezo Osaka. Alongside Sanga at the foot of the table, meanwhile, Vissel Kobe picked up a draw at Shonan Bellmare that really doesn't do either side too much good, and new coach Jun Suzuki's honeymoon period at Omiya Ardija came to an abrupt end as the Squirrels lost an appallingly tedious encounter at Montedio Yamagata 1-0.

The standout game in J2 ended level between Kashiwa Reysol and Ventforet Kofu, enabling second-placed JEF United to gain ground on Reysol with a come-from-behind win over Kataller Toyama. Four second half goals ensured a crushing win over FC Gifu and a move into fourth spot for Tokushima Vortis, but the most eye-catching game of the day was in the Kyushu derby. Avispa Fukuoka put their run of four straight defeats behind them and thrashed near neighbours Roasso Kumamoto 6-1, although their wild inconsistency still has the Wasps below halfway in the standings.



Cerezo Osaka have won a single match, not actually a title

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 10/34

Cerezo 2-1 Kashima
FC Tokyo 0-0 Sendai
Gamba 4-4 Kawasaki
Jubilo 2-1 Hiroshima
Kyoto 2-4 S-Pulse
Niigata 2-1 Marinos
Shonan 2-2 Kobe
Urawa 2-1 Nagoya
Yamagata 1-0 Omiya

1. S-Pulse 24 (+13)
2. Kawasaki 20 (+4)
3. Nagoya 19 (+6)
----------------
4. Urawa 19 (+5)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Kashima 18 (+6)
6. Hiroshima 15 (-)
7. Marinos 14 (+4)
8. Yamagata 14 (-2)
9. Cerezo 13 (-1)
10. Jubilo 12 (-2)
11. Sendai 12 (-3)
12. Gamba 11 (+1)
13. Niigata 11 (-3)
14. FC Tokyo 10 (-2)
15. Shonan 9 (-6)
----------------
16. Omiya 8 (-5)
17. Kobe 8 (-7)
18. Kyoto 8 (-8)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 10/36

Ehime 0-0 Tochigi
Fukuoka 6-1 Kumamoto
JEF 2-1 Toyama
Kofu 1-1 Kashiwa
Kusatsu 1-1 Kitakyushu
Mito 3-1 Yokohama FC
Sapporo 0-0 Verdy
Tokushima 4-0 Gifu
Tosu 0-0 Okayama

Bye: Oita

1. Kashiwa 24 (+10)
2. JEF 23 (+12)
3. Kofu 20 (+8)
-----------------
4. Tokushima 19 (+5)
5. Oita 16 (+3)
6. Tosu 16 (+1)
7. Mito 16 (-1)
8. Kumamoto 16 (-4)
9. Ehime 15 (+2)
10. Gifu 15 (-3)
11. Tochigi 14 (+4)
12. Fukuoka 13 (+9)
13. Okayama 12 (-3)
14. Yokohama 12 (-5)
15. Sapporo 10 (-7)
16. Verdy 9 (-1)
17. Kusatsu 8 (-8)
18. Kitakyushu 8 (-8)
19. Toyama 7 (-14)

Round 11 of the 2010 J1 season is split between this weekend and the middle of July, Japan's four Asian Champions League participants having their domestic fixtures delayed until after the World Cup. As far as the top of the current standings are concerned, that affects only second-placed Kawasaki Frontale, with leaders Shimizu S-Pulse at home to an Albirex Niigata who after a poor start have won their last couple of games. Vegalta Sendai in contrast began well but are heading in something of a downward direction and could have a tough time of it at home to the team in third position, Nagoya Grampus.

Third play fourth in J2 as Ventforet Kofu host Tokushima Vortis, and top team Kashiwa Reysol take to FC Gifu their ten-match unbeaten start to the campaign. Some fans are saying that Consadole Sapporo boss Naohiro Ishizaki may be the first coach to get sacked this year and his underperforming side desperately need a win at new boys Giravanz Kitakyushu. Meanwhile new JFL frontrunners Gainare Tottori go to Kyoto and Sagawa Printing, challengers Machida Zelvia facing a tricky match down Shizuoka way against Honda FC.

It's April J-League Goal of the Month time, with ten of the best scored in J1 and the Nabisco Cup. It was a good month for Shimizu S-Pulse and Urawa Reds with three goals apiece and indeed Reds' Yuki Abe contributes two of his own - both cracking pieces of shooting from outside the area. Kawasaki Frontale's diminutive Brazilian Vitor Junior gains possession ten yards outside his own area and scampers all the way through the Sanfrecce Hiroshima defence, but my favourite this month is a set piece. In March Nagoya Grampus' Igor Burzanovic scored from the halfway line, but this time he absolutely thwacks it home a free kick, combining power with pinpoint accuracy. Here's the full list of contenders:

1. Takuya Honda, pass and move through the defence for S-Pulse v Sendai
2. Yuki Abe, neat lay-off and belting finish for Urawa v Niigata
3. Chong Tese, a yard of space and he'll bang it in for Kawasaki v FC Tokyo
4. Igor Burzanovic, free-kick blaster for Nagoya v Kobe
5. Vitor Junior, long run and shot for Kawasaki v Hiroshima
6. Tatsuya Tanaka, scorching shot for Urawa v Kawasaki
7. Ryoichi Maeda, glancing header inside the post for Jubilo v Omiya
8. Yuki Abe, rasping half-volley for Urawa v Kobe
9. Akihiro Hyodo, pass, move and shot for S-Pulse v Omiya
10. Masaki Yamamoto, cross or shot? You decide... for S-Pulse v Omiya

An injury-hit Shimizu S-Pulse finally surrendered their unbeaten start to the 2010 J1 season on Saturday, when missing get on for half of their first-choice XI the Shizuoka Oranges were beaten 2-0 at home by Albirex Niigata. Best-placed to close the gap on leaders S-Pulse, Nagoya Grampus looked to have thrown away their chance of a win when they conceded an excellent Fernandinho goal late on at Vegalta Sendai, but in the closing moments the Sendai defence went to sleep and allowed Josh Kennedy to get in a header and win it for Dragan Stojkovic's team.

