Tag: carvajal

MD 01: FC Machida Zelvia vs FC Ryukyu #FC琉球

Intro

We are back baby! The J2 season is set to kickoff in a few days and this is the first entry of 2022 for this blog. Much like every offseason here in Okinawa, we saw the departure of some talented players with some lesser known names making their way down south to join the club. FC Ryukyu is coming off their most successful campaign in J2 where they finished 9th overall and looking to continue that momentum for a push to the J2 playoffs. Last season we saw Ryukyu flirt with promotion as they were in one of the two automatic qualifying slots just past the halfway point of the 2021 season. But much like the expected talent drain from this club in the offseason, a semi-reoccurring mid-season slump, coupled with several injuries to key players, ended all hopes for promotion. It also ended Higuchi’s time as manager and he was replaced by Tetsuhiro Kina. So what is in store for this club in 2022? Can they have a repeat performance of last year, or are we facing the very real prospect of relegation back to the J3?

Match Day Info and Weather Forecast

Rain all day to open the season.

Match Information from FC Machida Zelvia

Team Previews

FC Machida Zelvia: Zelvia got the better of Ryukyu last year by easily winning the first fixture 3-0 and then drawing 0-0 on the return leg. Zelvia was a lot of people’s Darkhorse promotion team last season when they added some firepower in Chong Tese and Dudu, but it was their defending that let them down in the end. Not be dismayed in their belief that a good defense is simply and overpowering offense, Zelvia signed former Montedio Yamagata striker Vinicius Araujo to the team for 2022.

Zelvia also brought in veteran goalkeeper William Popp from Oita Trinita. Popp played 14 matches last season posting a 3-2-9 record with 3-clean sheets. Perhaps the step up to J1 from Fagiano Okayama was too much for Popp last season so a return back to J2 might be exactly what he needs.

It is hard to imagine but Ryukyu have not won on the road at Zelvia since 2014 (J3). In fact, in their last 6-matches at Zelvia, Ryukyu have only netted a single point, have been outscored 14-3 while being shut out 4 times. I am not sure what makes Ryukyu play so poorly on the road at Zelvia and I am not sure they reverse the trend in the opening fixture of 2022.

FC Ryukyu: As I mentioned earlier in the introduction, Ryukyu saw their yearly exodus of talent this offseason when central defender Tetsuya Chinen departed for Urawa Reds where he will join former Ryukyu stud, Yoshio Koizumi. Chinen was far and away the best central defender Ryukyu have rostered and his absence will be felt across our back line. Once more it will be a competition between the 3-quality goalkeepers on the Ryukyu roster. Incumbent, and likely day 1 starter, Junto Taguchi will try to fend off a now healthy Dany Carvajal who himself stands a better chance of regaining his starter position with the departure of both Higuchi and goalkeeper coach Masataka Sasaki. GK is the only position on the Ryukyu roster with quality depth as Junto and Dany can push each other throughout training and we saw last year that Kosuke Inose can fill in if an injury were to occur to either of the first two GK choices at Ryukyu.

It was no coincidence that last season’s collapse occurred when both Dany and Taguchi were out injured as both of their health will be huge determining factor in where this team will finish in the standings at the end of the year. It was not realistic to think Ryukyu could dip their toes into the transfer waters and find a one-for-one replacement for Chinen in defense, and like so many of the past seasons, Ryukyu did not address the central defense position by signing any high priced free agents. Instead, they opted for youthful exuberance in the form of loans. Rio Omori (FC Tokyo) and So Nakagawa (Jubilo Iwata) might not be the day one starters, but I am excited to see what the can bring to the table. The likely starting duo at CB for Ryukyu will be Ryohei Okazaki and Lee Yong-Jick. Okazaki has never been able to stay healthy during his time here at Ryukyu and Yong-Jick is a converted outfield player trying to learn the position as he goes. Ryukyu signed a few fullbacks to the roster this offseason making defense the most populous position on the 2022 roster.

Keigo Numata will have to fend off last year’s mid-season signing, Takasahi Kinai and this season’s signing from Tokyo Verdy, Takayuki Fukumura, but we’ve seen Numata breakdown as the season wears on so perhaps these signings are more to give Numata a break here or there than actually unseating the starting LB. Over at RB it should once again be Keita Tanaka, who has shown how a player can reinvent himself as Tanaka converted from MF to RB, and it has been a resounding success. He was on a scorching pace last season, 2 goals and 9 assists in the opening half of the 2021 season, before injury ended his campaign. Behind him will be Yuki Omoto (signed from Omiya Ardija) and Makito Uehara. None of these two are likely to replace Tanaka barring injury.

I am under the assumption that Kina will continue to employ the 4-2-3-1 formation that Ryukyu have used during their time in the J2. If that is the case, Ryukyu will once more have Kaz Uesato anchoring the central midfield where he will be joined by Yu Tomidokoro. There is not much central midfield depth behind these two and we’ve seen in the past that any midfielder can step into these roles when asked.

Photo Credit: FCRYUKYU.COM

If Taguchi/Dany are the anchors at the back for Ryukyu, then Ren Ikeda is the linchpin for the Ryukyu attack up front. Ren really stepped up last season after the departure of Koizumi, but like so many of our key players, he to succumbed to injury where he fractured a bone in his spine after landing awkwardly from an aerial challenge. Flanking Ikeda on either side will be Koki Kiyotake and Katsuya Nakano who is brought over from Kyoto Sanga FC. Kina could also move any of the forwards on the roster into the midfield roles and there is chance, albeit a very small one, we see the two players from Saigon FC who were brought in on loan. But I have no idea if they have made it to Japan and have been training with the team as all preseason activities have been behind closed doors due to CV-19 protocols.

Takuma Abe returns for his third season at Ryukyu but he too has never been able to complete a full campaign. There is no doubt that Abe is a difference maker when on the pitch, but he usually fades quickly down the stretch and we have never received any word on what injuries have knocked him out for the past two seasons. Ryukyu also see the return of Shinya Uehara for his fourth year at the club. Shinya is an excellent late game substitution to be brought on to attack, or defend, set pieces with his height. He is also versatile enough to play RB when called upon.

There are seven (7) forwards on the Ryukyu roster which is the most I’ve ever seen. Sittichok Paso, who returned to Chon Buri FC in the offseason, and then opted to come back to Ryukyu, certainly needs to see more playing time this year. Perhaps his listing as MF on the official club website may see him more on the pitch in that role vice the forward role he had last season. Takuya Hitomi has returned from his loan spell at Nagano and it will be interesting to see how much he has developed as he was quite raw the last time we saw him in 2020. Vinicius will also return to Ryukyu this season but he rarely featured last year outside of a handful of the J-Elite games and is a true unknown at this point.

Ryukyu did bring in two strikers Ryunosuke Noda from Kyoto Sanga and Yuki Kasano on loan from Yokohama FC. Neither player stands out as prolific goal scorer having never reached the double digit mark in their careers but at least they provide a set of younger, healthier legs for the Ryukyu attack.

Match Day 01 in J2

Plenty of matches spread out through the weekend for you to enjoy. I want to see how the teams who dropped from J1 get on as well as the teams (Nagasaki and Niigata) get on as potential promotion candidates. I do not know if the J.League International YouTube channel will broadcast a match this week so please check their channel on YouTube, as well as their Twitter account, @J_LEAGUE_En, for any updates. And of course, tune in and catch up on all the good stuff the boys over at the J-Talk Extra Time, @JTalkET, have put out the past few weeks in the run up to the season opener.

Conclusion

There are lots of questions that need to be answered concerning Ryukyu under Kina in 2022, to go along with lots of excitement from the growing fan base here in Okinawa. Everyone always hopes for promotion, but I would be pleasantly surprised if Ryukyu somehow snuck into the J2 playoffs. I always look forward to opening day here in the J-League and hope for another strong start to the season for FC Ryukyu.

MD 40 Preview: (12) Tokyo Verdy vs (8) FC Ryukyu #FC琉球

Intro

Well we’re back, sort of. It has been quite some time since I’ve released anything on this blog and much has changed during my sabbatical. Ryukyu dropped way out of the promotion race following a run of poor results beginning just before the Olympic break and continuing through to October which led to the firing of Manager Yasuhiro Higuchi after 7 games in a row without a win (1 draw and 6 losses). Shintaro Shimizu was released by the club following several violations of the team’s rules and policies and then of course the injuries to several key members of the squad really sucked the life blood out of the team. While there hasn’t been much to be excited about down here in Okinawa these days, nothing recharges the batteries like a match with one of your heated rivals, or at least that’s how I view Tokyo Verdy.

  1. Weather Forecast
  2. Previous Match Highlights
  3. Team Previews
    • Tokyo Verdy
    • FC Ryukyu
  4. Rivalry Week
  5. Keys to Victory
  6. Prediction
  7. Round 40 in J2
  8. Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast

I really do not care what the weather is like for this match as it is the first away game I will be able to attended in over two years. But for those of you that may be in attendance, the forecast looks decent.

2. Previous Match Highlights

FC Ryukyu 2-2 JEF United Chiba
Zweigen Kanazawa 0-4 Tokyo Verdy

3. Team Previews

Tokyo Verdy: Verdy have been hanging around the mid-table of J2 for much of the season. They have a near equal home road splits as far as points, but have found success on the road more favorable these days as Verdy has lost 5 out of their last 6 home games. And haven’t won at home since September 11th. Verdy also had to suffer through a stretch of 8 consecutive road games, with 4 losses and 4 draws, to accommodate the Tokyo Olympics. That is possibly the reason why they are enjoying so many road wins as of late as they had so many attempts at road wins during the summer.

Verdy went 2-1-2 over their last five games with wins over Montedio Yamagata and Zweigen Kanazawa; losses to JEF Chiba and V-Varen Nagasaki; and the lone draw to Ventforet Kofu. JEF absolutely destroyed Verdy at home to the tune of 5-1. Though Verdy managed to level the game in the opening half, they went into halftime down 3-1. By the time Verdy finally came to life in the second half, it was already 5-1 for JEF. Strangely, Verdy rebounded from that trouncing to put in a spirited effort at home to Kofu where both sides played to a 0-0 draw. Each team had a chance in the waning minutes of stoppage time to win, yet neither could find the back of the goal.

Verdy’s strong form carried over into the next round when they defeated Montedio Yamagata 2-1 on the road. Verdy capitalized on an an early PK, from a Yamagata handball in the box, and followed that goal with a second goal in front of halftime. However, Yamagata scored a PK of their own, from a Verdy handball, but were never able to find the equalizer. That was Yamagata’s first loss in four games and has sent them into a bit of a tailspin as of late. But all that hard work by Verdy was for not as they were beaten by Nagasaki the following week.

