2020 Season Improvements for FC Ryukyu

Stuart (@stuartcw), a friend of mine and supporter of FC Ryukyu (Yokohama F Marinos as well!), once mentioned on the J-Talk Podcast that he was shocked that cab drivers here on Okinawa did not know there was a professional football franchise on Okinawa nor did they have any idea where they played their home games. This is both shocking and completely unacceptable, and something that needs to be changed immediately.

This is easier said then done. First, FC Ryukyu are way behind the power curve when it comes to marketing compared to the Ryukyu Golden Kings. But this isn’t the club’s fault. The Kings were winning titles and bringing notoriety to Okinawa when FC Ryukyu were struggling to make a name for themselves in the JFL and eventual J3. Therefore, the Kings have a well-established fan base with powerful name brand recognition. Heck, every time I get a Family Mart Spicy Chicken in Okinawa it comes wrapped in Golden Kings signage!

Second, FC Ryukyu always need to deal with the weather elements compared to their counterparts who operate in an indoor, climate-controlled environment. Can anyone recall how many games last season the weather forecast was bleak or calling for rain? Even better, how many times was it calling for nice weather only to start raining out of nowhere once people were seated? Asking families, or individuals, to expose themselves to the elements for 3 hours or more is a tough request outside of the hardliners who attend games regardless of weather forecasts.

Third, getting the stadium, and finding parking is a challenge despite its location in the second largest metropolis of Okinawa. There is nothing the club can do to improve the overall infrastructure of the island but this is a factor the club must consider during match days.

Fourth, the operating budget for the squad is quite large compared to the Kings. A roster of players and staff around 40, marketing team and stadium support staff drain the coffer quickly. Then there are the extra costs of marketing, travel and keeping the power on at the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon.

Finally, this is Okinawa, historically one of the prefectures with the least amount of discretionary income with industries designed around tourism and retail. In plain English, when games kickoff between 6 and 8 PM, many that would consider coming, are at work and therefore can only attend on a limited basis instead of a consistent one that could drive up attendance levels each season.

If you are like me, then you know there is nothing worse than someone in your professional life offering up all sorts of issues and problems without providing any courses of action on how to correct those deficiencies. I will instead offer a few of my own ideas with the understanding that I am acting on incomplete information when it comes to the actual financials of the club and the prefecture. I am simply stating my observations as an outsider. Remember my goal is too; “Make every cab driver aware of FC Ryukyu and where they play.”

Name Brand Recognition

The first hurdle to overcome is the notion that people on Okinawa may not know, or may not care, that there is a professional Football club on Okinawa. Actually, there are two football clubs, with all due respect to OSV who are making a name for themselves in the JFL, but I am specifically referring to FC Ryukyu. Last season was the first time I could recall seeing a wider coverage and exposure of the club on the daily news and in print. This was great, and the fact that I could finally find FC Ryukyu paraphernalia in Family Mart was surprising. But by the club’s own admission, the marketing strategy at the end of the 2019 season needed to change. They are moving away from the “grass roots approach” of handing out flyers on Kokusai-dori with a focus on targeting specific groups and/or organizations. Well then, what can they do to combat the onslaught of the Ryukyu Golden Kings marketing department that has their name on everything from Family Mart Chicken wrappers to Awamori Bottles?

1. Do not ignore the large American contingent here on Okinawa who have large amounts of discretionary income. I am fully aware of all the political and personal tensions that exist here in Okinawa as resident of this island for well over 10 years. But nothing brings a community together like sport and nothing improves a bottom line like an extra couple of thousand or more fans on average at home games. I can speak directly to this point as I’ve been adopted into the very fabric of the FC Ryukyu supporter crew and I have intimate knowledge of the simplicity on exposing the Expat community to FC Ryukyu. The best part it is, it is all but free and gift wrapped for the club if they wish to pursue this endeavor. They didn’t last year, and I can sympathize as to why, but they should really consider it this year if they wish to achieve their financial goals in the interim.

2. Flyers in every window of every convenience store on Okinawa. Much like I see from the Kings, simply putting the thought of the club in everyone’s mind as they approach a store front could do more than handing out flyers. Even more so, leave nothing to chance and market this club from Cape Kyan (Itoman) to Cape Hedo (Hedo Point!). Just to drive that nail home, don’t forget the outlying islands of the Okinawa as well.

3. Signage at the Naha Airport and in Naha city. This is one step in a much larger process but at least getting banners and signage in high trafficked areas is important and absolutely necessary. In fact, I can recall a Ryukyu Golden Kings Billboard in the heart of Naha near some popular eateries but saw nothing of FC Ryukyu all last year.

Getting the fans to the stadium and keeping them there!

There is no doubt that weather is crazy here in Okinawa. Heat, humidity, rain and the occasional typhoon make attending matches a constant struggle in a completely exposed environment. Also, if you’ve never driven around Okinawa, then you don’t understand the problem of commute times with numerous traffic lights or the lack of parking. We can all agree there is nothing that FC Ryukyu can do to improve the weather or infrastructure here on Okinawa, and to their credit, they have found creative ways to mitigate some of the factors. Busing in fans, off-site parking with transportation and child care are but three of the more successful ideas the club instituted in 2019. But at what cost? I have no numbers to indicate that any of these were beneficial to the club but do see that the busing in of fans from Naha and ability to reserve parking the near the stadium have continued.

4. Continue all the programs offered in 2019 into 2020 with the caveat that buses should depart from areas north of the stadium as well. Offer pickup points at subway/rail stops up to the stadium and begin tapping the market North of Okinawa City. Plenty of fans would rather not deal with finding parking compared to cost-efficient transportation to and from games. Discount the cost of transportation to season pass holders and offer single/multiple game packages with transportation to those without a season pass. There is a rich untapped market North of Okinawa City (Ishikawa & Nago) that should be brought into the fold for 2020.

5. Offer flexible season and multiple game packages. There are currently 2 choices for season packages, full and half season. Well, FC Ryukyu should offer everything from 3, 5, 10, 15, and 21 game passes that allow the customer to choose which games to attend or offer packages for games with historically low attendance levels from 2019. There is no doubt that some will choose the most popular, or better weather games, but at least you’ve got the advance ticket sales.

6. Create a “tailgate” atmosphere around the stadium. I can speak at volumes on this subject but I will be brief. There are hundreds of fans milling about outside the stadium prior to matches. Not all are frequenting the vendors nor purchasing merchandise. Create an atmosphere around the grounds in which people want to arrive 2 to 3 hours prior to kickoff. Allow local bands, at no cost to the club (outside of coordinating noise ordinance laws), host fan events, have a “hype” man walking around getting the crowd ready for the match and frequenting sponsors stalls. Bring the two opposing sets of fans together with friendly games. Just be different and trendsetting compared to so many stadium atmospheres around the J League.

7. After the game is over you want to do all you can to maximize merchandise sales but also take care of the fans. That starts with working with local authorities (i.e. the Japanese Police) to control traffic flow out of the stadium. The surrounding road arteries are always congested as all the lights in Okinawa operate on the antiquated timer system creating choke points. Additionally, work with local cab/daiko companies to have a designated taxi/daiko stands to transport fans away from games. Finally, offer a lighted/marked path for all fans to utilize the bus stops near the stadium.

Don’t Fight the Tide

8. The Ryukyu Golden Kings are the kings when it comes to marketing. Work with them, not against them. FC Ryukyu are not direct competitors for fans as their seasons only overlap for part of the year (OCT, NOV, FEB & MAR). Offer the “Total Okinawa Sports Experience” that includes a Golden Kings and FC Ryukyu game package at discounted prices within a weekend. Plus add any other sport like Asteeda Table Tennis to maybe wrap a Friday to Sunday package. Better to establish the bonds now instead of when the Ryukyu Blue Oceans Baseball team starts up and begins sucking the life blood from FC Ryukyu fan base in the form of ticket sales.

Loud & Clear Message

9. People want nothing more to assimilate with a group, a purpose, or a team. Well I am here to tell you that one way to achieve that for a sports team is to deliver merchandise in a quick and timely manner. I am assuming that FC Ryukyu cannot produce a surplus of goods hoping to sell them throughout a season. But the inverse is also as excruciating. The amount of time from “click” to “order complete” to “delivery’ needs to cut down substantially for FC Ryukyu. We want and need access to that merchandise quickly.

For the Okinawa’s from the Okinawan’s

The hardest entry that deserves the most mental rigor. How can we change the fundamental thinking of spending money on sports here in Okinawa? Simply put, you win the whole “fuckin$ thing.” The words made famous by the film Major League, you defy and surpass everyone’s expectation. Truth is FC Ryukyu did this in 2018 by winning the J3 title and carrying forward a 36 game home unbeaten streak that still couldn’t produce the attendance levels one would assume should occur after a side hadn’t lost at home in over 2 years. So what can be done?

10. Begin groundbreaking on new facilities for the club. The training grounds and new stadium seem to be years away and that is not good. We need to instill a desire for players around Japan to come to the club, and not depart for higher wages. It is not as if Okinawa is so remote compared to some of the places that I attended games in 2019. There is a lot to offer for both the married and single footballer here in Okinawa and the facilities need to match.