The game of the day, however, was at Saitama Stadium, where Urawa Reds and Yokohama F Marinos served up a cracker. Kazuma Watanabe fired the Sailors into an early lead with a spectacular shot from outside the area, but the pendulum of the match swung back and forth throughout the ninety minutes, Watanabe eventually deciding things for Marinos from close range after brilliant work from fringe World Cup candidate Koji Yamase. Mention of which serves as a reminder that national team coach Takeshi Okada announces his squad for South Africa on Monday.

S-Pulse might finally have lost a game but in J2 Kashiwa Reysol's superb early season form goes on, as they beat FC Gifu 2-0 to record their eighth win in eleven. There's daylight now, though, between the top three and the rest, promotion hopefuls Ventforet Kofu having won their vital home game with nearest challengers Tokushima Vortis. Meanwhile in the JFL top team and J2 wannabes Gainare Tottori drew at Sagawa Printing but actually extended their lead thanks to second-placed Machida Zelvia's 2-1 defeat at Honda FC.



Yokohama F Marinos win it at Urawa Reds

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 11/34

Kobe 3-0 Jubilo
S-Pulse 0-2 Niigata
Sendai 1-2 Nagoya
Urawa 2-3 Marinos
Yamagata 0-3 FC Tokyo

1. S-Pulse 24 (+11)
2. Nagoya 22 (+7)
3. Kawasaki 20 (+4)
----------------
4. Urawa 19 (+4)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Kashima 18 (+6)
6. Marinos 17 (+5)
7. Hiroshima 15 (-)
8. Niigata 14 (-1)
9. Yamagata 14 (-5)
10. FC Tokyo 13 (+1)
11. Cerezo 13 (-1)
12. Sendai 12 (-4)
13. Jubilo 12 (-5)
14. Gamba 11 (+1)
15. Kobe 11 (-4)
----------------
16. Shonan 9 (-6)
17. Omiya 8 (-5)
18. Kyoto 8 (-8)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 11/36

Gifu 0-2 Kashiwa
JEF 1-1 Fukuoka
Kitakyushu 0-1 Sapporo
Kofu 1-0 Tokushima
Kumamoto 1-0 Ehime
Oita 3-4 Tosu
Toyama 4-0 Okayama
Verdy 2-0 Kusatsu
Yokohama FC 0-2 Tochigi

Bye: Mito

1. Kashiwa 27 (+12)
2. JEF 24 (+12)
3. Kofu 23 (+9)
-----------------
4. Tokushima 19 (+4)
5. Tosu 19 (+2)
6. Kumamoto 19 (-3)
7. Tochigi 17 (+6)
8. Oita 16 (+2)
9. Mito 16 (-1)
10. Ehime 15 (+1)
11. Gifu 15 (-5)
12. Fukuoka 14 (+9)
13. Sapporo 13 (-6)
14. Verdy 12 (+1)
15. Yokohama FC 12 (-7)
16. Okayama 12 (-7)
17. Toyama 10 (-10)
18. Kitakyushu 8 (-9)
19. Kusatsu 8 (-10)

JFL Scores & Standings @ Round 10/34

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

1. Gainare Tottori* 24 (+14)
2. Machida Zelvia* 22 (+15)
3. Sagawa Shiga 20 (+12)
4. Yokogawa Musashino 19 (+5)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Honda FC 19 (-1)
6. Sagawa Printing 16 (+5)
7. FC Ryukyu 16 (+3)
8. Blaublitz Akita 14 (+6)
9. Zweigen Kanazawa 13 (+3)
10. Tochigi UVA 13 (-9)
11. V Varen Nagasaki* 12 (-)
12. Sony Sendai 12 (-)
13. Matsumoto Yamaga* 12 (-7)
14. MIO Biwako Kusatsu 10 (-4)
15. Arte Takasaki 9 (-6)
16. Honda Lock 8 (-6)
17. Ryutsu Keizai University 5 (-13)
18. JEF Reserves 3 (-16)

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

Monday afternoon saw Japan national team coach Takeshi Okada announce the names of the 23 players who will represent the Samurai Blue in the World Cup finals. After al atrocious series of recent results and performances in friendly matches, the supporters' hopes were not high and in that sense at least, Okada's selection will not disappoint. The general consensus is that it will take a miracle for Japan to proceed beyond the Group Stage and that winning a game against any one of Cameroon, Denmark or Holland will also prove a challenge too far.