Verdy managed to hang in for most of this game despite having one of their players sent off in the first half. It took Nagasaki until the 75th minute to open the scoring but once they did, the flood gates opened up. Nagasaki put another two past Verdy in stoppage time through two breakout plays where the Nagasaki attackers ran the better part of half the pitch untouched. Verdy’s most recent game was a dismantling of Kanazawa, on the road, where they scored two goals in each half.

Like Ryukyu, Verdy had a much better start to the season compared to the second half. They own nearly identical records in both parts of the season with both sides only accruing four wins since match day 22. Like Ryukyu, Verdy had a stretch of games (7 for FC Ryukyu & 8 for Tokyo Verdy) without a win shortly after the restart from the mid season break. I guess you could say that these are two evenly matched teams squaring off on match day 40.

FC Ryukyu: It has been one heck of a rollercoaster ride this season supporting FC Ryukyu. There were the high points of being near the top of the table and playing outstanding defensive football; the low points with all the injuries and of course another mid season collapse. The firing of a manager and player during the season – something I’ve never seen Ryukyu do before – as well as having to refrain from attending games four months due to the COVID situation in Okinawa, but ultimately returning to the grounds a few weeks ago really typifies the ride we’ve been on as supporters. Though there isn’t much left to play for, besides pride and possibly a job next season, Ryukyu will undoubtedly end 2021 as their most successful season in J2.

Ryukyu hit the halfway point of 2021 in 2nd place on 13 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses while outscoring their opponents 36 to 19. They managed to shutout their opponents 9 times while only being shutout 5 times. In the second half of the season Ryukyu have dropped to 8th place while mustering 4 wins, 5 draws and suffering 9 losses. They’ve scored 17 goals in the past 18 games yet have conceded 25. Ryukyu have been shutout 9 times since the break and have registering a single shutout of their opponents. Pretty much an unprecedented fall from grace for this team, but one that occurred quite regularly under Higuchi.

Unlike last season when Ryukyu had two players in double digit goals, Ryukyu’s top goal scorer has been Kiyotake (8). But just like last season, Abe has gone missing near the end of the campaign and there has been no word as to why. Abe has surpassed his 2020 total of 2 assists with 6 this season and though he isn’t scoring as much as he was last year, his contributions were felt across the flailing Ryukyu attack with his workman like rate throughout the summer.

Another player that has had a rough go of it lately is Koya Kazama. Koya had 3 goals and 7 assists by the midway point of the year but has managed only 1 goal since. It was always going to fall on Abe and Koya to shoulder the load of the attack when Ryukyu lost Ikeda and Tanaka to injury, but they’ve only accounted for 3 goals and 3 assists in this half of the season. What was also a position of strength for Ryukyu, goal keeping and defending, became their Achilles heel during the abovementioned collapse.

First, Okazaki could never get healthy after his injury in May which left it all to Chinen in central defense. Second there were injuries to Taguchi, and Dany, forcing Inose – Ryukyu’s 3rd choice goalie – to play behind a weakened back line. Third, Ryukyu lost Keita Tanaka, pretty much the engine driving the Ryukyu attack for the season. Fourth, Numata suffered an injury forcing FWD Uehara to play LB and finally (most heartbreaking), there was the season ending injury to Chinen. Though Numata, Okazaki and Taguchi have since returned from injury, it just isn’t the same set of players that propelled Ryukyu to their blazing start of 2021.

So yeah, it was a lethal combination of the lack of goals, and shots to be quite honest, coupled with a makeshift back line that sealed our fate in 2021. Though it is unlikely that we will ever know if it was the hard training and heat that contributed to the collapse, we’ve seen similar results from Ryukyu during the past summers in J2. The change to Kina as manager was probably a necessary healing process for the club but they have yet to regain the confidence we saw from them to open the year.

4. Rivalry Week

We all know that FC Ryukyu do not, at least for the moment, have the traditional cross town rival that so many other clubs in the J-League enjoy for your typical ‘derby day.’ However, over the past three seasons Ryukyu have some interesting history with Tokyo Verdy as these sides produce some heated moments when they clash.

Though it is not a lengthy history between these two, the match on Sunday will only be the 6th time that Ryukyu have played Tokyo Verdy, it still has seen its fair share of fouls, sending offs, and dust ups. Ryukyu own the all time series advantage with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. The first ever meeting between these clubs occurred in 2019 where Dany Carvajal had his nose broken attempting to stop Ryohei Hayashi on a break away, resulting in a yellow card for Dany and PK for Verdy. Dany, bloodied and with gauze hanging out both nostrils, saved the PK, which allowed Uesato to smash home his first ever goal for Ryukyu on a volley deep into stoppage time ending the match one all.

Dany bloody and broken, but stopped that PK

The return leg in Okinawa that year saw Verdy put 5 past Ryukyu behind Junki Koike’s hat trick. Verdy marked that momentous occasion in an otherwise uneventful season by releasing T-shirts commemorating Koike’s achievement. Ridiculous, but, we don’t have a leg to stand on as Ryukyu also did the same when Kiyotake netted a hat trick this season. Can we just get some better schwag at the good store instead of novelty t-shirts? Anyways, at the end of 2019, this wasn’t really a rivalry as Verdy had gotten the better of Ryukyu and embarrassed them in front of their home crowd.

High point in another lost season for this once proud club

2020 is when things began to really heat up. Ryukyu earned their first ever win over Verdy on MD10 when Shohei Takahashi took umbrage with an aerial challenge from Uehara. Shinya landed – as what normally happens when two players get tangled in the air – on Takahashi. Shohei decided it was a good time to bust out the mule kick to Uehara’s mid section, the problem was that foul occurred in the Verdy penalty area, and was seen by the linesman. After several minutes (10 to be exact) of some disgusting scenes by the Verdy players, Abe stepped up and netted the winner on the PK.

Takahashi putting the boot to Uehara in the box

Ryukyu returned the favor from the 5-1 loss in 2019 by defeating Verdy by four goals on MD 37 of 2020 while also shutting them out for the second time in a row. 2021’s series started off with a bang when, to everyone’s surprise, Yuhei Sato from Verdy decided to impale Yu Tomidokoro’s testicles with the heel of his boot. Yu went after a loose ball from a challenge by the now laying on his back Sato, but Sato wasn’t going to allow a Ryukyu player the advantage of collecting the ball and heading into attack. Instead he opted for a less than professional foul. Too bad that challenge occurred in front of the referee, fourth official, Higuchi and pretty much everyone watching at home. That resulted in a red card that reduced Verdy to 10 men and allowed Ryukyu to score two goals towards a 2-0 victory. The second Ryukyu goal, a PK, came from another infraction inside the penalty area by Verdy.

Yuhei Sato channeling his inner Vlad the Impaler

In just five games, there has been 3 penalty kicks, 1 sending off, 1 bloody nose, fouls on both sides for unsportsmanlike behavior and a t-shirt. But here is one final fun fact. Since Koike’s third goal, and fifth for Verdy on match day 36 in 2019, Verdy have yet to score a goal against Ryukyu. Perhaps this is just my way of manufacturing something out of nothing in order to replicate the so called derby day, or it is just a way to put a little something extra on a rather meaningless game between two midtable teams. I’ll let you be the judge.

5. Keys to Victory

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

1. More shots equal more chances. Likelihood 1. The clear and obvious key to victory this week but also the least likely to happen. Ryukyu are not generating the attempts on net that can lead to scoring outbursts. Verdy are so vulnerable to spilled balls, rebounds and second chances as evidenced by the video footage for their past five matches. We often see Ryukyu players in possession in the opposing end only to witness them pass the ball back and restart the attack from our central defenders thus allowing our opponents time to regroup in defense. Good things will happen when you put quality shots on Verdy’s net so let’s hope that Ryukyu can do that on Sunday.

2. Avoid the “Ryukyu Double.” Likelihood 2. Last week Kiyotake and Kanai were responsible for both Ryukyu goals. However, they were also involved in both the opposition’s goals. Kiyotake was caught ball watching instead of man marking which led to the JEF equalizer, while Kanai completely whiffed in an effort to clear the ball from danger inside the Ryukyu box leading to the second goal for JEF. So that was actually more like a Ryukyu Double-Double. This feat has occurred on more than one occasion this season and if we intend to depart Tokyo with a win, then Ryukyu need to stay sharp throughout the entire 90 minutes.

3. Get on the scoreboard first. Likelihood 3. Verdy looked good when they took the early lead in their past two wins, and lifeless when they conceded the first goal. It is vital that Ryukyu start fast, and score (unlike what they did against Renofa), as that could lead to even more opportunities and goals for a side struggling in the atatck. Ryukyu have not won by more than two goals in any game since match day 20, which was also the last time they’ve scored more than two goals in a game. However, 11 of Verdy’s 16 losses have been by more than two goals this season. Perhaps this provides a little glimmer of light at the end of an abysmal goal scoring tunnel for Ryukyu.

6. Prediction

I am done doing these as I am usually wrong. I just want a Ryukyu win.

7. Round 40 in J2

Jubilo Iwata has already booked their ticket back to the J1 and with only 9 points up for grabs, Kyoto Sanga can book theirs if they maintain their 7 point lead over V-Varen Nagasaki. Seeing how the promotion race, without any playoffs, is nearly complete, all eyes will be on the race to escape relegation to J3.

Matsumoto Yamaga, a team in the J1 just two seasons ago, is likely headed to J3 next year. They are bottom of the table, only five points behind 18th Kanazawa, but haven’t won in 7 games. Yamaga will host Renofa Yamaguchi who have pulled themselves out of the relegation zone but are themselves only six points above the drop. 21st Ehime FC will host 20th SC Sagamihara in what should be an exciting match to watch for any neutral. A draw helps neither side so someone will need to win and move up at the expense of the other. Kitakyushu travels to Chiba with hopes that the hosts will be looking to close out the campaign without suffering any needless injuries.

Zweigen heads to Tochigi in another battle to stave off relegation as Kanazawa sits just above the drop with Tochigi only four points clear from safety. Omiya will look to secure safety with a win over their neighbors to the east in Mito while Gunma face a real test at home to Niigata.

There are two free international broadcasts this week on the J.League International YouTube channel. Both matches are on Saturday November 20th and feature Jubilo Iwata hosting V-Varen Nagasaki followed by Kyoto Sanga traveling to Fagiano Okayama. Perhaps Jubilo could lift the trophy on Saturday but it seems more likely that will occur at a later date. Click>>>> J League Int’l YouTube Link

8. Conclusion

It feels good to be back and I apologize for the lengthy absence. Right, you’ve read it all so you know the only thing left to do is for Ryukyu to go out there and get the win. Enjoy your weekend and stay safe.