11. A finish near the J1/J2 playoff bracket would certainly be a start. There is constant talk of getting to the J1, but we need to build the fan base up first. I could see why the club may ignore the idea of marketing to the large American community on Okinawa in favor of building a local fan base, as you never know what could happen with the American presence on Okinawa. But, for now, half full stadiums and limited revenue will only see the perpetuation of FC Ryukyu selling their top talent at the end of every season.

A New Hope

It is not as bleak as it may sound for FC Ryukyu here in Okinawa and in fact, there is massive potential. If you simply took a cab ride North from Naha, you would see what looks like one large, intertwined city. This is great news for the club. Unlike towns with populations that max at around 250,000, Okinawa has a population of 1,452,000, with roughly 60% (829,000) of that total population contained within 6 cities of Okinawa that border each other (Naha, Urasoe, Ginowan, Chatan, Okinawa City and Uruma). That is a city of nearly 1,000,000 people within 16 miles of one another.

You could make the argument that there is no rail system and that transportation is tough, but is all the more reason to build the new stadium in Naha as well as improve on how these fans could get to the stadium each week.

Conclusion

All in all, it was a very successful season for FC Ryukyu in the J2 last year. Any newly promoted team always faces the harsh reality of getting demoted, see Kagoshima last season. FC Ryukyu will continue to struggle to draw the large crowds required to fund a serious run at the J1 until they can move out of the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium and into a ground they can call their own. In the meantime, the club, and its fans, need to find new ways to draw locals to the stadium. 7,500 fans per game is the mark on the wall for 2020. Challenge Accepted!

FC Ryukyu 2020 Schedule Preview

For the second installment of the 2020 FC Ryukyu season preview, I will look at the schedule of FC Ryukyu in 2020. While it is hard to predict which teams will start slow but finish strong, Omiya and Tokushima come to mind from last season, as well as who will be good and who will be bad, I will make some generous assumptions in this entry.

As you may know, there are 42 games in the J2 season with an even split of home and away games. The half way point of the 2020 season will occur around Sunday June 21^st. However, there is a long “work stoppage” due to the Tokyo Olympics which begins on Sunday July 19^th and lasts until Monday August 10^th. That is a total of 21 days between matches in the J2. As you would rightly assume, this will have massive implications for all the teams throughout the J League.

Players will still be required to train during this period and they will have already played an additional 2 mid-week matches up to this point (in the J2 at least). There is also the possibility of playing 1, if not 2, Emperor’s Cup games at this point for some J2 clubs. Many teams may look back at the end of the year and see this as the tilting point to their season. There will certainly be equal shares of teams, both with and without momentum at the stopping point, who will witness a change in their fortunes. Another factor is that key players may also return from injury, or at the very least, have additional time to rehabilitate that will also shape the outcome of teams for the all-important end run of 2020.

For FC Ryukyu there is one additional tax that many mainland teams do not need to pay. They have to travel long distances for every road game. The farthest they will travel will be to Montedio Yamagata with the shortest trip being to V-Varen Nagasaki. Yamagata is not nearly as far as some of FC Ryukyu’s past opponents, like Akita and Morioka in the J3, but they still have to fly 2-3 hours plus factoring in additional commute times by bus to some locations. This will certainly take its toll on the squad. But with that being said, lets begin!

MATCHES 1-21	MATCHES 22-42
1. @ JEF United Chiba	22. JEF United Chiba
2. Fagiano Okayama	23. @ Mito Hollyhock
3. @ Kyoto Sanga FC	24. Kyoto Sanga FC
4. Albirex Niigata	25. @ Tokushima Vortis
5. @ Thespakusatsu Gunma	26. @Tochigi SC
6. Tokushima Vortis	27. Thespakusatsu Gunma
7. @ Ventforet Kofu	28. @ Fagiano Okayama
8. Matsumoto Yamaga F.C.	29. Omiya Ardija
9. Montedio Yamagata	30. @ Giravanz Kitakyushu
10. @ Omiya Ardija	31. @ Renofa Yamaguchi
11. Mito Hollyhock	32. Avispa Fukuoka
12. FC Machida Zelvia	33. @ Matsumoto Yamagata FC
13. @ Avispa Fukuoka	34. Zweigen Kanazawa
14. Renofa Yamaguchi	35. @ Montedio Yamagata
15. @ V-Varen Nagasaki	36. @ Albirex Niigata
16. Giravanz Kitakyushu	37. Ventforet Kofu
17. Tochigi SC	38. Tokyo Verdy
18. @ Tokyo Verdy	39. @ FC Machida Zelvia
19. Ehime FC	40. Jubilo Iwata
20. @ Jubilo Iwata	41. @Ehime FC
21. @ Zweigen Kanazawa	42. V-Varen Nagasaki

1. FC Ryukyu will play 11 home games in the first half of the season and 10 in the second half.

2. FC Ryukyu will play the 4 J1/J2 playoff teams from 2019 in a matter of 5 weeks (Vortis & Kofu Match Days 6 & 7; Yamagata & Omiya Match Days 10 & 11).

3. FC Ryukyu will play 4 mid-week matches in 2020, Match Days 5,12, 14 & 34. The last 3 are all at home.

4. FC Ryukyu will have 4 pairs of both back to back home games, and back to back away games.

5. The J League schedulers are funny people as one of those back to back road pairs happens to be the 2 farthest locations for the club in 2020. FC Ryukyu will play away to Montedio Yamagata and Albirex Niigata in a matter of 6 days on Match Days 35 & 36. I hope they intend to stay on mainland and find a suitable practice facility as that back forth distance leaves little time for recovery, training and travel between games.

6. In one 10 game stretch, Match Days 8-17, FC Ryukyu play 7 out of those 10 games at home. There are no other combinations in the schedule where FC Ryukyu plays more than 6 home/road games in any 10-game stretch.

7. FC Ryukyu will once again play Ehime FC on the road on Match Day 41.

8. FC Ryukyu will face Jubilo Iwata & Ehime FC in consecutive weeks twice this season. And they both occur at the same time in each half of the schedule (Match Days 19 & 20 & Match Days 40 & 41).

9. FC Ryukyu will play 17 games after the Olympic break (8 home/9 away).

10. FC Ryukyu will play 4 home games and 7 road games in the first 11 games after the Olympics.

11. FC Ryukyu will play 4 of their remaining 6 games in 2020 at home.

12. FC Ryukyu will play JEF Chiba United on Match Day 1 & Match Day 21 to start both the first and second halves of the season.

13. The shortest time gap between playing any one opponent is 8 weeks when FC Ryukyu play Tochigi SC (Match Days 17 & 26).

14. Every match following a game in which FC Ryukyu faces Montedio Yamagata, the opponent’s primary color is Orange (Omiya & Niigata).

15. FC Ryukyu play 24 games on Saturday, 13 on Sunday, 4 on Wednesday and 1 on a Monday.

16. FC Ryukyu play 16 games over a 3-month period (March to May)

17. The busiest month for FC Ryukyu is May with 6 matches and the slowest is July with 3 games.

Simple Observations

Whereas FC Ryukyu started amazingly fast to open the 2019 season, and caught teams sleeping on them, FC Ryukyu have a brutal 11 game stretch to open the 2020 season. They open against a team that beat them twice last season, face two newly revamped sides aiming for promotion in consecutive weeks, then play 4 JI/J2 playoff teams from 2019. Next, we sprinkle in games against the newly promoted J3 side who may have the “new boy bump” occurring, as well as the newly demoted side seeking to climb right back up to J1. Then to top it all off, they face a side who barely missed the playoffs last season. The schedule does not let up until match day 12 for this club and I hope we are not near the bottom left wondering where a quarter of the season disappeared too.

For a large part, the paragraph above represents a combination of how a majority of those teams finished in 2019 as well as some of the more popular opinions floating around today. As my knowledge of the J League continues to grow, thanks in large part to the excellent group of people on twitter – as well as the series of J-Talk podcasts- it is becoming apparent that players change clubs routinely and therefore so do the fortunes of the clubs. But make no mistake, this is a tough schedule for any side and FC Ryukyu will need to do all they can to grind out some early points so as not to find themselves in a relegation scrap come September.

FC Ryukyu 2020 Squad Preview

I will break this down by position and then I will offer my thoughts on a projected starting 11. Please keep in mind that each player is being discussed in the light of his possible role in Higuchi’s preferred 4-2-3-1 lineup selection. Higuchi never wavered once over the course of last season when choosing a formation so there is no reason to believe he will change to say a 3-5-3, or anything else for that matter, for 2020.

Goalkeepers (4)

#1 Dany Carvajal: FC Ryukyu’s first choice at GK in 2019. Dany made some spectacular saves during the 2019 campaign. It was a shame Dany wasn’t able to close out the season since he ultimately required surgery to repair a high ankle sprain he suffered against Yokohama in June. Dany should have a much better set up in front of him this year which should cut down on a lot of the goals that were conceded in 2019. Dany’s health will be the major issue to begin 2020 as he will still be rehabbing from surgery this past December. This team will need his services very soon as they will be relying on several untested goal keepers to start the season.

