Tag: Nagasaki

Match Day 4 Report: FC Ryukyu vs V-Varen Nagasaki 3/20/21 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu have equaled their longest ever winning streak in J2 with their 4th win from 4 this past weekend. Ryukyu now sit second in the table, level on points, with Albirex Niigata and have looked a far better side than we’ve seen these past few seasons. The loss continues to add to the struggles of Nagasaki but I wouldn’t count this team out just yet as there is still 38 rounds to play.

  1. Match Highlights
  2. Man of the Match
  3. Reviewing the Keys to Victory
  4. Talking Points
  5. Prediction
  6. Match Day 4 in J2
  7. Conclusion

1. Match Highlights

2. Man of the Match

FC Ryukyu Mid Fielders Ren Ikeda & Koya Kazama: It was to hard to chose either one so I will go with a joint man of the match for round 4. Ikeda opened the scoring on a spectacular one time volley, and then added his 3rd goal of the campaign which ultimately turned out to be the winner for FC Ryukyu. Ren was set up on both of his goals by Koya Kazama with the second assist being the best of the bunch. Koya received the ball deep in the Nagasaki box, and could have rightly tried a shot from that range but instead opted to send a pass all the way back through the box to the streaking Ikeda who buried the goal. These two could have made it a hat-trick in both departments if Ikeda had buried a wide open chance early in the first half.

3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Uesato/Koki/Ichimaru/Yu have to play one of their best defensive games of their life. Likelihood 2. The entire team played well under the Nagasaki pressure.

2. Be clinical in limited opportunities. Likelihood 4. And that they were. The only miss that stands out was the Koki Kazama shot that rocked the crossbar and would have put Ryukyu up by 2 goals early. But since Ryukyu have been saved a by the crossbar a few times this year, this stuff evens it out.

4. Talking Points

1. Doing more with less. FC Ryukyu were once again out possessed by their opponent but were able to bend, not break, when Nagasaki were attacking. Ryukyu needed to be clinical in their limited opportunities and they did just that. So far, Ryukyu have been playing a majority of their games this year with a lead so they haven’t been forced to chase a game which could possibly expose the back line. Though it needs to be said, Ryukyu have been very good at allowing the game to come to them instead of attempting to press.

2. There were a few nervy moments early on. Nagasaki’s attack was a little too narrow at the start and our central midfielders did really well to crowd out the top of the box when Nagasaki pushed deep into the Ryukyu end of the field. Nagasaki had two really good chances in the first half with one shot barely missing and the other being a wasted opportunity when Kato went at it alone instead of passing to one of the wide-open players on either side. The lone goal by Nagasaki came after Ryukyu had established a 3-goal advantage and there wasn’t much more Taguchi could have done as the ball bounced through a lot of traffic before Edigar Junio redirected it into the far corner. On that note, Junio made an immediate impact on the game when he came on in the second half.

3. The victory comes at a high price. Takuma Abe went down awkwardly in the 80th minute when he went sliding in for a cross by Numata. Abe’s left knee dug into the turf which then made it look like his hip was either hyperextended or he did some sort of damage to his lower back. He was forced to crawl over the touch line before briefly returning to his feet to make his way to the stretcher. Abe was in serious discomfort and there is no telling what the exact injury is or how long he will be out until the club releases a statement. It is a big loss for this team since Abe adds more than just goals for the team. His hold up play has been excellent this year and a lot of scoring chances begin with Abe getting the ball to one of the midfielders in space.  It will come down to either Shintaro Shimizu or Takuya Hitomi starting at FWD with the veterans Akamine and Uehara spelling either of those two. There is one other option. Ren Ikeda could move into the FWD role like he did last year when both Abe and Uehara were out injured but he is not the same player in that role as Abe and that would leave a void in our central midfield as there has been no sign of Nakagawa up to this point.

5. Prediction

I was way off with my 2-1 victory for Nagasaki. Do not mind that at all. Season Record 2-0-2.

6. Match Day 4 in J2

Transfermarkt

Ryukyu were not the only side with a shock win this round as SC Sagamihara earned their first ever win – while also scoring for the first time this season- when they defeated Omiya Ardija. Zweigen, Jubilo and Mito all thumped their opponents this round and Akita continues to pile up points in a strong opening act to their inaugural J2 season.

7. Conclusion

Heading into this round I said this would be a statement game for FC Ryukyu and they certainly answered the call. It is still to early to jump to any conclusions but the signs are encouraging. Ryukyu are facing a bit of an uphill battle when they travel to JEF United Chiba this week as it will likely be the first time where there are multiple changes to the starting 11 due to the Abe injury. While Nagasaki represented its own unique set of challenges for Ryukyu, JEF has a completely different set of obstacles to overcome. Ryukyu have never earned a single point off of JEF and they have yet to find the back of the net in the four games these teams have played. Heading into this match without your best forward is not ideal so we will now see how Ryukyu responds in the face of adversity.

Match Day 4 Preview: (2) FC Ryukyu vs (10) V-Varen Nagasaki 3/20/21 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu will look to continue their fast start when they welcome in V-Varen Nagasaki this weekend. Ryukyu are in the midst of their longest winning streak in two seasons, while Nagasaki are looking to rebound from a rough start to the season. The match for FC Ryukyu is certainly their toughest to date, but at this point, a majority of the matches in the opening quarter of the season represent their own unique set of ‘firsts.’ First game of the year with a newly formed team; first road game; first game against a tougher opponent; first game against a weaker opponent; first game playing from a deficit; first game coming off a loss; and so on. Some may wonder if this Ryukyu side is for real. Well, we should have some idea at the end of this round.

  1. Weather Forecast & Match Day Info
  2. Match Day 3 Recaps
  3. Team Previews
    • FC Ryukyu
    • V-Varen Nagasaki
  4. Keys to Victory
  5. Prediction
  6. Match Day 4 in J2
  7. Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast and Match Day Information

Possibly the best weather forecast for Ryukyu this season. Slightly overcast, but the off chance it rains once again. Be prepared either way.

FC Ryukyu Match Day Information : The link will provide all the information you need if you plan on attending.

2. Match Day 3 Recap

Thespakusatsu Gunma 0-2 FC Ryukyu
V-Varen Nagasaki 1-1 Ehime FC

3. Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: When your team is on a 3-game winning streak, it is hard to find many faults as they’ve risen to the occasion every single time. Look no further than FC Ryukyu’s total time playing with a lead compared to playing from behind. 227 minutes played while leading, 64 minutes at an even score line, 0 minutes playing from behind. Granted, when you score two goals in the opening minute of two consecutive games that number is naturally going to be inflated. But they still kept Iwata and Gunma completely off the score sheet and prevented Renofa from scoring in the final 38 minutes.

All Stat Tables provided by @BlogGamba

In 2019, 5 of Ryukyu’s 13 wins came in the form of a shutout. That number jumped to 10 out of 14 in 2020. That can be attributed to the difference in the amount of goals conceded between those two seasons and so far Ryukyu are off to their best start defensively of any season in the J2. And that, as I stated in the first preview of 2021, will be the telling sign for the overall fate of the team this year. There is no doubt that Chinen benefited from his first season at the J2 level last year, and somehow, Okazaki has started to put it all together after what seemed to be a career trending in the wrong direction. At least for now we haven’t seen the poor judgement, consistently out of position play that plagued us at the back for much of the past few seasons.

Abe will continue to get his goals and eventually Ryukyu will start to dictate games from their mid-field, but for now, they are winning through defense. Even more so, they are winning with the same combination of players. Ryukyu remained roughly in tact through the transfer window despite the departures of Koizumi and Kawai that many expected and maybe, just maybe, these players have the experience required in Higuchi’s system to make some real noise in the J2 this year.

When you view the lineup each week you wonder how some of the better players are left off the bench, but I would argue that the sum of this team is much greater than the individual parts. In 2019, we had talented players in Suzuki, Nakagawa, and Uejo. In 2020, it was Abe, Koya, Koizumi and Kawai. But this side could never put it all together on both ends of the pitch. Perhaps the end of 2020 – with Taguchi, Tanaka, Okazaki, and Chinen starting – was actually the beginning of what Higuchi had hoped to create all these years. And now we are seeing the benefits of playing as team rather than a group of talented individuals.

V-Varen Nagasaki: I am happy to welcome in Daniel, author of the Nagasaki Blue & Orange Blog, for this week’s preview. Daniel has been one of the best English bloggers out there these past few years and his weekly previews/reviews are a must follow. So there is no better source on the state of Nagasaki and what we can expect from them this round.

Q. Great to talk with you once again my friend. I know things haven’t gone according to plan so far, but I guess that comes with the territory when there are high expectations surrounding the team. Personally, I think Nagasaki are too good of a team to be down for to long, and I also fear them busting out in a big way this week, but it seems they were a bit frustrated in the attack last week against Ehime. What do you think is holding them back?

A. Thanks for having me again, Geoff! Especially in the game against Ehime and even in the win against Kanazawa, the poor usage with our chances was the biggest issue. Had V-Varen won this game 4-1, I do not think anyone could have said that it was undeserved because we really were dominant for most of the game and only allowed Ehime to have four shots on target, of which two came in the moment they scored their goal. I am quite confident that we can turn this problem around as there are many decent offensive players in the squad and some of them (Edigar Junio, Ibarbo, Yamazaki) have yet to make an appearance this season.

What may be the bigger issue, is some of the decisions made by the new manager, Takayuki Yoshida. His substitutions have had a rather negative impact in every game so far. Against Niigata, players were all over the place, but not in the positions in which they have played their best football in the past. Against Ehime, we needed to score another goal and the team kept on attacking, but from the moment Caio and Togashi were subbed, V-Varen lost their momentum. I also wasn’t a big fan of the formation he used in Niigata.

Q. We are not even remotely close to the ¼ mark of the season, but what is your impression of Nagasaki through their first 3 games?

A. Overall, quite positive. Defensively, I think we may be even better than last season. The team was a bit unlucky in the situations that lead to Niigata’s and Ehime’s goals and in general, our opponents have had very few decent chances. Offensively, we just need to start scoring. The chances have been there already, the players just need to take them.

Q. I see that the formation changes week-to-week under Yoshida and that Luan has played across 3-MF positions already. This has to be somewhat unsettling for the players in the squad. In your opinion, is Yoshida attempting to bend the squad around his preferred 3-4-2-1, or is he coming around to utilizing the players that he inherited in their natural positions?

A. The formations used against Kanazawa and Ehime were quite similar – with four defenders and one target man up front. Just the midfield was arranged differently. Against Niigata, however, V-Varen started with five defenders and that meant that Yoshida replaced an attacking player with a central defender. Defensively, it worked well considering that Niigata only had a couple of chances from open play and they were shots from about 15-20 meters out, but offensively, the team was not able to really bother Albirex. Also, V-Varen have been very good defensively with four defenders (only 39 goals conceded last season), so I did not think it was necessary to weaken the offense just to have an extra defender on the pitch. And it became worse with all the substitutions in this game.

Luan started on the left, then moved into the center and finished the game on the right. Otake has played in right midfield or behind the striker for most of his career, but when he came off the bench against Niigata, he played on the left. Sawada, a winger, is very good going one-on-one and can take on several defenders, but Yoshida brought him on as left back and had him sit back as protection in case Albirex would go on a counter attack. Akino is a defensive midfielder and he is the best passer on the squad and has initiated many attacks with long balls, but he finished the game as central defender. Meanwhile, Shinzato, a central defender, played most of the second half as defensive midfielder.