Coming for ya Verdy!

MD25 Preview: (3) FC Ryukyu vs. (11) FC Mito Hollyhock #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu opened this year’s series against Mito with a 2-0 win at the K’s Denki stadium back on Match Day 7. Two goals in quick succession from Shintaro Shimizu and Koki Kiyotake allowed Ryukyu to break the deadlock in a tightly contested affair in which both sides had numerous chances to take the lead. FC Ryukyu have had the better of Mito Hollyhock to date as they’ve won the last three matches; scored multiple goals in all of those games; and shutout Mito twice. Ryukyu also own the series with 4 wins to Mito’s 1. But Mito’s lone win over Ryukyu came at a time when Ryukyu were dealing with several injuries, most notably at GK, in which Inose, at 19 years of age, made his J2 debut in net against Mito in 2019. Ryukyu ended up losing that game 3-1. What I am trying to say is that this game, unlike the previous three where Ryukyu had their full complement of starters, is shaping up much the same way as that 2019 loss.

  1. Weather Forecast & Match Day Info
  2. Previous Round Highlights
  3. Team Previews
    • FC Ryukyu
    • FC Mito Hollyhock
  4. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
  5. Prediction
  6. Round 25 in J2
  7. Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast and Match Day Information

A calm evening to enjoy football from the comfort of your home while Okinawa is under a state of emergency.

Click>>> Match Day 25 Information from FC Ryukyu

2. Previous Round Highlights

Giravanz Kitakyushu 1-2 FC Ryukyu
FC Mito Hollyhock 1-1 Tokyo Verdy

3. Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: Three wins in their last five, 10 points from a possible 15, yet only one clean sheet during that time. Actually, Ryukyu have only mustered two clean sheets in their last twelve matches so it seems we’re heading back to our roots. Sure, much of this is contributed to the bevy of injuries, but with Dany Carvajal now healthy, will Higuchi turn to the man who was once the Ryukyu #1?

Inose has proven himself a worthy fill in for both Taguchi and Dany during their injury spells, but I feel we need to get Dany involved these next few games heading into the crucial month of September. Inose has started eight games amassing four wins, two draws and two losses. He has conceded 8 goals during that span and recorded two shutouts in the process. Decent enough numbers when you look at the won/loss record I suppose, and it’s not realistic to think that any keeper can keep a clean sheet every match. This is a team game of course. But luckily for Ryukyu, Inose’s starts coincided with a rather easy schedule: Kitakyushu twice, Omiya, Sagamihara, Akita, Kanagawa, Matsumoto and Okayama. Somehow those win/loss numbers do not look so great as they once did. With Taguchi set to return to Ryukyu in the coming weeks (training at least), I think it would pay some dividends to get a healthy Dany into the lineup, get him some playing time, especially before Ryukyu, and Inose, face their toughest opponent in Montedio Yamagata next week.

One thing that isn’t in doubt is the impact the new signings have already made at Ryukyu. Kanai was asked to play out of position last game, and though it wasn’t the best of outings for a player coming off of limited usage at Kofu, it is something to build on. Strange that Ryukyu have plenty of options at RB these days, with a glaring hole at LB, and Higuchi opted to start Kanai and Uehara, but on different sides of the pitch from which they are familiar with, and have played in the past. Play to your strengths, and don’t get cute, at least that’s what I am thinking in this case.

Someone who epitomizes that sentiment is Hidetoshi Takeda. In his first game, first half really, for FC Ryukyu, Takeda was a handful for the Giravanz defense. He came close to leveling the match on a header following a shot from Koya Kazama, and followed that up with an absolute stunning free kick goal. It is amazing how lucky so many teams can be to have a talent like this on the books and yet find them excess to the cause. No matter, as I hope to see more of Takeda doing what he can do out there on the pitch, with the possibility of seeing him start at LM in the near future.

FC Mito Hollyhock: Mito have one more away victory than at home this season where they’ve scored, and conceded, roughly 60% of their total goals to date. They also seem to either win, or lose, on the road as they have a single draw away from the K’s Denki stadium. In their last six games Mito have shutout their opponents three times while also suffering three shutouts of their own. Perhaps they are a bit streaky.

Whereas Ryukyu have scored ten goals their last five games, Mito has managed only three. They drew 0-0 at both Albirex Niigata and at home to Renofa Yamaguchi. Against Niigata, at least up until the 70′ minute, Mito wasn’t really affording many opportunities to one of the top sides in J2 this season. Then the flurry of activity between the two sides saw each trading multiple chances back and forth with the closest being a Koji Suzuki shot that hit the side netting. It was much of the same at home to Renofa but the Mito GK should’ve been booked for a foul resulting in a PK, but it wasn’t awarded and then it was Mito’s turn for a bit of bad luck when their last shot just missed at the end.

Mito looked much better the following week at Zelvia where they controlled the opening 20′ of the match and took the lead from Shota Fujio’s first goal of the season. Then Zelvia took over, scored two goals, from a long through ball that caught the defense flat footed and another from a redirected clearance, before Mito finally came to life in the 90′ minute. It was to late though as the game ended in a loss for Mito but they were able to carry a bit of that momentum at the end of the Zelvia match into the game at Matsumoto Yamaga. Fujio doubled his yearly total with his second goal in consecutive games, this one also coming within the first 20′ of a match. Though Mito dominated Yamaga the entire game, they weren’t able to carry that strong performance though to the next round at home to Verdy.

It was Mito’s turn this time to surrender a goal within the first 20′ of a match but they were able to recover and score the equalizer near the end after some woeful defending by Verdy. To date, Mito have not defeated a team that currently sits inside the top six of the table. They’ve played six games that have resulted in one draw and five losses, managing two goals scored, while conceding eight. They’ve also been shutout in five of those games. Ryukyu will once more need to contain Masato Nakayama, but they’ll also need to keep a keen eye on Fujio who is starting to catch fire.

4. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

1. Attack the flanks of Mito. Likelihood 4. Mito do not defend particularly well down either side of their defense, especially down their right, as they, or more specifically Koichi Murata, has looked pretty bad. That means that either Kiyotake, Shintaro, Takeda, and possibly even Motegi, could really have a field day on their defense.

2. Defend the right with all you got. Likelihood 2. No doubt that Yong Jick, and whoever is playing RB for Ryukyu tomorrow, will have their hands full with the Mito attackers as they are extremely strong down the left side of their attack. I for one hop Higuchi chooses to not start Kanai out of position at RB, and instead opt for a more experienced RB in Torikai or Uehara. I fear that when Fujio enters the match, he will be able to exploit Yong Jick with his speed and power, and cut right through our defense alone on goal.

5. Prediction

As with the current state of FC Ryukyu – trying to mesh new players into the lineup – this game could go either way. Sure, Mito hasn’t exactly lit up the scoreboard lately, but Ryukyu sometimes go long stretches without asserting themselves in a game. If Ryukyu can start fast, and score, I think this game takes on a whole new trajectory with a Mito side that seem far more aggressive on the road compared to home. I’ll say it ends 2-1 to Ryukyu. Season Record 7-6-11.

6. Round 25 in J2

Leaders (1) Kyoto Sanga travel to (16) Matsumoto Yamaga FC who are coming off a big 4-1 victory over (13) Blaublitz Akita. (2) Jubilo Iwata return home after their 2-2 draw with Kofu to face (9) Tokyo Verdy. (4) Albirex Niigata, like Iwata, will look to rebound from their Round 24 draw when they head out on the road to face (10) JEF United Chiba. (5) Montedio Yamagata, unbeaten in 11 with 10 wins during that span, are on the J.League International YouTube channel this week (Click>>> J.League Int’l YouTube Channel) when they travel to face (7) V-Varen Nagasaki who, are possibly well rested from their round 24 match with Zweigen Kanazawa being postponed. (6) Ventforet Kofu will also look to continue their unbeaten run of six games at bottom side (22) SC Sagamihara.

Another week, another set of important games for those sides facing relegation as (19) Ehime FC host (21) Giravanz Kitakyushu; (20) Omiya Ardija host (13) Blaublitz Akita; and (17) Tochigi SC host (18) Thespakusatsu Gunma.

7. Conclusion

Ryukyu have their second chance in consecutive weeks to sweep an opponent in 2021. But we’ve had this chance twice so far this year and only managed to come away with one series sweep. Though Ryukyu haven’t hit double digit points since April, nor exceeded eight points in a month since May, a win tomorrow will set them on a path to achieve their highest monthly point total in quite some time.

MD23 Preview: (21) Omiya Ardija vs (4) FC Ryukyu #FC琉球

Intro

Both FC Ryukyu and Omiya Ardija need this win on Sunday. Ryukyu, currently fourth, are circling the drain and risk falling out of the promotion race with another loss, or dropped points, to a bottom four side. Omiya, who are starting to get something going on the heels of some recent strong performances by Kurokawa and Ibba, could climb out of the relegation zone for the first time in months with a win over Ryukyu and some results in the league going in their favor. These two sides played to a 0-0 draw the last time they met, but that was the old Omiya with Ken Iwase in charge and Ryukyu fully fit. Ryukyu has reached, or exceeded, the three goal plateau every time they have traveled to Saitama and that would be a welcome sight after last week’s results and before heading into the summer break.

  1. Weather Forecast & Match Day Info
  2. Previous Match Highlights
  3. Team Previews
    • Omiya Ardija
    • FC Ryukyu
  4. Keys to Victory
  5. Prediction
  6. Round 23 in J2
  7. Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast and Match Day Information from Omiya Ardija

With the priority prevention measures in Saitama, as well as the state of emergency in Okinawa, this game will be capped out at 5,000 fans with no visiting fans allowed to attend. Click>>> Match Day 23 Info

2. Previous Match Highlights

V-Varen Nagasaki 1-1 Omiya Ardija
FC Ryukyu 0-1 SC Sagamihara

3. Team Previews

Omiya Ardija: Pretty much left for dead, Omiya Ardija have turned things around the past few weeks. They’ve earned 6 points from their last 5 games, a point total that took them 13 weeks earlier in the season to match, and won their first game in over three months. Omiya are also on their third manager this season after parting ways with Ken Iwase in May, and then caretaker manager Norio Sasaki making way for Masahiro Shimoda. Last week I mistakenly thought that SC Sagamihara were ripe for the picking when truly it was Ryukyu who were the ones ready to be plucked for points and things are shaping up to the same way this week.

After suffering three consecutive defeats, Omiya took the early lead over Tochigi SC in the fifth minute but conceded the equalizer inside the first half. Against Matsumoto Yamaga they had a chance at breaking the 0-0 deadlock but Ibba’s shot right on the doorstep ended up hitting the post. That first win in over three months for Omiya came at Renofa Yamaguchi when Kurokawa scored his first goal this season. Omiya nearly doubled their lead at the end but were denied by their own player, whose momentum took him into the net, and was subsequently hit on the backside by a Nermin Haskic shot to deny the goal.

