Intro

Finally, the wait is over. The people of Okinawa will now able to enjoy a derby match between two teams on the island within relative proximity to one another in the Japanese football pyramid (all due respect to Kaiho Bank FC). FC Ryukyu (J3) will face Okinawa SV (JFL) in the opening round of the 2023 Emperors Cup. It is the first ever competitive match between these two teams but neither side enter this competition in strong form with both sides situated near the bottom of their respective tables and both experiencing the exact same set of results the past six weeks.

Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: So, FC Ryukyu have been plummeting down the J3 standings since Match Day 3 and have only one win in their last six games. Ryukyu have endured a 3-game, and now a 2-game losing streak, with a 2-0 victory at home sandwiched in between. They’ve been outscored 11-6 and to be honest, have never looked that threatening at all in any of these games. The problems this team had last year – lack of quality shots, goals, maintaining leads, surrendering late goals, lack of in game management, and injuries – have somehow gotten worse in a lower tier of Japanese football.

The frustration finally reached a boiling point this past weekend following FC Ryukyu’s 3-2 home defeat to Gainaire Tottori with the head supporter voicing his, and all the fans, frustrations as the team came over to the stands at the end of the game. FC Ryukyu fans can no longer stand watching the team put in limp performances each week resulting in poor results and the loss of hope. The fans were promised promotion back to J2, but that seems a long way away under the current management and stewardship of the club.

The club must make a change at manager, and do it very soon, if they hope to recover and make a concerted push back into the promotion zone. Too often we as fans receive an email following matches in which Kuranuki outlines what he was trying to do and how some things are improving but the results beg to differ. The team is not improving under Kuranuki and in fact, is getting progressively worse as the season drags on. The fear that the club was making a similar mistake to 2022 when they appointed Kina from within has truly come to fruition.

While Granas’s message may have been heard and received by both Kuranuki and the team, the more important question is whether the management and owner of FC Ryukyu understand the fans frustrations, the mounting problems within the team, and are willing to act in a timely manner. I feel that if this were anywhere else in the footballing world Kuranuki would’ve been given his walking papers a few weeks ago. But that is not the case here and though one could make a very strong argument that if Kuranuki does lose this match to OSV he should absolutely be fired, but I don’t feel the club is prepared to make the switch.

Okinawa SV: Life hasn’t been great so far for OSV in their first season in the JFL. They aren’t nearly as free scoring (3 goals scored) or as dominant as they were in the regional leagues and have only one win to their credit this season. Perhaps one of the biggest jumps in competition from any tier in Japanese football is between the regional leagues and the JFL. I have only seen three OSV games this year and though the season started bright for OSV when they grabbed an early lead at Honda FC, things quickly started to deteriorate. They ended up conceding 3-goals in the second half and then went on to lose their next two game by 1-goal each.

OSV recovered on match day four with a 1-0 win at home over ReinMeer Aomori which was a very competitive match in which OSV looked very good, but they have since lost their past two games while being shutout in both. Their last loss to league leaders Sony Sendai was nothing more than being unlucky. OSV conceded a first half goal but looked the dominant side to start the second half and close out the match. OSV came so close to leveling the match and were unfortunate to have one of their last shots end up hitting the Sendai keeper and then unable to push the ball over the line in a goal mouth scrum at the very end.

That puts OSV in 14th place in the JFL table which is one spot above the relegation zone. There is still plenty of time for OSV to recover from their rough start with next week’s match against 15th place Briobecca Urayasu looming quite large.

Prediction

You have to ask yourselves, who wants it more, or better yet, who deserves it more? Based on the fact that I saw both of these teams play at home this past week I feel it might be OSV. It was the way in which OSV ended their past match compared to that of Ryukyu that makes me feel we may see one inspired team versus one that is lacking confidence and inspiration. That despite the fact that both sides have hugely important games the following week that may draw a little of their focus away from this competition.

The last time FC Ryukyu played a JFL side at home in the Emperors Cup it was against FC Imabari. As we know that game, along with the one against Imabari in the same competition the year prior, went to PKs with Imabari coming out winners both times. But if Dany is starting and this game somehow goes to PKs, then I would favor FC Ryukyu coming out on top. With that said, OSV to win the game in regulation play with FC Ryukyu winners if it goes to PKs. A truly weak prediction.

Conclusion

What may come as a shock to some supporters of other football clubs who regularly experience local rivalries, is that despite the proximity of these two teams, there exists little animosity among the fans or teams. Of course that is due in large part for these teams having never played against one another but also that the collective footballing supporters from Okinawa wish for both sides to do well. I have seen, and partaken firsthand, in the crossover of fans for both clubs attending the either’s matches. I guess that means you can maintain your love for your club, as I do with FC Ryukyu, and still support another club on the island while not considering them a rival. At least not yet. I am really looking forward to this game as the feelings surrounding this match are a much needed escape from the current doldrums many of us have while supporting FC Ryukyu. It is just a shame that someone has to lose this game. Come boys (I’ll leave that up to you to decide who that is directed at)!