None of this made sense to me and I was shocked by how the manager, who already spent last season with the team and should know the players’ strengths, just shifted them back and forth and into (for them) untypical positions. I hope the Niigata game is a one-off because to me it was chaotic. In the end, it all goes back to the question of whether a managerial change was necessary or not and if different tactics are needed. The team collected 80 points last season and finished with a goal difference of +27. I understand that every manager wants to implement his own ideas, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! V-Varen have a very decent squad and almost all key players remained at the club. If Yoshida can get his tactics sorted, we have a very good chance for promotion.

Q. Nagasaki is still waiting on some reinforcements who haven’t entered the country yet correct? Where do you think they will fit in?

A. As of now, all players, who are under contract, are there, but Edigar Junio and Victor Ibarbo arrived in Nagasaki relatively late and they have not been included in a matchday squad so far. Once he is ready to go, Edigar Junio should be our first-choice striker and from the comments I saw on Twitter, many in our community expect him to score 15-20 goals. As for Ibarbo, it is complicated. He was supposed to be one of the best players in the league as well, but last season only got six starts. I can only guess that he did not put in enough work in training to deserve more playing time, but he still made quite an impact with one goal or assist every 116 minutes of playing time. If he is ready to go to work, he is also a candidate for a starting role, but I think that is a big “IF”.

The club is also still trying to sign a winger called Wellington Rato from Brazilian Serie A team Atletico Goianiense and their president said last week, that V-Varen had matched the transfer/loan fee requested by Atletico, but a few days later he said that the deal was off due to a disagreement regarding the payment, which V-Varen apparently requested to split into two instalments. A few months ago, V-Varen were also trying to sign Winger Jaroensak Wonggorn from Thai League team, Samut Prakan City, but the clubs could not come to an agreement. However, last week there was news about V-Varen and a few J1 clubs, including Kashima, still being interested in him.

Q. Who has been the best Nagasaki player to date?

A. First name that comes to mind is Cayman Togashi. He works relentlessly and got his first goal of the season against Ehime. The second player is Luan and I think he will also play a big role throughout the season. He accumulated six goals and three assists last year while only playing 1084 minutes. That means he contributed a goal or assist every 120 minutes of playing time. In my Season Preview I mentioned him as candidate for team MVP and I think his ambition needs to be a candidate for league MVP.

Q. For some unknown reason V-Varen Nagasaki always seem to be a team that FC Ryukyu play well against. We’ve traded 3-2 home wins in 2019, then drew during the monsoon last year, and then ended with the 1-0 win in Nagasaki that dented your promotion hopes last year. In our case, we sometimes (on rare occasion) play up to our competition, but mostly we play down to lower competition. What do you think is the case when Nagasaki face Ryukyu?

A. What I noticed is that six of the seven goals FC Ryukyu scored against us in the past two seasons came in the 69th minute or later. V-Varen are not a team that concedes particularly many goals late in games, but even when we were up 3:0 in the first meeting of 2019, you guys still scored two beautiful goals in the final ten minutes and gave us quite a scare. Last season, when many teams just sat back against V-Varen and waited for counter attacks, FC Ryukyu were willing to take a risk and attack and they rewarded themselves with four points. So, I think that FCR just have a stubbornness and mental strength to them, which has helped them to surprise V-Varen and capitalize on their mistakes in the past four meetings between the two.

Q. What are your thoughts/predictions for this week’s game?

A. Before I started working on this preview, my prediction was a 1:0 win to Nagasaki, but because of what I just wrote in my reply to the previous question, I feel like we are going to need a two-goal lead in order to finally get an away win against you and that will be difficult. I expect both teams to have 15-20 strong minutes in each half and it is probably going to end in a 1-1 draw.

It was great to reconnect Daniel, I wish the best for you and your team this year -just not this week- and look forward to seeing Nagasaki in the thick of the promotion race. Cheers!  

Thank you, too, Geoff. I really enjoyed answering your questions and am looking forward to a decent game. Good luck to you guys for the rest 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. Uesato/Koki/Ichimaru/Yu have to play one of their best defensive games of their life. Likelihood 2. V-Varen is extremely good at sucking defenders deep into their own box before finding an outlet pass to an unmarked player near the top. They also seem to have guys flying into the box from all directions when they are in possession at the opponent’s end. The outcome of this game hinges on our 2 central midfielders’ ability to track, and close down, those runs and crosses.

2. Be clinical in limited opportunities. Likelihood 4. Echoing what Daniel said about Nagasaki’s defense limiting their opponent’s scoring chances, Ryukyu will need to be lethal from limited chances. Ryukyu are not even close to maintaining the same levels of possession they enjoyed last year so quick counters, and finishing those counters, will be key. Hopefully all of those near misses the past few weeks will start to fall for Ryukyu.

5. Prediction

This is definitely a statement game for FC Ryukyu as well as a chance for V-Varen Nagasaki to right the ship. As Daniel mentioned, these two sides share a unique history especially when it comes to late goals scored by FC Ryukyu, but last week against Gunma was the first time all year that Ryukyu scored in the second half. Factoring in Daniel’s perspective for how Nagasaki are better defensively than last year, and limit scoring chances for their opponents, Ryukyu may have few scoring opportunities on Saturday. A 1-goal loss to Nagasaki would be considered respectable, any type of points earned by Ryukyu will fall into the green section of the Points over Expectation table I produce for each Match Report. I think Ryukyu put up a fight, but ultimately fall 2-1 to Nagasaki. Season Record 2-0-1.

6. Match Day 4 in J2

All times are Japan Standard Time

Another interesting round of fixtures with Niigata looking to extend their undefeated streak to 4 when they host Gunma, and then there are plenty of teams sitting just outside the top two who have a good shot at improving their position in the table based on their matchups this round.

J-League Int’l Free YouTube Broadcast: SC Sagamihara v Omiya Ardija

7. Conclusion

Thank you to Johnny (gambaosakaenglish.blog) and Daniel for their contributions to the preview this week. Their input has been invaluable and if you are not already following these two, you need to be.

Pretender or Contender? That is what we want to know about Ryukyu. Time to go out there and make a statement.

Match Day 34 Report: (3) V-Varen Nagasaki vs (18) FC Ryukyu 11/15/20 #FC琉球

Intro

It just goes to show you; that anything can happen on any given Sunday. FC Ryukyu pulled off the improbable this past Sunday afternoon when they defeated (3) V-Varen Nagasaki at the transcosmos Stadium in Nagasaki. The win, while not statistically important for FC Ryukyu, was a major boost to morale for a side that lost 2 out of their last 3 games to teams above them in the table. However, the loss has put a slight dent in the promotion hopes of V-Varen Nagasaki who now sit 5 points clear of Avispa Fukuoka in the promotion zone.

Match Day 34 Highlights

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_xxIZfkkR0
Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/spielbericht/index/spielbericht/3468245

Man of the Match

FC Ryukyu MF Shuto Kawai: Shuto scored the lone goal of this match and he was doing his best in the first half to get in and around the Nagasaki defense. He had several chances to score in the first half, which we would like to see him convert in the future, so hopefully this sets him up for a nice run in to close the 2020 campaign.

Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. V-Varen Nagasaki must overlook FC Ryukyu: Likelihood 1. Well Nagasaki may have done just that on Sunday. They didn’t field a totally weakened lineup, but they also didn’t look like the free scoring side we’ve seen in the previous rounds.

Match Day Prediction

I said it should have been Nagasaki with the big win. Somewhere in the vicinity of 4-1, but happily it ended 0-1 in favor of FC Ryukyu.

Match Day 34 Takeaways

1. This game was filled with drama as there were some missed calls that could have drastically altered the final result. First, there is a chance that the ball rolled over the line before Ren Ikeda passed it to Kawai on the lone FC Ryukyu goal. Second, there was a chance that Fukui committed a foul in the box that would have given Nagasaki a PK and a chance at tying the game. Finally, there was the double kick to the face on Taguchi by Ibarbo that could have warranted a booking. Convincing arguments could be made for both sides on each play but until there is VAR in J2, we will have to live with these types of decisions on a weekly basis.

2. I said in the preview that if FC Ryukyu wished to net anything positive from this game, it would require Koizumi creating chances, Uesato possibly scoring from the FK spot, and Koya’s ability to finish if we were without Abe. Well, Koya did not score but Abe came dangerously close in the first half. Uesato had a nice FK saved that would have given us the lead, and his replacement Koki Kazama, nearly netted a free kick in stoppage time as well. But the biggest takeaway has to be the chances that Koizumi created.

He set Kawai free on an excellent long through ball in the first half; spotted Abe for the dangerous shot that nearly went in; and was the one who provided the pass to Ikeda in the box that ultimately led to the Kawai goal.

Match Day 34 in J2

Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/j2-league/startseite/wettbewerb/JAP2

Tokushima Vortis and Avispa Fukuoka both won on Sunday, thus widening the gap at the top to 5 points over V-Varen Nagasaki.

Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/j-league-division-2/tabelle/wettbewerb/JAP2/saison_id/2019

Conclusion

“All we need is a Miracle” Match Day 34 Preview: (3) V-Varen Nagasaki vs (18) FC Ryukyu 11/14/2020 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu head to Nagasaki to face a side that: has won 4 in a row; are undefeated in 7 straight games; have only lost once in their past 10 matches; and scored 14 goals during their last 4 games!

Match Day 33 Recap: V-Varen Nagasaki vs Fagiano Okayama (5-0)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC5aPHptoVs

Match Day 33 Recap: FC Ryukyu vs Avispa Fukuoka (1-3)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw_clUdfcu8

Team Previews

V-Varen Nagasaki: Within reach of returning to the J1, V-Varen Nagasaki will look to keep pace, or even make up some ground on leaders Tokushima Vortis, when they face FC Ryukyu on Sunday. Nagasaki finished 12th in the table in 2019 after coming down from J1 and they split the series with FC Ryukyu with consecutive 3-2 wins for both sides. These two teams last faced each other on Match Day 5 in very poor conditions here in Okinawa with the game ending 1-1.

I made the mistake last week of saying that FC Ryukyu had experienced a modicum of success against Avispa Fukuoka in the past and therefore they may play them tough and even eek out a win. Well I am not that confident in that same sentiment this week even though it rings true based on past results. July was a long time ago, and V-Varen Nagasaki are peaking at just the right time aided by some of the best players in J2.

Do not be fooled into thinking Nagasaki lack a true goal scorer by the table above which indicates their isn’t one player in double digit goals for the number three side in the table. Nagasaki are well supplied with talent and any number of players can score from almost anywhere on the pitch. In the likely event that V-Varen Nagasaki follows in the footsteps of many other sides, who rotated the squad against FC Ryukyu, they can still field a very potent lineup.

The addition of Edigar Junio to this side makes the prospect of netting even a point on Sunday for FC Ryukyu, an almost impossible task. Junio – who has taken up the role of talisman for Nagasaki – has scored 4 times, while adding 1 assist, in the 4 games since his signing this fall. FC Ryukyu’s defenders will struggle to contain Junio and they will still have to contend with Ibarbo, Togashi, Cesar, Tamada, Luan, and Maikuma.

FC Ryukyu: Winners of 4 out of their last 7, all of FC Ryukyu’s losses occurred on the road during that stretch. The lone 3-0 win over Omiya Ardija away from Okinawa stands out as an outlier as FC Ryukyu only scored 2 goals, compared to 8 goals conceded, in the three losses. Without Takuma Abe anchoring the attack up top, FC Ryukyu have struggled for goals.