At home to Montedio Yamagata the following week Omiya once more took the early lead from an Ibba goal, only to see them lose a lead for the second time inside their last five fixtures. On the road last week at V-Varen Nagasaki, Omiya clawed their way back into the game and scored an 87′ minute equalizer from Atsushi Kurokawa who has now scored two goals inside of his last three games. Both Kurokawa and Ibba look to be the most dangerous players for Omiya that Ryukyu need to concern themselves with on Sunday as each is in fine form. And both players have a limited history of scoring against Ryukyu as Ibba has notched two goals and Kurokawa one in these fixtures.

Omiya’s track record against the top four clubs this season is not good, as one might expect from a team currently sitting in 21st position. However, the lone point they have earned against these sides came back on match day six when they traveled to FC Ryukyu and held the hosts to a 0-0 draw. That game also happened to occur after Omiya had a strong performance against V-Varen Nagasaki the previous week and perhaps the recent run of form, coupled with the early success against what is now a much weaker FC Ryukyu side, might just be enough to buoy this team to their first home win in four months.

FC Ryukyu: We know Omiya’s track record against the top four sides in J2 isn’t that great, well, FC Ryukyu’s record against the bottom four isn’t something to boast about either. In the five games this season against the bottom four clubs, FC Ryukyu have managed 8 points out of a possible 15 with 2 wins, 2 draws and the lone loss occurring last week at home to SC Sagamihara. Oh, where would Ryukyu be with even some of those dropped points?

Though Ryukyu are not quite out of it yet, and with the top sides squaring off against one another this week, Ryukyu must get the job done in Saitama. During the past week FC Ryukyu played another reserve match against Kagoshima United FC which saw some of our injured players return to action. Most notably, Dany Carvajal in goal, and Ryohei Okazaki in defense. Each player played one half of that game and hopefully that is enough, for Okazaki at least, to enter the starting eleven this round.

Ryukyu has the uncanny ability to both play up, and down, to their competition this season. A trend that cannot continue in the short term as they need all three points this week. Most of Ryukyu’s dropped points this season have occurred during games when the opposition affords Ryukyu the majority of possession, frustrates Ryukyu in attack, and then hits us on the counterattack. Both coaches and players lament this fact after each of these games and if that is Omiya’s game plan this week, then we need to adjust quicker to Omiya’s tactics instead of sticking with what we though would work at the start of the match and hope for a lucky breakthrough.

For me, that means Abe taking this team on his back like he has done so many times in the past and pulling the team across the finish line. Possibly without both our starting fullbacks, as Numata wasn’t on the matchday roster last week, we also need Koya and/or Kiyotake, Shimizu and Nakagawa to be heavily involved with penetrating runs in and around the box and not simply laying the ball off back to Uesato and our center backs.

4. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

1. Respond to Omiya’s fast start: Likelihood 3. Omiya seemed to really go after their opponents in the opening 15’ minutes of games as evidenced by the Ibba goals inside 10 minutes against Tochigi SC and Montedio Yamagata. If Omiya do take the lead, expect what we’ve seen in the past with teams packing the defensive box so we better figure it the heck out on offense.

2. Help Abe out: Likelihood 2. Abe scored three goals in the first five games of 2021, which FC Ryukyu were undefeated, but has only managed 1 goal over his last 15 games, with none in his last five. Though, he has chipped in three assists the last three weeks, but this man needs to be scoring goals more than setting them up. He is too good of a striker to be sitting on such a low goal total. But he also needs support from the cast surrounding him. Abe can create space by drawing defenders in and it is time some of the other players do the same for Abe.

5. Prediction

Omiya sort of have the same thing going for them this week that SC Sagamihara had last week, and earned a quarter of their total points all season when they played Nagasaki and Ryukyu in back-to-back weeks. I think this one ends in disappoint for FC Ryukyu to the tune of 2-1 to Omiya. Season Record 6-5-11.

6. Round 23 in J2

There are some big games at the top of the table this week as (1) Jubilo Iwata host (6) Montedio Yamagata and then (2) Kyoto Sanga host (3) Albirex Niigata. Really makes those dropped points by Ryukyu last week hurt even more now. The free broadcast this week will feature Omiya Ardija and FC Ryukyu. Tune in and enjoy (maybe). Click>>> J.League International YouTube Channel.

7. Conclusion

This is the last time we will see FC Ryukyu in action until August. I honestly have no idea which FC Ryukyu team will show up on Sunday and we can only hope it is the one that secures all three points and not the one that drops us out of the promotion race before the break. Come on lads!

FC Ryukyu Mid Season Report #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu sit just outside the promotion zone in third place at the halfway point of 2021. Considering they’ve nearly matched their single season win total (14) in only 21 games, it is pretty amazing to see how far Ryukyu have come in only their third season in J2 under Yasuhiro Higuchi. For the most part, Ryukyu have been getting it done on the backs of some seasoned veterans with really strong performances by a select group of young players. Unfortunately for this side, they’ve also been required to deal with multiple injures to key starters that puts the notion of outright promotion in jeopardy.

I was not able to to do a midseason report last year with the condensed fixture schedule so I really wanted to get back to writing something other than the normal match day previews and reports. We will look at the state of the team heading into the halfway point as well as the biggest storylines of the season, the J2 league as a whole and the way forward for the club. I hope you enjoy it.

Squad Overview

FC Ryukyu rank third in the league with 13 different players having scored for this side in 2021. Most of the goals have come from our midfield players which FC Ryukyu ranks 1st in the league with 22 goals. However, they rank 14th in goals scored from forwards. Ryukyu has scored a total of 14 first half goals, good enough for 6th in the league, but their 22 second half goals is only behind Albirex Niigata’s 25. Ryukyu have surrendered 8 first half goals on the season which puts them in 6th place for that stat category, though the 12 goals they’ve conceded in the second half of games ranks 11th in the league.

Biggest Victory: 5-1 defeat of SC Sagamihara (Round 11)

Biggest Loss: 0-3 loss to FC Machida Zelvia (Round 9) & 0-3 loss to Fagiano Okayama (Round 19)

Most Important Win: 1-0 defeat of Jubilo Iwata (Round 1)

Most Deflating Loss: 1-2 loss to Albirex Niigata (Round 16)

The Games that got Away: 0-0 draw with Omiya Ardija (Round 6) & 1-1 draw with Ehime FC (Round 13)

Mid Season MVP

The short list included Junto Taguchi, Tetsuya Chinen and Keita Tanaka. Junto’s emergence began last year but he has been a revelation this season when he recorded 7 shutouts in the 16 games he played going 10-3-3 during that time. Unfortunately Taguchi suffered an injury that has kept him out the past 5 weeks and his play began to dip after the departure of Ryohei Okazaki at CB. Tetsuya Chinen has featured in every single game for Ryukyu this season and has been our best defender. He has yet to score from a set piece this season, but his defensive performances are some of the best in all of J2.

FC Ryukyu Midseason MVP Keita Tanaka Photo Credit: jleague.com

Prior to his recent injury, Keita Tanaka was on a torrid points pace having already contributed 9 assists and 2 goals before the halfway point. His pinpoint accuracy on crosses from the right side add another element to the already lethal FC Ryukyu attack. We desperately need him healthy before the month of September.

Young Player to Watch

Despite the strong performances from the veterans of this team, Ryukyu do have a nice pool of youthful talent. Junto Taguchi, Shunsuke Motegi, Mizuki Ichimaru are just 24 years old, with Tetsuya Chinen, Ren Ikeda at 23 years of age, and then there is Makito Uehara, only 22, and current Ryukyu goal keeper Kosuke Inose at just 20 years of age. If Ryukyu can lock these players up for the next few seasons they will have a very strong nucleus to build around in the coming seasons.

Much like the mid season MVP, both Junto Taguchi and Tetsuya Chinen made the short list here. Tetsuya is one of the most exciting young players we’ve had in our ranks in recent years as this side has never been know for producing defensive talent. He played sparingly in 2020 after joining from Kindai University but has taken his game to a whole other level this season. He can play contained while maintaining an aggressive streak; can win aerial duels; and is always making plays for this side when they need it the most. But the young player that everyone needs to watch, albeit upon his return from injury, is Ren Ikeda.

Ren Ikeda FC Ryukyu Young Player to Watch Photo Credit: jleague.com

Like Chinen in 2020, Ren joined FC Ryukyu from Takushoku University and featured in 38 games that year scoring 4 goals and adding 3 assists. He was asked to fill in at many different attacking positions that year and that is probably why he went 32 games without a goal. When Ryukyu came into this season, I for one thought it would be Kazaki Nakagawa leading Ryukyu through the central attacking midfield role, but it was Ren Ikeda who won the job outright and looked very good early on. In the 18 games that Ren has played this season he has scored 6 goals, 3 of which are considered match winners, and added 1 assist. His injury is a tricky one to return from and his rehabilitation may actually take longer than the initial timeline put forth by the club. The hope is that he can return to his preinjury form sometime in the month of September for a potential big push for promotion.

Early Story Lines from the 2021 Season

1. 80 points. In early February Manager Yasuhiro Higuchi put forth the challenge that this team needs to achieve 80-points this season to be considered for promotion. The number 80 represents a drastic uptick in points for a club that only ever achieved 49 points at this level in their past two seasons. If we considered how the team played the past two seasons when they surrendered 80, and then 61 goals, and only hit the 14-win plateau once, at the very least it meant we needed to double our highest ever win total at this level coincided with a drastic downturn in goals conceded. Ryukyu entered 2021 with limited marquee offseason signings – to go along with the departure of Yoshio Kazumi to Urawa – but they were able to keep a majority of the 2020 squad intact. A fact that is of great importance following the CV-19 ravaged season of 2020 when other clubs experienced a much more violent turnover. 

So far, things have gone better than expected as Ryukyu have turned into one of the better defensive sides in J2, though they have been undone lately due to injury, and they have nearly matched their win total from 2020 in the opening half of the season. They’ve also got some good performances out of Koki Kiyotake, who is enjoying his best statistical season in the past three years, as well as from Shintaro Shimizu. The only hard part for Ryukyu is that the target is so small this year with only two sides achieving promotion. Stuart of the @JTalKET so rightly said that “some teams have picked a bad year to have a bad season.” I would echo that sentiment and add that some teams will find themselves a bit unlucky to have a very good, but not great, season without the promotion playoffs. 80 points seems a bit low to achieve promotion in 2021 where the number of points needed could be closer to 90.