#17 Keisuke Masuda: A member of the club since 2016, Keisuke has rarely featured for the club. I believe he has 8 appearances overall since 2016 with a majority of those (5) occurring in 2017. Likely to feature only if there are several injuries ahead of him.

#26 Kosuke Inose: Kosuke joined FC Ryukyu last season and should be considered a long-term prospect for the club. He did feature once last season, against Mito Hollyhock when Dany was out injured and back up keeper, Ishii, couldn’t play due to loan regulations from his parent club Mito. Ryukyu lost 3-1 but Inose at least earned some match day experience against a very tough opponent.

#26 Junto Taguchi: The goal keeper with the most match experience behind Dany (21 matches for Fujieda MYFC while on loan from Yokohama F Marinos). Signed from Albirex Niigata, Taguchi will look to push into the starting 11 with Dany out to start the season and secure the role of second choice keeper for FC Ryukyu.

The club’s signings this off-season indicate that they have full faith in Dany as their first-choice keeper for 2020. However, the competition for the #2 choice behind Dany is wide open between the 3 backups and someone will need to assert themselves as the first choice keeper for the first 3-4 weeks of the 2020 season.

Defenders (8)

#2 Yuya Torikai RB: Signed in the 2019 summer transfer window from Renofa Yamaguchi, Torikai stepped right in and provided a veteran presence that the back line was lacking. At the time of his signing, FC Ryukyu were dealing with a bevy of injuries to the back 4 as well as loaning out Masutani to Okayama. Torikai’s play looked solid early on and he can create his fair share of chances in the attack. What is more impressive is ability to track back and defend which is what the side needs more of this year. He suffered a rather nasty ligament injury to end the 2019 season and his rehab will see him miss the start of the 2020 season. He returned to FC Ryukyu after spending the last five and half season with Renofa Yamaguchi.

#3 Ryoji Fukui CB/FB: Fukui proved to be a good signing for the club in 2019 because he is versatile enough to play all 4 defensive positions in Higuchi’s lineup, which is exactly what he did all last year. Fukui has plenty of experience but that never really translated into stopping the bleeding at the back in 2019. He often gets a lot of criticism for his poor play from some pundits out there but he should reprise his role as the first-choice defender off the bench for Higuchi in 2020. Has died his hair blonde and was nearly unrecognizable. Maybe this signals a new way of playing as well.

#4 Ryohei Okazaki CB: Signed from Shonan Bellmare in 2019, Okazaki became Higuchi’s first choice CB for the entire season. Okazaki only missed games due to suspensions from yellow card accumulation which is a credit to his fitness. This was his first season in which he featured as a starter and I hope that experience translates over to better play in 2020. He is likely to be paired with Lee Yong Jick at CB to begin 2020.

#5 Felipe Tavares RB: Tavares joins FC Ryukyu from Brazilian club, Sociedade Esportiva do Gama. Tavares is a relatively unknown commodity as there is not much out there that I can find for this player. I believe he had some loan spells or tryouts with some JFL clubs in the past but nothing that can be verified. He has some decent height on him and hopefully has a bit of a nasty streak as I’d like to see our defenders put in a better performance for 2020. He will most likely start at RB to begin 2020 if he earns the trust of Higuchi during camp.

#9 Lee Yong Jick CB: Signed from Tokyo Verdy this off season, the North Korean national team player will look to sure up a rather shaky back line. Most have said this has been FC Ryukyu’s best signing this season and I pray that it is true. First, outside of Shinji Ono, Lee is the only internationally capped player on the side. Second, Lee’s height makes him a weapon on set pieces indicated by his 4 goals as a defender last year. To provide some context, those 4 goals are close to the total amount of goals scored by all FC Ryukyu defenders last season.

#14 Keigo Numata LB: Signed from Zweigen Kanazawa this winter, Numata will look to fill the void of departed LB, Shuhei Tokumoto. Tokumoto and Numata are similar types of players but Tokumoto has the advantage of youth. Numata’s presence will add much to the FC Ryukyu attack as he can score goals and provide service in the form of crosses to the attacking players. Numata has loads of experience and has played abroad during his career. His signing indicates a strong push by the club to add experience over potential/prospects to the Ryukyu back line.

#15 Tetsuya Chinen FB: Youth signing, will most likely not feature for the club this season barring numerous injuries to the back 4.

#24 Daisei Suzuki CB: On loan from Tokushima Vortis, he may push one of the starting CBs for playing time but will most likely serve as a backup to Okazaki and Yong Jick.

Defense was a major area of concern heading into 2020 and that was before Tokumoto departed for Okayama. I think the club has done well to respond to that criticism and hopefully that translates into far fewer goals conceded in 2020.

Midfielders (12)

#6 Koki Kazama CDM: Koki featured heavily in the FC Ryukyu lineup last season, that was, until he lost his starting role with the additions of Shinji Ono and his brother Koya. Koki continued to make spot starts and substitution appearances the remainder of the way and is probably best known for his free kicks. He hit an absolute cracker last season and narrowly missed a second when it deflected off the crossbar. Higuchi mainly swapped Shinji and Koki for the other every match and it will be interesting to see if that is the case in 2020.

#7 Shinji Ono MF: Signed from Consadole Sapporo in the 2019 summer transfer window, Shinji brings massive name brand recognition to FC Ryukyu. He also brought a calming veteran presence to a side that was in the midst of their worst run of form all season. Though the 40 year old, I believe now 41, didn’t score for the club last year, his contributions cannot be underestimated. It is anyone’s guess how Shinji will be employed this season. He featured in more of CMF role next to Uesato where it seemed he was directing the attacking players while trying to unlock the opposition’s defense with some surgical passing. There is no doubt that Shinji is a quality player but the reality is that he may not be at a fitness level to play a full 90 minutes each week. In fact, he would either start and retire at half time or come on late with about 25-30 minutes remaining in any match so this is what should be expected in 2020.

#8 Koya Kazama LM/CMF: Signed from FC Gifu in the 2020 winter transfer window, Koya came to the club on loan from FC Gifu this past summer. His presence in the starting 11, along with Shinji Ono’s, really helped turn the club around at its lowest point last season. Koya is quality J2 veteran who still has a lot to offer. He played out wide to the right and pushed Keita Tanaka to the bench for the remainder of 2019. When paired with Torikai, the two made a very nice combination down the right side of the FC Ryukyu attack. I am not sure if he is better suited inside, playing directly behind the FWD/Striker, or is better out wide. He will be in direct competition with Keita Tanaka, Shunsuke Motegi and Kazuki Yamaguchi for a place in the starting 11.

#10 Yu Tomidokoro LM: Mr. Ryukyu. A mainstay at the club for well over 7 seasons he is a fan favorite and free kick specialist. He began the 2019 campaign starting at the LM position but picked up an early ankle/foot sprain that saw him miss some time (think it was around 4-5 weeks). He returned to the lineup but could never find that rich vein of form he had in 2018 from the FK spot. In fact, Uesato took many more FKs than Yu which was a bit disappointing. Yu did stroke a FK home in an important home match to give FC Ryukyu the victory mid-season but was ultimately replaced by the ascending Shuto Kawai. Similar to most of our MF players, Yu has serious competition for a starting position as well as a spot in the reserves each week.

#11 Keita Tanaka LM: Tanaka returned to FC Ryukyu in 2019 after spending 2 seasons at Mito Hollyhock. Keita was a lethal finisher for FC Ryukyu prior to his departure where he netted 22 goals in 2 seasons. Things looked very bright for Keita to start 2019 when he opened his scoring account on a beautifully taken shot against Omiya Ardija on the road. However, that would be Tanaka’s only goal of 2019. He eventually lost his starting position and was never able to claw back into the lineup, outside of a rare substitution appearance. There has been quite a lot of chatter this off-season concerning Tanaka and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him start out very hot this season and possibly regain a role in the starting 11.

#13 Shuto Kawai LM: Outside of Uejo’s meteoric rise, no other player was more exciting to watch develop into a top player than Kawai. He jumped off the screen with his speed in his initial debut but you could see he had a way to go when it came to maintaining body and ball control at that high rate of speed. He disappeared for a while and we were a left wondering about his whereabouts. However, he made a triumphant return to the lineup and asserted himself as a member of the starting 11. Kawai has the ability to round defenders with his speed and stretch the opponents defense therefore opening up shooting lanes for the other attacking players. Kawai can also provide excellent crosses in addition to finishing. His goal to level the match away to Kyoto last season was a well taken shot from about 25 yards out. I would very much like to see Kawai start the season at LM as I think he has a much stronger supporting cast around him this season. I fear that if he is too good, FC Ryukyu may lose him in the transfer window.

#18 Kazuki Yamaguchi MF/FWD: Signed from Shonan Bellmare, Yamaguchi is a bit of an unknown commodity. He is around 5’0” tall so one has to assume he serious amounts of speed. I don’t think he featured that often for Bellmare last season and I am not sure of his role in the club this year. He will need some match day experience to unlock his potential and at 24, he is probably a mid term prospect for the club. I could be wrong in my assessment though.