FC Ryukyu came close to scoring first against Fukuoka but Koizumi was denied by the post. What may have seemed like FC Ryukyu taking charge of the latter stages of the most recent game, was actually nothing more than Avispa Fukuoka sitting on their laurels while enjoying a 3 goal lead.

Ren Ikeda has filled in at striker during Abe’s absence, but it has not produced the results Higuchi might have hoped for. Ikeda can be out of position at times, as evidenced by some of the passes where the attacking midfielders expected him to be, only to see those passes end up as turnovers in the box.

It is obvious that FC Ryukyu must look elsewhere for that spark up top, with the logical choice being Shinya Uehara. If you recall last season, Shinya filled in at fullback due to injuries at the position, so he is more than capable of playing the full match. But since we still do not know why Abe has been left off the roster this past week, Higuchi may be forced into resting Uehara as much as he can in case of a lengthy return to fitness for Abe. Keep in mind, Uehara is our only healthy striker at this point in the season.

If FC Ryukyu wish to net anything positive from this match, they will need to rely on Koizumi creating chances; Koya finishing drives; and Uesato scoring from the free kick spot.

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. V-Varen Nagasaki must overlook FC Ryukyu: Likelihood 1. Unfortunately, that is all I could come up with. It cannot be anything else as we know about Nagasaki’s quality, and FC Ryukyu simply cannot match them skill for skill. Our hopes rest on Nagasaki looking past this match and towards future tougher contests. But even that seems highly unlikely when you consider their upcoming opponents are JEF UTD Chiba and Matsumoto Yamaga F.C.

Match Day 34 Prediction

If Abe does not make the lineup, or the reserves, this one could end badly if the flood gates burst open for the FC Ryukyu defense. V-Varen Nagasaki are the joint-second top scoring team in J2 this year while FC Ryukyu are third worst when it comes to surrendering goals. FC Ryukyu’s away goal difference is quite bad and on a short week, this doesn’t bode well for the boys from Okinawa. 4-1 for V-Varen Nagasaki.

Match Day 34 in J2

Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/j2-league/startseite/wettbewerb/JAP2

(1) Tokushima Vortis travel to (7) Montedio Yamagata in what should be a tightly contested match. Any wobble by Vortis will allow (2) Avispa Fukuoka, and (3) V-Varen Nagasaki to gain crucial ground on them as Fukuoka and Nagasaki play teams at the bottom of the table. (4) Ventforet Kofu join Fukuoka and Nagasaki as they also have a relatively easy test against (21) Ehime FC.

Source: https://www.transfermarkt.com/j-league-division-2/tabelle/wettbewerb/JAP2/saison_id/2019
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQWkIfLRNec

Conclusion

Let us end this entry on an a positive, uplifting idea. I want you all to consider that every once in awhile in sports, a much stronger team will overlook their weaker opponent. That weaker opponent can sometimes shell-shock that stronger opponent when they quickly post some early points, thus, forcing the stronger side to recover from an unexpected punch in the mouth. Often times these stronger teams cannot recover because they were unprepared for that level of performance by their opponent. This means that any team has a fighting chance on any given day. Can that happen on Sunday? Well, “all we need is a miracle.”

Match Day 5 Review: (22) FC Ryukyu vs. (1) V-Varen Nagasaki 7/15/20 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu earned a draw last night against the top team in J2. The game itself was a very messy affair as it was raining for most of the match with the heaviest part occurring during the second half. Not how we wanted to show off Okinawa and FC Ryukyu to the international viewers on YouTube, but you cannot control mother nature.

  1. Match Review
  2. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
  3. Man of the Match
  4. Match Predictions
  5. Match Day 5 Takeaways
  6. Around the J2 on Match Day 5
  7. Top Goals from Round 5
  8. Conclusion

1. Match Review

FC Ryukyu had plenty of chances to put this one away yesterday but ultimately failed to do so. Overall, the performance from both the offense and defense was much better and I have to assume that comes from the introduction of several changes in the lineup. On the bad side, there were also numerous errant passes, that had they connected, this review would have been much different. While we will get that from time to time, and the weather certainly didn’t help, hopefully that can be tightened up in the coming weeks so as to produce some better results.

Suzuki and Ikeda, returned to the lineup for the first time since match day 1 and so did Taguchi in net. Suzuki looked good out there yesterday and despite the fact that he missed on the cross that Nagasaki scored on, I don’t want to over-analyze it or see him lose any of the intensity he displayed last night.

Tanaka’s role as the starting RB came as a bit of surprise but he did quite well. I know I was all over Higuchi at the end of the match as it felt that another opportunity had slipped away, but his changes revitalized the lineup and the young players are really starting to shine.

Don’t forget to check out Daniel’s review of the match over at the Nagasaki Blue & Orange Blog!

https://nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com/2020/07/16/match-report-fc-ryukyu-1-1-v-varen-nagasaki/

2. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Do not press Nagasaki, rather, use the counter attack to generate goals: Likelihood 3. Nope, we went right at them. But it didn’t matter as we looked good in the attack and the lone Nagasaki goal was from a set piece.

2. Do not hold a high defensive line: Likelihood 2.  Nope, in fact, it was an awkwardly shaped back line as Tanaka thrust forward more than he dropped back to cover the CBs. There were a few times when an a pass was cut off for Tanaka and Nagasaki had a huge amount of space to run into. I guess, you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

3. Man of the Match

RB (?) Keita Tanaka FC Ryukyu: Tanaka was a force to be reckoned with last night as he was creating chance after chance and contributed on Ikeda’s goal with an assist. He sent a few dangerous crosses through the Nagasaki 6-yard box that unfortunately went unanswered which would’ve changed the outcome of this match. I look forward to seeing Tanaka, who I deemed at the start of the season in February, as FC Ryukyu’s comeback player of the year this season.

4. Match Day Predictions

I said 3-0 in favor of Nagasaki and Daniel said 2-0. It ended 1-1 thus dropping me to 0-2-3 on the year.

5. Match Day 5 Takeaways

It is hard to be either upset or optimistic at this point. FC Ryukyu are the only team in J2 that has not won a game this season and they have yet to score multiple goals in a game, or maintain a clean sheet.

1. Keita Tanaka looked good at RB and it definitely showed on the score sheet. Why not drop the two full backs and replace them as wingers and play with a back 3? We would then need to drop a CMF but that could provide some serious thrust forward. FC Ryukyu had 15 shots last night, of which 13 found the target, so the idea of having 2 additional attackers vice 4 defenders seems better suited for these times.

2. All told, Higuchi made six changes to the lineup on Wednesday with the aforementioned Tanaka at RB; Suzuki back in at CB along side Yong Jick; swapped the starting MF positions of Koya and Motegi; rested Abe for Uehara, and swapped Dany Carvajal for Junto Taguchi in net. Personally, I don’t think that Dany was the problem these past few weeks. You saw how few shots Taguchi faced (5) with a better offense in front of him, not to mention a solid defender in Suzuki. We will see how Higuchi rotates the two keepers this year but Suzuki and Tanaka must be in the lineup moving forward.

3. Ren Ikeda notched his first goal for FC Ryukyu last night and that was a welcome sight. I was glad to see both him and Suzuki in the lineup as I think they, along with Koizumi and Motegi, could form a very nice youthful core at FC Ryukyu.

4. Uehara did not get many opportunities this game and the ones that he did, you could tell he needs more, or less, game time. It is evident we need a third striker soon as Abe cannot be expected to play in every game, even as a sub.

6. Around J2 on Match Day 5

I guess you could say this round had a large amount of upsets in that some of the lower teams in the table achieved some surprising results. Gunma’s win over Yamagata on the road; Tochigi upsetting top seed Omiya; Fukuoka defeating Jubilo and you can even throw in the FC Ryukyu and Kitakyushu draws. I wonder if all these mid-week games will really shake up the table, especially in August and November when there are so many fixtures, with so little rest in between.

Had to use the one from Transfermarkt as no time to build my own. But their’s is far better. Maybe I’ll just do this, if they approve it.

7. Top Goals from Round 5 in J2

There were some thunderous headers this round but here are the three I picked out as the best goals from this round.

#1 Daichi Tagami’s FK against Zelvia (5:40)

#2 Miyasaka’s Knuckleball against Yamagata (0:00)

#3 Haruya Ide’s Curler against Kofu (4:20)

8. Conclusion

It’s coming. That is all I can say at this point after five FC Ryukyu matches. More goals will start to drop, the defense may start to shore up with Suzuki, and the young guns on this team may start producing the results that many of us have hoped for. The past five games, 4 most recently, would test any of the teams in the J2 with the strength of those opponents. For now, FC Ryukyu get a little respite as they travel North to take on Renofa Yamaguchi on Saturday followed by Ehime FC the following weekend. Let’s hope that the impact from these past four matches will only strengthen FC Ryukyu as they navigate the upcoming fixtures.

One final note. I got to enjoy the match with my father who lives in the U.S. thanks in part to the J-League broadcasting the game on their international YouTube channel. I really enjoyed that as it has been some time since we’ve done that and I was glad that he was able to watch the team that I support. But I was also a little disappointed that the club’s Twitter account didn’t bother to retweet, or advertise, the international broadcast. It was basically a free marketing product that may have gone unnoticed if not for the team’s loyal following. I mean, even the Nagasaki account retweeted the J-League advert.

“S.O.S.” Match Day 5 Preview: (21) FC Ryukyu vs. (2) V-Varen Nagasaki 7/14/20 #FC琉球 #vvaren

Intro

FC Ryukyu have their first of fifteen mid-week matchups this Wednesday as they welcome in joint table toppers V-Varen Nagasaki. We are also lucky enough to have Daniel (@LakerByNature) from the Nagasaki Blue & Orange Blog (https://nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com/) provide this week’s Team preview for Nagasaki.

  1. Weather Report
  2. Match Day 4 Review: FC Ryukyu
  3. Match Day 4 Review: V-Varen Nagasaki
  4. Team Previews & Injury Report
  5. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
  6. Predictions
  7. J2 Fixtures
  8. Conclusion

1. Weather Report

It is not a favorable weather report for this tilt. Looks to be very windy, very rainy and there is the danger of possible delays due to lightening. Bring a poncho, garbage bags for your stuff, and a change of clothes for your trip home as you will most likely be soaked once it is over.

2. Match Day 4 Review: FC Ryukyu

Ryukyu lost 3-1 at home to Tokushima Vortis. You can watch the highlights – or low lights depending on your perspective – below, or click the link for a deeper analysis with the Match Day 4 review I posted yesterday.

https://fcryukyublog.home.blog/2020/07/13/match-day-4-report-21-fc-ryukyu-vs-3-tokushima-vortis-7-11-20-fc%e7%90%89%e7%90%83/

3. Match Day 4 Review: V-Varen Nagasaki

Two late goals to earn a 2-0 win over Ehime FC for our guests this past weekend. Highlights below as well as a link to V-Varen Nagasaki Blog that has a very good Match Day 4 review.

https://nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com/2020/07/11/match-report-v-varen-2-0-ehime-fc/

4. Team Reports & Injuries

V-Varen Nagasaki. Below is a Q&A I conducted with Daniel for this weeks team preview.

Q: Nagasaki are coming three straight wins to open the season over some pretty good opponents. What has changed at the club from last year to now?