2. The battle for the Ryukyu #GK spot. Heading into the season everyone wanted to see who would win the competition between Dany Carvajal and Junto Taguchi for the starting GK spot at Ryukyu. Junto Taguchi won the battle and put in some phenomenal performances that has propelled Ryukyu to their current spot in the table, but like Dany Carvajal, he suffered an injury that has forced him to miss some time during a crucial part of Ryukyu’s season. This has forced Ryukyu to start 20-year-old Kosuku Inose at GK the past few rounds and while he has performed admirably at times, Ryukyu desperately need the veteran presence of either Taguchi or Dany back there after the Olympic break.

The good news is that we should see Dany emerge from his stress fracture in the next few weeks with Junto shortly behind. Ryukyu need both of these players pushing each other in training as without competition, some times complacency can set in.

3. Injuries have thrown promotion into doubt. The table below illustrates the damage that Ryukyu has suffered so far, and been forced to overcome in their quest for promotion. None of these injuries have been of the mild variety outside of Abe’s brief absence for a few weeks and some reports on players and staffers testing positive for CV-19. Both Abe and Makito Uehara dealt with injuries this season but both have returned to the lineup.

The fact that Ryukyu are down two of their top four scorers; two of their starting goalies; and one central defender, has put this team at or near the breaking point. In any season there will be injuries, but I feel some emerged from the rigors of training in between games whereas the oldest team in J2 probably needs more work on technical issues rather than physical preparation.

4. The Reserve League. FC Ryukyu entered the new J-League reserve league, known as the J-Elite league, which has given some of our reserve players valuable playing time. Ryukyu are currently 2-0 in the league with wins over Nagasaki and Fukuoka, but more importantly, it is keeping some of the reserve players that feature for Ryukyu from time-to-time match ready. It also provides an avenue for young players like, Koki Yushin, to gain some valuable match experience against senior level competition. Yushin played really well in his first game as a 16-year-old and the future looks bright for this player who is currently attending the U-16 Japan National team training camp.

5. FC Ryukyu sign their first ever player from Thailand. Sittichok Paso was signed on loan from Chonburi FC of the Thai league and was able to go through the J-League protocols to join FC Ryukyu in May. The U-23 Thai national team player has made on appearance at the senior level for the club but did score in the most recent J-Elite league match at Fukuoka. Ryukyu have switched formations to 4-4-2 as of late and this set up could allow Paso more playing time moving forward. Ryukyu also signed two players from Vietnam but for whatever reason, they’ve been unable to enter Japan, clear the 14-day protocols at the designated J-League facility, and ultimately join the club.

Snapshot of the J2 at the Break

@kyoemoon

To no one’s surprise, Kyoto Sanga FC finds themselves near the top of the table. Tipped by many to win the league outright in 2021, I do not see that juggernaut slowing down one bit. Jubilo Iwata sputtered off the line with 2 wins in their opening 5 matches before embarking on an impressive streak that has seen them only lose once since Match Day 6. Albirex Niigata led the league the longest this season before a bit of dip in form recently.

The second pack in the table consists of Ventforet Kofu, V-Varen Nagasaki, Montedio Yamagata, and FC Machida Zelvia. These teams have been a bit streaky at times this season but nonetheless are still in the hunt for promotion. I think Nagasaki was also one of the favorites of some to earn promotion after their strong finish in 2020, but things have not gone according to plan this year. Perhaps we see a team (Montedio Yamagata) emerge from this pack with a strong second half and secure one of the promotion spots.

The third and final pack is that of the teams facing relegation. SC Sagamihara was tipped by many to go straight back down to J3 and they’ve done nothing but reinforce that notion. Shockingly, or not, Omiya Ardija find themselves embroiled in this relegation battle but after going through several managerial changes this season, they may have just enough time to pull themselves out of it. Thespakusatsu Gunma have also changed managers after winning only once in their past twelve games. Another team that many expected to struggle is Giravanz Kitakyushu after a massive squad overhaul following the 2020 season. Ehime FC has been at or near the bottom for most of the season but are only separated by 4-points from 15th places Renofa Yamaguchi. Just like a team that could emerge from the pack for promotion, any number of the bottom seven sides could find themselves in J3 in 2022.

The Long Road Ahead

FC Ryukyu are probably in their most favorable set of fixtures for the remainder of the season. They open the second half of the season with 3 of the 4 bottom sides currently in J2, followed by games against two teams in the bottom half of the table with a very tough match against up and coming Montedio Yamagata mixed in. Of the top four teams, it is only Ryukyu who do not own a double-digit undefeated streak for this season.

Obviously these long stretches have propelled the top sides to their current spots, but some have already been broken and it seems unlikely that Iwata’s current form can continue unabated. Ryukyu have a chance, at least on paper, of matching their longest stretch of undefeated games (8) with the remaining fixtures this month and in August. Which all leads towards the make or break month of September for FC Ryukyu.

J.League

3-games against the top competition all of which are on the road. Hopefully by this time all of the currently injured Ryukyu starters are back to full fitness as too many dropped points in this month will likely end all thoughts of promotion. But if they do emerge from September unscathed, then they only have 3 tough fixtures to navigate over the remaining months.

Conclusion

There are certainly areas that this side needs to improve over the course of the second half of the season. Primarily their goals scored to conceded ratio away from Okinawa as they have some hugely important road games in the coming months. The club had a few brushes with CV-19 this season and are currently playing behind closed doors. While CV-19 may be a persistent threat until the players and staff are vaccinated, Ryukyu will return from the Olympic break to see no fans in the stands as the State of Emergency here in Okinawa has been extended until August 22nd, which, is unfortunate but necessary. Speaking of the break, it really couldn’t come at a better time for this club with all the injures and travel they’ve logged to date.

I think FC Ryukyu has done enough to hang around near the top and give themselves a punchers chance at promotion. They need to continue to pile up the wins during their remaining 10 home games while achieving some unexpected, in a good way, results on the road.

MD21 Preview: (14) Zweigen Kanazawa vs (4) FC Ryukyu #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu enter Match Day 21 coming off their second biggest win of the season where they defeated Matsumoto Yamaga FC 4-0 at home. It is a different set of circumstances for Zweigen Kanazawa who enter this round on the heels of their second largest defeat when they lost 1-4 on the road to Montedio Yamagata. But Zweigen Kanazawa own a very good record overall against Ryukyu as they have yet to lose to the visitors since 2014 when they were both in the J3.

  1. Weather Forecast & Match Day Info
  2. Previous Round Highlights
  3. Team Previews
    • Zweigen Kanazawa
    • FC Ryukyu
  4. Keys to Victory
  5. Prediction
  6. Round 21 in J2
  7. Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast and Match Day Information from Zweigen Kanazawa

No changes for the way things have been since late May with Okinawa under a state of emergency.

Click>>> Match Day 21 Info from Zweigen Kanazawa

2. Previous Match Highlights

Montedio Yamagata 4-1 Zweigen Kanazawa
FC Ryukyu 4-0 Matsumoto Yamaga F.C.

3. Team Previews

Zweigen Kanazawa: I must admit, I wasn’t able to prepare for the opposing team’s preview as I normally would have this week so I sought some help from the most knowledgeable Zweigen Kanazawa fan I know. And with that I give you James Taylor from @kanazawadreamin who is doing double duty as he also made his J-Talk Extra Time debut this week with Stuart.

Although we lost heavily at Yamagata last week, I wouldn’t expect Zweigen manager Masaaki Yanagishita to make many changes to the starting lineup. Maybe one or two, but wholesale changes are not really his style. Our tactics will be the same as usual 4-4-2, defending tightly and pressuring FC Ryukyu when they have the ball, then trying to hit them on a quick counterattack. We are a very hardworking team. Up until last week our defense had been pretty tight in the league, only once conceding more than 2 goals in a game, and only once losing by more than a goal.

The defense is prone to conceding early goals though as we lead the league with 7 goals against in the opening 15 minutes of matches. We also have a habit of losing concentration at crucial times, for example the long throw for Tochigi’s equalizer or the equalizer that Gunma scored. Expect most of our attacks to be funneled down the left, through Rodolfo, who has been playing well since his return after a long term injury. On the other side, Riku Matsuda is growing into the full back role, and Shintaro Shimada has 4 goals and 5 assists from the right wing. Our shots-to-goals conversion rate is quite good, I think, but we have a tendency to run out of ideas quickly if the opposition is content to let us have the ball. This is a factor in our poor record in games where we concede first (1 win, 1 draw, 9 losses).

FC Ryukyu: It was good to see the offense come alive last week as it will be required yet again heading into this match. Ryukyu are likely to be without starting RB Keita Tanaka this round due to an injury he picked up last week. Still no word on whether Tanaka is healthy, or hurt, but I would guess we see Yuya Torikai, Makito Uehara, or Felipe Tavares make the starting eleven and reserves.

Ryukyu have yet to beat Zweigen Kanazawa during their time in J2, and in fact, you have to go all the way back to 2014 to find a time when FC Ryukyu defeated Kanazawa. Zweigen swept the series last year with both sides seeing out draws in 2019. Though Kanazawa has dropped off as of late, they represent a mental hurdle that Ryukyu must overcome which puts this match in the must win territory for the points over/under expectation table.

Last week it was Kiyotake, Abe and Koya leading the way for Ryukyu as each had at least 2-points on the night. Shimizu wasn’t involved as much in this game as he has been in previous matches, but his pairing up top with Abe in Ryukyu’s new 4-4-2 formation does provide a lot of space for both attackers to move in and around the box. And Shintaro has some get up in his game as he can really rise to meet headers over taller players. It seems unlikely that Ryukyu will revert back to a 4-2-3-1 until Ikeda is healthy, though Kazaki Nakagawa did make his first appearance for the club in a couple of months when he featured in the midweek Elite League match at Avispa. He could easily fill that vacated CAM role but that is solely dependent on Higuchi’s decision to include him in the lineup. Something he has opted not to do at all this year.

Ryukyu currently have four players recovering from injury and here is an updated timeline as to their progress. GK Dany Carvajal has been sidelined with a stress fracture since early march and is roughly two weeks away from the return timetable the club posted. He has been seen at training but there is no indication he is ready to return to the lineup. GK Junto Taguchi is at the halfway point (5 weeks) of his timetable to return from a broken bone in his hand and has been seen doing individual drills at practice. Ren Ikeda is only three weeks into his recovery for a fractured hip and though the timeline suggests a 10-12 week recovery, I think Ren has a long road ahead of him to get back on the pitch. The player with the chance to return the soonest is Ryohei Okazaki who is now at week six of his 6-8 week timetable recovering from a pulled muscle in his leg. It would be great to get our starting CB pairing back in time to close out the first half and change of the season.

4. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

  1. Start the festivities early. Likelihood 3. After reading what James said about Kanazawa conceding early, and their overall record when they concede first, seems there’s no clearer path to victory for FC Ryukyu. Question becomes, can they do it?
  2. Defend the Right side. Likelihood 2. There is a very real possibility that Ryukyu will start Yuya Torikai and Yong Jick on the right side of our defense this week, which will play right into the strengths of the Zweigen attack. Not much we can do at this point other than hope our right side holds under the pressure.

5. Prediction

Zweigen has scored two goals against Ryukyu in the last three games these teams have played whereas Ryukyu has managed that feat only once. Could things go differently this week with Zweigen having conceded 6 goals in their past 2 games? If you recall the last time Ryukyu entered an away game off of a big win, they were decimated 0-3. I think that will change this week, but I also think this could be a barn burner ending in 2-2 a draw. Season Record 6-5-9.

6. Round 21 in J2

No easy draws for the top two sides this week as leaders (1) Kyoto Sanga FC host (8) V-Varen Nagasaki with the matchup of the week featuring (2) Jubilo Iwata facing (3) Albirex Niigata at home. Possibly no shifting at the bottom of the table at the mid season turn as all the sides face an uphill battle this week. There are two free broadcasts this round with (10) FC Mito Hollyhock at home to (15) Renofa Yamaguchi on Saturday and then (19) Ehime FC vs (13) Blaublitz Akita on Sunday. Click>>> J-League International YouTube Channel.

7. Conclusion

Despite their differences in the standings this will be no cake walk for Ryukyu as they’ve had limited success against Kanazawa to date. Ryukyu are doing all they can to make it to the break on maximum points despite the numerous injuries to the starting eleven, but they cannot use that as an excuse. The remaining schedule is favorable for Ryukyu but they cannot afford to play down to the level of their competition dropping valuable points along the way. Instead, they need to smash and grab as many goals in the next three games starting with Kanazawa on Saturday.

Thanks once more to James for bailing me out during this busy week and please give him a follow on his Twitter account as well as a listen on the J-Talk Extra Time podcast.

Match Day 5 Preview: (11) JEF United Chiba vs (2) FC Ryukyu 3/27/21 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu are off to a dream start in 2021 but much like 2019, JEF United Chiba will look to put a quick stop to Ryukyu’s momentum. I certainly did not see Ryukyu achieving four wins from four at the start of the season and was rather content when they had won three in a row to open the campaign. I think Ryukyu took advantage of a strong V-Varen Nagasaki side that are simply struggling to put all the pieces together at the moment but, Ryukyu also looked really good in doing so. However, JEF is another set of obstacles altogether as of all the teams in J2, JEF really has Ryukyu’s number.

  1. Weather Forecast & Match Info
  2. Match Day 4 Recaps
  3. Team Previews
    • JEF United Chiba
    • FC Ryukyu
  4. Keys to Victory
  5. Prediction
  6. Match Day 5 in J2
  7. Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast & Match Day Information

No complaints here. Looks like a lovely day for football.

Match Day Information from JEF United Chiba Website

2. Match Day 4 Recaps

Matsumoto Yamaga FC 0-1 JEF United Chiba
FC Ryukyu 3-1 V-Varen Nagasaki

3. Team Previews

JEF United Chiba: Where to begin? A team that has a long history? Yes. A team that has a recent history of success against FC Ryukyu? Yes. An organization and fan base with lofty expectations due to that lengthy history but always seem to fall short of expectations? Yes. Has JEF looked good in the 4 games leading up to this match? Not particularly. Can we say the same thing every time leading up to FC Ryukyu facing off with JEF, and yet Ryukyu still manage to lose? Unfortunately yes!

JEF are quite possibly the longest running joke in J2 for some of their past antics but whenever they play Ryukyu all of that is thrown out the window. A side by side comparison shows us that JEF owns roughly the same amount of possession in their past 4 games that Ryukyu’s opponents achieved (54%). However, FC Ryukyu are out shooting JEF by nearly 4 shots per game with at least 2 more of those shots being on target.

JEF has begun 2021 with one win, two draws and one loss under second year manager Jong-hwan Moon. When JEF opened the season at home against Kofu they displayed a bit of lackluster defending that allowed Kofu the freedom of movement and space to grab the early opener. JEF responded with a goal in the second half when Keita Buwanika rose high above the Kofu defense to bury a header. JEF then conceded a late PK but the goalie was able to stop the shot to keep the score line level. JEF were able to grab the early lead the following week at Ehime when defender Daisuke Suzuki sent a thunderous header past the Ehime keeper. But JEF allowed Ehime to hang around all game and once again the defense let them down when they needed them the most.

On match day 3 Blaublitz Akita came to Chiba and absolutely put it on JEF winning 2-0. JEF missed some chances during their counter attacks but they had no idea on how to break down the Akita defense despite the lopsided possession totals favoring JEF 71/39. JEF grabbed their first win of 2021 when they traveled to Matsumoto Yamaga FC by eking out a 1-0 victory in some rather poor conditions.

Averaging less than a goal a game, JEF are not a particularly strong team when you look at their results to date. They’ve only played one game this year when they had less than 50% possession but they are not doing much when they do have the ball. Against Ehime and Akita they were able to muster 10 total shots in each contest but were held to 5 against the stronger Kofu and Yamaga sides. JEF neither controls games or imposes their will on their opposition. They simply hope for breakthroughs to put themselves level or into the lead.

There is little doubt that JEF will want to start fast against Ryukyu by controlling a majority of the possession and chances, but this plays directly into Ryukyu’s strength as they are content on striking teams on the counter. And I am not sure JEF has the firepower to catch up to Ryukyu if they push the score line above 1 goal on Saturday.

FC Ryukyu: The Ryukyu match with Nagasaki was bittersweet. First, Ryukyu looked good allowing the game to come to them and hitting Nagasaki on the counter. Second, they defended well as a unit. But in the end, Ryukyu lost Abe to injury, and have no idea on his status, which could derail the momentum Ryukyu have built up in their first four games.

A lot of talk coming out of the club by the players and manager emphasize that they are not really focused on trying to control games with large amounts of possession like they did last year. Instead, Ryukyu are content on hitting their opponents with counter attacks. This is where Abe will be missed the most as his holdup play as an outlet valve for the team has been phenomenal this year. A lot of Ryukyu counterattacks started and ended with Abe. I am not sure who will step up in his place as he is not easily replaceable. Shintaro Shimizu is the likely candidate as he is the youngest of the 3 remaining strikers that Higuchi dresses each week. There is also an outside chance that Higuchi moves Ikeda into the FWD role but that would mean dressing a new midfielder for the first time all season. And Ryukyu do not have many choices at the moment.

Ramon is likely out a few more weeks while he deals with a soft tissue injury and Nakagawa may not be match fit yet. The only healthy options are Yu Tomidokoro or Shunsuke Motegi. But neither is a true CAM so I think Higuchi needs to stick with Ikeda at CAM and make the adjustment at FWD. There are the remote possibilities of of swapping Shimizu and Ikeda, bringing Tanaka up to RM – pushing Koya to CAM – and starting Makito Uheara at RB. But Higuchi could just as easily dress Hitomi if he thinks that neither Shintaro, Akamine, or Uehara can withstand the rigors of 60 minutes in the starting role.

Ryukyu should remain unchanged behind the front four with Uesato, Koki, Numata, Tanaka, Chinen, and Okazaki. These guys have been great at closing down shooting lanes, stifling the opposition’s attack, and will once again be called upon to do so with what may turn out to be a muted offensive performance by Ryukyu on Saturday. And yet, there are even more injuries that Ryukyu need to contend with.

Dany Carvajal recently went under the knife to repair some stress fractures to his lower leg and will be away from the team for 3-4 months. This means that Tsumita becomes the backup to Taguchi and I hope that he can push Taguchi the way Dany did in practice as we cannot afford for Taguchi to become complacent between the sticks when there are some winnable games on the horizon.

The JEF United Chiba game doesn’t represent a ‘must win’ game in the true sense. It is more for the Ryukyu psyche than anything. JEF are one of six teams – Iwata being the other but Ryukyu have already beat them this year – that FC Ryukyu have never defeated during their time in the J2. You’ve probably heard me say this on a few occasions, to include the fact that they have never scored a single goal against JEF in their entire history, and that is what makes this game so important to Ryukyu. Even more so when you consider that Higuchi’s goal for the season is 80 points for the club. While Ryukyu are a long way off from that total right now, and in spite of the fact of JEF sitting well below Ryukyu in the standings, any points earned in this game will fall squarely inside the Points Over Expectation Table.

It isn’t always about defeating an opponent that is stronger than you on paper that determines the strength of a side. Sometimes it is overcoming the mental hurdles and past failures that can make all the difference. And while that variable isn’t easily quantifiable, it is vitally important for Ryukyu’s overall success.

4. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

1. Slay the Dragon. Likelihood 4. It doesn’t matter how JEF have performed the past 4 rounds. It doesn’t matter how Ryukyu have performed the past 4 rounds. Prepare better than JEF. Execute better than JEF. Show the mental resolve to dig this one out. Overcome the challenges that have plagued us in the past and slay this beast once and for all.  

5. Prediction

I do not expect Ryukyu to go out there and light up JEF, as they’ve never done that before despite JEF doing some pretty calamitous stuff throughout the years. Predicting a win in spite of the records is even bolder but that is what I am going to do as this isn’t the same team from 2019 or 2020. 1-0 in favor of FC Ryukyu. It won’t be pretty but it will be effective. Season Record 2-0-2.

6. Match Day 5 in J2

Times are listed in JST

(3) Ventforet Kofu hosting (10) FC Machida Zelvia and (8) Montedio Yamagata against (9) Fagiano Okayama stand out as the two fixtures with the most top half, and promotion, implications this round. Not to be outdone, (4) Zweigen Kanazawa and (5) Blaublitz Akita, will look to continue their hot starts to 2021. This will be Akita’s first home game of the 2021 season and quite possibly their toughest fixture to date. Elsewhere there are some bottom of the table clashes that could have big impacts for these clubs late in the year.

No J2 action this weekend as the J-League International YouTube channel will broadcast a Levain Cup match between Tokushima Vortis and Oita Trinita.

YouTube Broadcast: Tokushima Vortis vs Oita Trinita

7. Conclusion

In 2019, it was JEF who ended Ryukyu’s unbeaten run of 6 games to open the season. Then they defeated Ryukyu to open the 2020 season. You know all the history between these two clubs. Well then…

Match Day 1 Report: FC Ryukyu 1-0 Jubilo Iwata 2/28/21 #FC琉球

Intro

The J-League season kicked off in earnest this past weekend where FC Ryukyu hosted Jubilo Iwata in the opening fixture of 2021. Despite all the weather forecasts predicting a rather nice day to enjoy football, it was anything but with all the rain here in Okinawa. However, the wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the home crowd, or the team, as FC Ryukyu notched their first points, and first home win of the season by defeating Iwata 1-0 in front of 3,800 fans thanks to a Ren Ikeda first minute goal set up by none other than Keita Tanaka.

