THE WISH LIST.....SO FAR

Here are a collection of early candidates that new Executive Director Rui Ramos is looking at to add to the squad.

FW Shota Matsuhashi is 25 and has spent 7 glorious years frolicking in the Kyushu sun for Oita. Matsuhashi followed up a breakthrough 2006 (10 goals),with a more pedestrian 2 goals and 1 assist. Matsuhashi has seen his time whittled down by the emergence of Daisuke Takahashi. Matsuhashi is known for his speed and is built alot like Kazunori Iio. Nikkan Sports has the story http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/p-sc-tp0-20071207-292342.html

Yasuhiro Hato is 31, respected around the league and virtually clueless. The physical back still has skills but has the propensity to take plays off and make awful decisions. A late season surge in form did nothing to cleanse my mind of pensive play, bad passes, and lazy man marking resulting in dangerous chances for the opponent. Possibly being forced out by new Omiya man and former Marinos coach Yasuhiro Higuchi, who was around during the demise of Hato's Marinos career. The past 4 years with him as a main contributor have seen his teams finish 16th,16th, 12th, and 15th........coincidence? Who knows? What I do know is that adding him to a potential back 4 will add slightly to the age.........Hato at 31, Hagimura at 32, Tsuchiya at 33, and Hattori at 34........unless they decide to go for Sidiclei at 35 to replace the "inexperienced" Hagimura.

AHHHHH........Just kidding. Yamada probably will keep his record of killing teams at 3. Although, he might look good in Chiba yellow......HMMMMMMM.

YOKOHAMA FC WATCH

Speaking of former Verdy players, Jun Tamano is victim #9 in the great FC purge of 2007. Tamano saw action in 6 games, contributing 1 assist.

Finally.......we will know in about 10 hours....maybe less......who will be the newest entrant into J1 and who will be gutted in the upcoming season. El Golazo and Yahoo!Japan are both speculating that Ryuichi Hirashige will be the starter in the biggest game of the season for the out of form Ueslei. Hirashige was signed last year from Sanfrecce youth and had yet to get his name in the scorebook until he netted possibly the biggest goal of the season for the purple squad with an 88th minute tally. His first in a league game. Speculation is that if Sanfrecce loses this game, pieces of the squad will be scattered around the league like William Wallace across the British Isles. I'm hoping Omiya can get two, namely Toshihiro Aoyama and Hisato Sato........with our inept management though it will probably be Toda and Stoyanov.

Nanami out, Hato in?

Sports Hochi house of dubious rumors and news is reporting that MF Hiroshi Nanami will be heading back to Jubilo Iwata at the close of the 2007 cycle. The 35 year old former National Teamer had a disappointing year filled with injuries after a credible 2006 campaign for Cerezo Osaka. If I had to guess, I think it's for the purposes of retiring as a Jubilite.

The same rag is reporting that Omiya LB Yasuhiro Hato is a target for next years squad. Hato would be the second Omiya defender in 2 years to take the jump to Verdy after Yukio Tsuchiya did the same last campaign.

World Soccer Magazine posts their end of the year awards

And boy do they suck!!!!!!!!!

Best 11- 3-4-3 formation

GK-Takahiro Takagi Consadole (I agree......had Junnsuke Schneider stayed healthy, I imagine he would have gotten the nod)

DF- Yushi Soda Consadole (Again, no problem with this one)

DF-Yukio Tsuchiya Verdy

DF Toshihide Saito Shonan (one of two dubious Bellmare picks by WSM.......shockingly Jean, who was their best player this year.....don't argue with me....was left off the list altogether. A case could be made for Montedios Leonardo as well)

MF Daisuke Saito Kyoto
MF Toshiya Ishii Kyoto (these two I don't have a problem with, but they chose 4 from the 3rd place Kyoto squad......seriously? Did they only watch Shonan/Kyoto matches this season?)

MF Adiel- Before I start, I just want to say I like Adiel. I think he's a good player and he had a nice season. He put up a respectable 13 and 7 and his team finished 6th. Respectable but not great and certainly not best 11. Ohhhhhh there's more. Why Avispa's Alex 26 and 5 or Lopes who had similar numbers but put his squad in contention until the last two games didn't get the nod is a mystery.