It's not, however, entirely gloom and doom. There has long been what seems to amount to pretty much a policy of not selecting Kashima Antlers players for the national side - that's right, players from consistently the best club in Japan, J-League champions for the last three years - but centre back Daiki Iwamasa, regarded by many as the best Japanese defender around, does actually make the cut. Also chosen is raw youngster Takayuki Morimoto, who at least has some experience of European football as a striker for Catania in Serie A.

As expected, the three other players based outside Japan are all midfielders. Winger Daisuke Matsui has spent most of his career in France and is currently with Grenoble and Makoto Hasebe is just coming to the end of his second season in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg. Perhaps the highest profile of the non-J-Leaguers, however, is the power-packed Keisuke Honda, who pretty much singlehandedly drove VVV Venlo to promotion from the second division in Holland and now has Champions League experience at CSKA Moscow.

But still, in Okada's Japan for 2010, the old guard hang on. Goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi has been injured and out of the first team at Jubilo Iwata all season long, but finds a place alongside Eiji Kawashima and first choice Seigo Narazaki. The best days of Shunsuke Nakamura and Junichi Inamoto are unquestionably behind them, although Inamoto will most likely only be a substitute in South Africa - but it's when looking at the front players selected by Okada that things start to get especially gloomy for Japan supporters.

The coach's long-standing enthusiasm for Keiji Tamada of Nagoya Grampus has meant that most people were resigned to the goal-shy forward gaining a place in the squad, despite his poor scoring record. But the news that Vissel Kobe's Yoshito Okubo and Kisho Yano of Albirex Niigata will both be there as well has most fans banging their heads against the nearest brick wall, especially the hapless Yano. Seemingly out of his depth at international level, the 26-year-old has a reputation as a diver and is, surprise surprise, yet to score for Albirex this season.

To be fair, Okada has already indicated that he envisages the comparatively lanky Yano as someone who might be brought on late in a game for his aerial threat, but taking a broader view of the vital squad places it is not as if there is a lack of alternatives among the strikers. To name but two, Hisato Sato of Sanfrecce Hiroshima is the probably the closest that Japan comes to an out-and-out scorer - a goal-poacher in the Gerd Muller mould - and young Shinji Kagawa of Cerezo Osaka has adapted impressively to J1 after top scoring in J2 last year.



Charismatic!

Goalkeepers

Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus)
Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders

Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F Marinos)
Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus)
Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata)
Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers)
Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo)
Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)
Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders

Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama F Marinos)
Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale)
Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka)
Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale)
Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble)
Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds)
Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg)
Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow)

Forwards

Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus)
Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe)
Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata)
Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)
Takayuki Morimoto (Catania)

As Trimster has already indicated here, the two remaining Japanese participants were this week eliminated from the 2010 Asian Champions League at the Round of Sixteen, i.e. the first bit of the knock-out tournament. Having won all six games in the group phase, Kashima Antlers lost 1-0 at home to ACL holders Pohang Steelers of South Korea, the goal coming from a shot by Brazilian forward Mota that was deflected by Atsuto Uchida and looped over the head of keeper Hitoshi Sogahata. Meanwhile Gamba Osaka were soundly beaten as they conceded three times in the last fifteen minutes at Seongnam Ilhwa Chunwa.

Remarkably, all of the last four teams in the East part of the draw are from the K-League, a fact which is bound to delight South Korean fans seeking evidence that their local competition has risen above that of Japan as the strongest league in East Asia. This may or may not be true, but what is undeniable is that fewer than 10,000 people attended the Antlers - Steelers game, indicative of the fact that the continental crown means little to them: Japanese clubs' main interest in the ACL is far more as a means of qualifying for the World Club Championship and the opportunity to compete with the giants of Europe and South America.

ACL Round of Sixteen - East

Adelaide United 2-3 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (AET)
Kashima Antlers 0-1 Pohang Steelers
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunwa 3-0 Gamba Osaka
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2-0 Beijing Guoan

Takeshi Okada has picked his squad for the World Cup and this weekend sees the staging of the last round of J1 fixtures before the finals in South Africa. Only selected among the seven reserve squad members, Cerezo Osaka's young star Shinji Kagawa will be playing what looks set to be his last game for the Cherries at home to Vissel Kobe, having accepted a deal to move to Borussia Dortmund - and Kagawa has already indicated that he's much more interested in spending the summer preparing for the 2010/11 Bundesliga season than in hanging around on the off-chance of a belated international call-up.

The key game in J1, however, is probably at Nagoya Grampus, where Dragan Stojkovic's in-form team take on a Kashima Antlers side eliminated in midweek from the Asian Champions League. A win will take Grampus to the top of the table, if current leaders Shimizu S-Pulse lose at erratic FC Tokyo. The best atmosphere of the weekend looks set to be up north at Vegalta Sendai, where the passionately supported home side need to bring to a rapid halt their alarming downturn in results as they host the army of Urawa Reds fans.

The J2 fixture list will continue for another month, but the season so far in the second flight has been all about Kashiwa Reysol. Second-placed JEF United being without a game this weekend, Reysol could open up a six-point lead at the top if they can win at home against Tokushima Vortis and Ventforet Kofu fail to beat Thespa Kusatsu. In the JFL, frontrunners and J-League hopefuls Gainare Tottori have a tough match against Honda FC and Machida Zelvia have a good opportunity to return to winning ways via a home game with lowly Ryutsu Keizai University.