Intro

Never has the saying, “the beatings will continue until morale improves,” ever been more poignant than right now. FC Ryukyu are lacking goals, lacking results and likely lacking confidence these days. Last season may have seemed like a bad dream for us as fans while this year is slowly turning into a full blown nightmare from which we may never wake up. And now comes Nara club. A team that is trying to stave of relegation back to the JFL while grinding out results early on and making a name for themselves. Probably no better circumstances for Nara Club to take advantage of a team once considered (maybe just me in that regards) as a favorite to push for promotion.

Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: A man much wiser than me on the nuances of the J-League – a friend and someone you’ve listened to over the years dolling out knowledge and insight into the lower tiers of the J-league on the JTET Pod – told me something powerful the other day. “Why waste a 1,000 words, that few may read, complaining about your current managers shortcomings and failures when you can simply shout them from the rafters during the match?” Great advice, an one which I will adhere to this week.

With that in mind, the only things I’ll add are that Ryukyu need to start taking better shots and converting more chances. We will go with just the two keys to victory this week as it is going to take small, single, steps at a time to improve this club and their fortunes.

Nara Club: Haven’t lost in four (4) games and coming to Okinawa with potential points in the offing. I should also add that any perceived ‘name brand recognition’ for FC Ryukyu on the part of Nara Club need not apply in this case. Nara would love to leave this round with a point but I wouldn’t blame them if they felt disappointed in doing so since all three points seem justifiable considering the recent form of each team in this fixture.

Nara have conceded four (4) goals while scoring seven (7) in their last four fixtures compared to that of FC Ryukyu who have conceded seven (7) and scored five (5). But we know we almost witnessed FC Ryukyu making it five (5) consecutive halves without scoring a goal until Nakano hit one in stoppage time and with the game out of reach.

Round 6 in J3

A lot of the teams at the top of the table will be facing teams near the bottom. Some of the matches where teams are close to one another in the standings include: (6) Gainare Tottori at (8) Vanraure Hachinoe, and (7) FC Gifu at (10) Ehime FC.

(1) Iwate Grulla Morioka haven’t lost since their game with Ryukyu but let’s see if their streak of playing good every other match continues this week at home to (17) SC Sagamihara. There are also two teams, (4) Matsumoto Yamaga and (5) FC Imabari, who have not lost this season.

Conclusion

The countdown timer on Kuranuki’s tenure as manager for FC Ryukyu has begun. One that will not stop with a singular victory, or even a mixed set of results that leaves Ryukyu fledgling in the middle of the table. A third consecutive defeat will be damming to Kuranuki’s case for remaining as Ryukyu manager and I can rest assured that the calls for his removal will come quicker than that of Kina’s last season, who as we know is from Okinawa, unlike Kuranuki. I’ll see you out there gaffer!

Intro

FC Gifu and FC Ryukyu limp into this match after both suffered 1-0 defeats during match day 4. It is the first time since 2019 that these sides will square off where FC Gifu own a perfect record against FC Ryukyu with four wins from four matches. FC Gifu defeated FC Ryukyu by identical score lines of 2-1 (2019) in the J2 and 1-0 (2007) while they were together in the JFL. FC Ryukyu must recover, regroup and rearm quicky if they are going to do something they’ve never done before. Defeat FC Gifu.

Team Previews

FC Gifu: A lot of the discussion about FC Gifu this offseason centered on Gifu’s youth movement in an attempt to revitalize the club which is now in its fourth consecutive year in J3. So far it has paid off for FC Gifu as they’ve got some good performances out of Ryo Kubota (22) and Charles Nduka (24). FC Gifu, like FC Ryukyu, are also awaiting the return of several players from injury to perhaps jump start a run of form. What should be of concern to many FC Ryukyu fans is that Ryukyu seems to be taking a similar path/approach that FC Gifu embarked upon during their first three seasons in J3, which obviously didn’t pay off.

FC Gifu own a perfect record at home this year with a draw and a win, and those were against Matsumoto Yamaga and Kagoshima United FC, teams that many tipped to finish near the top of the table come November. Gifu will now get their third test in a row at home with another potential candidate for promotion in FC Ryukyu, but some of Ryukyu’s recent results call into question whether or not Ryukyu can be considered a strong bet for promotion these days. For FC Gifu it is nice to get some early points at home against tougher opponents, and to get some of those fixtures out of the way before teams round into form, but the unseen cost associated with this is Gifu’s away fixtures to close the season look quite tough at the moment.

Gifu started the season with back-to-back 1-1 draws with Kitakyushu and Yamaga. Then secured their first win, a 1-0 victory over Kagoshima, while most recently losing 0-1 to Vanraure Hachinohe on the road. The Hachinohe fixture was a bit of an unlucky one for Gifu as they hit the post once, hit the crossbar once, and had a deflected shot hit the diving Hachinohe goalkeeper in his leg. So just like FC Ryukyu, FC Gifu aren’t scoring a lot of goals but they also do not concede many goals from open play, which is unlike FC Ryukyu. The one area of perceived weakness for FC Gifu that I saw in their highlights is set pieces, corner kicks in particular, as that is where two of the three goals Gifu have conceded this season have stemmed from. Good thing for Gifu that corner kicks aren’t, and havn’t been for some time, an area of strength for FC Ryukyu.