D: Last year was mostly a rebuilding year for the team as so many key players, and the manager, Takuya Takagi now with Omiya, left the club and it was hard to replace that type of quality. Many supporters expected V-Varen to make it back to J2, and were flirting with the playoff spots for quite a while, but in the end, the quality was missing and the new manager, Makoto Teguramori, struggled as well. However, in the 2019 summer transfer window, the club made some good loan signings and those players either extended their loan spells or made their moves permanent at Nagasaki this year. Additionally, the club added several good defensive players during the winter and our defense looks much improved from last season. Also, Teguramori moved away from his conservative 4-4-2 and the team looks much more comfortable holding the ball and controlling the midfield this year.

Q: Who are the players to watch out for on Wednesday? Tell us a little about some of the signings that Nagasaki brought in as well as about some of the foreigners that feature in the squad.

D: There are many players to watch out for, but I have been most impressed with Hiroki Akino and Masaru Kato, who have dominated the central midfield the past few games. Akino joined last summer on loan from Shonan Bellmare then made a permanent move to Nagasaki this year, and is now the team captain while Kato arrived in the summer on loan from Albirex Niigata. Offensively, Luan was a huge signing for Nagasaki. He is a Brazilian midfielder/forward who was a starter for Atletico Mineiro for many years and won the Copa Libertadores in 2013. Ronaldinho was on that team, too. Then you have Victor Ibarbo who arrived last summer on loan from Sagan Tosu and I could not believe that he opted to stick around on a permanent deal this season. He has one goal and three assists in 78 minutes of playing time this season and should become a starter soon. The other two foreigners are CB Freire, who joined from Shonan Bellmare as well and midfielder Caio, who is on loan from Kawasaki Frontale. Both have been on the bench the last couple of games, but are more than capable of filling in for the starters.

Daniel’s V-Varen Nagasaki Blog

Q: With the crammed fixture schedule soon to be upon us, do you feel that Nagasaki have the depth in their squad to continue piling up the results and make a serious push at promotion in 2020? And, how often has Makoto Teguramori rotated players these past few games?

D: I think V-Varen must have one of the deepest squads in J2 in terms of quality. Especially in midfield and in the attack. There are multiple players that the manager can use without sacrificing quality. His tactics have been quite interesting since the restart. He kept several top players on the bench and when he brought them on in the second half, they delivered decisive results for Nagasaki. I am referring specifically to Ibarbo, Togashi, Caio and Yoshioka. Also, players like Yohei Otake and Keiji Tamada, two of Nagasaki’s best players last season, have not made the matchday squad since the restart despite being fit. Teguramori also made use of the increased number of substitutions and has used all five subs against Giravanz and Ehime with four against Avispa Fukuoka. It will be interesting to see how he continues to utilize the squad in the coming weeks. He said that Ibarbo will start sooner or later as he is just too good, but V-Varen have been winning, so he is not in any hurry to change his approach.

Q: What is your take on the way the J-League handled re-opening the season as well as bringing fans back into the stands?

D:  I think they have done pretty good and I was impressed by how well the supporters followed the rules. Obviously, it is not easy to; go to the stadium, have your temperature checked, maintain social distancing, wear a mask for the entire game, and remain silent, but those are the rules the J-League put in place. Everyone can decide whether they want to go to the games and follow the rules or watch from home. It is very important that the supporters at the stadium are careful and also considerate. I can’t help wondering how that would work here in Europe?

Q: Last one. What is your prediction for Wednesday’s match?

D: I think FC Ryukyu could be a dangerous team, but they seem to have a lot to figure out at this point, especially on defense. V-Varen, on the other hand, looked very comfortable defensively in the past few games and have many players who can create chances. So, my prediction is FC Ryukyu 0-2 V-Varen Nagasaki. Good luck for the game!

You can also read Daniel’s preview of the match here: https://nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/preview-j2-matchday-5-with-geoff-osborne/

V-Varen Nagasaki Injuries & Suspensions: None to any of the incumbent starters or reserves.

Lineups & Subs from Match Day 4 with subs

FC Ryukyu. Eight goals conceded with only two scored over the past 270 minutes for FC Ryukyu. For FC Ryukyu fans, this is an all too familiar site as we had to endure long spells of this last summer which ultimately led to FCR tumbling down the J2 table. For now, there is nowhere to go but up as we are only 1 point above Gunma in the standings.

So where do we begin? First, we need to keep Koizumi and Koya in the starting 11 as they’ve added a nice element to our much maligned attack. Second, we need a change in defense and this could be in the form of both Daisei Suzuki at CB and Felipe Tavares at RB. Or, we may also see a change with Chinen and/or Fukui replacing Yong Jick.

Third, start Shinji Ono in place of Koki and see if FC Ryukyu can start out on the front foot for a change by generating some larger early leads. Fourth, We cannot afford to play a high defensive line when pressing in the attack, or chasing deficits, as this creates too much space for other teams to operate. I am not sure if there is a way to conduct a balanced approach to the match, despite being behind, but when we press, the flood gates really open up.

While all of this could happen, with the crammed fixture schedule, it is likely we see more changes and more combinations than we normally would have. This will make “getting into a groove” a difficult prospect for Ryukyu but it is what it is at this point under these circumstances. In any event, change is needed in both personnel and tactics as whatever we have been doing up to this point, has simply not worked.

FC Ryukyu Injuries & Suspensions: LM Shuto Kawai is still recovering from an ankle injury and possibly set to return to training in the coming week(s).

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. Do not press Nagasaki, rather, use the counter attack to generate goals: Likelihood 3. Chances are Nagasaki will enjoy large amounts of possession tomorrow which may require sitting back and parking the bus by FCR. They should prepare to use the speed of Abe up top to break out of the defense and quickly transition into the attack.

2. Do not hold a high defensive line: Likelihood 2. Doubtful, because as soon as FCR fall behind, they throw everything, and everyone into the attack. If you recall from last week, it was Uesato who was sprinting back to cover the attacking forwards of Vortis and that didn’t end well.

6. Match Day 5 Prediction

I went with FC Ryukyu losing 3-0 while @LakerByNature said 2-0 to the hosts. Seems another loss is in store for the boys from Okinawa.

7. Match Day 5 in J2

The biggest draw this Wednesday is a surging Kitakyushu hosting Kyoto Sanga FC. A true statement game for Giravanz while Kyoto will want to keep pace with Omiya and Nagasaki who both have easier match ups this week, and with both expected to win.

8. Conclusion

This past weekend we witnessed the return of fans to J-League stadiums. It was great to see so many people attend the match under such different circumstances than just four months ago. However, it seems as if the guidelines put forth by the J-League, and the clubs, were rarely adhered.

I am sympathetic to the fact that remaining silent, stoic and controlling all outward signs of emotion are difficult in a venue that is set up to support said items, but we as fans run the risk of losing the ability to watch live games at the grounds if this behavior continues.

Social distancing, clapping, whistling and celebrating needs to be curtailed before it is too late. Part of the blame lies with the clubs and league for not enforcing these measures but we all need to play our part in this difficult time. Try your best out there this week to avoid these types of behavior while enjoying the game you love, so others may continue to enjoy it as well.

Once again I’d like to thank Dan for his contributions to this week’s entry and he can be found at both @LakerByNature and @V_Varen_EN on Twitter as well as at the Nagasaki Blue & Orange Blog on WordPress https://nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com. And don’t forget to check out the latest pod casts from the boys over at the J-Talk Pod and J-Talk Extra Time this week.

As far as FC Ryukyu are concerned, they need to go out there and find their identity and get back some swagger as we currently find ourselves in the “Same Ol’ Situation” we did at this point last season.

Stay safe and good luck!

The J-League Interview Series Part 4: Nagasaki Blue & Orange Blog #vvaren #FC琉球

The series rolls on and today we are speaking with the author behind the unofficial V-Varen Nagasaki English Blog nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com Daniel, better known as @LakerByNature on twitter.

Daniel, thank you for agreeing to conduct this interview as one of the great amateur bloggers for our respective J League teams. Much like all my past interviews, how are you doing during these unprecedented times with the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Hi Geoff, thanks a lot for the chance to participate in this project, it’s a big pleasure.

The pleasure is all mine as I am getting to know many of you on a much deeper level.

Personally, I can’t complain even though I have to work reduced hours. Situations like this put everything else into perspective and I am just thankful that nobody I know personally has been affected by virus and that I have remained healthy. I hope it is the same for you and yours!

It is and thank you for your thoughts.

According to your Twitter account, you live in Frankfurt, Germany. I think it helps all the readers from all over the world, to understand how COVID-19 has impacted life in your country.

I felt the impact of COVID-19 at work in late January because I work in tourism and 99% of our customers are from Asia. We also had cases of the virus here at a very early stage, but it really started to spread around late February/early March. One reason for that is that so many Germans go on winter vacation to Northern Italy, Switzerland and Austria and those areas have been heavily affected by the virus. Since the tourists started returning home, we have had more cases, sometimes 6-7000 per day. So, throughout March the government implemented more and more rules.  Supermarkets are open, but other shops, restaurants, cinemas – basically the ones that are not essential – have been closed for a few weeks. And it is the same with schools. Social distancing has been a major topic here in Germany as well.

I have been working from home the past two weeks and it will probably remain the case for some weeks to come. It is all about reducing the risk of catching and spreading the virus. However, we are still allowed to have walks, go jogging by ourselves and with people we live with and that definitely helps.

Has the virus already any impact on life in Okinawa so far?

Okinawa has 50 cases to date with an additional 3 on the US Military Installation the last time I checked. Of course, the number of infected increases with each passing day. My wife and I decided to withhold all our children from their schools, and activities, which has made working from home for me incredibly difficult. My wife still needs to work at her office despite the home office in Tokyo allowing for teleworking so I am a one man show trying to juggle 3 kids and work (and a blog).

The one thing that drives me mad is that domestic travel is still occurring in Japan and since Okinawa had a relatively low number of COVID-19 cases, many ‘mainland Japanese’ have headed here to take advantage of the cheap hotel prices. I wish they would restrict travel in Japan in hopes of flattening the infection curve. Seems unlikely though.

All we have done; and that anyone can do at this point, is prepare themselves both mentally and physically for some hard times ahead.

Q. What have you been doing to occupy your time during this “interim” period between V-Varen Nagasaki matches?

In the beginning, there was still some football and NBA to watch but once everything was suspended, and I started to work from home, I had so much more time on my hands. I have started to spend more time playing PS4 and reading. Also, one of my dark secrets has been that in nearly 32 years, I have never watched a second of a Star Wars movie, but that finally changed a couple of weeks ago.

Wow, that is an interesting point as there have been 9 Star War films spread across 5 decades. And I envy your ability to play some video games as my wife broke me of that habit when my daughter was born and I haven’t had the chance to get back into it. (Though I did download Steam recently, shhh)

Well, I wish you all the best as we deal with this virus.

Q. Describe how you became a fan of the J league and in particular, V-Varen Nagasaki?

I have always been interested in international football and some of my first memories of watching football included FIFA World Cups, European Championships, Champions League and the UEFA Cup. I did not really have one favorite team in the beginning, but in the late 90’s and early 2000’s (I was 10-12 years old at that time), I became more and more interested in Celtic FC and they have been my favorite club ever since.

I can tell as you have a photo with Scott Brown as your twitter profile.

From 2005 to 2009, Celtic had Shunsuke Nakamura on the team and he was just absolutely brilliant. He probably didn’t stay long enough to be considered a club legend, but he was a different type of player with different type of approach (genius) than anyone we have seen at Celtic.

So, when Shunsuke returned home, I started to check results of the J.League, especially Yokohama F. Marinos and Jubilo Iwata, for whom he played for in his first few years back in Japan. Also, my favorite German team, Hertha BSC from Berlin had two Japanese players under contract in Hajime Hosogai and Genki Haraguchi. Genki used to play for Urawa Reds, so that was another team that I casually followed from time to time.