After beginning the 2010 campaign in such fine style, Shimizu S-Pulse have stumbled in recent weeks and handily for me their game on Saturday against FC Tokyo was pretty much a microcosm of their year to date. 2-0 up with five minutes to play, S-Pulse somehow contrived to come out of the fixture with a solitary point, Toshihiro Matsushita tying things up for Tokyo and thereby compressing the battle for the J-League title. The Sunday match involving second-placed Nagoya Grampus did much the same thing, as the Red Whales were thumped 4-1 at home by a rampant Kashima Antlers.

And in fact, Kashima were the only one of the top teams to win this weekend, Kawasaki Frontale going down at Jubilo Iwata and Urawa Reds only getting a draw at Vegalta Sendai. That result meant that Sendai slipped into the bottom five as J1 now goes into its two-month World Cup break and it's fellow promoted side Shonan Bellmare who are in dead last after losing at home to Gamba Osaka. Above Shonan by just the narrowest of margins, however, are Kyoto Sanga and Omiya Ardija, both of whom drew against midranking opponents.

Kashiwa Reysol gave Tokushima Vortis the runaround as they continued their brilliant start to the J2 season - the 6-0 crushing was Reysol's biggest win of the year so far and means they are still unbeaten after twelve rounds. Ventforet Kofu moved up into second after an easy win at Thespa Kusatsu, who are themselves propping up the whole of the J-League. Hoping to be competing with them on a level footing in 2011, Gainare Tottori and Machida Zelvia both triumphed in their JFL matches and remain in the top two positions of Japan's semi-pro third tier.



Joy unconfined for Kashiwa Reysol

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 12/34

Cerezo 2-1 Kobe
FC Tokyo 2-2 S-Pulse
Jubilo 3-1 Kawasaki
Marinos 2-2 Kyoto
Nagoya 1-4 Kashima
Niigata 3-1 Yamagata
Omiya 0-0 Hiroshima
Sendai 1-1 Urawa
Shonan 1-3 Gamba

1. S-Pulse 25 (+11)
2. Nagoya 22 (+4)
3. Kashima 21 (+9)
----------------
4. Urawa 20 (+4)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Kawasaki 20 (+2)
6. Marinos 18 (+5)
7. Niigata 17 (+1)
8. Cerezo 16 (-)
9. Hiroshima 16 (-)
10. Jubilo 15 (-3)
11. Gamba 14 (+3)
12. FC Tokyo 14 (+1)
13. Yamagata 14 (-7)
14. Sendai 13 (-4)
15. Kobe 11 (-5)
----------------
16. Omiya 9 (-5)
17. Kyoto 9 (-8)
18. Shonan 9 (-8)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 12/36

Ehime 1-1 Kitakyushu
Fukuoka 2-1 Yokohama FC
Kashiwa 6-0 Tokushima
Kusatsu 1-4 Kofu
Mito 0-1 Kumamoto
Okayama 0-1 Verdy
Sapporo 2-2 Oita
Tochigi 1-0 Toyama
Tosu 3-0 Gifu

Bye: JEF

1. Kashiwa 30 (+18)
2. Kofu 26 (+12)
3. JEF 24 (+12)
-----------------
4. Tosu 22 (+5)
5. Kumamoto 22 (-2)
6. Tochigi 20 (+7)
7. Tokushima 19 (-2)
8. Fukuoka 17 (+10)
9. Oita 17 (+2)
10. Ehime 16 (+1)
11. Mito 16 (-2)
12. Verdy 15 (+2)
13. Gifu 15 (-8)
14. Sapporo 14 (-6)
15. Yokohama FC 12 (-8)
16. Okayama 12 (-8)
17. Toyama 10 (-11)
18. Kitakyushu 9 (-9)
19. Kusatsu 8 (-13)

JFL Scores & Standings @ Round 11/34

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

1. Gainare Tottori* 27 (+15)
2. Machida Zelvia* 25 (+18)
3. Sagawa Shiga 23 (+13)
4. Yokogawa Musashino 20 (+5)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Sagawa Printing 19 (+6)
6. Honda FC 19 (-2)
7. FC Ryukyu 16 (+2)
8. Tochigi UVA 16 (-8)
9. Blaublitz Akita 15 (+6)
10. Zweigen Kanazawa 13 (+2)
11. MIO Biwako Kusatsu 13 (-3)
12. Sony Sendai 12 (-1)
13. V Varen Nagasaki* 12 (-1)
14. Arte Takasaki 12 (-5)
15. Matsumoto Yamaga* 12 (-9)
16. Honda Lock 11 (-4)
17. Ryutsu Keizai University 5 (-17)
18. JEF Reserves 3 (-17)

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

J1 is all over for the next two months, but the Nabisco Cup rolls on - staged, of course, without those players who have been called up to their various World Cup squads. In Group A, Nagoya Grampus suffered more than most as their weakened side were thumped by Omiya Ardija; FC Tokyo stay top due to an injury-time winner against Albirex Niigata. Urawa Reds were put under some pressure during their game at Shonan Bellmare but held on to win 2-1 and so lead Group B, while previous front-runners Shimizu S-Pulse could only draw at home to Yokohama F Marinos.

Earlier in the year it looked as if J2 was going to be pretty competitive in 2010, but that don't seem to be the case no more. The top three - Ventforet Kofu and the Chiba pair of JEF United and undefeated leaders Kashiwa Reysol - all won their games this weekend and the patchy form of teams like Sagan Tosu and Roasso Kumamoto means that there's now an ominous gap between JEF and the fourth-placed side. Incredibly, however, that side is teeny-tiny Tochigi SC, who only entered the J-League last year but who are unbeaten since March and haven't conceded a goal in the last five matches.

