Intro
Oh what could’ve been! Many fans, both Ryukyu and Niigata, may have earmarked this game at Match Day 21 as a potential title decider, but alas, it is not the case. Both of these sides screamed out of the starting block, both will ponder where it all went wrong. But here we are nonetheless on Match Day 41 with nothing on the line short of another win in what is, for both teams, a lost season.
- Weather & Match Day Info
- Previous Match Day Highlights
- Round 40 Summary
- Team Previews
- FC Ryukyu
- Albirex Niigata
- Keys to Victory
- Round 41 in J2
- Conclusion
1. Weather Forecast & Match Day Info
I am going to try and re-introduce the notion of tailgating to the Okinawan faithful so screw the weather. FC Ryukyu will also try a CV-19 Vaccinated only supporter section. Probably no cheering but at least no masks. But hell. It will be windy. Match Day info from FC Ryukyu
2. Previous Match Highlights
3. Round 40 Summary
FC Ryukyu achieved something remarkable this past Sunday. Taguchi saved two PKs in a single match and though I cannot locate the J-League stats, that feat has only been accomplished 7 times in the entire history of the English Premier League. The unremarkable part was we couldn’t muster a single shot on net the entire second half while Higuchi was besieged ala Verdun circa 1916. The sheer amount of shots on net is enough to give any man shell shock yet he stood his post until the 89:45 mark. Well done for him, sad for those that couldn’t support that tremendous feat.
4. Team Previews
FC Ryukyu: Today is a tough day for this blog. Hiro Ikema, @cafedecampnou, has decided to hang up his boots as the head of the FC Ryukyu supporter group after nearly 21 years at the helm. Something he told me on Thursday but did not make official until Friday. I want to spend a little bit of time talking about what he has meant to me and the club.
The man hails from Miyako-jima, came to Okinawa for high school, and picked up the mantle as the head of the Ryukyu sappo in 2003 when FC Ryukyu first came into existence. His first ever encounter with the club happened when he approached the club in 2003, when they thought he was a sponsor, when he was simply seeking info on the club. He has been a staple, more like an ambassador, for this club since that time appearing in numerous printed articles, interviews, providing meals to players, teaching supporters how to cheer, and one of my good friends. It was “Hiro,” as I know him, that brought me into this fold when the only thing red I had to wear at games was an Arsenal kit. He greeted me at every home game despite our language barriers, adopted me into the Ryukyu family as one of their own, and was the driving force behind this blog. When I voiced my frustrations about the lack of English language coverage for this team on the way home from Omiya in 2019, he simply said, “start an English blog.” Genius! I know many of you because of him, all of which I am thankful for.
I have been lucky, more like fortunate, to know this man and share with him many memories. My memories include the J3 title lifting game; the Tanaka missed PK in 2016 when I shouted WTF; joining him and supporters on the pitch that same year to take a photo with the team after an Emperor’s Cup match win; breaking bread at my house; but most importantly, when I was new to the club he asked me and my family to partake in a group photo at the end of 2014, my first season supporting FC Ryukyu. A photo I seek to obtain to this day.
The man’s legacy can never be matched down here because it can only be carried on and celebrated.
Albirex Niigata: Whatever hit Ryukyu has also hit Niigata. Going 1-3-1 in their last 5 and with one of their best players linked to a move to J1, what ya got on Sunday Niigata? It so unfortunate that, yet maybe not unexpected, Niigata feel from the top. Like Ryukyu, Niigata are prone to fast starts and mid-season collapses. Yet, this is not an entry to talk about failures, it’s more to applaud what each other has done.
I always thought Ryukyu and Niigata were playing with house money at the start of the campaign. Could they keep the pace? No, and that sucks.
5. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
At this point my expectations are managed. Are yours?
6. Round 41 in J2
Likely trophy lifting time for Iwata while the relegation battle hits its crescendo. (18) SC Sagamihara hosts (22) Matsumoto Yamaga in a death match to determine each others fate. Lose, and go home, if Sagamihara win, enjoy J2 in 2022. (21) Ehime FC have one last shot at redemption on the road at (11) Mito Hollyhock or else they’ll be enjoying the rainy nights in Gifu next year. Same could be said about (20) Giravanz Kitakyushu when they host (15) Tochigi SC. Which leaves us (19) Zweigen Kanazawa with it all left to do at home to (7) Montedio Yamagata. The promotion/relegation battle could be done and dusted come Sunday evening but there maybe a free broad cast on the J.League Int’l channel I just can’t locate it though. Click>>> J.League YouTube Channel.
7. Conclusion
The last time we will see this team for at least 8 weeks while they go on break and head into 2022. And they will do so with Kina taking over the permanent managerial duties. Let’s just get loose in the stands while celebrating some goals FFS. Miss that feeling so much (less time in the bathroom I suppose, or more?).
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