#20 Kazumasa Uesato CDM: Uesato joined FC Ryukyu last season from Roasso Kumamoto. Uesato brings loads of experience to FC Ryukyu and that is why he was voted team captain in 2019, and again in 2020. Uesato scored some spectacular goals last year with the standout one being against Tokyo Verdy. Deep into extra time he stroked home a deflected shot on the volley to level the match. Uesato also took his fair share of dead ball free kicks last season but I can only recall one of them actually going in. To his credit, Uesato rarely, if possibly ever, missed any time last season. I cannot recall him missing time due to injury so it would have had to come through suspension for yellow cards.

#23 Ren Ikeda MF: A college prospect that was signed this off-season. He is a developmental player with loads of talented players ahead of him the lineup. Looked sharp in the limited practice time I witnessed but I wouldn’t expect much from Ren in 2020.

#25 Lee Ji Song MF: Another college prospect, Lee was signed from a Korean University this off season. A name to follow for the future but very difficult to see him cracking the starting 11 in 2020.

#27 Shunsuke Motegi RM/LM: An extremely talented player that FC Ryukyu were able to lure away from Mito Hollyhock. Known for his crossing prowess, Motegi seems to fit the RM/LM role that Higuchi wants from his attacking players. At 24 years old, it was also quite a steal for the club. I am very excited to see how he is deployed as well as what he brings to the attack this season.

#28 Yoshiho Kazumi MF: Kazumi is a very talented prospect for this club. He featured a few times for FC Ryukyu last season and flashed a lot of the tools that make up a quality footballer. He looked really impressive against Tokyo Verdy in a limited appearance but was never fully able to crack the starting 11. He held his own and featured with so many talented players last season so it will be interesting to see if he can get any meaningful playing time in order to fully develop.

FC Ryukyu are blessed with so many talented players in the midfield that Higuchi will likely face a lineup crisis each week.

Forwards (3)

#16 Takuma Abe FWD: Signed from Vegalta Sendai, Abe is coming to FC Ryukyu in the twilight stages of his career. That is not to say he has nothing to offer, on the contrary, I think that Abe could end up being this team’s leading scorer in 2020 with a tally around 14-16 goals. He has loads of experience playing at high levels of competition here in Japan as well as abroad in Germany and South Korea. Abe hasn’t reached double digit goals since 2012 but he will have ample opportunity here in Okinawa as there are only 2 other players vying for the starting striker position.

#19 Takuya Hitomi FWD: A college prospect and therefore no real threat for playing time barring an injury to Abe or Uehara.

#21 Shinya Uehara FWD: Uehara came to FC Ryukyu via Ehime FC last season. He must have been dealing with some sort of injury all season as he never made an impact until late last season. But those were some massive contributions. Uehara has a knack for burying headers and scoring goals at some of the most crucial moments of games and point sin the season. He was also versatile enough to start at RB when Torikai and Nishioka were out injured. He is one of the local players from Okinawa to feature for FC Ryukyu thus making him a huge fan favorite. Both Abe and Uehara are around the same age with each offering a different element to the FC Ryukyu attack. If he doesn’t start, I could envision him coming on later in matches to give a distinct height advantage to FC Ryukyu on set pieces and corner kicks when he lines up with Lee Yong Jick, Okazaki and Tavares.

It seems strange that FC Ryukyu are only rostering 3 strikers, 2 with any real J League experience, considering they rostered 6 last season.

Projected Starting 11

Reserves: GK Inose DF Fukui MF Tanaka Koki Kazama Yu Tomidokoro Yamaguchi FWD Uehara

Final Thoughts

Well there you have it. FC Ryukyu’s squad for 2020 (27) is smaller compared to last year where they rostered 35. Maybe this is due to a larger wage bill for some newly acquired players or they are leaving open the possibility of players joining on loan/signing near the close of the winter window.

It seems odd that FC Ryukyu really only have 2 proven strikers/forwards to start the 2020 season but that is probably because some of the MFs maybe able to take over that role in times of crisis/contingency. Where FC Ryukyu isn’t lacking any depth is in the MF. They are loaded to the hilt and it will likely cost some of are younger players a chance at developing. But it sure will be exciting to watch these veterans ply their trade craft each week. We all know that competition brings out the best in players so each of them will need to prove themselves every practice and every match day.

The next installment to start the 2020 season will be to take a quick glance at the FC Ryukyu 2020 schedule. Until then, I’ll see you later.

Welcome to the FC Ryukyu 2020 Season!

Greetings, and welcome to the unofficial FC Ryukyu English blog for 2020. For those of you that are familiar with this blog, thank you for your patronage and for those that are just discovering this blog for the first time, welcome. I started the blog in 2019 in order to expose FC Ryukyu to a large non-Japanese speaking community here in Okinawa as well as abroad. I was initially frustrated with the lack of English content provided by the club’s website and wanted to generate interest for the team to the large expat community here on Okinawa and elsewhere in Japan. The end result was far greater than I expected as I was able to meet so many great people along the way who not only love FC Ryukyu, but love Japanese Football and Football altogether. It was a truly amazing ride in 2019 and I hope to continue this blog’s success in 2020.

Throughout 2019 I was able to meet many FC Ryukyu fans from all over the world as well as officials from the club. We traveled to away matches together, attended several events for the club outside of the match days and discussed how to gain exposure for the club. My only regret was I couldn’t speak Japanese as it would’ve made a much richer experience but I am so grateful for everyone that I met along the way. I was also able to gain a better understanding of football here in Japan, as well as abroad through so many great people on Twitter as well as the J-Talk & J-Talk Extra Time Podcast. Appearing on their podcast was one of the greatest moments I’ve ever had and if you do not follow them already, you really need too.

For those of you just tuning in, 2019 was a historic season for FC Ryukyu on several fronts. It was the first year that they would play in the J2 league after spending 5 season in the J3. It was also a year that saw the club achieve a historic moment in J Leauge Football. FC Ryukyu surpassed a 30 game unbeaten at home streak by Urawa to become the only club in the history of the J league to win/draw 36 consecutive games at home. There was some nervy, crazy and enjoyably moments during that streak and it was truly memorable. They almost made it to 37 but despite their 2-0 advantage over Ventforet Kofu just before halftime, they ultimately lost that match 5-2 and the streak came to a screeching halt.

FC Ryukyu’s 2019 campaign can best described as a roller-coaster ride of emotions for their fans. They began really hot by winning 4 in a row and drawing their next 2 to jump out to the table topping position with 14 points. They then struggled for points on the road as well as wins at home and began tumbling down the J2 table. They saw Koji Suzuki depart for Cerezo Osaka, but were reinforced by some key players in the summer transfer window. The most important being Shinji Ono. While Shinji didn’t score a goal for FC Ryukyu in 2019, no one can deny he drove up attendance levels over the remaining 2019 home matches for FC Ryukyu. They would eventually arrest their slide and settle for 14th place on 49 points. They broke out of their road form funk at the most crucial moment near the end of the season and pushed themselves into safety by October. However, this was a club that surrendered a league leading 81 goals and was only saved by some favorable results in addition to the teams below them faltering at critical moments.

So what do we have to look forward too in 2020? Uejo, Tokumoto, Masutani have departed to Fagiano Okayama and Nishioka has left for Ehime FC. FC Ryukyu have a very hard task of replacing their top two goal scorers from 2019 (Suzuki & Uejo) and will need to sure up the back line. They will also be dealing with injuries to key players to start the 2020 campaign as both Dany Carvajal (GK) and Torikai (RB) are recovering from off season ankle surgery.

Their off-season signings indicate a few things. First, Higuchi will continue to employ a 4-2-3-1 formation. Second, a majority of the signings are veteran players outside of a select few which means we have traded youth, or simply couldn’t afford them, for players that offer immediate returns on investment. Lee Yong Jick, a North Korean national team player will slot into the CB role along side Okasaki. Numato is a like for like replacement for Tokumoto at LB but he is five years older than Tokumoto. FC Ryukyu will also need to replace Torikai at RB while he recovers and that may come in the form of newly signed Felipe Tavares. An interesting prospect from Brazil that could either adapt quickly to life in the J2 and become a force to be reckoned with or turn into a role player for the club.

Up front the main question is who leads the line for Higuchi? Uehara scored some spectacular goals, at crucial moments for the club, but was never able to stay healthy for the whole campaign. Takuma Abe is looking to revive his career and I hope he can find that rich form down in the J2. But both players are over 30 years old and if injuries or poor form hit the club hard in 2020, we may see the infamous false-9 lineup that was made famous in La Liga so many years ago.

As far as the midfield is concerned, Higuchi has a major crisis selection on his hands as this is where a majority of talent resides for this club. But this is a good thing. Uesato and Shinji are likely to be the two CDM but its anybody’s guess who the remaining 3 midfielders will be. Kawai brings so much speed and developed into such a fine player in 2019 you wonder how he could be left out of the side. Tomidokoro is our FK specialist and then there are brothers Koya and Koki who are solid players. Tanaka maybe the teams come back player of the year and then we have the new signings and prospects. Koizumi is going to be a player some day but needs match day experience. Because he is a MF it maybe difficult on this club which is unfortunate. Yamaguchi from Bellmare and Motegi from Mito add the two crucial elements of speed and service to the FC Ryukyu attack both feature early on. As I said earlier, it is really hard to see how they all figure into the lineup in 2020.