One match in round 12 of the JFL schedule was postponed over the weekend, FC Ryukyu's trip to Honda Lock being called off on account of a recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Lock's home prefecture of Miyazaki. But the top game most definitely took place with the visit of second placed Machida Zelvia to table-topping Gainare Tottori, Machida putting behind them their recent patchy form to lead 2-0 at half time. Gainare quickly scored twice after the re-start, however, and just before the end their ex-Sagan defender Yasumichi Uchima completed the comeback to send Tottori four points clear.



Crazy goal celebrations, Tochigi-style

Nabisco Cup Group A - Scores & Standings @ Round 3/6

FC Tokyo 1-0 Niigata
Kyoto 2-1 Cerezo
Nagoya 1-3 Omiya

Bye: Sendai

1. FC Tokyo 7 (+2)
2. Kyoto 5 (+1)
----------------
3. Omiya 4 (+1)
4. Niigata 4 (-)
5. Sendai 2 (-)
6. Nagoya 1 (-2)
7. Cerezo 0 (-2)

Nabisco Cup Group B - Scores & Standings @ Round 3/6

S-Pulse 0-0 Marinos
Shonan 1-2 Urawa
Yamagata 1-0 Kobe

Bye: Jubilo

1. Urawa 7 (+3)
2. S-Pulse 5 (+2)
----------------
3. Jubilo 4 (+1)
4. Marinos 4 (-)
5. Yamagata 4 (-)
6. = Kobe 0 (-3)
6. = Shonan 0 (-3)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 13/36

Gifu 1-0 Mito
JEF 2-1 Verdy
Kitakyushu 0-1 Fukuoka
Kofu 1-0 Okayama
Kumamoto 0-2 Tochigi
Oita 0-2 Ehime
Tokushima 0-0 Sapporo
Toyama 1-2 Kashiwa
Yokohama FC 4-0 Tosu

Bye: Kusatsu

1. Kashiwa 33 (+19)
2. Kofu 29 (+13)
3. JEF 27 (+13)
-----------------
4. Tochigi 23 (+9)
5. Tosu 22 (+1)
6. Kumamoto 22 (-4)
7. Fukuoka 20 (+11)
8. Tokushima 20 (-2)
9. Ehime 19 (+3)
10. Gifu 18 (-7)
11. Oita 17 (-)
12. Mito 16 (-3)
13. Verdy 15 (+1)
14. Yokohama FC 15 (-4)
15. Sapporo 15 (-6)
16. Okayama 12 (-9)
17. Toyama 10 (-12)
18. Kitakyushu 9 (-10)
19. Kusatsu 8 (-13)

JFL Scores & Standings @ Round 12/34

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

1. Gainare Tottori* 30 (+16)
2. Sagawa Shiga 26 (+14)
3. Machida Zelvia* 25 (+17)
4. Sagawa Printing 22 (+8)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Yokogawa Musashino 20 (+3)
6. Honda FC 20 (-2)
7. Tochigi UVA 19 (-7)
8. Zweigen Kanazawa 16 (+3)
9. FC Ryukyu 16 (+2)
10. Blaublitz Akita 15 (+5)
11. Arte Takasaki 15 (-4)
12. Sony Sendai 13 (-1)
13. MIO Biwako Kusatsu 13 (-4)
14. V Varen Nagasaki* 12 (-2)
15. Matsumoto Yamaga* 12 (-10)
16. Honda Lock 11 (-4)
17. JEF Reserves 6 (-16)
18. Ryutsu Keizai University 5 (-18)

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

What is happening to Japanese football at the moment? The National Team are heading towards what is widely anticipated will be a disastrous World Cup, the final preparatory friendly match to be played on Japanese soil - a 2-0 defeat by arch rivals South Korea on Monday - again being met with prolonged booing from the long-suffering fans. Under fire coach Takeshi Okada later went of his way to explain that after the game he hadn't offered to resign, but he had checked with JFA president Motoki Inukai that his services were still required. Many Japan supporters are now simply waiting for the humiliation to be over.

On the domestic scene, it's emerged that the situation at cash-strapped former J-League giants Tokyo Verdy is even more serious than seemed to be the case in autumn last year, when Nippon TV dumped... uh, transferred to Tokyo Verdy Holdings all of its 98.8% stake in the club. At that time, the J-League informed Verdy’s new management to secure sponsorship revenue of at least ¥540m (about £4.2m) and it is now clear that this target has not been met: the league has announced that it will inject funds into the club and take over their operations if the J2 outfit fail to improve conditions by the end of June.

The J-League has indicated that it will make available to the beleaguered Green Machine more than ¥400m in cash - and if this were to happen, it would be the first time that the league took on direct involvement in the operation of a member club. While J-League chairman Kenji Onitake has already said that there will be no extension of such an arrangement beyond the end of this year, it has not been ruled out whether Verdy will be forced out of the league if the club’s financial conditions do not recover in the short term, or whether Verdy chairman Nobuaki Sai will be fired along with the current management.