  1. Match Recap
  2. Man of the Match
  3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
  4. Takeaways from Round 1
  5. Match Prediction
  6. Match Day 1 in J2
  7. Conclusion

1. Match Recap

https://www.transfermarkt.com/spielbericht/index/spielbericht/3505171

2. Man of the Match

Junto Taguchi GK FC Ryukyu: The man was the sea wall that broke the unrelenting waves of the Iwata attack. 24 shots, 11 on target, and a little help from the framework. Junto continued the fine form he was in at the end of last season and despite my reservations, I think it is safe to say, he is the Ryukyu #1 GK moving forward.

3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Keep the foot on the Gas Pedal: Likelihood 3. Kind of hard to do this when they had less than 40% possession on the day. FC Ryukyu played on the back foot nearly all game.

2. Score from Set Pieces: Likelihood 2. Seeing how we created so few chances, from such little possession, there was only one clear cut chance to score from a CK, that Chinen sent wide.

4. Takeaways from Round 1

1. FC Ryukyu looked well organized at the back. This despite all the talk of attacking football by the manager. The combination of Okazaki and Chinen worked to perfection and Taguchi has probably earned DAZN first team honors this week with his performance. We will have to wait and see if this trend continues as I think when the game opens up to Ryukyu, so too will our defense to our opponents. The fact that Ryukyu were under constant pressure meant they had to compact their defense and play out from the back, but even then, the Ryukyu attackers didn’t help the cause with turnovers on their end that turned into quick counter attacks by Iwata.

2. Some of the questions surrounding the team were answered yesterday. First, Taguchi is the preferred #1 over Dany Carvajal at the moment. Second, and much to my dismay, Ikeda was given the nod over Nakagawa at CAM. We saw this early last year before Koizumi came on to usurp Ikeda, but Higuchi’s faith in Ikeda turned out to be correct as he was the lone goal scorer on the day. Third, Yong Jick was left out of the lineup and Chinen looked very good in his place. Finally, Higuchi dressed 3 reserve forwards in Uehara, Shintaro and Akamine. Considering the depth we have at MF, this was a bit of a shock. Maybe he expected to need the services of so many attacking players if Ryukyu were to chase the game, but that never happened.

3. We finally saw a Central Defender rise to meet a header on a CK. Chinen came close to pushing the score line to 2-0 on a set piece but it was sent wide. However, it was encouraging to see a central defender get involved on a limited number of set pieces, and I haven’t seen a header with that much aggression behind it in quite some time down here.

4. There were some missed chances that could’ve made all the difference yesterday. Ryukyu narrowly dodged some bullets when Iwata hit the woodwork, and Shintaro had a golden opportunity to seal the game late on for Ryukyu only to come up short. He took possession of the ball just inside the halfway line of Ryukyu, turned on the jets, and somehow made it all the way into the Iwata 18-yard box untouched and alone on goal. Unfortunately, the finish wasn’t nearly as spectacular as the setup, as the shot was stopped by the Iwata keeper. I guess we got a small glimpse into the streaky nature of this player.

5. Prediction

I thought this game would’ve ended 2-2, instead, it was 1-0 to FC Ryukyu. Season record 0-0-1.

6. Match Day 1 in J2

V-Varen Nagasaki asserted themselves early against Kanazawa, and then hung on late to win. Akita lost in their J2 debut match, as did Sagamihara, with the grudge match between Zelvia and Yamagata ending 1-1. Perhaps the warning signs are already there for Kitakyushu and Ehime as they were soundly beaten in their opening fixtures.

Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/j-league-division-2/tabelle/wettbewerb/JAP2/saison_id/2020

7. Conclusion

It is always nice getting that first win, that first home win, and it is even better when it is on opening day. Iwata was a far better side in the attack yesterday, and thanks to a bit of luck, were kept off the score sheet. Iwata were one of the teams I mentioned in an earlier blog that FC Ryukyu had failed to beat, and would need to beat, if they wished to achieve the lofty target of 80 points. Time will tell and I will keep a log of all the points over, and under, expectation that Ryukyu net in 2021.

The win on Sunday has really put FC Ryukyu in a nice spot to take 9 points from their first 3 matches of 2021. A fast start, similar to the one we saw from Ryukyu in 2019, could provide the same type of cushion from those teams facing relegation come the end of the season. If memory serves me, FC Ryukyu are now undefeated in games that are broadcast on the J-League International YouTube channel dating back to 2019 with a 3-1-0 record. Well, job done and now it is on to Renofa Yamaguchi this Saturday.

FC Ryukyu Squad Review Part 3: Forwards and Goalies #FC琉球

The final installment of this series will look at the FC Ryukyu forwards and goalies. FC Ryukyu entered the year with only 3 strikers on the books, but never had more than 2 of them healthy at any one point. In goal, there was a 2-1 split for games played between Dany Carvajal and Junto Taguchi. But it was the decision to start Taguchi over Dany in 8 out of the last 9 games that really raised some eyebrows down here.

Forwards

Takuma Abe: Abe made 31 appearances, scoring 13 goals and adding 2 assists, before succumbing to some unknown injury that prevented him from completing the season. Signed from Vegalta Sendai in the offseason, there were many questions surrounding the then 32-year-old striker. Namely, had his skills diminished? Abe hadn’t reached double digit goals since 2012 when he was with Tokyo Verdy, but one thing we should understand about FC Ryukyu, more importantly, the system Higuchi employs, is that the man up top will have plenty of chances to score.

Abe scored in his second ever game for FC Ryukyu, and had two separate stretches where he scored in 4, and 3, games in a row. Prior to his unknown ailment, Abe had played in nearly every game for Ryukyu and looked to be on pace for +15, if not 20, goals. I stated at the beginning of the season that FC Ryukyu were extremely thin at FWD, and the sheer number of matches in such a short span certainly took its toll on Abe. Perhaps it wasn’t an injury that took him down, it could have just been a case of dead legs.

Whatever the case, Abe was in excellent form for this club in the games he did play. Besides scoring some fantastic goals; like he did against Fukuoka on Match Day 2 by going at it alone for 70 yards and beating Serantes; Match Day 12 with his signature left footed tap in; or his best game – and ultimately the last he’d score in- against Omiya with a brace where one was another left footed tap in from a long cross.

Shinya Uehara: Shinya, like Abe, was not on the roster for long spells of the season. When he did feature, it was always in a substitute role. This is a far cry from how he finished 2019 where he was filling in at RB, and playing the full 90’, due to so many injuries. But when Shinya did come on, he played the role of a “super sub” as his goals would tilt games in favor of FC Ryukyu.

Shinya notched a brace in 2 of the games he came on as a sub. And his penchant for scoring timely goals is incredible. Against Tochigi SC on Match Day 13, Uehara came on to score two times after the 75’ to level the game twice. Then against Mito on Match Day 20, he scored 2 goals in the final 6 minutes to give FC Ryukyu the win.

Takuya Hitomi: Like Ikeda, Hitomi joined from a University in the offseason but was sidelined for the better part of 8 months following knee surgery. He returned to the team on Match Day 24 but did not feature until Match Day 26. Hitomi scored his first ever goal for Ryukyu on Match Day 39 against Okayama, but was only ever included in the starting 11 once in 2020. But there is a bit of optimism surrounding this player as he possesses some nice traits, and flashed some talent in his limited opportunities. If anything, Hitomi looks more natural in the striker position than Ren Ikeda, and we may need Hitomi to start up there if FC Ryukyu hemorrhage a ton of talent in the offseason.

Keep: There is no question we need to keep all 3 of these players since FC Ryukyu have little depth at the position. Abe and Hitomi could split starts throughout the year to stay fresh, and we already know how effective Uehara is in brief appearances as an aerial threat and poacher inside the box. FC Ryukyu undoubtedly need to acquire a fourth striker in the offseason as none of these players showed they can stay healthy for a full season, but I feel Abe has plenty left in the tank for at least one more season at FC Ryukyu.

Goal Keeper

Coming into the season, Dany Carvajal was the clear first choice keeper for FC Ryukyu. Junto Taguchi was signed from Albirex Niigata to be the backup, but ultimately usurped Dany at the end of the season. The situation that FC Ryukyu faces moving forward at goalie has both good, and bad elements to it. There is nothing wrong with a little competition, but you also don’t want to take it too far where it engenders discontent among the ranks.

Dany Carvajal: Dany was not able to start the season for FC Ryukyu as he was still recovering/rehabilitating from ankle surgery in the offseason. He did return at the restart of the season and ended up playing in 28 total games. Dany began 0-1-2 in the first three games against Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, and eventual champions, Tokushima Vortis. That rough start prompted Higuchi to make a switch to Taguchi, who did not fare any better in his next two starts going 0-1-1.  

For the season, Dany’s record was 9 wins, 5 draws, 14 losses, while registering 5 shutouts. Unfortunately, none of those shutouts occurred against the top competition in the league as they were against, Verdy, Gunma, Renofa, and Omiya twice. Dany seemed to be relegated to the bench after the 2-0 loss to Zweigen on Match Day 38, and never featured again this year.

That was a bit harsh to stomach considering Dany played really well in some games, and at times, he was let down by the players in front of him. Both offensively, and certainly defensively. He also had a bit of bad luck on several occasions were shots were deflected, or tipped, which caused them to change direction, and get past him. Sure, these things happen to all goal keepers, but when the coach is waffling between who to start, and who to sit, these little things do not help.

Junto Taguchi: Taguchi had bounced around between 4 clubs before settling in at Ryukyu this year. Prior to joining Ryukyu, Taguchi only made 2 starts for Albirex Niigata in 2018, with zero appearances in all of 2019. He was the first-choice keeper at Fujieda MYFC in 2017 when he was on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos, where he recorded 6 shutouts in the J3.

Taguchi’s first game was one to forget. First, FC Ryukyu surrendered a goal within the opening 30 seconds of the match, not all Taguchi’s fault, but then he made a mental mistake which nearly cost Ryukyu. If it were not for Yong Jick, of all people, bailing Taguchi out after his giveaway, things could’ve ended much worse. Taguchi still had the trust of Higuchi when on Match Day 5 he earned the start and drew with Nagasaki. But after Match Day 6, Taguchi wouldn’t start until a rest day for Dany on Match Day 22.