Over the next few days I will release some entries that include a team preview, an early look at our 2020 schedule and areas of improvement I hope the club has addressed in 2020. Until then, enjoy the off season as the stress of playing in the J2 is merely a matter of days away.

J1/J2 Playoff Final Match Report: (J1) Shonan Bellmare 1-1 (J2) Tokushima Vortis 12/14/2018

Intro

What a disappointing finish to the 2019 J league playoffs. I say disappointing as I think so many of us wanted to see Tokushima Vortis reach the J1. Stuart Smith from the J-Talk Extra time podcast (@sushi_football) said it the best in the latest installment, “The J2 needs Tokushima to defeat Shonan and reach the J1.” But as we’ve all come to expect with such a titled playoff structure, Tokushima couldn’t get the second goal that would see them through and the draw kept them in the J2 for 2020.

Match Report

Tokushima made some very nice early runs in the match and were rewarded with the opening goal in the 20^th minute by Tokuma Suzuki. Suzukui redirected a headed cross back into the box from a corner kick with a really nice volley. It was a dream start for the visitors as it meant that the game would really open up for them. The playing field was “leveled,” but they still needed a 2nd goal.

In a testament to how good this Vortis side was yesterday, and all year actually, all the post-match highlights were that of Vortis with only one from Shonan. That one being the Temma Matsuda 64^th minute equalizer. Matsuda was able to power his way through several Vortis defenders who were attempting to clear the ball from danger. Temma was able to get past them all in a very bullish run and put a shot into the back of the net.

Vortis still had time to grab another goal and they had two great opportunities that were just wide. The final insult to injury for Vortis was their last shot on net in the 4^th minute of stoppage time was centimeters wide. It curled the side netting, leading some to believe, including me, they had done the impossible. It was a terrible feeling as a neutral and absolutely gutting for the Vortis fans, players and manager.

THE PLAYOFF SYSTEM IS BROKE AND NEEDS FIXED

So many people have taken to Twitter over the past 3 weeks of this competition to voice their frustration at an absolutely one-sided playoff system that favors not only home teams, but the J1 side facing possible relegation in the final match. Let’s quickly review the obvious problems:

1. Home teams have the advantage of only needing a draw to advance.

2. The J1 side, historically, plays less matches than the J2 side.

I am not sure how this ridiculously corrupt system was created and implemented but it needs to be changed for 2020. Consider that there is no longer a playoff requirement between the second place J3 side and the 21st placed J2 side It was abolished in 2017 and the J1/J2 system needs to follow suit. In fact, that system at least allowed for a home & home series between the competitors.

How the playoff system should be changed:

1. Drop bottom 3 of J1 and promote top 2 of J2 as well as the J2 playoff winner. Scrap the game between the J1 & J2 sides.

2. If option #1 isn’t going to happen then eliminate the rule that allows home teams to advance just for earning a draw. If player safety was the concern for not having the games progress to extra time since these sides have already played at least 43 matches this year, then simply go straight to penalty kicks. This would at least force the home team not to sit back on their laurels while putting tremendous pressure on visiting sides to score 2 goals.

3. They need better scheduling of the playoff matches and make them an important event and not scheduled during the same start times of the J1 & J3 leagues who are closing out their season. It would be great to see these games treated like many of the tiers in English Football with the final being held at a neutral ground.

Conclusion

While you would certainly not take umbrage with seeing the fans from the J1 side crying tears of joy at the fact that their side staved off relegation. I cannot get on-board with seeing the J1 players weeping as if they just won some major trophy. I would assume the tears stemmed from the fact that he’ll be playing on a more lucrative J1 contract in 2020, compared to that of a J2 contract, but that was absolutely classless in my opinion. Full credit for Vortis for holding their heads up in the midst of all that adversity.

2019 J1/J2 Playoff Final Preview: (J1) Shonan Bellmare vs (J2) Tokushima Vortis 12/14/2019

Intro

Well, here we are at the end. The J1/J2 playoff final between Shonan Bellmare and Tokushima Vortis is set for this Saturday. One of these sides will be playing J1 football in 2020 with the other playing in the J2. Tokushima’s path to the final included a 4^th place finish in the J2, followed by a 1-1 draw with Ventforet Kofu in the opening round of these playoffs and 1-0 win over Montedio Yamagata in the second round. Shonan’s path was a lot less glamorous. Shonan had a chance this past Sunday to pull themselves out of the relegation battle at the expense of Sagan Tosu but a late goal by already relegated Matsumoto sealed their fate last weekend. There were no playoff games for Shonan to reach this point, instead, it was their overall record that put them in this spot. But before we get to who will win and how they’ll attempt to accomplish the task at hand, let’s look at each side and see if there’s more to their story than the statistics indicate.

Shonan Bellmare

Shonan Bellmare hail from Kanagawa. Shonan won a total of 12 games this season out of a possible 42. Right away we can see that this was not a side that lit up the score sheet each week and suffered both heavy and embarrassing defeats throughout the year. The first one that comes to mind was the 4-0 drubbing by the JFL side Veertien Mie, in this years Emperor’s Cup. Granted, Shonan may not have played their top lineup, but to suffer a 4-0 loss to a non-league side at home doesn’t instill a ton of confidence in the fans or the club. Shonan then suffered a 3 game losing streak at home that included score lines of 6-0, 5-0 and 3-0. They were able to break out of that funk, at probably the most opportune time, with a 1-0 win on their last home match to at least give them a fighting chance on the last day to avoid the situation they currently find themselves in right now.

As a whole, Shonan were outscored 47 to 80 across all competitions this year. Though the 40 goals they scored in the J1 were by no means the lowest as Shonan outscored 7 other J1 sides this year that included sides Cerezo Osaka, Oita Trinita and Vegalta Sendai that finished much higher up the table than Shonan. The problem for Shonan was they surrendered the second most goals of any J1 side in 2019. For all the FC Ryukyu fans out there, you can understand exactly what I am talking about and see how dangerous conceding that many goals can be for any side that must deal with relegation on a regular basis.

Another worrying trend for this side was that they only had one player who reached double digit points this season. I did not review each player in depth to see if they suffered some sort of injury throughout the season nor did I review every Levain Cup score sheet to see if the goals score din those games were not included in the players tally on the J.League website. In any event, it indicates that this side may not have the ability to press for a goal if they find themselves in any sort of deficit tomorrow.

Tokuhsima Vortis

Those of you that regularly follow the J2 know about Vortis and what they accomplished this year as well as what type of outfit Ricardo Rodriguez assembled for a push to the J1. Vortis sputtered out of the gate to begin the season, that included a loss to FC Ryukyu on match day 4, but they rebounded nicely to earn a positive point in 30 of their remaining 38 matches of 2019. This included an unbeaten run of 12 matches followed by a draw and win against the aforementioned Kofu and Montedio to open the J1/J2 playoffs. But this game will not be played in Tokushima, Vortis will be the visitor for the first time in these playoffs and it is prudent we peer into their away record to see if there are any cracks in this formidable side.

Vortis went 9W5D7L on the road this season tallying 31 goals while conceding 26 for a goal difference of +5. But no so fast, one of those games was a 7-0 pasting of relegated side, FC Gifu, on match day 39. Grated, we cannot discount that game but their goals scored to conceded average for road games drops considerably if we treat that match as an outlier. If we removed the FC Gifu game, then Vortis’s averages are much closer together at 1.20 goals scored and 1.25 surrendered compared to the lofty 1.48 average road goals scored with FC Gifu’s game. This could be a small crack that would otherwise be overlooked due to the recent form this Vortis side has experienced and one that must be slightly concerning heading into the final match of the season.

Recent form and the overall eye test cannot also not be discounted either as we should never rely solely on what some of the statistics indicate. Tokushima won 5 of their final 7 road games while drawing twice to remain unbeaten when closing out the 2019 campaign. But those wins were against Avispa Fukuoka, Ehime FC, JEF United Chiba, Tochigi SC, Omiya Ardija, FC Gifu and Tokyo Verdy. Not many “signature wins” are included in that group outside of Omiya but it’s not Tokuhsima’s fault for how their schedule was constructed; they could only play the teams that were put in front of them. For their part, Tokushima did beat promoted side, Yokohama FC and playoff side Ventforet Kofu on the road this year. I am purposely excluding any big wins at home against strong sides as Vortis are forced to travel this week and teams can perform at a noticeably different level when traveling. What I will point out though is, while momentum is not something we can or cannot actually measure, it most likely exists and Tokushima have serious amounts of positive momentum carrying them into the final compared to their opponent who stumbled at the very end.

Player Injuries

Shonan Bellmare: MF Ko Sawada has been out since July with a torn ACL.

Tokushima Vortis: FW Takeru Kishimoto has been out with a fractured ankle since mid-November.