However, the point where I really became interested in the J.League came in early 2017. I traveled to Japan with my then my girlfriend now my fiancée, Mayuko, for the first time. Up to that point, I had almost no knowledge about Japan so being able to spend 3 weeks there was a life changing experience. I fell in love with the country and especially with Nagasaki.

We spent most of that trip in Isahaya City and naturally, we passed the Transcosmos Stadium several times. As it was January, there were no games, but I like to visit stadiums even when there are no games. We spent some time around the TRASTA so I could take some photos and I saw the V-Varen themed LAWSON convenience store across the street, which was also something I had never seen before. I bought a couple of small items at the V-Varen shop in Nagasaki City (which is closed now and was replaced by a small shop at the airport). Then I also found out that Mayuko had practiced and participated in athletic competitions at the stadium as a teenager. So, after that trip, I just felt connected to Nagasaki and Isahaya and from that point on, if I was going to have one favorite J.League team, it was always going to be V-Varen Nagasaki!

That’s a great response. I regret not going to the Emirates when I was in London this past January as I have only ever been to grounds at Highbury as a kid. Would’ve loved to seen a match there but Arsenal only played once during my stay and that was on the road versus AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup.

Q. So why Blogging?

I cannot say that I have ever been frustrated with the lack of content in English because I did not expect there to be too much of it available in the first place as V-Varen is not a big club. However, I would expect them to create at least some content in English once they move to their new stadium in 2023 and/or hopefully can manage to get promoted at some point and establish themselves in J1.

The reason I started the blog was to do something in addition to sharing info and Live updates during the games on Twitter via @V_Varen_EN and represent the club by showing my support in another way. Vlogging, or an Instagram account, did not make much sense because I am not going to the games and so I settled on starting the blog. Your blog about FC Rykyu and Jonny’s blog about Gamba were inspirational to me in that regard because I actually never read any blogs before getting to know about the two of yours.

Speaking of Vlogging/Instagram, have you thought about doing that for FC Ryukyu English fans? You go to every home game of FC Ryukyu, so I think you would be able to drop a lot of nice content!

I do not have an Instagram account but should look into that. I don’t think it will be a great follow though as I am usually caught up in all the pre-match atmosphere, along with food and beverages, to cobble anything meaningful together. Then, when the match kicks off, I rarely look at my phone as I am fixated on the game. But I think this could be done once the league returns and I will definitely reach out to you for some help.

Q. You and I first came into contact early last year after I started my Blog and I have to say that it has been great to read your posts on Twitter, and now your Blog, as prior to last year, I had very little exposure to the J league outside of FC Ryukyu and the Asian Champions League. What is the overall coverage for the J league in Germany? Are games broadcast live or do you utilize DAZN?

Thanks a lot, and that feeling is definitely mutual. You are one of the most active guys in the English speaking J.League community on Twitter, even now, when there is not much to talk about in terms of football.

It was possible to watch games on German DAZN as long as Lukas Podolski played for Vissel Kobe. I stopped using it because they really only showed the Vissel matches every week and often used commentators who did not seem prepared for games, nor seemed interested in the league. It was frustrating because the J.League is so interesting and colorful which makes it a shame that DAZN DE never really tried to promote the league, but only one player (who behaved disgracefully on more than one occasion while in Japan). After he left, we were waiting for an update from DAZN DE and only a few days before the start of the 2020 season, they confirmed that they had no plans to show any games.

Then, there was also Rakuten Sports and when their app was working, it was possible to watch multiple games on there every weekend. However, I have no idea what their plans are for 2020. There was no update from Rakuten before this season and they did not stream any games during the opening round of the J-league.

So, right now, Bet365 is where I get to watch the games. It is not possible to re-watch any games and they end the stream right after the final whistle, but the streams are stable, and they show every J1 and J2 game.

I know in Japan you can watch all games via DAZN, but do they also show games on TV?

I know DAZN has the rights to the J. League but on the rare occasion, a J-league match is broadcast on NHK or another Japanese television station but I can only speak to what is broadcast here in Okinawa. To that end, I was able to watch FC Ryukyu away to Avispa Fukuoka last fall at a sports bar where the game was being broadcast on television, while simultaneously being broadcast on DAZN. One of the feeds was ahead of the other with the slower one playing the sound. So yeah, it was odd to watch Uehara bang in that late winner, which also ended our win-less road drought we had going on, and then hear the announcement a good minute later.

It has been some time since I’ve subscribed to Sky Perfect TV, which is where you can watch the Levain Cup and ACL matches. They may be available on the BS/CS stations on the cable box but I do not subscribe to them here in Japan.

Finally, some of the Emperor’s cup matches are broadcast on TV, but mainly only the big games. It is a shame that we cannot get a live stream from a static camera inside the grounds of all the Emperor’s Cup competitions as so many fans are shutout from watching their team if they are unable to travel.

Q. You had a great entry the other week discussing your ‘match day routine.’ I need to add that it spoke directly to me as I too would do many of the things you described when watching my favorite teams, in whatever time zone they play, in whatever time zone I am in. But you never discussed whether or not you wear the kit during the matches? My wife, Aiko, thought I was crazy to wear either an Arsenal or Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey when no one else would see me, but that’s because our spouses sometimes don’t understand how deep our passion runs for our clubs. Or how crazy about sports we are.

Whoa, the Steelers? This interview is over… WHO DEY!!!!! HAHAHA

Oh that’s cute. I’ll tell who dey; WE DEY! That 2016 AFC Wild Card playoff game, whoa.

No, that is an interesting question and in case of V-Varen, I haven’t worn the kits that I own very often. The main reason is that they come in some type of super skinny slim fit and I am slightly bigger than the average Japanese person so they were too tight for me to wear.

I’ve been living this nightmare for 7 years now. Glad to see I’m not alone. (5L one day FC Ryukyu!)

But actually, that motivated me to start losing weight last year and since then, I have lost 12 kilos and once the season restarts, I will also wear the kit for every game I watch.

Nicely done! I need to use that as inspiration to get moving as well.

Q. Speaking of Kits, last year’s V-Varen Nagasaki kit with the blue, orange and white checkered patterns is one of my all-time favorites. But what is your favorite V-Varen Kit of all time?

Considering your club regularly releases absolute belters, this means a lot! Yes, last year’s kit was a beauty. It was inspired by church windows and for the team photo, the players and coaches posed in front of Ōura Church, which is said to be the oldest church in Japan or at least one of the oldest.

My favorite of all time is the 2017 peace jersey. It was released the year I went to Nagasaki for the first time and the same year that V-Varen nearly went bankrupt. The club was saved at the last minute and eventually got promoted to J1. Apart from those memories, this kit is just absolutely beautiful and one football page on the internet even crowned it the most beautiful football shirt in world football for 2017. Here is a link to the presentation page from Hummel, who provided that kit. https://hummel.net/explore/clubs-players/nagasaki-peace-jersey

Unfortunately, I did not manage to get my hands on one as it was the early days of me supporting V-Varen and I had no idea how limited the numbers of shirts are at J.League clubs. Hummel only sold about three of them in 2XO in Europe at the time. Of the ones that I do own, my favorite is the 2018 peace jersey. Hummel released it here only in late 2019 and I had already given up hope of getting it. It is the only peace jersey V-Varen have worn in J1 and it is another beauty. I was so happy when I finally got it.

I should also get the new home kit soon and will definitely make a blog post for that.

I know a guy over at Japan Football Shirts (@JLeagueShirts), maybe he could locate the one you want. Alan, can you help this man?

Q. You also mentioned in your game day blog that you’ve attended some J league matches in the past; which was your most memorable match? And please tell us about the food that you raved about in your latest blog.

The most memorable match was definitely my first V-Varen home game in October 2019. It was the Emperors Cup quarterfinal against Ventforet Kofu and we beat them 2-1 by first half goals from Yoshioka and Niizato. It was absolutely pouring down that day. I didn’t know what pouring down really meant until I experienced rain in Japan. But that didn’t make that day any less great.

Yes, it’s the equivalent of taking a shower with all your clothes on as your umbrella is absolutely worthless at that point.

I finally got to meet some people, who I had been in contact with via social media for a long time and I even got to take a picture with Vivi-kun. The result was one of the biggest in the club’s history and it was very important as the league season was not going the way many of us had hoped or expected and the success in the cup helped ease the frustration a little.

Ironically, at the V-Varen home game, I did not even manage to get any food because so much was going on and we met so many people that the time until KO was flying by. When I mentioned the food at Japanese stadiums, I mainly was thinking about the match day experience at Fagiano Okayama. I think they had about 35 different dishes available and, in the end I settled on a rice dish with meat, egg and vegetables and it was outstanding. But Mayuko’s noodle dish was even better and it came in a box with a picture of Fagiano’s top scorer Lee Yong-Jae on it.

The food at the games was just another huge difference from what I was used to at other grounds, and I never expected it to be like that. When I go to a game here in Germany, I always eat a fried sausage, sometimes two and it is fine as it is the match day tradition that I grew up with. But I definitely enjoyed being able to choose from the many dishes and the quality of the food was very good.

The food at stadiums can be quite an experience all by itself. I lean more to what Neil mentioned in the prior interview about all the different spirits and beers at different grounds. I am thankful that Ben Williams (@BenitoWill) turned me on to Shochu in Kagoshima.

Q. What is the outlook for V-Varen Nagasaki this year? What have you seen from some of the J2 predictions? What players have they brought in/let go that could strengthen/weaken the squad?

The predictions have been quite mixed, even among the neutrals. Some people expect us to finish around 10th-12th place like last season while others think we will contend for a playoff spot. Among the supporters, it is expected that V-Varen contend for direct promotion or at least a playoff spot and for the club, the goal also is to get back to J1 as soon as possible.

Last year was very difficult because we lost most of our key players after being relegated and it was not the easiest situation for manager Makoto Teguramori to come in and take over. Before the 2020 season, we lost two very important players in striker Hiroto Goya (Kashiwa Reysol) and fullback Yuki Kagawa (Oita Trinita), but kept other key players in LB/LMF Masashi Kamekawa, OFM Yohei Otake.

In the summer transfer window, V-Varen signed some very good players on loan in Caio Cesar, Hiroki Akino and Victor Ibarbo. Caio has extended his loan until the end of 2020 while Ibarbo and Akino made their moves permanent. We also signed Brazilian forward/winger Luan Madson and I think he is the type of player who would normally have moved to a J1 team. He scored 30 goals and added 33 assists in 230 games while playing in Brazil in addition to being a winner of the Copa Libertadores. As far as I know, he signed a 4-year contract with V-Varen, which is quite unusual for J.League clubs. So, the club must have high hopes in him.

It was very important was that we improved our defense and I was glad when Freire was signed from Shonan and Hiroshi Futami came in from Shimizu S-Pulse. The both of them started together with Kakuda in a three-man defense in week one (we played in a 3-4-3 instead of last years’s 4-4-2 with two defensive midfielders.) Interestingly, Kakuda, Freire and Futami all played together before at S-Pulse and you could see that the communication among them was much better than what we saw from the defenders last year. That could also be an important point for Caio this year because now he has Freire behind him and at some point, Luan (out in week 1) will be a starter, too. Two more players, who I really like are midfielder Masaru Kato, who joined on loan from Albirex Niigata and Cayman Togashi, a striker, who has not scored too many goals in his career, but he does have J1 experience. I think he is a very smart and skilled striker, which he showed with his assist in the first game of the season.

