FC Ryukyu 2021 Schedule Preview #FC琉球

JUBILO IWATA: Match Day 1 (H) & 31 (A). Career Record: 0-1-1

FC Ryukyu open their season against an opponent they’ve only faced on 2 occasions during their history. In their first ever meeting, FC Ryukyu surrendered a 1 goal lead on two separate occasions which saw the match end in a 2-2 draw. Later that season, Ryukyu traveled to Iwata in the mid week and were blown out 3-0. Iwata has stabilized after the drop from J1 in 2020 and this will be a very tough opening test for Ryukyu.

RENOFA YAMAGUCHI FC: Match Day 2 (H) & 37 (A). Career Record: 3-1-5

The last place team of 2020 destroyed FC Ryukyu in their opening match 4-1, and that was after FC Ryukyu opened the scoring in the 7th minute. The return fixture in Okinawa saw Ryukyu eek out a 1-0 victory stemming from a divisive handball call that Koki Kazama converted for his first goal of the year. Renofa will once again be in the thick of the relegation battle with the Match Day 2 fixture probably allowing Ryukyu to recover from a rough opening weekend. In that same vein, Renofa will look to secure points against Ryukyu in the return leg as that will be one of their last, best, opportunities to notch points if they are indeed facing relegation.

THESPAKUSATSU GUNMA: Match Day 3 (A) & 30 (H). Career Record: 3-0-1

Ryukyu and Gunma split the series last year with each winning 1-0 away from home. Gunma finished just 1 point behind Ryukyu in the table last year and surprisingly, had a far better away record than at home, earning 30 of their 49 points on the road. The first match this season could see Ryukyu secure their second win of the season with the return fixture coming on the heels of two tough tests, and just prior to another three challenging fixtures for FC Ryukyu.

V-VAREN NAGASAKI: Match Day 4 (H) & 28 (A). Career Record: 5-1-6

Ryukyu’s toughest test to date will be their Match Day 4 test against everyone’s pick to earn promotion in 2021. Ryukyu earned a 1-1- draw in some of the poorest playing conditions imaginable in the opening round for these teams last year. And then Ryukyu went on to put a serious dent in Nagasaki’s promotion hopes late in the season when they won 1-0 on Match Day 34. In the past 2 seasons, FC Ryukyu have defeated Nagasaki twice, with each side trading 3-2 victories at their home stadium in 2019. For some reason, Nagasaki is one of the teams that Ryukyu always seem to play well against. They will need to continue that trend in 2021 if they wish to reach the lofty expectation of 80 points as laid down by Higuchi in his remarks last month.

JEF UNITED CHIBA: Match Day 5 (A) & 39 (H). Career Record: 0-0-5

Whereas Nagasaki are team that Ryukyu play tough, JEF is the exact polar opposite. Since Ryukyu’s rise to the J2 in 2019, they have failed to earn a single point off of JEF, and even more troublesome, they have yet to score a single goal against JEF. This, despite all the flak JEF receives for doing JEF stuff. In order for Ryukyu to reach 80 points, they will need to reverse this trend, but that seems highly unlikely as this team, more than any other in the league, has Ryukyu’s number.

OMIYA ARDIJA: Match Day 6 (H) & 23 (A). Career Record: 3-0-1

The Omiya game on Match Day 6 puts an end to an interesting run of 3 games for Ryukyu, as noted by their records against Nagasaki and JEF, as Omiya are team that Ryukyu light up for multiple goals every time they face each other. Ryukyu have scored no less than 2 goals in any game they’ve played against Omiya, and I think we all recall the 5-0, and 3-0, hammerings Ryukyu put on Omiya last season during internationally televised games on YouTube. I am not sure that trend can continue as Omiya parted ways with Manager Takuya Takagi in the offseason, the arbiter for so many of these destructions, and it is too fluky of a run of results to be sustainable. But you never know.

FC MITO HOLLYHOCK: Match Day 7 (A) & 25 (H). Career Record: 3-0-1

Mito are another team that FC Ryukyu own a favorable record against. Last season Ryukyu defeated Mito twice; a thrilling come from behind victory thanks to two late Shinya Uehara goals, and the ‘Ice Bowl’ of 2020 where Ryukyu won their last game of 2020 during the third ever coldest game on record for the J-league. Ryukyu have been quite adept at siphoning off talent from Mito these past few seasons, possibly due to the connections of their former team president, but there were no such moves this offseason. Mito scored the most goals in J2 last season, but they also surrendered the 4th most. I am not sure they did enough to address those issues at the back, but they certainly loaded up on attacking players to paper over those cracks.