Match Prediction

A tough game to predict as I have not spent a ton of time watching Shonan Bellmare throughout the 2019 campaign. I did see them face off against the J1 champions, Yokohama F Marinos earlier this year in a Levain Cup game but I was mainly there to see former FC Ryukyu players Park Il Gyu and Nakagawa, none of which featured that day by the way (terrible weather as well!). I will say that Shonan gave the champs fits throughout the match but I am not sure who was the main men for either side that game and Yokohama ultimately prevailed 1-0. What I will say is the Shonan fans traveled really well that day and I expected them to be in full voice at home tomorrow.

For all their warts, Shonan put forth some serious efforts to close out their season with draw at J1 runners-up, FC Tokyo, that could have ended in a Shonan victory if it weren’t for an extra time goal by FC Tokyo. Shonan also earned a victory at home against 6^th placed Hiroshima before their collapse at Matsumoto.

Tokushima have done the job these past 2 weeks against 2 top six sides in the J2 this year. They were never forced to chase their opponent in either game as they were the home side and simply needed a draw to advance. The shoe is on the other foot now as they say and we will need to see Tokushima come out and grab that all important first goal. The number they really need to hit is 2, a number they hit 7 times this year on the road that includes their last 3 road matches. The Vortis back line will need to frustrate the Shonan attacking players with Shonan attempting to do the same while trying to hit Vortis on the counter.

Shonan has the ability, as well as the players, to sit back, defend and then hit Vortis on the counter. I would be especially wary of #10 from Shonan, Naoki Yamada, as he has an absolute cannon of a left leg and his ability to quickly turn and put power behind a shot could prove vital tomorrow. As pointed out by the boys on the J-Talk podcast this week, Vortis need to dictate the pace and play of this game as Shonan will simply try and slow things down and get out of there with a draw.

Alright, enough small talk. Are Vortis a team of destiny or are Shonan destined to stay in the J1 for 2020 despite their poor performance all season? Tokushima have played 4 more games than Shonan this year but Shonan have also lost to non-league side Veertien and J2 side V-Varen Nagasaki this season. I have picked against Vortis once and was very wrong while rightly siding with them last week. Therefore, I see the J2 playoff winners securing the much-needed victory to propel them into the J1 while simultaneously sinking Shonan into J2 hell. The strike partnership of Nomura and Kawata from Vortis coupled with Jordy Buijs being the tone setter for this team will be too much for Shonan on Sunday. Goals from both Kawata and a Buijs FK bring home the win for the visitors.

Tokushima Vortis 2-1 Shonan Bellmare

Conclusion

There isn’t much more I can say so why bother. Enjoy and see you next week with the match report.

J1/J2 Playoffs Round 2 Match Report: Tokushima Vortis 1-0 Montedio Yamagata 12/8/2019

Intro

Tokushima Vortis are moving on the final playoff round after their 1-0 victory over Montedio Yamagata this past Sunday. For Vortis, it means they will play Shonan Bellmare this upcoming Saturday. For Montedio, it leaves them to wonder what could have been. There were some exciting games this Sunday to round out both the final round of the J1 & J3, as well as the playoff semi-final in the J2.

Match Recap

As one has come to expect with these playoffs, Montedio needed to come out on the front foot as a draw would not be good enough to advance. Montedio nearly got the dream start they were hoping for when last weeks hero for Vortis, Jordy Buijs, almost became this week’s goat. He was dispossessed by Yuya Yamagishi just outside the edge of his own 18-yard box. Yamagishi then fired a cross into the box where Haruya Ide was able to get on the end of it. Luckily for Vortis, the bang-bang play, and shot from point blank range, ended up being stopped by the scrambling Kajikawa who was able to get back in time and get a hand to the shot.

From here, Vortis began to take over the match and nearly scored off a beautiful give-and-go with Shimaya in the 32^nd minute. Yamagata fizzed a header just wide of the right post from a corner kick but the half would end 0-0.

Tokushima’s breakthrough occurred in the 53^rd minute with a beautifully executed play between Namura and Kawata. Namura received a pass after a Montedio giveaway in the Vortis half. Kawata, seeing the wide-open lanes between the Yamagata defenders, began to make a run to which Namura picked him out with a tremendous through ball. The pass put Kawata alone on net with only the Montedio goal keeper to beat. Kawata coolly finished off the play with a beautiful chip over the top of the goalie and thrust Tokushima into the playoff final.

Yamagata had a legit argument for a PK in the 74^th minute when their attacker was brought down in the box. But, as I’ve seen with this particular referee throughout the season, he missed the obvious call. However, it wasn’t just his fault as there was the “extra official” on the touch line and he should’ve seen this, and conferred with the referee to make the call, but Yamagata were simply unlucky. Montedio’s last chance came in the 88^th minute when a free kick from about 25 yards out sailed just high over the bar and onto the top of the net.

Final Score: Tokushima Vortis 1-0 Montedio Yamagata

Round 34 Recap in J1

The main games we were concerned with were the Matsumoto Yamaga FC versus Shonan Bellmare and the Shimizu S-Pulse against Sagan Tosu. Shimizu scored in the 68^th minute and began to put pressure on Sagan to equalize as Shonan had yet to score and they required a win to put either of Shimizu or Sagan into the playoff relegation bracket. In the 85^th minute, Shonan, on the road, scored a massive goal after a rather lackluster performance all day. Whether or not the word of that score line made it back to Sagan didn’t matter as Sagan never equalized against Shimizu and the game ended 1-0. But then the unbelievable happened, Matsumoto equalized in the 90^th minute to crush the hopes of Shonan and send them into the final playoff match against Vortis.

Round 34 Recap in J3

Kagoshima fans were intently watching the matchup between Thespakusatsu Gunma versus Fukushima United FC and Fujieda MYFC against Giravanz Kitakyushu. If Fujieda were to finish second in J3, then Kagoshima would not be relegated as they do not hold a J2 license. However, Gunma were able to handily defeat Fukushima 2-1 and relegate Kagoshima United FC despite Fujieda’s 1-0 victory over the J3 champions.

Conclusion

Yokohama F Marinos are the J1 champions, Kitakyushu are the J3 champions. Gunma will join Kitakyushu in the J2 in 2020 with Kagoshima United FC returning to the J3 after only one season in the J2 and all eyes will be focused on the playoff final between Shonan Bellmare and Tokushima Vortis this upcoming Saturday. There is only more round for the J League and then the semi-finals and finals of the Emperor Cup remain before we close out the 2019 season.

J1/J2 Playoffs Round 2 Match Preview: #4 Tokushima Vortis vs #6 Montedio Yamagata 12/8/2019

Intro

The second round of the J1/J2 playoffs will pit #4 seed, Tokushima Vortis, against #6 Montedio Yamagata. Vortis are here because they drew 1 all with Kofu at home last week, whereas Yamagata went into Omiya and dug out a 2-0 road victory. The winner of this match will move on to face the 16^th placed team from J1 next Sunday. But for now, that is also in question and we’ll need to wait and see how the J1 fixtures play out this weekend before we can know either of these sides opponents in the final match.

Tokushima Vortis Home Record Compared to Montedio Yamagata Away Record

As previously mentioned in an earlier blog entry, Vortis have only lost 5 times across 23 home games all season and until the draw this past weekend, they had won 4 out of their last 5 home games while maintaining a 3:1 goal scored to conceded ratio. Another impressive stat from the Vortis home record is that they’ve only conceded multiple goals at home on 5 occasions this year. This really puts a lot of pressure on Montedio to score, and not concede, as we just witnessed with Kofu this past Sunday. That is no easy task as it is not easy to score more than 1 goal on Tokushima.

Much like Tokushima’s previous opponent, Kofu, Montedio are no slouches on the road and it will take another solid performance by Vortis to move into the final stage of the competition. Last week I stated that Montedio began the road schedule this season in very strong form only to see it wobble in the second half. I also mentioned that they accumulated some large statistics against weaker sides while losing to some of the stronger sides in the table to close out 2019’s road schedule. None of that mattered last week as they easily brushed aside the #3 seed, Omiya Ardija, en-route to a 2-0 victory. It seems the good road form that Montedio experienced earlier this season may be returning which makes for an interesting matchup against a Tokushima side who fancies scoring goals. I am eagerly looking forward to the Jordy Buijs versus Jefferson Baiano matchup in this one and so should you.

Previous Meetings between Tokushima and Yamagata

Match Day 14 May 9^th 2019 Tokushima Vortis 1-1 Montedio Yamagata: Yamagata was defending rather poorly and a cheap give away almost led to a very early goal for Vortis. Vortis did crack the Montedio back line in the 9^th minute when a deflected shot from Yuta Uchida was redirected into the Montedio net. Near the end of the first half, Tokushima Forward Kiyotake, was sent off for a rash challenge thus putting Vortis down to 10 men the remainder of the game. Montedio struggled to generate anything offensively this game and were lucky to be awarded a PK that Jefferson Baiano converted to level the match.