Cannot overstate the importance of having a strong back line, especially one that is familiar with each other’s tendencies stemming from playing together before joining V-Varen.

So, overall, I am very positive about the 2020 season because we managed to strengthen the defense, finally change the system and managed to keep some very good players while adding additional talent. It definitely hurts loosing Goya as he scored 22 goals last year, but the goal should always be to have several players who can produce goals and not just one who has to pull the team all the time.

I can relate to that!

With Ibarbo, Luan, Togashi, Otake and others, we have some players, who can do that. We will have to wait and see if V-Varen have what it takes to attack the top 2, but I am confident we can make it into the top 6 and be a playoff team, if playoffs take place this year.

Well said there at the end. I wish you guys all the best this year, just not any better than FC Ryukyu of course.

Q. Do you have a favorite player in the V-Varen Squad?

Yes, my favorite player is Makoto Kakuda. He is a 36-year old CB and he joined V-Varen last season. It is quite unusual for me to like players who have only spent such a short time at a club, but Kakuda was an inspirational figure for the team from the start of last season. Every second he is on the pitch, he works his butt off and he is very vocal. With him on the pitch, we are a different team.

Who is your favorite player of FC Ryukyu? Do you remember Takumi Nagura? He is at V-Varen now but played for FCR in J3.

The easy answer is Dany Carvajal but I have really enjoyed watching Keita Tanaka and Yu Tomidokoro over the years. It is hard supporting some of the best players on this squad as most depart during the transfer windows. It would have been great to see Koji Suzuki, Satoki Uejo and Kazaki Nakagawa up front but that isn’t the case and is why it is really hard to support just one player.

I cannot say that I have many memories of Takumi Nagura. Then again, during those days, I didn’t pay much attention to the players in the squad unless they really stood out.

Q. What other teams and sports do you support?

My first love in sports was Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. I became a fan of them around 1997-98. In 2016 Mayuko and I attended Kobe Bryant’s final career game when he scored 60 points against the Utah Jazz. That will always be one of the best moments of my life. Actually, I was supposed to be in Los Angeles right now to attend four Lakers games at the beginning of April, but then COVID-19 started to spread.

As stated earlier, I also have a favorite NFL team, the Cincinnati Bengals (WHO DEY!). But my favorite sport is still football. I watch every game of Celtic and Hertha BSC and go to games as often as possible. One thing I have been thankful for is that I also follow Boca Juniors rather casually and La Bombonera is at the top of my bucket list when it comes to stadiums that I would like to visit.

I need to ask you more about this affinity with the Cincinnati ‘Bungles’ at another time.

Q. Despite the fact that opening day seems ages ago, you were the trendsetter for bringing together another English blogger from the J League to coauthor a match day preview. Kudos to the both of you. What are some other ideas you have been mulling over for your blog?  

Thanks for that, it’s been nice to link up with supporters of other teams to cooperate on the match previews especially because J2 has so many teams. Though I always do some research on V-Varen’s upcoming opponent (even before I started the blog), I still prefer to have feedback from someone who regularly watches the games for that particular team.

Right now, it is difficult to really plan ahead because nobody knows if and when the season is going to continue. I put a lot of time and effort into the preparation before the season and was going to be very busy with match previews and reports which is why I was quite dumbfounded when the season was suspended after only one game.

So, for now, I am just trying to put together some topics that I can write about that are not related to the games. My match day routine was the first topic I wrote about and the next one will be about the away day in Okayama.

Looking forward to that entry.

Since V-Varen Nagasaki turned 15 years old this March, I have also been thinking about getting the followers on Twitter involved and putting together something like a V-Varen best XI. That would also help me to learn more about the history of the club.

Interesting idea.

And you have had a very nice idea as well with this interview series. How did you decide to start it and do you have any other specials planned while there are no games?

I thought about starting the interview series after writing an article for the J-Soccer magazine that will be published in the upcoming issue #29. I thought, there are so many great bloggers, twitter accounts and pod casts dedicated to the J-League in English but rarely do you get to hear about how these people began their love of the sport and their teams. Plus, there is no activity in any sports and we could all use some distraction from the COVID-19 virus from time to time.

On that note, it would be great if all the English Bloggers and Twitter accounts from the J-league could come together one day under one organization.

Q. Many of us maybe unfamiliar with V-Varen Nagasaki so please take a moment to discuss the history of the club, who are the biggest rivals and any local derby’s/rivalries.

2005 is the year that is mentioned in the emblem of V-Varen Nagasaki as it is the year the club’s name and identity were established. However, the history goes back as far as the mid 1980’s when a club called Ariake SC was founded. For many years they did very well in the football leagues of Nagasaki and competed among the best of Kyushu in the 90’s. In 2004, they merged with Kunimi SC, which was a team consisting of former players of Kunimi High School who had not managed to become professionals. In Nagasaki, Kunimi High School is known for producing very good football players and Yuhei Tokunaga is one of them. The 36-year old CB left the school in 2002 for Waseda University and later played for FC Tokyo. In 2018, he joined V-Varen and is one of several Nagasaki natives on the current squad.

I would love to know more about what prominent areas, schools or universities in Japan are the feeders for the J-League. Perhaps @Michael_Master could provide us with some answers.

The name “V-Varen” refers to several parts of Nagasaki’s history. The “V” stands for “vitoria” (Portuguese for victory) and also “vrede” (dutch for peace), while “varen” is the Dutch word for sailing. The reason why those words were chosen is Nagasaki’s harbor has a long history of being a commercial port, especially for business with the Dutch and Portuguese. Also, everybody knows about the nuclear attack on Nagasaki in August 1945. The region and the club have made it a priority to promote peace and make sure this event remains as a reminder that this should never happen again.

I do recall the 2019 matches between FC Ryukyu and V-Varen having the playing for peace theme.

Once the club had been formed, V-Varen established themselves in the Kyushu League. Although they achieved good results each season, it took until 2009 for the team to earn promotion to the JFL and in 2012 they made their way to J2 League. 

In 2014 the club made the most significant move in its young history when Takuya Takagi was appointed manager. He is a V-Varen legend today as he led the team to promotion to J1 in 2017. It was a happy ending to a turbulent year as V-Varen Nagasaki were in huge financial trouble that spring and were saved just before having to announce bankruptcy.

Nagasaki based shopping company Japanet, founded by Sasebo native Akira Takata, who also became president of V-Varen, purchased the club. Since then, V-Varen Nagasaki has remained a 100% subsidiary of Japanet and at the end of last year it was announced that in only two years, the club had more than doubled its sales and was in a strong position financially. Around the same time, Mr. Takata announced that he was going to step down as president with his daughter, Haruna Takata, taking over as club president. If I am not mistaken, she is the only female club president in the J.League right now and V-Varen supporters are very proud of her.

Didn’t know that.

In J1, the team fought bravely in every game and did well by earning 30 points and winning some memorable games: 3-0 vs Gamba, a 1-0 at FC Tokyo and two wins over Nagoya Grampus (3-0 at home and 4-3 in Nagoya.) Despite those wins we were relegated after finishing bottom of the table. I was proud of the team and even though everybody wants their team to play in the top tier, J2 is an incredibly interesting and intense league which I am thoroughly enjoying.

In 2023, the club is going to move into a new stadium in the heart of Nagasaki City. I am really curious about the final design of the stadium and it should not be too long before it is announced as they are supposed to start construction in 2021.

As for rivalries, there are quite a lot of football teams in Kyushu: Avispa, Trinita, Sagan, Kagoshima and Giravanz and the games against them are announced as Kyushu derbies. But these games aren’t any more intense than other J.League games with the atmosphere among the different supporters being very friendly.

Q. Tell us a little about the game day experience at V-Varen?

That is another total turnaround from what I am used to. Hundreds of supporters meet in front of the stadium to welcome not only the V-Varen players, but also the away team. For that, all the flag-wavers line up along the final couple hundred meters of the road to the stadium and the ultras also hand out many smaller flags to other V-Varen supporters so everybody can join in.

It is an incredibly colorful experience. Inside the ground, the ultras are located in the southern curve of the stadium. In the middle of the stand they have those long lines of cloth (sorry, I don’t know what the correct term for them is), which are connected between the bottom and the top of the stand and give it some sort of South American flair. The waivers with their giant flags are standing left and right of those cloth banners. I counted 20 giant flags when I went to V-Varen’s home game against Zweigen Kanazawa in October and it looks magnificent considering that the TRASTA is a relatively small stadium and V-Varen average around 7500 fans per home match.

Of course, before the matches, there is a lot going on in front of the stadium and it is very family friendly. Vivi-kun is the center of attention for most of it – regardless of who plays for V-Varen, nobody is as popular as our mascot 😉. He also may help with selling food or present some of the products by one of the team’s sponsors. Against Zweigen, it was nearly Halloween, so many people were wearing costumes and Vivi-kun changed his outfit about three times that day. What I also liked is that they usually offer some local food from the area the opponent is based at.

Yeah, I noticed that too near the end of the season last year. Many of the opponents had their own stall where you could purchase team goods and some food items. I hope this continues when we resume as I need to get my hands on a Ventforet Kofu and Mito Hollyhock towel as I missed out when I attended those games in 2019.

The atmosphere during the game is very positive and you will never hear anyone booing the team. I think that is just part of the nature for Japanese football supporters in general. Same with the 90 minutes of jumping. I was out of breath 10 minutes into the first half. When V-Varen scored, everybody was high fiving everyone around them. The West End Ultras (West End because of their location in Kyushu) have three capos at home games, who are lined up along the curve. According to a statistic that was released recently more than 50% of supporters at V-Varen games are female and naturally, one of the capos and several of the drummers are female, too.

I am not sure how the supporters came upon some of the melodies they use for their chants, but I later realized that quite a lot of them are also used by Boca’s fans. So, I really feel like there is a strong South American influence for V-Varen.

On that note, you all should check out the Lost In Football Japan(@LiFJapan) entry for his visit to Nagasaki. https://lostinfootballjapan.com/nagasaki-football-in-a-city-full-of-stories/

Q. There were plenty of times last year when we all voiced our displeasure at the way the J league conducted the J1/J2 playoffs, as well as the way in which all the clubs in the J league release information pertaining to financials or injuries. In your opinion, why do you believe that it is the in the case in the J league compared to the European leagues? Any suggestions for the league on how to fix some of these problems?

We are just used to a certain level of transparency here in Europe, depending on what country you are from, but also the involvement of the supporters is different. In Germany, you can be a member of your favorite club. I pay an annual fee for the membership at Hertha and with that, I am allowed to attend general meetings that take place twice per year and I can have an impact by voting on certain issues as well as the club president.

Also, the club is obliged to present its finances to the members, same as how clubs that are registered in the stock market have to present their results. Apart from that, supporters have a different mentality here in Germany. If fans do not agree with the way their club is run, or there is not enough transparency and the club possibly ignores their opinion; then the supporters do not hesitate to take actions like holding up banners and chanting against the board at games, arranging protests or even boycotting their club. In Germany, an unwritten rule exists that tickets for standing sections should cost less than 20 Euros. If a club charges more than that, you can be sure that the section will be nearly empty.

I voiced some of those same sentiments to Mr. Mikami, president and CEO of FC Ryukyu, last season. Last year was the first year that I saw the team meet with the head of the FC Ryukyu Support Group with that interaction being published in a local magazine. It is crucial that clubs understand the voice of their customer as these are the people that fuel their revenue streams.