MF Tatsuya Furuhashii- Nice pick and the catalyst for a season turnaround

FW Paulinho
FW Takaaki Tokushige Kyoto Again I have to question the wisdom in picking 4 off a team who didn't get straight promotion. Diego put up great numbers after he was moved up to forward and Sagan FW Yoshihito Fujita got 21 goals as the only option on their squad. Davi was great for Consadole.

FW Hulk- 37 and 14, possibly the best season ever in J2.......so who do the mouth breathers at WSM pick as their MVP?

ADIEL??????????????????

Seriously? ADIEL? What kind of joke is that?

Manager of the year went to Vegalta head man Tatsuya Mochizuki......y'know the one guy who couldn't get the job done this year. A case could be made for Ramos, Miura, and my pick Levir Culpi (Who I thought shouldn't have been hired in the first place but proved me wrong)

Unbelievable

VERDY DROPS FOUR

Today is a very sad day for Soilent Green as our favorite Verdy player "Martin" Saito gets shown the door. Hobbled by injuries and sliding down in the depth chart left the management with pretty much no choice. Saito got into 6 games, failing to score in any of them.
Taisei Fujita got into 10 games and played relatively well, but was too small and not physical enough to fill in the middle. Fujita was featured in the 3-5-2 as one of the wings when Verdy was in desperate and deserves a little credit for helping to right the ship.

GK Takuya Muro didn't see any action
Masahiro Ohashi came off the bench to help Kawasaki Frontale finish in 5th. Ohashi notched 4 goals and had 3 assists. Verdy decided to let him go instead of signing and renting him again.

The good news for these players is the introduction of FC Gifu and Rosso Kumamoto to J2 along with the rapidly thinning ranks of Yokohama FC and Ventforet Kofu. Don't be surprised if one or two of these guys are featured in a Satoshi Tsunami led lineup.

Purple Slugfest

So the final song to be sung at this year's concerto takes place on Wednesday and Saturday as southern rivals Kyoto Sanga FC and Sanfrecce Hiroshima square off. A lot of small battles will take place. No witty rejoinders here, let's dig in and take a look at the situation at hand, shall we?

Forwards: It's a definite case of injuries versus ineffectiveness as both teams have seen their scoring profiency ebb and flow throughout the year. Sanfrecce's combo of Hisato Sato and Ueslei have 29 goals between the two of them, but just 3 since the end of September (All Sato). Kyoto, meanwhile has had to trudge along without its two star Brazilian strikers, Andre and Paulinho. How far Sanga can go depends on the duo of Yutaka Tahara and Takaaki Tokushige who have notched 9 and 8 goals respectively. If Paulinho can go, Kyoto is far more dangerous. If he can't, Kyoto is gonna struggle.

Midfield: On paper, it looks like a blowout for Sanfrecce. Led by Japan National Teamer Yuichi Komano, the boasts a ton of speed and talent in the middle. The loss of U-23 DM Toshihiro Aoyama hasn't helped, but the squad boasts depth at all 5 spots, occasionally using either Toda or Stovanov as a point for the defense. Kyoto has relied on a triangle of Toshiya Ishii, Daisuke Saito, and Hiroki Nakayama to anchor the center of the field. If the triangle stands, Kyoto will do well. If they fail, Kyoto is done.

Defense: Arguably the weak links for both squads. Sanfrecce let up an atrocious 71 goals......the next worst was Yokohama FC with 66. Kazuyuki Toda and Illyan Stovanov are the two key members in a 3 back and both have been woeful. GK Takashi Shimoda is having arguably the worst season of his career, letting in soft goals. Kyoto goes with a 4 back defense that was middle of the pack in J2. the key man in the back is Ryuzo Morioka who anchors the back in the middle. GK Naohito Hirai will have to be at the top of his game because Sanfrecce loves to push up and take a ton of shots.

Bench: Depending on injuries, Paulinho could be a key man late in the game off the bench. U-23 MF Yosuke Kashiwagi is a dangerous weapon off the bench. However if he has to start, Sanfrecce is in trouble for sure.

Coaching: A case can be made that Mihailio Petrovic has been the worst coach in the J League for 2007. Julio Leal might have soemthing to say about it but if someone has done less with more, I'd love for someone to educate me on this. Hisashi Kato stepped in late for an ineffective Naohiko Minobe and steadied a listless ship. Seemingly, Kato has not made a wrong step in his brief tenure as head man.