TOKYO VERDY: Match Day 8 (H) & 40 (A), Career Record: 2-1-1

FC Ryukyu defeated Verdy twice last season, 1-0 & 4-0. The first game was a tense back and forth game that was put to bed from an Takuma Abe PK after a Verdy player lashed out with a kick to Uehara’s midsection as they lay on the ground in the 18-yard box. The return leg saw Koizumi (sheds a tear) score a brace. The only loss Ryukyu suffered at the hands of Verdy was a 5-1 beat down at home in 2019 where Verdy marked the special occasion with t-shirts commemorating Junki Koike’s hattrick. Maybe last year was a bit of payback for that nonsense. The two fixtures against Verdy will come at crucial times for FC Ryukyu as we could see them them trying to right the ship on Match Day 8 after a tough run of fixtures, with the return leg on MD 40 representing one of the last best chances for Ryukyu to secure points at the end of 2021 season.

FC MACHIDA ZELVIA: Match Day 9 (A) & 36 (H). Career Record: 4-4-10

Dating back to their time in the J3 in 2014, Ryukyu have only beat Zelvia once. And that was 7 seasons ago. I think most are tipping Zelvia as this years’ Darkhorse team, and I think FC Ryukyu will become privy to that fact on MD 9. Zelvia defeated Ryukyu twice last year with a 4-2 win at home, the only game that FC Ryukyu have scored more than 1 goal against Zelvia, but really shouldn’t count as one of the goals was an own goal by Machida; who, were already in cruise control after 4 first half goals. The latest insult to injury was the 1-0 defeat of Ryukyu at home on the final match of 2020. A positive result in the final leg on MD 36 may provide some relief in the face of a relegation battle, whereas an unfavorable result may push us farther down the table.

VENTFORET KOFU: Match Day 10 (H) & 33 (A). Career Record: 0-0-4

Yet another team that Ryukyu never fare well against. Stacking Zelvia and Kofu back-to-back for Ryukyu means we could see them lose two games in a row for the first time this year. In 2019, Ryukyu had their home undefeated streak snapped when Kofu came back from a 2 goal deficit to defeat Ryukyu 5-2. Kofu then defeated a depleted Ryukyu squad 2-0 to end the 2019 season. In 2020, Kofu beat Ryukyu 2-0, and 1-0, meaning Ryukyu have neve scored at the Yamanashi stadium. Let’s just hope Ryukyu aren’t desperate for points when MD 33 comes around as it seems highly unlikely that Ryukyu will even earn a draw away from home.

SC SAGAMIHARA: Match Day 11 (A) & 22 (H). Career Record: 5-6-3

Ryukyu’s first game against a promoted side, and an opponent they are very familiar with during their time together in J3. SC Sagamihara finished second in J3 in 2020 and the last time these two sides met was back in 2018. A year in which FC Ryukyu defeated Sagamihara 5-2, and 5-1. Obviously these are markedly different sides now, but the story, hopefully, should remain the same for Ryukyu in 2021. Their first test on MD 11 should provide a nice change of pace for Ryukyu, whereas the return fixture on MD 22 may add to a nice little run of positive results. In any event, FC Ryukyu will need to secure 6 points from Sagamihara to keep pace, as well as put some distance between them and the drop.

KYOTO SANGA FC: Match Day 12 (H) & 29 (A). Career Record: 1-1-3

Kyoto are another one of the promotion candidates in 2021 and it has been a mixed bag of results for Ryukyu when it comes to this opponent. In 2019, they fought hard to earn a draw before succumbing to a 3-0 loss in the second fixture. In 2020, they lost 1-0 on the road, but recovered nicely after surrendering an early goal in the return leg, by going on to win 2-1 for their first, and only, win against Kyoto. A favorable result in the first fixture would be great, as they face both Nagasaki and Kyoto in consecutive back-to-back weeks near the end of the season.

EHIME FC: Match Day 13 (A) & 34 (H). Career Record: 3-1-1

FC Ryukyu own a really good record against Ehime FC as the lone loss occurred during a 2011 Emperor’s Cup match. Since then, Ryukyu have gone on to remain undefeated against Ehime by sweeping the 2019 fixtures, and earning one win, and one draw in 2020. The win last season was to the tune of a 6-0 score line. Ehime are probably in a similar place, if not worse off, as last year and Ryukyu simply need to get the job done as they’ve done in the past. Ehime, is a strong contender to finish dead last in the J2 in 2021.

TOCHIGI SC: Match Day 14 (H) & 42 (A). Career Record: 3-5-6

Tochigi SC had a nice run in to end the 2020 campaign since they were one of the stingiest defenses in all of J2. But they’ve ceded some of that talent in the offseason and it will be interesting to see how they recover. In 2020, Ryukyu drew 2 all with Tochigi on MD 13, and it was an impressive draw considering that Tochigi only allowed their opponents to score more than 1 goal in any game just once up to that point. The 4-1 loss away at Tochigi was anything but impressive. Tochigi’s biggest problem last year was their lack of goals scored. They surrendered 39 goals, but only scored 41. I am not familiar with all the names they brought in this year to remedy those issues, but losing starting CB Tashiro to Sagan Tosu, will probably prevent Tochigi from being one of the better defensive sides in J2 this year. The last game of the season for Ryukyu away at Tochigi is likely an important one.