I think that mentalities of the people and society, along with the way clubs are set up play a big part as forces acting against any perceived change. It is often the case that things have been the same for a very long time and cannot be changed from one day to the other. I am also not sure how much the Japanese fans voice their displeasure and if the clubs even feel like they need to change certain things. I am also not close enough to the situation to make any definitive judgement.

The playoffs are different point altogether. To me, they are a farce and I have never seen anything comparable nor have I read or heard anyone stating any positive thoughts about the way they are set up. I really would like to know how it got to the point that the J.League decided to implement the current format. But in terms of the playoffs, I do feel like sooner or later there will be a change and hopefully, it will be a positive one. Fingers crossed.

You should listen to the J-Talk Extra Time Podcast when @sushi_football interviewed @NeatPaul and they discussed some of the similarities between the J-League and K-League when it comes to playoff promotion and relegation to the respective top tiers in either country.

Q. Have you met anyone from the V-Varen squad or staff in person?

Yes. I met two players from the current squad last year and it was quite a funny moment. One of our friends had won a lottery or competition and the prize was a ticket to take a photo with two players ahead of the game against Kanazawa in October and she asked us to come along with her for the picture!

The two players were Ryo Niizato and Takumi Nagura and because it was the weekend before Halloween, they were wearing costumes. Our friend brought a couple of masks that she wanted the players to wear. Takumi got one that only covered the upper part of his face around the eyes, but the mask she gave to Niiza was one that covered his entire face. Aapart from his hair, you cannot recognize him in the photo.

I also met Yusuke Maeda that same day, who is the most legendary player for V-Varen. He joined V-Varen back in 2012 and went all the way with them from the JFL to J1 and later retired with the club after the 2018 season. Today he is an ambassador for the club and appears on a local TV show about V-Varen. On the day I met him, it was his debut as a commentator for DAZN and he greeted the supporters before the game. My friend Kenichi-san is a friend of Mae-chan, so he already knew beforehand that he was going to be there that day and asked us to meet him there. And he brought a trading card, which Mae-chan signed for me and he wrote my name in Katakana. That was a great gesture by Kenichi-san and I still wonder how Yusuke Maeda doesn’t show up in toothpaste commercials with that bright smile of his.

Q. Have you had any contact with the club, in any form, during your time as a supporter?

So far, I haven’t had any contact with the club and to be honest, I wouldn’t even know how or what to tell them. I tweet them every now and then because prior to the start of the season, V-Varen launched their own mobile app. But it is not available for download outside of Japan, so I asked them to change that, but without any success.

Do you have any regular contact with FC Ryukyu officials and does the club know about your blog?

I have been lucky enough to meet two of the top officials of the club, Mr. Mikami and Mr. Hirosaki, over the course of the last season. Both are aware of my blog and I truly appreciate that the main FC Ryukyu twitter account follows my Twitter account which may allow for other English-speaking fans of FC Ryukyu to connect with one another.

I hope one day that FC Ryukyu will create an official FC Ryukyu English account and you never know, maybe V-Varen could penetrate the German market if they had an official V-Varen_DE account run by you! Always need to be thinking bigger and globally.

Onto the rapid-fire round

Q. Name one video game we all should be playing right now?

I only own three PS4 games: NBA 2k20, PES20 and Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Q. Best food item at your current location?

Rice is the first thing that comes to mind.

Really? I would have thought something like sausage or pork but alright.

Q. How hard was it for your fiancé to find Japanese food in your country? Also, how easy or difficult was it for her to assimilate to the new country?

Luckily we have many Asian supermarkets and Japanese restaurants here in Frankfurt and the things that we cannot get here, or that are much cheaper in Japan, are either are sent to us by Mayuko’s mom or we bring them to Germany when we are in Japan for vacation. The last time we brought home a small suitcase full of food! We actually eat Japanese dishes around 4-6 times per week and by now, I prefer rice over potatoes and bread. The food situation in Frankfurt is one of the things that makes it a bit easier for some Japanese to start a life here.

I asked Mayuko what was the biggest difference in her daily life after she moved here and she said that in the beginning the opening times of shops made a big difference as they are not open seven days per week with most shops closing between 20:00 and 22:00 in the evening. That just changes the way you organize your days and the weekends in particular. Many of our Japanese colleagues (we have about 30 at the office) had the same issue in the beginning. But it is nothing you cannot overcome.

Awesome stuff and please tell her thank you!

Well, Dan, it was an absolute pleasure. Please stay safe and continue the excellent work on your blog. Again, you can find Dan on twitter @LakerByNature and at @V_Varen_EN and the link to his blog is nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com. Until next time then. Stay safe everyone.

“Wet, Wild & WADA-full” Match Day 27 Report: FC Ryukyu 3 – 2 V-Varen Nagasaki 8/10/2019

Intro

FC Ryukyu pulled off a come from behind victory this past Saturday night where they clawed back from one goal deficits twice to ultimately secure all 3 points. Despite the brutal weather, the fans spirits and more importantly, that of the team, were lifted with the crucial win at home. It’s no secret that FC Ryukyu have been struggling for points of late in the midst of a losing streak so let’s hope this result turns the corner for the team and they can begin stringing together some positive results.

Match Recap

I am not exaggerating when I say the weather was brutal. There was intermittent rain followed by gusts of wind and then heavier amounts of rain. This cycle continued up to the mid-way point of the second half. FC Ryukyu were controlling a vast majority of possession early on but it was Nagasaki who were getting the better chances. Nagasaki had far more opportunities this match compared to their previous 5 games when it looked like they were willing to sit back and hit teams on the counter. Nagasaki adopted a different approach against Ryukyu and it paid off straight away.

FC Ryukyu conceded a goal from a Nagasaki CK in which the perfectly placed cross made it over the top of the initial wall of FC Ryukyu defenders and allowed Goya to slot home his 14th goal of the season. I was worried that like previous matches for FC Ryukyu, when an opponent scored, there were more goals to follow. To FC Ryukyu’s credit, they responded well by answering the Nagasaki goal with one of their own only 5 minutes later.

The goal came from one of the new FC Ryukyu signings, Koya Kazama. On the goal, Koji passed to Koya who was at the right side of the box. Instead of continuing his run down the right, Koya ran back across the top of the box which really opened up the Nagasaki defense. Koji called for the ball back, and was wide open on net had he received the pass, but Koya opted to shoot with so much of the goal to aim at. His left footed shot ended up in the bottom left corner and FC Ryukyu were on the board.

It was not until the 75th minute when Goya bagged his second goal of the game from a Nagasaki counter that caught the FC Ryukyu defense off guard. Kamekawa of Nagasaki rounded Fukui, on what was some suspect defending, and found acres of space to work a cross into the 6-yard box. Kamekawa sent a perfectly placed, perfectly weighted cross to a wide open of Goya who proceeded to give Nagasaki the 2-1 lead.

FC Ryukyu responded once more with another highlight reel goal from Uejo. This man has had several of these types of goals this season and it is only a matter of time before we see him whisked away to a top-level club. Wada found a streaking Uejo down the right and Uejo sent an absolute rocket past the keeper and into the top left corner. FC Ryukyu were tied with about 5 minutes and stoppage time remaining. Then something miraculously happened, FC Ryukyu scored a third goal.

I say miraculously because FC Ryukyu had only scored a total of 2 goals combined in their 5 previous matches. The goal occurred deep into stoppage time when a 97th minute corner kick from Uesato found its way over the heads of the Nagasaki defenders where Wada was waiting at the back the corner. Wada was guarded but the ball took a fortuitous deflection of the Nagasaki defender who had his back turned to goal and Wada was able to send the shot past the rushing defenders and keeper for the 3-2 lead.

The goal was massive and the home crowd responded in kind. It was great seeing the players celebrate the goal as it proved vital for FC Ryukyu’s standings when so many teams below them produced favorable results as well this weekend.

Man of the Match

Well it would be just plain rude to not award Wada the man of the match since I titled the article based on his massive goal. However, he also provided an assist on the Uejo goal, earned the corner kick that he scored from and therefore is more than deserving of this award. Well done.

Review of the FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

1. FC Ryukyu to have large amounts of possession. PUSH. They did early on but so did Nagasaki, Nagasaki did hit FC Ryukyu on the counter but FC Ryukyu were able to light up the scoreboard, it was often, just not early as I’d suggested.

2. Take some shots/chances from distance as the Nagasaki goal keeper struggles with these types of shots. PASS, OH MY GOODNESS PASS! Koya’s shot from the top of the box and Uejo’s from just inside the box froze the Nagasaki goal keeper. Yu had a shot from distance that nearly put FC Ryukyu up 2-1 shortly after the Koya goal and Uesato sent a tricky shot from distance where the Nagasaki goal keeper strangely decided to stop it with his knees, despite the distance and time he had to judge the shot. But the icing on the cake, the cherry on top as they say, was the Wada goal from the Uesato cross. The Nagasaki GK made an attempt at clearing the ball and this allowed Wada the time to settle the cross and send the shot home. Had the GK not jumped, he may have been able to get back across the goal mouth and save the Wada shot.

3. FC Ryukyu to score more than 2 goals. PASS. Nothing more to add.

Match Day 27 Takeaways

1. It must be mentioned that the FC Ryukyu victory came at a heavy cost. First, Okazaki was subbed off at half time and we cannot assume it was due to poor performance. This is bad as FC Ryukyu have recently sent Masutani out on loan which means Fukui and Nishikawa are likely starting next week at CB. Nishikawa reminds me a lot of David Luiz in the limited time I’ve seen him play so we’ll reserve judgement for a later time.

Second, Koya Kazama went off injured in the 63rd minute. This is a shame as he was performing really well and the team looked better with him in the lineup. He seemed to injure himself attempting a tackle but did walk off under his own power. He was seen receiving treatment to one of his lower extremities and this could be anything from a rolled ankle, torn ligament or pulled muscle. We will have to wait and see any news of his injury.

Third, Tokumoto’s injury looked the worst when he was rolled up on by a falling Ibarbo early in stoppage time. He immediately clutched his left ankle and looked in obvious pain. He was stretched off and didn’t return. His ankle was caught underneath Ibarbo and turned outward so this could be any level of sprain that could sideline Tokumoto for 3-8 weeks. Hopefully nothing is torn or broken. Plus, we’ll now need a suitable replacement at LB if Fukui indeed needs to switch to CB.

Finally, and most regrettably, FC Ryukyu have sold Koji Suzuki to Cerezo Osaka on a full transfer. 15 goals and 2 assists along with tremendous hold play and total class are gone from the lineup. How will that be replaced?

Conclusion

We will do a transfer wrap up sometime next week after the Yokohama FC match. FC Ryukyu secured a vital win at a huge cost and the remainder of the season will be a very bumpy ride for the team, their fans and this island. Here’s hoping to continued success.

Photos are from FC Ryukyu and J.League websites.

“The time is now, the place is here.” Match Day 27 Preview: FC Ryukyu vs. V-Varen Nagasaki 8/10/2019

Intro

FC Ryukyu look to end their 5-game losing streak this Saturday when they square off with V-Varen Nagasaki at the “Tapista.” FC Ryukyu limp into this matchup after having suffered their 5th consecutive loss which has also seen them lose 8 out of their last 9 games in all competitions. Nagasaki travel to Okinawa following 2 consecutive defeats in a row that has contributed to Varen’s recent form of losing 4 games in their last 6 matches. Much like last week, FC Ryukyu desperately need a positive result to stop this losing streak and to gain some distance between them and the relegation floor. As noted in previous entries, the teams below FC Ryukyu have been playing much better as of late and are closing the gap between them and FC Ryukyu. Will we see some of the new FC Ryukyu signings this week? Will we see an FC Ryukyu win? Something we haven’t seen in over a month.