Intangibles: Well, Sanfrecce last won in league competition on September 1st against Yokohama FC. Their last 10 games have produced a mere 3 points and a 0-7-3 record. The good news for them is that the last time they played a J2 squad in a meaningful competition, they won 3-0 against Shonan Bellmare. In the same stretch, Kyoto has a 4-4-1 record, including a big win against Vegalta Sendai to ensure the playoff spot. However the end of 2007 had both teams tying......eerily, Sanfrecce stole a tie at the same point in their game as Kyoto was losing their win to Thespa Kusatsu. Sanfrecce played with a ton of first stringers out and really nothing to gain or lose. We'll see how they respond with the return of key players Ueslei, Toda, Stoyanov, and Kasuyuki Morisaki.

Final Verdict- Sanfrecce has been asking to be dropped from the start and now they have their chance. On paper this should be a cakewalk for the Hiroshima club, but bad management and a lack of heart has shown through. Time and time again, this squad has failed to step up in must win games and I don't think it will change. Alot o young talent waits in the wings for Hiroshima and maybe a drop would be just the ticket to shake them out of their doldrums. Kyoto seems to want to be in J1 and I think they will find a way to scratch their way into it when all is said and done.

But I could be completely off.

What's Missing

If you said 1969, you'd be correct. According to JIJI press, next year will be the end of Tokyo Verdy 1969 and the beginning of Tokyo Verdy

http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?key=&k=200712/2007120200092&rel=j&g=spo

It's Official:RAMOS UP, HASHIRATANI IN, AND TSUNAMI OUT

Straight on the heels of the clinching of J1 promotion comes the news of a shakeup in Casa De Verdy. Up goes Rui Ramos who will have the title of Executive Director. It's not clear if this was the original agreement when he took over two years ago or if this was mutually agreed to after his contract expired.
Out goes Satoshi Tsunami to take over the reigns from the hapless Julio Leal at Yokohama FC
The new man in charge is Tetsuji Hashiratani, who last headed up a squad in 2002 for Consadole Sapporo. After 5 years of being a head coach for Urawa and Verdy, Hashiratani gets the chance to lead a new era of j1 play for Verdy.

Many things to say

Well, I didn't think he could do it but he did it.........after yesterdays 2-2 draw to Cerezo, it became official. Verdy will be in J1 next season. As one of Rui's biggest detractors, I must have a tasty plate of crow and admit that I was wrong. The best decision this season was not the addition of Diego, Tsuchiya, Hattori, etc. The best decision was not changing brands to Kappa. The best decision was not even letting the talented Hulk run wild over J2 while donning a green shirt. The best decision this season was by upper management, who bucked popular opinion and stuck with a very beleaguered coach after a disastrous 5-1 loss to Mito Hollyhock. It would have been easy for th team to quit on him, and it looked like they did at one point, but he got them back and led them to second place. Congratulations Verdy.......and congratulations Ramos.

On another note, the tabloids are in full swing on the story of Ramos stepping down as head man and actually stepping up to be the backroom Machiavelli as Technical Director. Tetsuji Hashiratani would take over the reigns as manager with I presume former Yokohama FC man Takuya Takagi stepping in as head coach (speculation on my part but I believe he is part of the organization as an advisor). I'm a bit dubious on ramos ability to spot talent but this makes sense on alot of levels knowing the tight-knit relationship between Hashiratani and Ramos. Wanna know how important the connection between the TD and the manager? Just look up the road to Omiya, where the relationship between Satoru Sakuma, Robert Verbeek, and key players who chafed under an ill-fitting system. It's a strange move but not a bad one. Also a nod to helping out a friend who has waited patiently for a shot.

One of the few dark spots on this year's campaign was the string of injuries and disappointing play of legendary MF Hiroshi Nanami. Yesterday's game saw the longtime Jubilo stalwart in a surprise start against his former team. Speculation is that Nanami will hang up his spikes after this year. One of the hardest things for great players.....as the old saying goes.....is knowing when to quit.