FC Ryukyu: There are only two things that FC Ryukyu need to do at the moment: (1) Kuranuki needs to get the offense scoring and, (2) Taguchi needs to stop putting FC Ryukyu in deficits. Not as easy as it sounds with so many key players missing due to injury and with Taguchi in a crisis of confidence. Kuranuki has to find a way to get this team creating better chances and link up play with our forwards despite the numerous real injuries and unexplained absences at Ryukyu. Meaning, better in game management resulting in Takuma Abe and Ryunosuke Noda getting on the scoresheet if they are to get past FC Gifu. We should also hope that Noda doesn’t pick up his fourth consecutive yellow card in as many matches as he his toying with suspension with Ryukyu down to just two healthy forwards this week.

As far as goals scored are concerned for Ryukyu, they seem to happen right around halftime with four of the five goals for Ryukyu this season occurring within 3 minutes, or less, on either side of the break. I don’t think FC Ryukyu will go out there on Saturday and light up Gifu like I thought Ryukyu would do against Fukushima last week. Though the reintroduction of Kelvin to the lineup (sort of have that on good word) could at least help generate some opportunities that Ryukyu seemed to lack during the games he was out. Keep in mind a lot of this hinges on Ryukyu’s ability to connect passes through the middle third of the pitch which is where they struggled last week with turnovers while facing a Fukushima press when attempting to play it out from the back.

For Taguchi, he needs a steady stream of successes. Not one that starts following a mishap or mistake that seems to finally wake him up and in doing so forces Ryukyu to play from behind. Which is exactly what happened during FC Ryukyu’s past 3 matches. It will not rest solely on the shoulders of Taguchi to win this game, as our defenders also need to do their part, but we are basically talking about Taguchi having a near perfect game while displaying the leadership you’d expect from your GK.

While in defense FC Ryukyu must watch out for FC Gifu’s ability to lure opponents high up the pitch only to break free with a nice, long, through ball to Kubota down the right side. Thank goodness Kubota plays on that side as FC Ryukyu are particularly weak when defending down their right side as evidenced by the goals they’ve conceded this season. Speaking of goals conceded, three of the four goals FC Ryukyu have surrendered this year occurred in the first half of games. FC Gifu have scored two of their three goals in the first half to date, and Gifu look very lively during that part of the match which makes for yet another area of concern for FC Ryukyu.

So there it is, a simple game plan for FC Ryukyu on Saturday: get the forwards involved and scoring, get a good clean game from Taguchi, break any Gifu press – that so many other teams in the league have already shown works really well against Ryukyu – with better play through the middle part of the pitch, watch the long balls by Gifu that splits the defense, and win the first half.

Round 5 in J3

(1) Matsumoto Yamaga face (4) Gainare Tottori in the marquee matchup for round 5 of the J3. But you’ll have to wait until Sunday to see that fixture, along with 7 other fixtures scheduled for that day. (5) Kataller Toyama travel to (19) FC Osaka to start this round on Saturday followed by the FC Gifu and FC Ryukyu match. (3) Iwate Grulla Morioka travel to (18) Fukushima United who are fresh off their win over FC Ryukyu last week and we can only hope Fukushima keep the good times rolling at home.

(3) FC Imabari may have a tougher than expected fixture on their hands when (11) Nara Club head to town. Imabari will have to contend for the next few months without their talisman, Kazaki Nakagawa, who fractured a bone in his leg. (17) SC Sagamihara will play (15) Azul Claro Numazu at home in an all important 6-pointer at the current bottom of the table. And finally, (20) Y.S.C.C. will head out on the road against (13) AC Nagano Parciero in hopes of grabbing their first win of the season. Both Y.S.C.C. and Nagano surrendered leads late in their games last week resulting in draws for both teams so it will be interesting to see which side responds from that adversity this week.

Conclusion

Winning one, drawing one, losing one is not the key to success in this league. Whether or not you feel Ryukyu were unlucky against Imabari at the very end of the game, there is no escaping the fact that Ryukyu didn’t help themselves out at all last week against Fukushima. It is still early on in the season with Ryukyu just one point off the leaders but they cannot risk falling behind the leading pack. Especially not with what is, or maybe once was, considered a good stretch of games for FC Ryukyu against teams that are struggling. The reality is Ryukyu are struggling at the moment, and require an uplifting performance in the form of a road win to gain some ground and regain some confidence. Remember what I said a couple of weeks ago in that teams who’ve been promoted from J3 usually own the best away records in the league for that season? Yeah, well FC Ryukyu need to crack on with the away results this week. Come on boys!

Intro

You have to go back to the 2021 season to find a point where FC Ryukyu won three consecutive home games in a row. Make no mistake, that is what we’re aiming for this week as Ryukyu must secure a win as anything less is simply not good enough. Fukushima enter the game having suffered three consecutive losses while being shutout in two of them. Fukushima will look to stop their slide to the bottom at the expense of a Ryukyu team who has plenty of questions regarding the health of some of their marquee players, and the ability of the offense to provide a little relief to the besieged back line.

Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: Two steps forward with just a half step back last week. That is what I felt when the ref blew his whistle at full time in Imabari. I think many of us would’ve been happy to take a point on the road against Imabari at the start of the match, but the pain of knowing that all 3-points were lost at the very last second has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the fans and FC Ryukyu. While Ryukyu have maintained their perfect record through three games it was the way the game ended for FC Ryukyu that gave a quick reminder of the pain we suffered last season, and that the club isn’t quite “there” yet. Ryukyu’s performance last week was indicative of the problems that plagued this team in 2022: unable to achieve a two goal lead; under pressure to defend for long spells of the match; succumbing to a bit of bad luck; and conceding at the end of the games to drop points.

While it is going take time for Ryukyu fans to shrug off those feelings from last season there is no better place for the team to start than this weekend against Fukushima. Granted, Ryukyu have strung together some good results to open the season but now must make a point by convincingly defeating what should be viewed as a weaker opponent at home. What I am really saying is FC Ryukyu need to go out there and win by at least two goals to show everyone that last week was merely a wobble along the path to promotion, lessons have been learned, mistakes corrected, and they will build from their experiences at Imabari.

FC Ryukyu may have to do what I ask a bit shorthanded as they are likely without the services of Hitomi, along with Sulley, Kiyotake, and Kelvin. Hitomi suffered a non-contact injury to his right leg in the second half last week, and while there has been no news, I would expect to see the player out for the foreseeable future. I just hope it isn’t season ending (aka Ligament Tear). No telling when Sulley, or Kelvin, will return so that means FC Ryukyu will have to employ a 4-2-3-1 with a combination of Noda, Kanzaki and Abe – who returned last week – at forward. That’s over 100 years of footballing experience up top for FC Ryukyu these days. The real issue is who will FC Ryukyu dress/start in MF with Hitomi’s injury?

I think Ryukyu have about three (3), maybe four (4), healthy midfielders right now? Kuranuki has been dressing a lot of defenders to fill out the formation, to include some youngsters, which I am not sure is due in part out of necessity or financial incentive awarded by the J-League for dressing 18-year old players. Either way it isn’t a great situation. We may also witness a shakeup at RB as Takahiro Yanagi has likely become acclimated with the side and a switch at RB is probably warranted at this point. Makito Uehara may not be the player we all hoped he could be. He can make some plays from time to time, his participation in two FC Ryukyu goals in consecutive weeks speaks to this, but his defending has become a liability. Then again, Kuranuki may just move Yanagi into a RMF position for this game and leave Makito back there but the clock is ticking and Yanagi should push Makito out of the RB position sooner rather than later.

Another player who needs to put better performances under his belt is Junto Taguchi. Taguchi was not really tested during the Hachinohe match and now we’ve seen him make some bad mistakes in consecutive games that puts FC Ryukyu into early deficits. Playing deep on his line, taking a bad first step, putting a rebound back out in the worst spot possible all maybe forgotten thanks to how Taguchi ended the Imabari match but he is putting the defense, and team, under unnecessary pressure right now. Taguchi needs a large injection of confidence as this is not what you expect to see out of your starting goal keeper, especially one that supposedly (?) beat out Dany Carvajal in the offseason for the starting gig. I hope the decision to start Taguchi over Dany was based on performance and not just because Taguchi speaks the local dialect or some other form of cronyism and nepotism that we witnessed last season at the club.

Fukushima United: Fukushima own a pretty good overall winning record against FC Ryukyu. Despite the fact that FC Ryukyu never beat Fukushima in the J3 until the 2017 season, Ryukyu have defeated Fukushima the last two times these teams played in Okinawa. But all of that was five years ago. Right now Fukushima are struggling for goals and struggling for results and find themselves neck and neck with Y.S.C.C. at the foot of the table with only goal difference separating the two teams.

Fukushima have yet to play with a lead all season. Hopefully a trend that continues this week. All four (4) goals that Fukushima United have conceded this season occurred in the latter stages of matches: Imabari (76′), SC Sagamihara (74′ & 89′), and Miyazaki (74′). Maybe Fukushima are adept at defending but don’t create enough chances to make them competitive in games. Fukushima’s lone goal this season occurred deep into stoppage time against SC Sagamihara and to be honest Fukushima don’t really threaten many clubs. But we’ve also never seen Fukushima play with an early deficit, or lead, this year which could bring out a different side of the club. Until then Ryukyu need to be the first club to score on Fukushima inside the first half, something Ryukyu haven’t done this year, nor something Fukushima has allowed another team to do this year, and then back that up with some strong play in the second half when Fukushima seem most vulnerable.

Round 4 in J3

(3) Iwate Grulla Morioka vs (16) Azul Claro Numazu is the lone fixture in J3 on Saturday with Iwate looking to keep pace, or surpass, the two leaders. (1) Matsumoto Yamaga welcomes in (17) Tegevajaro Miyazaki on Sunday who are fresh off their first win of the season. (4) Gainare Tottori host (6) Kamatamare Sanuki as the first of two matches with teams in the top half of the table squaring off. The second being (9) Giravanz Kitakyushu vs (7) FC Imabari.

Conclusion

The number three is the most important number this week for us as fans and FC Ryukyu. We want to see three goals scored, three points awarded, and three consecutive victories at home for FC Ryukyu. Get it done boys!