It's perhaps lucky, then, that the entrants in the May Goal of the Month are now up on Youtube, here - thirteen of the best in the final few J1 matches before the spotlight fell on to the national team. Somewhat ironically, one of the highlights comes from Okada's most-criticised selections, Yoshito Okubo of Vissel Kobe, who pounces on a loose ball to lash in a volley. I wouldn't want, of course, to draw attention to Omiya Ardija's Naoki Ishihara and the peachy finish that beat Kyoto Sanga, so instead my choice will be Koji Morisaki of Sanfrecce Hiroshima and his snap shot against Jubilo Iwata. Full list is as follows:

1. Yoshito Okubo, long-range snap volley for Kobe v Jubilo
2. Yoshiro Abe, timing + scissors kick = goal for Shonan v Kawasaki
3. Koji Morisaki, scorcher into the corner for Hiroshima v Jubilo
4. Jungo Fujimoto, free-kick curler for S-Pulse v FC Tokyo
5. Yuto Nagatomo, goalie's punch returned with interest for FC Tokyo v S-Pulse
6. Naoki Ishihara, deft volley inside the far post for Omiya v Kyoto
7. Ken Tokura, chest, turn and finish for Kobe v Shonan
8. Kazushi Mitsuhira, overhead trickler for Shonan v Kobe
9. Eddy Bosnar, 40-yard daisycutter for S-Pulse v Kyoto
10. Tomotaka Kitamura, close control and tight finish for Yamagata v Nagoya
11. Katsuyuki Miyazawa, another weak punch gets punished for Yamagata v Niigata
12. Dutra, runs and runs and runs and runs for Kyoto v Marinos
13. Shinji Kagawa, sayonara last-minute free kick for Cerezo v Kobe

It was round four of the group stage Nabisco Cup matches on Wednesday evening, with both sections seeing significant changes at the top of the standings. Kyoto Sanga might be in the relegation zone in the league but they now lead Group A thanks to a demolition job away at Albirex Niigata that included two goals from former international forward Atsushi Yanagisawa. Previous frontrunners FC Tokyo slipped back a place after they lost for the first time in the competition, Vegalta Sendai's Kunimitsu Sekiguchi scoring the decisive goal in only the fifth minute of their encounter.

Things have gone nuts in Group B, however, as the erstwhile top two were both beaten and fell out of the qualification places as a result. Urawa Reds attracted only 13,000 fans for the visit of Montedio Yamagata, for whom on-loan Kashima Antlers forward Yuzo Tashiro twice headed home to secure a shock win on a rainy evening. The downturn in the league form of Shimizu S-Pulse carried over into the Nabisco Cup as they lost at Vissel Kobe - meaning that S-Pulse's rivals Jubilo Iwata now head the group after beating wooden-spooners Shonan Bellmare.



Urawa's Edmilson tussles with Masaru Akiba of Yamagata

Nabisco Cup Group A - Scores & Standings @ Round 4/6

Nagoya 1-1 Cerezo
Niigata 1-4 Kyoto
Sendai 1-0 FC Tokyo

Bye: Omiya

1. Kyoto 8 (+4)
2. FC Tokyo 7 (+1)
----------------
3. Sendai 5 (+1)
4. Omiya 4 (+1)
5. Niigata 4 (-3)
6. Nagoya 2 (-2)
7. Cerezo 1 (-2)

Nabisco Cup Group B - Scores & Standings @ Round 4/6

Kobe 3-1 S-Pulse
Shonan 1-2 Jubilo
Urawa 0-2 Yamagata

Bye: Marinos

1. Jubilo 7 (+2)
2. Yamagata 7 (+2)
----------------
3. Urawa 7 (+1)
4. S-Pulse 5 (-)
5. Marinos 4 (-)
6. Kobe 3 (-1)
7. Shonan 0 (-4)

The Nabisco Cup group stage a-trumbled on over the weekend and from Group A, it looks as if J1 strugglers Kyoto Sanga already have a foot in the last eight knock-out phase of this year's tournament. Sanga's 1-0 win over Nagoya Grampus puts them three points ahead of another surprise package, Vegalta Sendai, winners by the same scoreline at Cerezo Osaka. Things are tighter in Group B but the top two now are the Shizuoka pair of Jubilo Iwata and Shimizu S-Pulse, who triumphed over Vissel Kobe and Urawa Reds respectively.

There was a bonkers game at the top - and bottom - of J2, as leaders Kashiwa Reysol twice trailed at home to dead last Thespa Kusatsu. But the encounter eventually finished 3-2 to Reysol, whose unbeaten start to 2010 now stretches to fourteen matches and who are now four points ahead in the standings. Ventforet Kofu are comfortable in second, although serious attention must now be given to the credentials of one of the J-League's genuine minnows, as Tochigi SC's defeat of FC Gifu - watched by 3294 people - has them within a point of the promotion places and JEF United.

Just one of the top seven teams won in round 13 of the JFL season over the weekend, two second-half goals from Nobuhito Takahashi helping Sagawa Shiga to beat Sagawa Printing and thereby consolidate their position at second in the standings. Gainare Tottori still lead after a draw at Sony Sendai although Machida Zelvia's alarming run of results went on. Zelvia's defeat at home to Arte Takasaki means they've now lost four of the last five and are in danger of slipping out of the top four, where they need to finish if the club are to have a chance of promotion to J2.