Yokohama FC ends their J1 campaign on a VERY HIGH NOTE

All defending Champion Urawa had to do was not lose to Yokohama FC.......and they couldn't do it. Former Verdy MF Shingo Nejime scored off of a pass from Kazu Miura to notch the only goal on the day. Urawa had a heck of a week, losing their Emperor's Cup crown to a J2 squad and their J1 title to the worst team in J1 history...........Way to go Holger!

Two former Verdy players get the axe. MF Takashi Hirano and Vegalta GK Kyomitsu Kobari got their walking papers this week. Hirano played in 3 games for 15th place Omiya, scoring a sweet goal against Yokohama F Marinos. Kobari managed to get in 11 games after Junnsuke Schneider went down with an injury.

BREAKING NEWS: Ramos to retire,maybe?

We'll get to the big upset in a minute..........

Hochi Yomiuri is reporting that Rui Ramos might opt not to renew his contract and let his former teammate and current Verdy head coach Tetsuji Hashiratani take over the reigns of the newly (soon) minted J1 squad. It has been a very long year Ramos with his woeful beginning and the loss of his mother, so leaving after mission accomplished would seem to be the smart thing.

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20071129-OHT1T00059.htm

Two Yokohama FW's to Fukuoka? Nikkan Sports is reporting that U-20 beanpole Mike Haavenar is possibly headed to Avispa for a one year loan.

http://www.nikkansports.com/soccer/p-sc-tp0-20071129-289067.html

Also recently released striker Tatsuhiko Kubo might end up in Avispa as well

I believe that was Hochi so take it with a grain of salt.


Finally, big congratulations go to Ehime FC who went to Urawa and upset the defending J League, Emperor's Cup, and ACL champs 2-0 off the glorious foot of Toshiya Tanaka. Great job and good luck to them against Yokohama FC.

An old friend returns

Today out of Yokohama, reports are that Kazu Miura is indeed staying in Yokohama on their way down to J2. Ohhh, did you think that was the old friend?

Nope, not it........Verdy reported that Masaki Iida will finally be a full member of the squad for next year after on again, off again bouts of training and playing at Ryutsu Keizai for both the university squad and the JFL side........but that's not it....

No I'm referring to our good friend Nick who has some thoughts about the season as a whole and the final game

Nick has left a new comment on your post "The silly season is upon us": Well the last time Verdy were top of the league was on opening day after the 5-0 demolition of Thespa Kusatsu. Its been a VERY long time coming but what a time to return to the summit!! The season has had its ups and downs and has been a true rollercoaster ride. Ramos and the boys have been up and and down like the proverbial prozzies undies. A good start saw us among the contenders after a few games as was expected. However, from nowhere came the six game losing streak. At this time even the most ardent Ramos fans would have been wondering what the heck was going on?? Things came to a head against a Mito side who were struggling at the foot of the table. They came to National Stadium and gave us an absolute a total shoeing. Hiramoto started the scoring early with a somewhat flukey effort, but following this the entire side seemed to capitulate. The final scoreline was entirely fair. Hammered by the bottom of the league. This was when the front office obviously made its decision. They were to stick by Ramos through thick or thin.Everybody was calling for his head,myself included.This would have been prime time to fire him. However, the permed one kept his job and a couple of weeks later the boys turned up to give Kyoto a sound 4-1 beating. Our form continued to be consistently inconsistent, win 2, draw 1 lose 3.. Nothing was on the horizon except mid table mediocrity. Then, Hiramoto was shipped out a move that surprised a few, again myself included. And Hulk exploded into form. Over the last section of the season we have been nearly unbeatable, only 2 defeats in 22 games. Incredible from a team who couldn`t string two decent results together in the first half of the season.The big test came in late September when were to face the big three in the division in successive games. And what a way to do it!! 2-1 away to Kyoto, 4-1 away to Sendai and then the pick of the bunch a 5-1 pasting of Sapporo at Ajinomoto. We had put ourselves firmly in the reckoning for the first time this season. Our form continued again in the same vein but the other teams kept their own runs going too. The promotion race had been hotting up with 6 teams all with a shout with 3 games to go. We drew our crunch battle with Sendai which kept them at arms length and the others stumbled also.Including our inactive week when none of the teams around us could come up with a win!!This led to Sundays game with Ehime....if we won we would be virtually guaranteed straight promotion!!!!??? Shocking considering where we were earlier in the season.