Match Day 24 July 27^th 2019 Montedio Yamagata 3-1 Tokushima Vortis: Vortis were awarded a PK in the 19^th minute that Iwao converted for the early Vortis 1-0 lead. Then, shockingly, Kiyotake was sent off in the first half for the second straight game against Montedio. This time it was his time wasting that upset the referee leading to his second yellow of the half. The sending off once again sparked Yamagata’s offense to level, and then take the lead over Tokushima.

Leading Scorers for Each Side

Player Injuries

Tokushima Vortis: No change from last week. Kishimoto is still sidelined with a fractured ankle that will keep him out the remainder of the season.

Montedio Yamagata: Same as last week as well, none listed.

Match Prediction

Let’s start with a summary of the quotes from the end of the Vortis/Kofu match by Jordy Buijs. First, Tokushima have a huge home field advantage with their supporters and this is probably no easy trek for the Yamagata faithful on Sunday. Two, Vortis already have the advantage of only requiring a draw to advance to the next round as outlined in the playoff rules making life tough for any road opponent. Finally, it is extremely hard to score more than one goal against Tokushima.

Tokushima’s performance against Kofu was not as inspiring as that of their opponent against Omiya last week. Vortis were struggling to break down Kofu’s defense despite Kofu not having an overly strong back line. Vortis had their only real chance stopped by Kofu before Jordy broke the deadlock. However, Kofu and Utaka responded quickly to level the match and make it “game on” again. I think if Kofu had not Allano sent off they could be hosting Montedio this week but that is not the case. And Tokushima never scored to walk away with a win despite the man advantage.

For their part, Montedio looked impressive against Omiya. Stonewalling the Omiya attack all day and then putting them away with some late goals in quick succession. Montedio, like Kofu, also sport an impressive away record in 2019. They conceded the second fewest goals (37) this season in J2 while scoring the second most goals (34) on the road.

So, this begs the questions; can the Montedio back line prevent Tokushima from scoring even 1 goal on Sunday and can Montedio score when both sides are at even strength?

I do not think Montedio can do both despite their strong defensive record and the amount of goals they’ve scored on the road this year. There was nothing in the previous two meetings between these teams to indicate that Montedio can score at even strength coupled with the fact that Vortis only require a draw to advance. This puts Yamagata at a serious disadvantage. I’ve been wrong so, so, so many times before but I feel the Vortis juggernaut rolls on this Sunday.

Tokushima Vortis 1-0 over Montedio Yamagata.

Look Ahead to the Potential J1 Opponents for the Final Round of the J1/J2 Playoffs

It is going to be close! From the J League website.

1. Shonan Bellmare currently sit 16^th and in the drop zone with 35 points. They face already relegated Matsumoto Yamaga FC on the road and have the best chance of escaping the J1/J2 playoff final of the 3 teams at the bottom. Shonan would love a win though a draw may level them with Shimizu S-Pulse and Sagan Tosu and that would result in Shimizu S-Pulse being thrust into the playoff final if those sides draw on Saturday.

2. Shimizu S-Pulse (15) & Sagan Tosu (14) both sit on 36 points and in a very interesting end-of-season-twist, face each other on the final match day. Either side would love to send the other to their death and knowing that Bellmare only need to get level on points with S-Pulse, means S-Pulse really need to go for the win.

Conclusion

There is so much excitement entering the final match day across the J1, J3 and J2 playoffs this weekend. Yokohama FC facing FC Tokyo in the J1 title decider, though FC Tokyo require a 4-0 drubbing to win the league and are missing some of their star players.

Fujieda and Gunma are gunning for the second automatic promotion slot in J3 and Kagoshima fans everywhere will be watching these games with great anticipation. If Fujieda end up second, Kagoshima are safe from relegation to the J3 as Fujieda do not hold a J2 license and therefore cannot be promoted. However, Fujieda host the 2019 J3 champions, Kitakyushu, and though they drew 0-0 last time. Gunma on the other hand travel to 11^th placed Fukuhsima, who they beat 2-0 the last time these sides met.

This will be fun for those of us that are neutrals as there will certainly be a lot of teams busting their guts going for it in so many games which makes for exciting football. Enjoy.

J1/J2 Playoffs Round 1: Match Recaps 12/01/2019

Intro

The first round of the J1/J2 playoffs concluded this past Sunday with both Montedio Yamagata and Tokushima Vortis advancing to the second round. This was contrary to my predictions of Kofu and Omiya advancing, but anybody that regularly reads my blog knows that my match predictions are not that accurate.

For those relatively unfamiliar with the J1/J2 playoff system, it heavily favors the home side in any match. The home side merely has to earn a draw to advance, and as Jordy Buijs so accurately said in his postgame interview, it requires the away team to score at least 2 goals which is never an easy task. With that in mind, it is easy to see why the away team must come out on the front foot and try and score early and often. And why the home team never is out of the match despite a goal disadvantage. A draw is as good as a win in this format. With that, below is a brief summary of the matches and a look ahead to the second round.

#3 Omiya Ardija vs #6 Montedio Yamagata

Omiya entered the match having lost only 3 times at home all season while conceding only 2 goals to their opponents during their last 5 home games. Montedio on the other hand, lost 4 out of the final 10 road games and were conceding at nearly the same rate they were scoring as the visitors. However, there were some visible cracks to the Omiya side as they had only scored 1 goal from open play, the other being an own goal, over their final 3 matches. Meaning, the Omiya attack had dried up and was failing to fire at the worst possible time.

As noted in the introduction, Montedio came out strong and were generating a majority of the goal scoring chances. You wouldn’t know that from the limited highlights on DAZN but Montedio looked like they were going to crack the Omiya defense early. In fact, they should’ve received a dead ball kick from just outside the 18-yard box when the Omiya defender blocked a shot with his arm. However, the call wasn’t given and the half ended with a 0-0 scoreline. What seemed interesting about this half was that Simovic was creating all sorts of problems for the Monetedio defenders but he was not paired up top with Delgado. In fact, Delgado came on in place of Simovic after half time since Simovic had picked up a yellow card. Maybe that was a smart move on behalf of the Omiya manager, Takagi, as we’ll see later from the Kofu match.

Both sides traded some goal scoring chances for the first 25 minutes before the real fireworks took place. I couldn’t tell from the replay if it was #23 or #27 who sent the cross in from a CK but in any case, the cross ended up being sent to the back of the net by #18 of Omiya, Ippei Shinozuka, for an own goal. Now, Omiya, specifically Delgado, began to argue that it was a clear-cut case of off sides. However, the refereeing crew got the call correct in that the Montedio FW didn’t make contact with the ball as it was entering the net or interfere with play. In fact, he did really well to lay off it and let the ball roll past the keeper. Delgado was visibly upset that the offside call wasn’t given and then stupidly bumped into the referee. The ref was then forced to issue a yellow card and this was probably not what Takagi was hoping for when he made the early substitution for Simovic. However, Omiya still had 15 minutes plus stoppage time to level the match and advance.

Unfortunately for Omiya that goal would never come and instead they were shell-shocked from a second goal by Montedio 9 minutes later. A perfectly weighted and placed cross from Yanagi to the deep corner of the box found Yamada who then headed the cross back across the mouth of goal where Yamagishi had made a nice run between the Omiya defenders. Yamagishi slotted home the second goal for Yamagata and it was visible across the faces of most of the Omiya players that they had could offer no response to get back in the match.

Final Score Montedio Yamagata 2-0 Omiya Ardija.

Yamagata are marching on to face Tokushima while Omiya were left pondering where it all went so wrong. Omiya were earmarked by many to not only be promoted to J1 at the start of the season, but to advance through these playoffs and face the 16^th placed J1 side in 2 weeks. Well that isn’t going to happen and after reading a lot of the Twitter posts from the Omiya supporters, it seems that it is time to clean house and start anew for 2020.

Jefferson Baiano informing the Omiya crowd of their chances at advancing. BTW, this is act is considered unsportsmanlike, incurs a fine and suspension in the NFL.

#4 Tokushima Vortis vs #5 Ventforet Kofu

This was billed as the most enticing match up of the opening playoff fixtures as it pitted two very strong sides against one another. Each had overwhelming strengths when it came to winning at home, or on the road in the case of Kofu, as well as scoring goals and preventing their opponent from scoring. In the match preview I had picked Kofu to advance because I am a strong proponent for those teams that have displayed the ability to win against tougher opponents on the road. Maybe that is my inner NFL fan emerging but it is a key factor come playoff time and I certainly thought Kofu could do the job this Sunday.

This was a feisty affair with both sides committing bookable, and hard, offenses early and often. However, it was Kofu that was picking up the yellow cards as none of the Vortis players were booked. As an outsider, it looked a bit harsh that the referee was only issuing the cards to Kofu as Vortis were certainly guilty of a yellow card on one occasion. Kofu had picked up an astounding 3 yellow cards in the first half while Vortis received none. The one booking that never came was when Allano was brought down by a high boot to his upper legs after rounding the Vortis player. I cannot recall what Allano was booked for earlier but his complaint to the referee seemed to indicate that he did the same, or less, to receive his yellow and why shouldn’t the Vortis player receive the same treatment. In any event Kofu were toeing a fine line when it came to fouls as 3 players are sitting on yellow cards before half time.