Intro

There are finally some good vibes surrounding this club and it is well deserved. FC Ryukyu sit atop the table as one of just two teams on six points having strung together back to back home wins for the first time in two seasons. But this is not the time to sit back and admire what they’ve accomplished as there is still plenty of work that needs to be done. Last week I wrote that Ryukyu had three early tests to open the season and now comes the biggest one. Granted, I thought the Iwate match may have been on equal footing as this match versus Imabari prior to the result last week, but the game this weekend is the first time this season that Ryukyu will play on the road against a strong team.

Team Previews

FC Imabari: For the Imabari preview this week we are joined by The Imabari Anchor Twitter account (@Imabari_Anchor). The Imabari Anchor account joined us this year and has been a great follow for all things about FC Imabari in English. I asked them if they could kindly provide a brief preview this week since the season is still relatively new and I don’t know much about the club. With that in mind, enjoy!

“Overall we have started the season with two fairly good efforts, but against two completely different type of teams. In the first round, Fukushima let us have a lot of the ball and we were able to punish them early on. We created many chances, but the finishes were simply too poor. In the 76th minute we did manage to score a goal, but over the course of the season not all opponents will be as kind as Fukushima. In other words, we must learn to take advantage of our chances.”

“In the second match, against Kagoshima, the conditions looked completely different (as expected). Kagoshima created many chances while also managing to effectively isolate our forwards. In the second half, Imabari eventually grew into the game and scored in the 73rd minute. The match ended 1-1 (after Imabari conceded an own goal in the 95th minute), but it was a fair result overall.”

“It is quite difficult to draw any definitive conclusions from these first two games but I think the key against Ryukyu will be to simply work the ball up to our forwards as often as possible. Both Marcus Índio and Kazaki Nakagawa are very good with their backs to goal, and with support from the midfield they can be deadly.”

Thanks for that great preview!

FC Ryukyu: Seeing how there isn’t much to draw on from just two games played this year, I thought I’d look at how FC Ryukyu has performed on the road during their time in the J-League. I also looked at the historical records for teams promoted from J3 the past four years in hopes of finding out what it will take for Ryukyu to pull themselves back into the J2 after just one season in J3.

Ryukyu fans know the team can really struggle at times while paying on the road. Ryukyu owns a historical road winning rate of 32% (52W-35D-76L) from the past nine seasons in the J.League, and despite owning one of the largest home undefeated streaks in J-League history (due in large part to their 2017-2019 seasons) they only fare marginally better at home (40%). Their highest ever away win total in any year is eight (8) which occurred in the 2018 and 2021 seasons. No coincidence that those years were Ryukyu’s best ever finishes in either the J3 or J2.

There is also no coincidence that during Ryukyu’s time in the J2 those teams that were promoted from J3 finished at, or very near the top, of the list for away victories in any given season. All four of the teams that won the J3 from 2019 to 2022 had the most away wins of any team in the league. Two of the runner-ups in those years finished second (Iwate 2021) and third (Fujieda 2022). The only real outliers were Sagamihara finishing 8th in 2020 and Gunma finishing 6th in 2019 which have been teams that were either relegated immediately following promotion or constantly flirting with the notion of relegation. It should come as no surprise to anyone that away form is one of the most important indicators for success, and longevity, for any team in any tier of the J-League.

I said at the start of the year that Ryukyu would likely need to win twenty-two (22) games this year to earn promotion outright, and that is right in line with historical win rates (55%-60%) for teams that were promoted from J3 the past four seasons. Two down and twenty to go and now knowing that Ryukyu will need to earn, or come very close, to double digit away wins to be in the discussion for promotion. That is what it is going to take. So, can FC Ryukyu do what they’ve never done before?

Round 3 in J2

(7) FC Imabari and (2) FC Ryukyu is probably the headline matchup this round with league leaders, (1) Gainare Tottori, looking to retain the top spot with their home game against (17) Ehime FC. Two other matches to keep an eye on are (3) Giravanz Kitakyushu traveling to (10) Kataller Toyama, and (14) FC Gifu hosting (6) Kagoshima United FC.

Conclusion

FC Ryukyu and FC Imabari have to yet to play against each other in the J-League but they have faced off before in the emperors cup. Both those games (2017 & 2018) were in Okinawa, both those games went to PKs, and both times Imabari came out as the winner. There was the ding-dong affair of 2017 in which ten (10) goals were scored from open play and another eight (8) during the PK portion. Then in 2018 the match had to go to extra time before PKs once more. Kazaki Nakagawa scored for Ryukyu in one of those matches but let’s hope he doesn’t add to his tally in the historical series between these two teams. Thanks again to @Imabari_Anchor for their contribution to the blog this week and good luck to to FC Imabari for the rest of the season. But for now, let’s go Ryukyu!

Intro

FC Ryukyu take on a familiar foe with a history that stretches back to 2014 this week as they host Iwate Grulla Morioka. If you recall Morioka were demoted alongside FC Ryukyu last year with both games against Iwate last season proving costly for Ryukyu. Ryukyu lost early in the year to Iwate at home and the late season victory by Ryukyu in Iwate cost us Koki Kiyotake for an extended period of time due a to facial fracture. All of which significantly contributed to Ryukyu’s demotion. Both teams started the 2023 season with wins last week but it was Iwate’s 5-1 win over Ehime on the road last round that caught many by surprise. We now have a reverse of the situation last season with Iwate the clear cut favorite in this game. A game which should provide Ryukyu an early measuring stick as to where they stand in this league.

Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: The first three games of the season represent an interesting test for Ryukyu. First, we wanted to see how Ryukyu would play under Kuranuki, with many new players, and with expectations set pretty high. Ryukyu did win, which is the most important thing, but didn’t look all that spectacular in the process. That is fine for the moment as I’d rather Ryukyu gain a little confidence while easing some of the early season pressure on the squad. Second, Ryukyu face an old rival who is brimming with confidence following their massive road victory last week. Ryukyu responded to the early pressure from Hachinohe, achieved a breakthrough before halftime, played well to start the second half, but sort of faded down the stretch (aka what we saw a lot of last year). Let’s see how Ryukyu respond against a team that looked very strong throughout the entirety of game last week. And finally, looking ahead to next week, Ryukyu will play their first match on the road this year against FC Imabari who are one of the favorites for promotion this season. These games could reveal a lot about how Ryukyu will fare in J3 this year.

Last week we got our first look at the Ryukyu lineup for the 2023 season. While me may feel secure in assuming that FC Ryukyu will deploy a 4-4-2 formation under Kuranuki, I wouldn’t be so confident in assuming that exact set of players from last week will feature all season for Ryukyu. Not just due to injuries that some could pick up throughout the campaign. It came as a bit of a shock to see the absences of both Kiyotake and Noda, which included 18-year old Jitsuki Tsuha on the team sheet, in the lineup last Saturday. It was only revealed in a fan event pre-match that Noda is currently dealing with some lower extremity issue that may keep him out of the lineup and one must wonder, how many players are actually match fit for Ryukyu right now?. Noda’s, and possibly Kiyotake’s, injuries couldn’t come at worse time for Ryukyu with Abe and Sulley already missing, and now with Mu Kanazaki suspended for this match following his Red Card last week.

That means Ryukyu are down to just two healthy forwards, Hitomi and Kelvin, entering this game with Iwate. Perhaps we see the return of one of our forwards this week as both Kiyotake and Noda were spotted at training, but if we don’t, that puts a little extra pressure on Hitomi and Kelvin to get Ryukyu on the scoreboard early and often this Saturday.

Speaking of Kelvin, what a goal last week! He took some exquisite touches to round a few defenders before slotting the shot in the lower corner. But that is kind of where the Ryukyu offense started and stopped against Hachinohe. A lot of this could be contributed to what could’ve been a makeshift lineup based on recent injuries picked up in training, but if Ryukyu wish to walk away with a win this week, they will need to fix the disjointed passing that killed off so many offensive drives last match.

Aside from the bright start to the season from a rejuvenated Kelvin was the defending by Ryukyu. The CB pairing of Muta and Mori did well in dealing with the limited attack from Hachinohe, and though we thought the same thing about our defense after the opening fixture last year (we know where that led) I am again encouraged by a good defensive performance to open the season, but we’ll reserve judgement on that topic for a later date. I am slightly concerned about the health of Muta who was seen taking a boot to the face to end the match (thanks to @Shukyu_Complex for capturing that screen shot) and we all know how secretive clubs can be when releasing injury updates. On the other hand Muta didn’t look any worse for wear and was seen post match giving the ref the business, more like a healthy ration of shit, for missing that foul. Let’s hope that both Muta and Mori are out there on Saturday as Ryukyu will definitely be up against it this week with a far more aggressive attacking team.

Iwate Grulla Morioka: The return of Lee Yong Jick! No, that isn’t the major headline this week though plenty of dismissive wanking gestures are probably in store for Saturday. Neither is seeing two sides who were relegated from J2 last year as a potential clash of two strong teams who are undefeated, both favored for promotion, and sit near the top of the table. The headline is Iwate enter this game full of confidence having demolished Ehime FC last week, doing all their damage before Ehime could even register a goal, and who will look to continue their strong start against a Ryukyu side that is still trying to find their way in this league.

Iwate had three players with at least two points last week: Tsuyoshi Miyaichi (2 goals), Kaili Shimbo (1 goal and 3 assists), and Sota Kiri (1 goal and 1 assist). Four of the five goals Iwate scored came from set pieces where Miyaichi looks very dangerous as both his goals were of the headed variety. Ehime did not seem to offer much resistance in this match as Iwate looked in complete control in almost every area of the pitch. Heck, the score line could’ve been even higher had not two of Douglas’s shots require a good save by the keeper and the luck of the post.

I think the type of performance Iwate put in versus Ehime was what we as Ryukyu fans were hoping to see out of Ryukyu against Hachinohe. Free flowing attacks, excellent movement of the ball, pinpoint accuracy on set pieces and lethal finishing. Needless to say the Ryukyu back line will have their work cut out for them this week in trying to keep Iwate off the scoresheet.

Round 2 in J3

Round one may have showed us that the teams many expected to win, did in fact win, and that some of the teams that were expected to struggle, did in fact struggle. The J3 debutants, FC Osaka and Nara Club, each lost to two of the favorites for promotion in Kagoshima and Matsumoto. Imabari won 1-0 at home like FC Ryukyu, albeit against what some would consider a stronger opponent in Fukushima, with both Nagano and Toyama also earning victories. A couple of sides dropped an early 6-pointer with Numazu losing to Sanuki and Sagamihara falling at home to Tottori. Perhaps the snap shot of the table at this very moment won’t move all that much throughout the season?