And so to Sunday.....I could go into some long winded disscusion about the technicalities of the win,the chances that came and went and the flight of the ball as it slammed into the back of the net but, that is secondary when we consider the importance of Sunday.Not just for Verdy but for all fans everywhere. We all sit and watch footy in all corners of the world in vague hope of days like Sunday. They only come around very occasionally for most fans (unless you are a Man U/Milan etc supporter.We sit in freezing drizzle watching guys who we usually reckon we could do better than anyway in the hope of seeing something special with a bunch of like minded other people.The hope of any fan is to witness days like Sunday. Their team on the up. We hope to sit and watch countless games throughout the years that culminate in a make or break day like Sunday. Sometimes it happens usually it doesn`t.All fans need a bit of danger!! Omiya had the same excitement last week, the whole seasons work balanced on a knife edge. Theres was in a potentially negative way but the excitement is still the same. Winner takes all, loser takes nothing. When the stakes are so high, the quality of what is on the pitch fades into insignificance. The result is all that matters. You see it from the extra numbers in the stadium, the tension before the game, supporters baying for blood at any marginal decision. Fantastic!! The crowd was 14,000 at the weekend and while this doesn`t seem so much in wider terms,given the fact that Ehime had about 200 supporters,it just goes to show there some dormant Verdy fans out there!! Let`s hope they continue to come!! I still have to pinch myself to believe we are going back up and Ramos is still at the helm. There is nothing we can say about the guy. He has done the job that was expected from him. He might have gone all round the houses to do it,but he HAS done it.My hat goes off to the permed one. He has got a promotion in his second full year of management, saw out an extremely rocky period and come out the other side with the potential for a championship next week. Its a great week to be a Verdy fan!!! As a Verdy fan great weeks don`t come along so often so to all Verdy boys out there, a toast to El Permo and his Magic Donkey!! He`s still a donkey but because of his heroics on Sunday he could maybe be left to live out his days in a field somewhere nice and green instead of a direct line to the glue factory. Maybe they can name a bench or a corrider after him at Verdy HQ. Well done Funakoshi!! Every donkey has its day!!

The silly season is upon us

The Hochi Yomiuri House of unfounded rumors is reporting that Ramos has tipped Yuji "Bomberhead" Nakazawa to be the first reinforcement for the J1 version of Tokyo Verdy 1969. Nakazawa left the squad in 2002 to join an up and coming Yokohama F Marinos side, two world cups and a couple of championships later, Nakazawa has seen his Marinos team struggle to rise above mid-table. Hochi Yomiuri reports that Verdy is willing to start the bidding at 80 million yen to team the star centerback with Yukio Tsuchiya.

I'll believe it when I see it.

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/jleague/news/20071126-OHT1T00092.htm

Nikkan Sports has Gamba again trying to purloin a Brazilian off another J League squad. First it was the pair from Omiya, Denis Marques and Leandro.......then it was Montedio anchor Leonardo, now the rumor is they are going after the captain of FC Tokyo, Lucas. Honestly, who was the last foreign talent Gamba brought in to the league? Mboma?

Get a scouting department and do the leg work yourself.........and one more thing, BEAT SANFRECCE.

The Bloodletting begins!

Yokohama FC delivered on its promise of severing ties with a good portion of their team. Included in the list were two former national teamers from long ago. Let's get down to it before the bodies get cold The biggest name in the bunch was MF Motohiro Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi was a regular during the amazing run to J1. One of the old Flugels, Yamaguchi helped anchor the squad.
Tomoyuki Yoshino joined in 2006 from Shonan Bellmare. Yoshino got into 9 games
Yohei Sakai was a little used midfielder who joined in 2005 from the Marinos youth program. Yoichi Akiba joined the team last year from college. He managed 2 games.
Norio Omura is a well traveled DF who appeared in 17 games for FC. Omura started with Marinos and floated around until ending up last year in Yokohama.

Mitsunori Yabuta, a 31 year old forward and Kazuya Iwakura also got the axe.

It's not over but........

The picture is old but the sentiment is not as forgotten man Yuzo Funakoshi popped his head up after a 3 month slumber in Satellite purgatory and collected 2 goals to push Verdy over Ehime 2-1. The victory propels the Tokyo squad into a tie tie for first with a +13 goal differential. This virtually guarantees straight promotion and puts the side into a great position to win a championship for the firt time since the Emperor's Cup victory of 2004.