Much as one would expect, Kofu had to press early in order to overcome what seems to be the invisible, but very present, 1 goal deficit even before they kickoff. However, it was Vortis who struck first from a well taken shout by Jordy Buijs in the 37^th minute. Jordy had found some space between the Kofu defense and turned a cross into the upper right corner of the goal just past Kawata. Kawata, who made a spectacular save just a few minutes earlier, could do absolutely nothing on the play. It was strange watching Tokushima celebrate the 1 goal advantage as if they had just scored deep into extra time, but this is what you get in the current construct of the playoff system. It now meant that Kofu are now required to score 2 goals in order to advance.

Kofu were able to respond, and respond rather quickly, from a Peter Utaka goal just 2 minutes later. He received the pass and as he did, the ball bounced up a little and he was able to strike it with his right foot and put some swerve and dip on the shot. Kajikawa was forced to rise to parry the shot over the net but he accidentally swatted the ball into the goal instead of out of danger as he initially intended. This type of response can motivate teams to go on a win but for Kofu, it was not meant to be.

Allano picked up his second yellow card, which obviously would lead to a red card and sending off, for a very poor challenge just after kickoff in the second half. I blame the Kofu manager, Ito, for not substituting Allano at half time. It was obvious to anyone watching the game on Sunday that Allano was angling for a second booking from his rash challenges all half. In fact, he committed a challenge in the first half after his booking and the calls from the home crowd for another card were loud and noticeable. I blame Ito as he should’ve seen that this particular referee was not averse to pulling out the yellow card for his side while keeping it in his pocket for Vortis. He should’ve also noticed that Allano was not making smart decisions at the point of challenges and he should have given his side a chance to advance instead of facing long odds to score when down to 10 men.

Kofu did all they could to go for the second goal but it was never going to happen. Tokushima are advancing and will now host Montedio while Kofu’s season ends in bitter disappointment.

Final score Tokushima Vortis 1-1 Ventforet Kofu

Jordy Buijs Quotes: “1, when we score 1 goal they need to score 2 and it is not easy to score 2 goals on us. 2, We had 3 advantages today, 2 before the start of the game; our home crowd and the point that we only needed a draw to advance. They gave us another when they had a man sent off.” About as accurate as you can get with the post game interview.

Tokushima Vortis vs Montedio Yamagata 12/08/2019

These sides drew 1 all at Tokushima in May with Yamagata getting a 3-1 win over Vortis in late July. Tokushima are entering this match with serous amounts of momentum on their side while Montedio have to be buoyed by their performance this past Sunday against Omiya. There was a strong showing by the Yamagata supporters this past match and I hope they can bring the same amount of people, and intensity, to Tokushima as their boys will certainly need all the support they can get against a very tough, very determined Vortis side.

J1/J2 Playoffs Round 1 Preview: (4) Tokushima Vortis vs (5) Ventforet Kofu

Intro

The second installment of the J1/J2 playoff preview looks at the match up between Tokushima Vortis and Ventforet Kofu. This is probably the tastier of the two matchups this round as both teams enter this game in good form, unlike the other matchup between Omiya and Montedio. These are two evenly matched sides with some firepower to light up the scoreboards and this should be a very entertaining match to watch as a neutral.

Tokushima Home Record vs Kofu Away Record

Both sides hold a nearly identical record when it comes to wins, draws, losses, goals scored and goals conceded when comparing Tokushima’s home record and Kofu’s away form. I guess that favors Kofu more than it does Tokushima as this means Kofu are well suited to grab wins on the road. It was pointed out to me that if the match were to end in a tie, the victory goes to the home team. No shootouts and no extra .5 for any away goals. That means if Kofu wishes to advance, they must walk away with the victory on Sunday.

In 22 away matches this year, Kofu has achieved that feat 50% of the time. They have drawn 5 times and lost 6 times but the fact that they won over half their matches on the road speaks volumes for their chances at advancing to the next round. Over their past 5 road games, Kofu has won 3 and lost 2 and conceded 7 goals in all competitions. One of those was an emperor’s cup match and they may not have been playing their strongest lineup so if we removed that result, and only counted J2 fixtures, they would’ve had 4 wins while only conceding 5 goals over that span.

On the other side, Tokushima also hold an impressive home record. They won over half of their matches while only losing 5 out of 23 games this season. One of those losses was very recently but it was to newly promoted Yokohama FC to the tune of 1-0. The other occurred way back in August to none other than Kofu. This means that Tokushima have only lost two times at home over the past 4 months. They’ve been shutout at home on 4 occasions, 5 when counting the emperor’s cup, and have scored multiple goals 9 times at home. They’ve conceded multiple goals only 5 times at home while shutting out their opponents 6 times.

Over the past 5 games at home Tokushima have won 4 times and lost once as previously mentioned. During that span they’ve maintained a 3:1 ratio for goals scored to goals conceded. While offense can win games, defense wins championships and if Tokushima wish to advance to the next round, they’ll need to blunt the Kofu attack on Sunday.

Previous Meetings this Season

Match Day 20 June 15^th 2019: Ventforet Kofu 0-1 Tokushima Vortis. Ken Iwao scored in the 11^th minute off a punched clearance by Kofu goal keeper Kawata, that came right to him inside the 18-yard box. His point-blank shot on the volley went screaming past Kawata for a 1-0 lead that Tokushima wouldn’t relinquish. Kofu had some goal scoring chances but nothing materialized.

Match Day 27 August 10^th 2019: Tokushima Vortis 0-2 Ventforet Kofu. Kofu returned the favor 2 months later when they went to Tokushima and dug out a 2-goal victory. Utaka opened the scoring in the 19^th minute when his power and pace where on full display. He pushed the ball past the Vortis defender, beat him with speed to create a shooting lane and then powered a shot past the Tokushima goal keeper. Vortis had a nice opportunity to tie the match in the 73^rd minute but the Kofu Keeper made a equally nice save. Finally, Uchida added an extra time goal to seal the game.

Leading Scorers

Player Injuries

Tokushima Vortis: FW #15 Takeru Kashimoto fractured his ankle against Yokohama FC and is out. He has chipped in 6 points this season for Vortis but hasn’t been on the score sheet since late June.

Ventforet Kofu: None listed but I know that a couple of their leading scorers were recently cut to include; Yusuke Tanaka (3pts), Shigeru Yokotani (7pts) and Koichi Sato (5pts). Dudu was also on the bench last week agaisnt FC Ryukyu meaning he is back to full health.

Match Prediction

Here are the facts:

1. Ventforet Kofu have won 4 in a row coming into this match while only conceding once.

2. Kofu are unbeaten in 11 out of their last 12 matches.

3. Since late July, Kofu have only lost 4 times in the J2 league.

4. While Kofu started hot this year, and were near the top of the table, they’ve hovered between the 5^th and 8^th spot for most of the season.

5. Tokushima Vortis had a 12-game unbeaten streak prior to their loss against Yokohama FC 2 weeks ago.

6. Vortis have only lost once in their past 15 games and those 36 points saw them rise from 12^th in the table on August 10^th, to 4^th by the end of the season.

7. Vortis have shout out their opponent at home 6 times this season. Kofu have been shut out only 3 times this season as the away side, with their last shutout occurring back on July 20^th on Match Day 23.

8. Vortis have scored multiple goals at home this season 9 times. Kofu have scored multiple goals on the road 10 times this season. One of those was against Tokushima.

9. Kofu have earned 7 points off the playoff contenders on the road this season by defeating Vortis and Yamagata while drawing with Omiya. Tokushima have only earned 1 point off these same opponents at home having lost to Omiya and Kofu while earning a draw against Yamagata.

10. Kofu have beaten Tokushima at home 2-0.

Really no way to separate these teams. This will be a heavyweight, blow for blow, knock down, dragged out fight to the very end. Most people see the surging Vortis squad as the front runner to win the playoff bracket and take on whoever finishes 16^th in J1. I think, we could see an upset on Sunday because of how good Kofu has been on the road.

Let me explain. In the National Football League in America, there are playoffs at the end of the year, similar to what we ‘ll see these next 3 weeks. In that sport, successful playoff teams are those that have proven they can win tough games on the road. In fact, you must be able to win on the road as only 2 teams have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. There are plenty of instances where the road team, obviously a lower seeded side, pulls off the upset and wins. I feel that this will happen on Sunday.

I think my dark horse to win this playoff and achieve J1 promotion is Kofu. I think they can defeat Tokushima on Sunday and then go on the road to defeat Omiya, or, if it were truly in their favor, defeat Yamagata at home before traveling to the J1 16^th placed team with promotion/relegation on the line. Kofu were very sluggish against FC Ryukyu this past weekend and FC Ryukyu dominated the possession battle and goal scoring opportunities, but Kofu capitalized when it mattered most. If Kofu can weather the Tokushima attack and strike them on the counter, where they are so lethal, Kofu will march on to the second round.

Ventforet Kofu 2-1 Tokushima Vortis.

Conclusion

Getting my popcorn ready as they say for this one. Nothing more needs to be said. Tune in and enjoy.