Round two sees a slew of fixtures pitting teams at the top of the table against one another as well as teams at the bottom of the table squaring off. On Saturday we have (1) Iwate v (7) FC Ryukyu but another early season test for two contenders for promotion will be (5) Kagoshima United FC hosting (7) FC Imabari. On Sunday (2) Matsumoto Yamaga FC and (2) AC Nagano Parceiro both face teams in (10) FC Gifu and (20) Ehime FC who are looking to rebound from their results last week. And we could also see (4) Gainare Tottori and (5) Kataller Toyama stay near the top of the table as they face (13) Y.S.C.C. and (15) Azul Claro Numazu.

Continuing the trend of some important early season 6-point matchups there is (18) Tegevajaro Miyazaki hosting (13) FC Osaka, (18) Nara Club hosting (15) Vanraure Hachinohe, and (12) SC Sagamihara at home to (15) Fukushima United on Sunday.

Conclusion

Facing a confident opponent, dealing with some injuries to key players, and lacking a bit of offense at the moment, Ryukyu are in for a very tough match against Iwate. But this is what we should expect this season as Ryukyu cannot be considered favorites in many matches just because they dropped down a tier. This isn’t the same type of thing we see when J1 sides drop down to J2, this isn’t the same Ryukyu side from 2022, and this Ryukyu side in J3 still has a lot to prove. “Nothing to it but to do it” as they say. Let’s go boys!

Intro

We are back for the fourth year of this blog but under very different circumstances from when I started this thing. FC Ryukyu are competing in the J3 for the second time, first time since 2018, after crashing out of the J2 in 2022. Some might say this is familiar territory for Ryukyu considering they spent five (5) seasons in J3 before earning promotion, but I’m sure the J3 has changed quite a bit since the last time Ryukyu were here. The task is simple: promotion. The path, however, will not be easy. Ryukyu have a new manager, new players, new sporting director with some familiar faces still in the squad, but face a bevy of questions concerning their set up, tactics, ability to perform under pressure and the overall strength of their competition this year.

Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: The landscape of the J3 has changed a lot since the last time FC Ryukyu plied their trade in the third tier of Japanese football. Gone are the whipping boys of the U-23 sides from FC Tokyo, Gamba Osaka, and Cerezo Osaka that provided a tasty three-points-as-long-as-you-don’t-mess-it-up-matchup. Akita, Fujieda, Gunma are all playing in the J2 and best of luck to them (really just Akita). There are some familiar faces from seasons past in FC Gifu, Kagoshima United FC, Giravanz Kitakyushu, Ehime FC, Matsumoto Yamaga FC, and Grulla Iwate Morioka. There are some teams Ryukyu hasen’t seen since 2018: Gainare Tottori, Fukushima United, Azul Claro Numazu, AC Nagano Parciero, Kattalar Toyama, and Y.S.C.C. Finally, a bunch of new teams FC Ryukyu will face for the first time ever in: FC Imabari, FC Osaka, Nara Club, Kamatamare Sanuki, Tegevajaro Miyazaki and our Match Day One opponents, Vanraure Hachinohe.

So where do FC Ryukyu fit inside that lot this year? Great question and we all know that Match Day One rarely tells us much about any club. You’ll recall the fast starts from Ryukyu in 2019 and 2021 that had us all believing survival in J2 could happen (it did) and promotion is a real possibility (it was not). That means we may not know much about this side until about the 1/4 mark of the season and hopefully by then we are seeing a true contender and not some plastic pretender. All eyes will be on new manager Kazuki Kuranuki, the starting eleven he rolls out, the formation, the tactics, and the in-game management to start the 2023 campaign.

FC Ryukyu have a condensed timeline this year, 38 games in J3 compared to 42 in J2, to pull themselves back up to J2. That means the club, which last year displayed an inability to adjust to the shifting landscape of J2 and make the timely/necessary changes at the top, must not make business decisions personal to their detriment. If Kuranuki is not up to task, he must go, and must go early so as to preserve enough time to recover and secure promotion. And though we are speaking of promotion only, relegation must not be ignored as this is the first year that promotion/relegation exists between J3 and the Japan Football League (JFL). I don’t want to show the “Fuck Around and Find Out Graph” to hammer this point home, and hope I never have to, but keep that in the back of your minds throughout the year.

That is where I am at as a Ryukyu fan these days following the fallout from last season. While I cannot speak for many of the other longtime supporters of the club, I feel they maybe thinking the same things. Restore the faith of the supporters through deeds and actions in the form of home wins (only 3 last season) and promotion. Funny how promotion is always a goal but seems to have taken on the notion of survival for FC Ryukyu these days. Especially with OSV breathing down Ryukyu’s neck as a newly promoted JFL side.