Falling just short but being eliminated were Shonan Bellmare, Cerezo Osaka, and perennial bridesmaid Vegalta Sendai. Next up for Tokyo is a game against Cerezo Osaka and you have to wonder what kind of teams and performances will happen for both sides.

Two teams in precarious positions are Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kyoto Sanga FC. The squads have some serious decisions to make regarding how they will go about preparing for the next week. Kyoto needs Consadole to collapse at home to a gutty Mito side. Meanwhile, they have to go on the road to Kusatsu. Now, do they rest their regulars for the game on Wednesday, or go all out and hope for the best. Tough question.

Sanfrecce is in a more precarious position. Going into their final game as hosts to Gamba Osaka, Sanfrecce must first win against the Nabisco Cup Champions. Not impossible considering the team is in a funk following the defection of Magno Alves to Al Itthad. Second, they need Omiya to lose to Kawasaki Frontale. Again, this is a likely scenario considering that Kawasaki is on fire. The tricky part comes when you realize that Sanfrecce must also make up an 11 goal differential. Another hurdle for Sanfrecce is the loss of Captain Kazuyuki Toda to yellow card points, Illyan Stovanov to a red card, and U-22 star Toshihiro Aoyama to a foot injury (for the rest of the season). I'm not sure but yellow card suspensions might carry over to the playoff. If they do, Ueslei is on 3, so another yellow would render him out for at least one game and probably two. Sanfrecce goes into the match with a dismal 0-2-7 record. The ties were probably the most distressing of the two because they happened in the final moments of the game, including two goals in stoppage time to JEF Ichihara Chiba.

Do you rest the squad and take a hit, possibly entering the game with no momentum? Or do you risk the low odds and go all out, possibly losing one or more players to red cards or injuries?

Tough questions. If I had to choose between the two, I'd give Kyoto a slight advantage because of momentum.......but who knows.

GAMBA NEEDS TO HIRE A FOREIGN SCOUT......

Rumors abound that Gamba is looking to find fill-ins for Sidiclei and Magno Alves up north. Sports Hochi Yomiuri has reported that in addition to Omiya striker Denis Marques and Kyoto striker Paulinho, the southern powerhouse is now looking at central defenders Leanardo from Montedio Yamagata and Omiya saviour Leandro. You could possibly see an all Omiya Brazilian trio in Bare, Denis, and Leandro. You might also see an angry blogger defecating in the middle of Koshien while eating a big bucket of Kentucky. Hey Gamba, find your own imports! And do your job next week. Besides, Alex and Chika would look much better in blue.

Final subs

Sugasaki in for Ehime-----Shibasaki for Verdy. Takagi gets a yellow for stalling I presume

20-6 on shots

Bikkuri Donkey with a Brace!

2-1 with 11 minutes to go

Verdy subs

Silva and Inoue in for Iio and Hiroyama........shots 16-4, corner kicks 5-0

Ehime subs

Tanaka and Akai

Halftime

Much like the game in May, Verdy has an overwhelming shot advantage but Ehime has managed to even up

10-2 on shots
2-0 corners

I feel a landslide coming......one more goal and this game is gonna break wide open

1-1

Yoshihiro Uchimura evens the score for Ehime............not in J1 yet, boys!

Bikkuri Donkey returns

Against this back 4, Mighty Funakoshi returns to give Verdy an early lead.......more updates later

WAIT THERE'S MORE

YOKOHAMA FC WATCH

Today was a historic day for the former Flugels as they managed to stretch their J1 winless streak to 20 games. Under embattled coach Julio Leal, the team has managed 2 goals and 2 ties out of 11 games total. Leal's major strategic move was to insert 40 year old Kazu Miura back into a permanent starting spot and the results have been telling. Next week marks the final game for the FC against Asian Champs Urawa. Urawa is desperate for a win, a tie would spell possible doom with a hard charging Kashima Antlers facing Shimizu in the finale of 2007. Wouldn't it be ironic (wink wink........errr......convienient) if the Asian Champs were to drop the game to the worst team in J League history. AMAZING J!