Yay! Disappointment heads the way of these Urawa supporters

Nabisco Cup Group A - Scores & Standings @ Round 5/7

Cerezo 0-1 Sendai
Kyoto 1-0 Nagoya
Niigata 1-0 Omiya

Bye: FC Tokyo

1. Kyoto 11 (+5)
2. Sendai 8 (+2)
----------------
3. FC Tokyo 7 (+1)
4. Niigata 7 (-2)
5. Omiya 4 (-)
6. Nagoya 2 (-3)
7. Cerezo 1 (-3)

Nabisco Cup Group B - Scores & Standings @ Round 5/7

Jubilo 2-0 Kobe
Marinos 3-0 Shonan
Urawa 0-1 S-Pulse

Bye: Yamagata

1. Jubilo 10 (+4)
2. S-Pulse 8 (+1)
----------------
3. Marinos 7 (+3)
4. Yamagata 7 (+2)
5. Urawa 7 (-)
6. Kobe 3 (-3)
7. Shonan 0 (-7)

J2 Scores & Standings @ Round 15/36

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

Bye: Okayama

1. Kashiwa 36 (+20)
2. Kofu 32 (+14)
3. JEF 27 (+12)
-----------------
4. Tochigi 26 (+11)
5. Tosu 25 (+2)
6. Fukuoka 23 (+12)
7. Kumamoto 23 (-4)
8. Tokushima 20 (-3)
9. Ehime 19 (+2)
10. Mito 19 (-2)
11. Oita 18 (-)
12. Sapporo 18 (-4)
13. Gifu 18 (-9)
14. Verdy 16 (+1)
15. Yokohama FC 16 (-4)
16. Okayama 12 (-9)
17. Toyama 10 (-14)
18. Kitakyushu 9 (-11)
19. Kusatsu 8 (-14)

JFL Scores & Standings @ Round 13/34

FC Ryukyu 2-2 JEF Reserves
Machida Zelvia 2-3 Arte Takasaki
Matsumoto Yamaga 6-0 MIO Biwako Kusatsu
Ryutsu Keizai University 0-2 Honda Lock
Sagawa Shiga 2-0 Sagawa Printing
Sony Sendai 1-1 Gainare Tottori
Tochigi UVA 0-2 V Varen Nagasaki
Yokogawa Musashino 1-1 Honda FC
Zweigen Kanazawa 0-3 Blaublitz Akita

1. Gainare Tottori* 31 (+16)
2. Sagawa Shiga 29 (+16)
3. Machida Zelvia* 25 (+16)
4. Sagawa Printing 22 (+6)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Yokogawa Musashino 21 (+3)
6. Honda FC 21 (-2)
7. Tochigi UVA 19 (-9)
8. Blaublitz Akita 18 (+8)
9. Arte Takasaki 18 (-3)
10. FC Ryukyu 17 (+2)
11. Zweigen Kanazawa 16 (-)
12. V Varen Nagasaki* 15 (-)
13. Matsumoto Yamaga* 15 (-4)
14. Sony Sendai 14 (-1)
15. Honda Lock 14 (-2)
16. MIO Biwako Kusatsu 13 (-10)
17. JEF Reserves 7 (-16)
18. Ryutsu Keizai University 5 (-20)

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

I thank you Furtho for all the info you give us. :)
I have some questions for you, if it's possible.

1-I tried to search informations about the All Japan College Soccer Tournament, but it's very hard to find them. Can you give me any link you know, please?
I found helpful just this site.
www.in-colle.com/

2-The Prince Leagues are prefectural tournaments to qualify for both Prince Takamado Cup and All Japan High School Soccer Tournament or just for the former?

3-What is Denso Cup Tournament? I read is an important competition for youth teams.


Thank you very much!

1. It looks like the All-Japan College Soccer Tournament is organised not by the JFA but by the JUFA. The Wikipedia page for the tournament is here and there are relevant links to at the bottom of that page.

2. Teams qualify for the Prince Takamado Cup from the Prince League; the top two teams from the All-Japan High School Soccer Tournament also qualify for the Prince Takamado Cup. The site for the 2010 edition of the Prince League is here.

3. The Denso Cup is played between a Japan University XI and a South Korea University XI. The site for the 2009 edition is here. However, the Denso Cup Challenge Soccer is a tournament organised on a regional basis (for example, there is a Select XI representing Hokkaido & Tohoku, two XI representing Kanto, etc.). The site for the 2010 edition is here.

Thanks!
I made that questions because I'm working on a huge J. League mod, from J.League 1 to Prefectural Leagues and youth competitions (College and High School Tournaments), for the game Football Manager 2010.
I lacked informations about Takamado Cup and College Tournament. :)
I hope to see your J. League diary updated very soon (maybe about non league, considering the J League stop for the World Cup).
Did you see Japan-Cameroon?
I've been surprised to see the japanese defensive line so well organized, much better compared to the one of 4 years ago.
I've a little hope for tne next match with Holland, maybe Honda will make us another gift. :)
I'm italian and i cheer for Italy and also for Japan, and I'd be very happy if "Nippon" goes far in the World Cup. :D

See you!

Well, it's been a while, eh. Let's take a look at what's been happening on the Japan national team front, following the shock achievement by the Blue Samurai of a spot in the last sixteen in South Africa. Not surprisingly there's been gossip surrounding some members of the squad and possible moves to Europe, although there is only one move confirmed so far: goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima has departed Kawasaki Frontale for the bright lights of Lierse SK, newly promoted back to the top division in Belgium. Having previously played for Omiya Ardija and Nagoya Grampus, Kawashima has signed for Lierse on a two-year contract.