MONTEDIO YAMAGATA: Match Day 15 (H) & 26 (A). Career Record: 0-2-3

Things started out promising for Ryukyu against Yamagata in 2019 when they earned two draws, but 2020 was an unmitigated disaster. Ryukyu lost both their games against Montedio by a score line of 7 goals conceded, 1 goal scored (1-4 & 0-3). One nice thing about this year’s schedule is that Ryukyu will not have to face Yamagata in any adverse (cold) weather conditions based on the timing of these games. That is about the only positive spin I can put on this as Ryukyu have their work cut out for them if they wish to net anything positive from this year’s fixtures.

ALBIREX NIIGATA: Match Day 16 (A) & 41 (H). Career Record: 1-0-3

FC Ryukyu defeated Niigata for the first time in their history on MD 15, but since that time, Ryukyu have lost every game to Niigata, and have been shutout each time. Their first tilt on MD 16 will occur at the tail end of a brutal stretch of games for Ryukyu, whereas the return leg is Ryukyu’s final home game of 2021. Niigata will have another strong attack, and though I have some fond memories of Koji Suzuki when he was with Ryukyu in 2019, I also recall him tearing the back out of the Ryukyu nets when he played for Zelvia in the J3. Niigata may once again start strong and fade just after the halfway point, so hopefully Ryukyu can catch them on their downward spiral at the end of the season.

BLAUBLITZ AKITA: Match Day 17 (A) & 27 (H). Career Record: 10-6-10

FC Ryukyu has played no other team in the J-League more than Akita. Dating back to their time in the JFL, Akita notched 8 of their 10 total wins to date. However, they’ve only beaten FC Ryukyu twice in the last 6 seasons. While Akita were impressive during their J3 championship run, it is fair to wonder how much they lost in the offseason, as well as what they may have added. I think they’ll get a bit of the “new boy bounce” but may struggle as the season progresses.

GIRAVANZ KITAKYUSHU: Match Day 18 (H) & 24 (A). Career Record: 3-3-4

Giravanz were a bit of a surprise last season but have seen a massive talent drain in the 2021 offseason. Ryukyu got drilled 4-0 the first time these teams met on MD 3, and then both teams played to a 1-1 draw on MD 35. Since 2017, the series between these two teams is an even 2-2-2 split. Considering Giravanz’s recent departures, I think FC Ryukyu have a good chance at taking maximum points off this squad on both match days. The games surrounding each match against Giravanz next year are also very favorable so we could see an impressive run by Ryukyu when these two sides lock horns in 2021.

FAGIANO OKAYAMA: Match Day 19 (A) & 32 (H). Career Record: 1-2-3.

Whereas Kitakyushu were a bit of a surprise in 2020, Okayama were a bit of a disappointment. Okayama made a flurry of signings last offseason that included Satoki Uejo and Shuhei Tokumoto from FC Ryukyu. Two of our best players from 2019, and they still had prolific scorer, Lee Yong-Jae, on the books. But Okayama couldn’t tie it all together with all the injuries and ended up finishing as one of the lowest scoring teams of 2020. Ryukyu took advantage of their plight by defeating Fagiano 2-1 and the drawing 1-1. The first game for these two teams comes at the end of an easy (perceived) stretch of games for Ryukyu, with the second leg being sandwiched in between two tough fixtures for Ryukyu. I doubt that Fagiano will be as weak as they were in 2020, so these games will be a good indicator for just how far Ryukyu have come, or fallen.

MATSUMOTO YAMAGA FC: Match Day 20 (H) & 35 (A). Career Record: 3-0-3

Ryukyu did the double over Yamaga last season with 6-1, and 2-0, victories. Yamaga repaid the favor by plucking one of our better, and definitely fastest players, in Shuto Kawai. Though some teams can make a quick return to the top tier after relegation, others, like Yamaga, take a few seasons to get back to where they once were. Both of these match days fall in favorable spots for Ryukyu and I hope we can take advantage of the scheduling.

ZWEIGEN KANAZAWA: Match Day 21 (A) & 38 (H). Career Record: 5-3-7

Ryukyu have failed to defeat Zweigen in the J2, with their last victory dating back to 2014. In fact, a majority of Ryukyu’s wins over Zweigen occurred in the JFL. Zweigen finished one point behind Ryukyu and the teams shared a nearly identical record for goals scored/conceded last year. I think some out there believe Zweigen are in for a rough year, but seeing how we haven’t had much success as of late against them, I am not overly optimistic. Once more, the scheduling of these games is favorable for Ryukyu, but like so many other games against teams in and around Ryukyu in the table, it will be a measuring stick for success.