One more rumor to pass along involving Sanfrecce Hiroshima and their burly striker Ueslei.....it seems Oita is keen to pick the big man in hopes of bulking up their scoring. Ueslei is thiiiiiiiiiis close to becoming the all-time leader in scoring for the J League and teaming up with the young and talented frontline of Oita might be just the thing that gets him over the top. Although, it needs to be pointed out that Ueslei led teams seem to drop like stones in the ranking pool so it's a bit of a risk taing him on. And he's pushing 36......eventually the tap will go dry.

BREAKING NEWS: Kashiwa to change name to Antlers

Kashiwa and Kashima will switch their names and colors starting in the 2008 season......Allright, I screwed up, sue me!

In other news, FC Chiba has new uniforms for 2008

http://www.jsgoal.jp/photo/00028300/00028347.html

OOPS, I mean FC Tokyo.

Anyhow let's get to some solid news and rumors galore

J2 Has a new member.......

Venforet Kofu dropped a 2-1 decision to KashiWa today when Tatsuya Suzuki notched a late counter goal against the hard chargers from Yamanashi. Just two years ago, the little team that could managed to knock off one of the more colorful franchises in J League history with an onslaught of goals behind now Gamba superstriker Bare. Unfortunately, Kofu was unable to find one guy that could consistently finish. Usually, I would write a piece detailing where to carve a dead squad up, but I'm hoping most of these guys can stay together and make a charge for J1 next year. If effort was a determining factor in championships, hands down this squad would be crowned king. Good luck next year and here's hoping for a quick turnaround.

On the other hand, the highly talented and completely gutless Sanfrecce Hiroshima finds itself on the edge of the J2 abyss with a 3-0 loss to Kawasaki Frontale. Ilyan Stoyanov capped off a dismal season with a red card, thereby rendering him null and void for the upcoming battle against Gamba Osaka and possibly the relegation/promotion battle if they are not able to overcome an 11 goal deficit.

Omiya won 2-1 versus FC Tokyo in the best game I've ever witnessed at Ajinomoto. Go! Go! Omiya Ardija! will have more details later so I won't go into details. The win most likely guarantees the Squirrels another go in J1. Call me relieved more than anything.

GAMBA OSAKA has some striker issues.

Magno Alves has left the club and will be joining Al Itthad. Rumor is that striker Denis Marques will be taking his place next season......for a hefty price one would assume. Omiya still retains a contract until the end of June 2008 so it's gonna cost em.

KashiWa midfielder Alceu has left the squad and gone back to Brazil. The midfielder was excellent this year for the Chiba side .

Happy trails to Shimizu Striker Yoshikiyo Kuboyama and Gamba DF Noritada Saneyoshi.

Kuboyama was a member of the defunct Yokohama Flugels before joing Shimizu.
Saneyoshi was one of the team captains for Gamba and has been a member from 1995, giving him the longest tenure at the club.

Kashiwa unis 2008

OK.......the road unis are great but the home kits...........looks like a cross between Freddy Kruger and a gondolier.

El Golazo's 11 and rumors from around the league

Here is the selection

GK Takagi
DF Kaimoto-Tsuchiya-Tomisawa-Hattori
MF Hiroyama-Ono-Sugawara-Iio
FW Diego-Silva

I imagine we'll see a combo of Shibasaki, Sato or Nagai, Inoue or Funakoshi, and a defender on the bench

Of note is the fact that Tsuchiya, Ono, and Diego are all sitting on three yellows. A disaster is on the horizon if Verdy manages to not win and lose all three to yellows......can you imagine what that lineup would look like against Cerezo?

Magno to Saudi Arabia?

Hochi Yomiuri is reporting that Magno Alves has been in double secret super quiet negotiations to leave Gamba for Al Ithad of Saudi Premier league. Recently, Magno has been linked to FC Tokyo, Shimizu, and Al Wahada of the UAE. One place I can absolutely rule out is Omiya.

J2 Watch

Sanfrecce and U-22 D midfielder Toshihiro Aoyama injured his foot in the Beijing clinching 0-0 tie against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Aoyama was the hero for the young Samurai when he cleared a dangerous shot off the line in the 9th minute to help preserve a clean sheet. Aoyama will be on the shelf for two months and will miss the final 2 critical games for Sanfrecce against Kawasaki and Gamba.