While pausing to observe that the Frontale have also lost North Korean star striker Jong Tae Se, who has joined Bundesliga 2 side Vfl Bochum, the other transfer looking most likely to happen involves defender Yuto Nagatomo, who seems set to leave FC Tokyo for Cesena on loan until the end of the year with an option to make the deal permanent. Everything else - Marcus Tulio Tanaka to Middlesbrough, Keisuke Honda to pretty much everyone - is just rumour, although man of the moment Honda has signed up for the campaign to bring the World Cup to Japan in 2022, alongside former national team coaches Zico, Philippe Troussier and Ivica Osim.

Talking of national team coaches, Takeshi Okada has as expected stepped down from the post, having failed in his stated target of a semi-final spot but nevertheless made history by taking Japan past the group stages of the World Cup for the first time except 2002, when they were of course hosts. Before the tournament, there were suggestions that the JFA were considering an approach for former Argentina boss José Pekerman, while more recently there have been suggestions that Chile's Marcelo Bielsa is also a candidate. Among fans, there is some enthusiasm for Dunga to take over, having played with great success for Jubilo Iwata in the late 90s.

But attention for now turns to the J-League, which gets back underway after the World Cup break with four J1 fixtures on Wednesday. The quartet of Asian Champions League participants play a game-in-hand from earlier in the season, meaning that Kashima Antlers could go second in the table behind Shimizu S-Pulse if they win at home to bottom side Shonan Bellmare. Kawasaki also have a decent chance to climb the standings against Omiya, while Gamba Osaka - who have signed dangerous South Korean striker Lee Keun Ho from Jubilo - take on Kyoto Sanga and Sanfrecce Hiroshima host mid-tablers Cerezo Osaka.

Given the strong World Cup performances by a team drawn mainly from the J-League, moving to a newly-promoted Belgian side, or Serie B, doesn't really seem like a step up to me. How does local opinion see it, Furtho?

Opinion's divided on the matter, delicatewildebeest.

Looking at Kawashima, there's not much doubt that a transfer from Kawasaki to Lierse constitutes a step down by any reasonable measure. For some people, that's all there is to it and they think respected Japanese international players shouldn't consider moves of this type. Others say that Kawashima should be able to learn from the experience of playing outside of the comfort of the J-League - and they also point to the career trajectory of Keisuke Honda, who emerged as a star in the not-too-dissimilar surroundings of VVV Venlo and now of course is a pretty darn piping hot property at CSKA Moscow. So who knows.

By the way, I know that some OTFers keep half an eye on Jubilo Iwata's Robert Cullen, the player who has a Northern Irish dad and a Japanese mum, and who looks 100% western but is famously unable to speak English. Cullen, now 25, won the J-League's Rookie of the Year award in 2005 and also appeared for Japan at U20 level. Since that time, however, his career has rather petered out due to a combination of injury and falling behind other players in the pecking order. Having played for just five minutes so far this season, it's not too much of a surprise to learn that he's been cut from the Jubilo squad.

J1 got back underway after the World Cup on Wednesday evening with four rescheduled matches, as several teams had their first taste of life after the departure from the J-League of several star names. Young defender Atsuto Uchida had agreed before the World Cup to sign for Schalke but his ex-Kashima Antlers team-mates coped without him in a comfortable 1-0 win over Shonan Bellmare that moves them up to second in the table. Last season's J2 top scorer Shinji Kagawa has also gone to Germany - Borussia Dortmund, to be precise - but even missing such a key player Cerezo Osaka took advantage of a dodgy sending-off to put five second-half goals past Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Cerezo's neighbours Gamba Osaka were without star midfielder Yasuhito Endo and they continued what has been a very disappointing season with a 1-1 draw against a hard-working Kyoto Sanga. It was an emotional night at Kawasaki Frontale, however, for although neither goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima and forward Jong Tae Se actually played for the team, both made farewell speeches to the crowd prior to their departures for points west. Frontale didn't exactly wave them off in style, being held to a goalless draw by Omiya Ardija and thus failing to move into the top three. Struggling Kyoto and Omiya meanwhile both edged towards Vissel Kobe and safety, while Shonan stay bottom after their loss at Kashima.



Jong Tae Se holds back the tears

J1 Scores & Standings @ Round 11/34*

Gamba 1-1 Kyoto
Hiroshima 0-5 Cerezo
Kashima 1-0 Shonan
Kawasaki 0-0 Omiya

1. S-Pulse 25 (+11)
2. Kashima 24 (+10)
3. Nagoya 22 (+4)
----------------
4. Kawasaki 21 (+2)
- - - - - - - - - -
5. Urawa 20 (+4)
6. Cerezo 19 (+5)
7. Marinos 18 (+5)
8. Niigata 17 (+1)
9. Hiroshima 16 (-5)
10. Gamba 15 (+3)
11. Jubilo 15 (-3)
12. FC Tokyo 14 (+1)
13. Yamagata 14 (-7)
14. Sendai 13 (-4)
15. Kobe 11 (-5)
----------------
16. Omiya 10 (-5)
17. Kyoto 10 (-8)
18. Shonan 9 (-9)

*These were games in hand from round eleven; all teams have now played twelve matches