Onto the task at hand which is an opening day victory. Ryukyu had four months, two months of training after camp opened, to prepare for this game and one in which they need to make an early statement. That statement is getting Ryukyu out of the gate on the right foot. None of the supporters have the patience to watch more “Kina Ball” in the form of doing nothing with loads of possession, lacking creativity to create chances, and the absolute coup de grace, surrendering goals after the 75th minute and stoppage time resulting in dropped points.

OK. Time for some positivity. We still have Dany and to be quite honest, do you really bring a player of his quality back to a squad in the J3 – needing promotion – just to watch him rot on the bench? I don’t know but I am glad we have Dany on the books. Koki Kiyotake is back as well and if he can stay healthy, and at Ryukyu the whole season, he could be in for a massive (aka J3 MVP) season. Kelvin, after a good half season under his belt last year, and back to full game speed following the required recovery time from a previous knee injury, could be lethal for this team. Takuma Abe, just have to wait and see here. Sadam Sulley, are you kidding me? This dude could obliterate any of these teams, but patience might be required when expecting his debut this year as he to is recovering from a late season injury. Takuya Hitomi could breakout early as one of our best young players while some of our strikers get back to health. Yu Tomidokoro on set pieces again? Mmmmm, that sounds good, I’ll have that!

Vanraure Hachinohe: These two teams have never faced each other in any tier of Japanese football. With that in mind I guess all I can provide is a brief history about Hachinohe. Founded in 2006 after the merger between the Hachinohe Kogyo SC and Nango FC clubs, Hachinohe spent eight (8) years in the Tohoku Soccer League before achieving promotion to the JFL for the 2014 season. Hence the reason they and Ryukyu have never met as 2014 was the inaugural season in the J3 for FC Ryukyu. Another strange coincidence is that both Ryukyu and Hachinohe achieved promotion to the next tier of Japanese football in 2018 with Ryukyu winning J3 and promotion to J2 and Hachinohe earning promotion to the J3 after finishing third in the JFL. Assume Hachinohe’s promotion was based on the archaic J-League rules of licensing, stadium capacity and whatever else the gatekeepers of the J-League promotion board deemed worthy.

Hachinohe finished tenth (10th) their first year in J3, followed by two consecutive seasons near the bottom of the table in 2020 and 2021, while last year again finishing tenth (10th). 2019 was their best year when it came to scoring goals as Hachinohe bagged forty-nine (49) that season before a slight drop off in 2020 with forty-two (42), followed by a dramatic decline to only twenty-four (24) goals scored in 2021 with a marginal improvement up to thirty-two (32) last season. 2019 and 2022 were also Hachinohe’s best win tallies at fourteen (14) yet surprisingly only managed one (1) draw in 2022 enroute to their worst ever loss total of nineteen (19). I guess this indicates that so far Hachinohe has been a lower to mid table team their entire time in J3.

What to Watch MD 1

Lineup Selection, tactics, game management and the result. All of which are unknowns right now at FC Ryukyu. Who is healthy enough to start or feature? I have to assume we will not see Abe and Sulley MD1 with the knowns of Sho Hiramatsu and Shiryu Fujiwara both out with broken foots until April.

Will Taguchi start over Dany? I hope not but I feel this is coming and I am trying to prepare for what happens next if Taguchi does indeed start. Root for him to fail which means my club fails in turn, or hope he does well and see one of my favorite, and one of the club’s best players go unused because we finally have a defense in front of our goalie? Not the greatest thought experiment for any fan.

Ryunoske Noda is our captain and likely the starting striker. Knowing full well we need a double digit goal scorer and a few double digit point players to succeed, where will the goals come from? Can Noda produce as is required for that position in a make or break season at age 34 having only scored a maximum of 6 goals in any year (2013) of his career? Can recently signed Mu Kanazaki, also 34 years old, regain some of the scoring magic from his 2017 & 2018 seasons?

What is our defensive set up and have we learned any hard lessons from the past four seasons in J2 knowing that relying solely on the offense to carry the day is not the key to success? The so called “exciting football approach” that many at the club promote each season that never really came to fruition outside of the early parts of the 2021 season. What will we do on set pieces? Some of these are more year-long than just week-one questions but you get my drift.

Round 1 in J3

There is no doubt every club wants to get off to a fast start with a MD1 win. But all these clubs are a relatively unknown to me and though each season teams rise and fall, who truly are the teams tipped for promotion/relegation in J3? Would you’ve tipped FC Ryukyu for relegation in 2022 after a 9th place finish in 2021?

Kagoshima (tipped by many), Yamaga (loads of pressure to get there), Imabari (loaded up in the offseason transfer window), Nagano (finally! but on the rise?), Ehime (?) are expected to be in the conversation for promotion. Gifu, a team in rebuild mode could be a surprising team with the likes of Tottori, YSCC, Numazu, Sagamihara, and new joins Nara and Osaka just looking to hang on for survival.

Conclusion

It has been 132 days since we last saw FC Ryukyu take the pitch. On that day they did at least manage to eek out a home win on the final match day of the season. Though it was bittersweet considering Ryukyu were already relegated at that point and had won just three (3) home games all last year. A home win on Saturday would go a long way to appease/assuage the loyal Bengara “sappo.”

I haven’t been this anxious for a home opener since 2019 so I am really looking forward to this one. See you out there in full support and in full voice finally, and thankfully!!!!