Weather Forecast

Typhoon Lekima is leaving us with some rather terrible weather this Saturday but that should be of no surprise to any FC Ryukyu fan who lives on Okinawa. Rain is expected at every home match it seems as even though there was 0% chance of rain in the forecast the last home game, we ended up getting a little rain prior to kickoff. Well, it looks to be hot, wet and windy. Don’t you just love football?

V-Varen Nagasaki

As previously mentioned, Nagasaki are experiencing a dip in form themselves having lost 4-1 and 3-1 to Ehime FC and FC Gifu at home in consecutive weeks (not a great sign for FC Ryukyu as we’re targeting those games as winnable). Prior to those results, Nagasaki lost on the road to Mito 2-1 and then went on to defeat Kofu at home and Kagoshima on the road.

There were a couple of trends I saw in these matches: 1. Nagasaki would afford a lot of possession and opportunities to their opponent, 2. Nagasaki created very few chances of their own during these games and 3. Nagasaki almost seemed to rest their hopes on a “bend, don’t break” defense to the point where if the opponent failed to score, then Nagasaki would have a chance to win a tightly contested match with a low score line.

Maybe that means something or maybe it means nothing at all but these trends were pretty obvious during their past 5 games. Nagasaki have also brought in three J1 players during this transfer period and it looks as if Akino and Caesar will start in the Mid-Field with Ibarbo coming on late to spell one of the attacking forwards. Ibarbo will cause all sorts of issues for our defense late in the match and it will be interesting see what happens if there is a tight score line this Saturday.

FC Ryukyu

Since the start of June, 11 matches in total, FC Ryukyu have only managed 5 points out of a possible 33. That is 15% of the total amount of available points, a wining percentage of 9%, and positive outcome of 27%. Add in that FC Ryukyu have been outscored 11 to 29 during that stretch, suffered the aforementioned 5 consecutive losses, have lost 7 from the previous 8 J2 matches and now; you tell me, why is Higuchi still employed?

FC Gifu, Avispa Fukuoka, JEF United Chiba and Tochigi SC have all fired managers this season and yet FC Ryukyu continue to employ the services of an individual whose best days are well behind him. Higuchi’s refusal to change the system, questionable lineup selection and timing of substitutions all indicate that he is attempting to cover up a bullet wound with a Band-Aid.

There are 16 games remaining this season and FC Ryukyu need at least 14 more points to reach the relative safety mark of 42 points. Yet, Higuchi’s recent record indicates he will not get us close to that number. We need a serious change at manager to spark something with the players or risk sliding back down to the J3. Make no mistake, the teams beneath us in the table are playing much better and have reinforced themselves this transfer window. If you don’t believe me, watch their highlights and compare their tactics, game plans and results to that of FC Ryukyu.

FC Ryukyu have 8 home games remaining and 3 of them are this month. August (early Sep) is now the make or break part of the FC Ryukyu J2 season. Unfavorable results against a struggling Nagasaki side and lower teams FC Gifu and Kagoshima will be the death nail in the FC Ryukyu coffin.

Player Injuries

FC Ryukyu have back up GK # 23, Ishii out with what looks to be a broken nose or facial fracture that he picked up in practice this week. There may be more injuries this side is dealing with but the Ishii update is the one made public.

V-Varen Nagasaki have a couple of players out that were mainly used during their Levain Cup matches so their absence shouldn’t impact the normal starting 11 or bench reserves for Nagasaki tomorrow.

Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Nagasaki’s tendency to allow their opponent large amounts of possession plays directly into the overall (current) strategy/strength of FC Ryukyu. FC Ryukyu prefer to have loads of possession and play out from the back (as if we’re Real Madrid or something) but FC Ryukyu need to capitalize on their opportunities. Nagasaki will try to hit FC Ryukyu on the counter and FC Ryukyu really need to light up the score board early and often tomorrow. If FC Ryukyu can do that, then Nagasaki may have no answer and FC Ryukyu could walk away with all 3 points.

2. Take some shots/chances from distance as the Nagasaki Goal Keeper seems to have trouble stopping these types of shots. Tokushige either looks stunned and will freeze in place, or, will make a mess of things back there when there are these types of shots. Another strange phenomenon but one that shouldn’t be underestimated as it plays into the fact that FC Ryukyu currently lack creativity down the middle so let loose a few shots from distance tomorrow.

3. We will surrender a goal tomorrow, the stats indicate as much, but let’s score more than 2.

Match Prediction

“The stats don’t lie” is the famous quote and with that said, a 2-1 defeat for FC Ryukyu is the likeliest of outcomes tomorrow. Painful as that may be, refer to the side-by-side table above for further evidence as to why this outcome is the preferred choice.

Conclusion

I am as nervous, if not more nervous, than most of you for this coming weekend. FC Ryukyu have only taken 6 points on the road this season with only one of those points occurring in the last 10 road matches. That means home points are vital for FC Ryukyu’s safety. Since FC Ryukyu lost the unbeaten record at home, this side has begun to suffer some serious defeats that has seen them tumble down the table while having their goal differential being blown apart along the way. As much as I’d love to see FC Ryukyu earn 10 points from their next 4 home games, expectations have to be managed and that means that we need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

This is without a doubt, the worst it has been this year for this newly promoted club. Despite the best efforts by the players on the pitch, they are beaten well in advance of the game. They are simply being outmaneuvered tactically and out coached. Good luck boys. See you out there.

“The Weary Travelers”Match Day 20 Report: V.Varen Nagasaki 3-2 FC Ryukyu 6/29/2019

FC Ryukyu nearly battled back for a draw this past Saturday at Nagasaki but their failure to at least earn a point has seen Ryukyu drop out of the top 11 for the first time all season. The loss also means that Ryukyu’s winless run on the road has now been extended to 9 matches in a row. Ryukyu are really making life difficult for themselves in the J2 with these road results as it is putting massive amounts of pressure on the team to take maximum points at home each week. Ryukyu will now enter a month with 6 fixtures spread across 2 competitions with an absolute “must win” match at home next week versus Tochigi.

The Match

Instead of breaking down each half as I normally would, I will instead focus on the match as a whole. FC Ryukyu controlled a majority of the possession throughout the game and ended the match with a total of 58%. Ryukyu dominated play for the first 25 minutes but the same wayward passing that led to turnovers against Kofu followed the team to Nagasaki. Kawai’s shot in the 21st minute nearly put Ryukyu up 1-0 but a costly turnover by Ryukyu led to a counter/corner kick for Nagasakai that saw a breakdown in communication and assignments by the Ryukyu defense on the rebound and allowed Nagasaki to take the early 1-0 lead. Ryukyu almost allowed the visitors to add to their lead in the 40th minute from a set piece but a fine piece of goal keeping by Carvajal sent the shot wide.  At the end of the half Ryukyu had controlled the ball 61% of the time with 6 total shots but no goals to show for their efforts.

Nagasaki nearly doubled their lead straight away in the second half but Ryukyu would once again assert their dominance in the early possession battle. Ryukyu sent some decent crosses into the 6-yard box but all of them either nearly missed or went unanswered. Nagasaki then pounced on a Ryukyu turnover where Masutani was unlucky with his first touch, after a long ball pass from Nagasaki, that allowed the attacking Nagasaki player a ton of space down the left side. The Nagasaki player passed it off to a wide-open player across the top of the box whose shot deflected off of a diving Danny and into the net for a 2-0 lead. Nagasaki piled on further punishment 4 minutes later off yet another Ryukyu turnover as Nishioka failed to track the run of the Nagasaki player wide of him and allowed him a free run on net. Nagasaki scored on a play eerily reminiscent of the one against Kofu where Ishii came way off his line to cut down the angle only this time it was Danny coming out to stop the onrushing attacker. Nagasaki was up 3-0 with little more than 20 minutes of the match remaining.

FC Ryukyu were able to score two very nice goals near the end. One from Koji Suzuki and another from Uejo, our 2 leading goal scorers on the year but the early 3-0 lead proved too much to overcome for Ryukyu. Final Score Nagasaki 3-2 over Ryukyu.

Review of the FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

1. Apply pressure from all angles to #33 Goya of Nagasaki. PASS. Ryukyu did a great job of limiting the best player for Nagasaki on the day. Goya had a couple of chances early but was largely invisible, outside of his foul that went uncalled, and Ryukyu did a good job handling this good player.

2. Do not over commit to the attack and leave our defenders exposed. PASS. It was not the commitment to the attack that did Ryukyu in, rather, see point #3.

3. Cut-down the turnovers and wayward passing. FAIL. Ryukyu committed no less than 15 turnovers of which 2 led directly to Nagasaki goals. They need to clean this up moving forward in order to capitalize on all the possession Ryukyu enjoy as well as earn some victories on the road.

4. Execute the counter attack to perfection. NO GRADE. Ryukyu enjoyed so much of the possession that rarely were they needing to sprint into a counter attack mode. With what little opportunities they did have, the possession usually ended in a corner kick but no goals came from the counter so its hard to give a failing or passing grade here.

Match Day Prediction

2-2: I was off by one goal and Ryukyu had plenty of early opportunities that could’ve made this a 3-3 score line.

Man of the Match

Wada came on in the 79th minute and provided a nice spark to the attack. It could be argued that Nagasaki were on cruise control at this point as they were up 3 goals with less than 10 minutes to go before Ryukyu netted their first goal but nonetheless, Wada put in a nice shift and was rewarded with 2 assists on the day. Koji Suzuki gets an honorable mention because his hold up play was superb and his league leading goal was great.

Match Day 20 Takeaways

1. As stated throughout this week’s entry, Ryukyu need to tighten up their passing. It is not that the passes Ryukyu are attempting could be considered “low percentage passes,” rather, they are missing our runners and setting opponents free into the counter.

2. Ryukyu needs to start beating teams around and below them in the table on the road. I have not reviewed all the J2 teams’ records on the road but I am sure Ryukyu owns one of the worst away records this season. Ryukyu will have a handful of remaining games against beatable opponents on the road this year and it is vital to this team’s success to earn maximum points against those teams. We are nearly at the halfway point of the season and Ryukyu will have to travel to 3 of the top 6 sides venues in the second half of the season.

3. Nishioka should’ve been subbed at halftime. Nishioka could’ve easily suffered a concussion on the collision he took in the 35th minute and had noticeable swelling near his left eye for the reminder of the match. The injury seemed to shake his confidence when making challenges in the air and may have played a factor in the 3rd and final goal for Nagasaki as he was unaware of the presence of the opposing player. It would be overly critical of me to judge a players performance in the second half after sustaining that injury so this is where I will leave this point.

4. It maybe time for some drastic lineup changes. I don’t think Ochi performed terribly at CAM but Uejo really looks up for it these days. Ryukyu attacked so much from the right side with Yu and Nishiokoa but their 2 goals came from the left. We will see how Higuchi reacts during the emperor’s cup with his lineup selection and that should tell us who is likely to feature this upcoming weekend.

5. FC Ryukyu have now surrendered 10 goals in the past 3 matches. They have scored 6 during that span and that usually may have been enough to earn a win or at the very least a draw. The defense is ceding goals at the rapid rate and they need to stop the bleeding soon.

Looking Ahead

Ryukyu now must travel on a shortened week to play an Emperor’s Cup match in Yamaguchi. They will then return home to face a struggling Tochigi squad who just lost to Ehime. This weekend’s fixture is a must win for both sides and Ryukyu are desperate to keep the 8-point buffer between them and the drop zone.