Higuchi opted for Taguchi moving forward after Match Day 34, which was a bit strange considering that Dany had won 4 of the previous 7 games before this switch. But it was the Nagasaki game that was a turning point for both Taguchi, and the team. Taguchi would then go on to start in 8 out the last 9 games for Ryukyu earning a 4-2-2 record. He recorded 4 of his 5 total shutouts in that run, and I have to say, he looked good in doing so. If you’re wondering, Taguchi’s shutouts came against: Yamagata, Nagasaki, Verdy, Ehime and Mito.

The Way Forward: Dany is under contract through 2021. Taguchi just renewed his contract with FC Ryukyu today. Both are quality keepers, so there will be serious competition for playing time next year. It was hard to tell if Higuchi was attempting to play the “hot hand” with his selections at the end of the season, or, if he prefers Taguchi over Dany. Dany has definitely recovered from the ankle surgery, and was playing some inspired football at times, even when it seemed that others around were not. But Taguchi’s strong finish speaks volumes at this point. Here is the rub, as they say. FC Ryukyu doesn’t have the strongest defensive unit in front of these guys so it is hard to get a true gauge on just how good they both could be.

We all have seen what happens when the #1 GK goes down. Usually, it is a steep drop off in talent with the second choice, so FC Ryukyu are some what blessed with 2 keepers that can play at a relatively high level. It will be interesting to see how Higuchi selects his keeper for each match next year. And this is something to follow in the weeks leading up to the start of 2021.

Conclusion

That does it for the player series. I will be back after the Christmas break to wrap up the season as a whole. Please enjoy your Holiday, and I know that may not be easy in these difficult times. If you’re feeling alone, isolated, or depressed, please reach out to someone. And if you have no luck, feel free to reach out to me in my DMs on Twitter. I’d be happy to chat with you or even share a beer over Zoom.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all, Stay Safe.

@okinawaozzy

“Now is the Time” Match Day 3 Preview: (20) Giravanz Kitakyushu vs. (17) FC Ryukyu 7/04/20 #FC琉球

Introduction

We are off and running in the J2 with FC Ryukyu earning their first point of the year last week against Avispa Fukuoka. This week’s opponent, Giravanz Kitakyushu, were recently promoted to J2 after winning the J3 in 2019. These two sides last met back in 2018 where FC Ryukyu did the double over Kitakyushu, who ended up finishing bottom that year, while FC Ryukyu went on to lift the J3 title. It is safe to say that these are not the same two sides who met back in 2018 with both looking to notch their first J2 victory of the 2020 campaign this weekend.

  1. Weather Forecast
  2. Match Day 2 Review: Giravanz Kitakyushu
  3. Match Day 2 Review: FC Ryukyu
  4. Team Previews & Injury Report
  5. FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory
  6. Match Prediction
  7. Match Day 3 Around J2
  8. J-League English Content
  9. Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast

It looks like it will rain all weekend with showers expected during the match. Going to be nasty out there in Kitakyushu this weekend.

2. Match Day 2 Review: Giravanz Kitakyushu vs. V-Varen Nagasaki

Giravanz lost to V-Varen Nagasaki 2-1 in a very wet, very nasty, and very rainy affair on the road last week. I would encourage all of you to read the @V_Varen_EN review of the match as it provides a much better summary of the game.

https://nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com/2020/06/28/match-report-v-varen-21-giravanz/

3. Match Day 2 Review: FC Ryukyu vs. Avispa Fukuoka

FC Ryukyu and Avispa Fukuoka ground out a 1-1 draw in Okinawa this past Sunday. You can read my full match day review below or watch the highlights, your choice.

https://fcryukyublog.home.blog/2020/06/29/match-day-2-report-17-fc-ryukyu-vs-4-avispa-fukuoka-6-28-2020-fc%e7%90%89%e7%90%83/

  • If you yearn for even more info and more stats on games then check out the Football Lab. It is a Japanese language website but is easily translated through your internet browser, it is very impressive.

https://www.football-lab.jp/ryuk/report/

4. Team Previews & Injury Report

(20) Giravanz Kitakyushu 0W0D2L 1GF 3GA -2GD: Giravanz made five changes to their starting lineup from their previous opening day match against Fukuoka back in February. Kobayashi completely replaced the attack duo up front of Machino and Sato with Suzuki and Ikemoto. He also swapped Arakaki and Kokubu from the midfield for Tsubaki and Kawakami, with the latter having moved up from his role at CB the previous match to fill in at CDM.

Statistically, the changes did not make much difference as the shots and free kicks were the same across the two matches but Kitakyushu did end up scoring their first goal of the season. The “eyeball” test would tell you that Giravnanz created the same amount of chances against Nagaski as they did against Fukuoka, but they did not experience the same type of forward thrust they enjoyed against Fukuoka.

The highlights show four (4) chances this past week against Avispa but 3 of them, including the goal from an errant clearance, were mostly generated by Nagasaki turnovers. The goal scorer for Kitakyushu, Kokubu, came on to replace Ikoma at CB, and I assume that meant Kawakami dropped back to CB based on Kokubu’s location when he scored. I thought that Giravanz may have opted to switch to a back three in defense near halftime to add to the attack, but this was not the case.

Giravanz Kitakyushu Injuries/Suspensions: No starting members are listed on the injury report.

(17) FC Ryukyu 0W1D1L 1GF 2GA -1GD: Higuchi was forced into making one change last Sunday as starting LM, Shuto Kawai, was out with an ankle injury so in stepped Koya Kazama. FC Ryukyu are blessed with midfield talent this year so while there was a slight drop off in the overall amount of chances created and possession between their two games, it was not a steep drop. Though I must say, the drop off in speed down the left without Kawai was very noticeable.

Manager Higuchi also opted to start Fukui over Suzuki at CB; Torikai over Tavares at RB; and Kazuki Yamaguchi over Ren Ikeda in the #10 role. Ryukyu’s reserves included Shinji, Uehara, Tomidokoro, Tanaka, Suzuki and Koizumi though Shinji remained on the bench the whole game.

I feel as if FC Ryukyu have the stronger squad of the two this week which should result in far more opportunities compared to last week. Ryukyu bested their best two opponents in the shot and possession departments so FC Ryukyu should have no problem hitting the back of the net this week.

Of course, this will largely depend on Higuchi’s lineup selection and game plan. I hope we see Suzuki back in the starting CB role, leaving Fukui on the bench, with the same attacking 4 -Koya, Yamaguchi, Motegi and Abe- from last week, in order to control the tempo of the game. I would then expect Uehara and Tanaka to come on late in order to provide a bit of height and pace to overpower the Kitakyushu back four.

We also need to see more from FC Ryukyu on dead ball kicks as they have yet to score from those plays despite the multitude of opportunities to date. If the first cross from a corner can just clear the initial line of defenders than Yong Jick and Uehara, possibly Tavares if he is in there, could rise and meet them for headers. On that note, the most lethal player from corners last week was Numata who had two excellent headers that when he found some open space in the Fukuoka defense.

FC Ryukyu Injuries/Suspensions: No need to state the long-term injuries again until they are close to returning to the roster. MF Shuto Kawai is still another 3 weeks away from returning to the team because of an ankle injury. 

5. FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely it happens 1- Requires a Miracle to happen

1. Isolate/Mark MF Daigo Takahashi. Likelihood 2: Takahashi is by far Kitakyushu’s best player this season and is responsible for most of their goal scoring chances to date. I did not see anything from the Giravanz strike duo that would indicate FC Ryukyu struggling to blunt the Giravanz attack. So if Ryukyu can take their best player in Takahashi out of their opponent’s game plan, it should be a recipe for success.

2. Capitalize on set pieces. Likelihood 4: FC Ryukyu hit the wood work once from a CK and had another one wiped off the board due to a foul on the GK. Serantes also made a very nice save on a dangerous FK by Motegi. But we are not facing Serantes this week and we should utilize our height advantage with Uehara and Yong Jick this week compared to the past weeks.

6. Match Day 3 Prediction

This game may start out as a hard-fought battle between a couple of the teams expected to finish in the bottom third of J2 in 2020, but I think FC Ryukyu will take control of the game and go on to score multiple goals. I will say FC Ryukyu notch their first win with an impressive 3-0 result over Kitakyushu.

7. Match Day 3 in J2

(4) Avispa Fukuoka hosting (1) V-Varen Nagasaki in a Kyushu derby is the premier match up this week on Saturday evening followed closely by the (8) Tokushima Vortis vs. (9) Kyoto Sanga match that same night. We then close out the round on Sunday when (11) Jubilo Iwata hosts (4) Fagiano Okayama.

It will be interesting to see how both Tokushima and Jubilo respond to their losses and whether or not Kyoto and Okayama can assert themselves as promotion candidates. The rest of the weekend features some mid-table match-ups with 4 out of the 5 teams currently at the bottom of J2 squaring off against one another.

One final point on the upcoming round of fixtures. It was revealed by the J-League that none of the referees had been tested for COVID-19 prior to last weeks opening round in J2 & J3 and this is shocking. I feel that this is an injustice to the teams, staff and players that worked diligently to restart the season; and to the fans, and is nothing short of reckless behavior on behalf of the league. New cases of the virus are being reported daily in Japan and when you consider the leagues justification for foregoing the testing seems anecdotal. They claim that many of the refs have other jobs, which you and I know, could possibly put them at a greater risk than the most for coming into contact with COVID-19. This policy needs to change now as I highly doubt that the refs , like the teams, are all located geographically to the matches they’re overseeing, which puts many outside of football at risk when these guys travel.

8. J-League English Content

J-Talk Pod: Episode 322 – J1 is Back! https://jtalkpod.podbean.com/

J-Talk Extra Time Pod: WE ARE BACK!! https://jtalkpod.podbean.com/

V-Varen Nagasaki Blog: https://nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com/2020/07/01/preview-j2-matchday-3-navybluewasp/

Albirex Niigata: https://orangeblue.blog.ss-blog.jp/

9. Conclusion

There is not much that separates these two teams on paper as both have yet to win a game and have nearly identical goal scoring records. This will be the first real test for FC Ryukyu against a lesser opponent which means it is our first opportunity to assess the strength of this team after facing two tough opponents in the past weeks (months).

Considering FC Ryukyu struggled mightily on the road last year, and it wasn’t until they began facing weaker competition near the end of the season – when the results really mattered – that they began stacking up the road wins. FC Ryukyu cannot afford a slow start on the road this season, especially against a newly promoted side, as they have a murderous fixture schedule through mid-August after Kitakyushu. A win would do much for their confidence before they host 2 of the top sides in J2 over the coming weeks.

Therefore, now is the time for FC Ryukyu to make a statement this weekend by traveling to Kitakyushu and coming away with all 3 points. And with that……………………………………………….