An always interesting preview of the upcoming game between FC Tokyo and 15th place Omiya can be found at Go!Go!Omiya Ardija!----------or here http://furtho.blog4.fc2.com/blog-entry-1023.html#comment2977 If you look close enough, you can see some angry comments from an unnamed blogger.

Kofu ventures into the place where their J1 adventure began. A slumping Kashiwa Reysol will try to do to Ventforet what the Yamanashi side did to them.......send them down to the two. Actually, I think that Kashiwa should actually roll over and die in thanks for the drop to J2....the team is in much better shape now then they were when they finished 16th twice.

Finally, the game of the week in J2 pits Vegalta against an erratic Kyoto side. Both teams need a max 3 points and had somewhat disappointing results in their last campaign. A tie might be the worst possible thing for both squads with a banged up but hard charging Cerezo side lurking in 5th.

Things are going to shake out tomorrow......we should see what 2008 is gonna look like with these games. Nerve racking stuff indeed!

FC TOKYO NEWS and Osieck Japan?

First off......news from the gashouse. The team officially announced today that former World Cup squad members Yoichi Doi and Takashi Fukunishi both will not be returning to the club next season. Doi is 34 and saw a sharp decline in the past year. Hitoshi Shiota took over for the FC Tokyo stalwart halfway through this campaign.

Fukunishi seems to still have some life left in him at 31. Tagged as a final piece to pushing FCT to respectability, the squad and the man have both failed to live up to expectations. I imagine a man like ths with Jubilo and NT roots would be attractive to another Tokyo team so I imagine he won't go far.

Also on his way out is two time Gaffer Hiromi Hara. Hara was brought in to steady the squad after a bad 2006 campaign. He failed.

Finally, former FC Tokyo bust Paolo Wanchope announced his retirement after stinking it up in MLS for Chicago. Amazing that this was the same player that shined for Costa Rica against Germany.

Holger Osieck has been rumored to take over the reigns for the ailing Ivica Osim. I think it would be a great move.........for Urawa. Replacing the mundane Osieck with say a much more deserving Gert Engels would be a master stroke for the newly crowned ACL champs. Osieck meanwhile has led a very talented squad to the most joyless championship run ever. You can do better JFA.

Finally, happy trails to longtme Kashima Antler and current Kyoto Sanga DF Yutaka Akita who announced his retirement from the j League. 405 games for the rugged D man.

Here is the matrix

Sahara cup rd of 16....errr, 18

Baby birds, a view of next week, and other news

Let's start it off with a big congratlations to Verdy Youth, who claimed first place in a tough Group A over JEF United Chiba and Consadole Sapporo. With the win, Verdy youth lock up a spot in the next round.

Verdy fought against a game Shizuoka FC in a training match at lovely Verdy grounds with the green machine claiming a 5-1 victory

In a glimpse of what the nappy one is thinking, Verdy went with a combination of Silva and Diego up top with Hiroyama, Sugawara, Ono, and Inoue filling in the midfield. Silva started the scoring and then Inoue, Diego, Funakoshi, and Iio chipped in some more. Silva's not a bad selection up top and his speed might cause some issues for Ehime.

Around J2.........I put this part in Pink because I mention Cerezo Osaka getting stunned with a 2-2 draw at Thespa. Now Thespa is turning out to be a pain in the hind section to all the big boys of J2. The tie was rough for Cerezo because not only do they go into their next match against Mito missing 4 starters, the room for error is now officially nil.

Consadole came back from a 1 goal deficit to steal a draw from Kyoto and become the first team to qualify for the top three. A combination of a tie or a Kyoto loss or tie guarantees straight promotion for the northernmost J League squad. Good news for Verdy fans is that it opens the door for Verdy to steal the J2 championship away from Consadole and claim it for themselves. A win next week also pretty much guarantees straight promotion for the Tokyo squad.

Shonan kept their promotion hopes alive barely with a 3-2 win at Vegalta. Last week it looked like Vegalta was in the drivers seat with a 1-0 lead early against Verdy, but now find themselves in 4th with the loss. How come it seems like Vegalta always finishes 4th?

Finally, one guy I'd like to see get a contract in the J League is Watford MF Al Bangura. Bangura is a 19 year old Sierra Leone refugee who is in danger of being sent back to his country for no apparent reason http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/16112007/58/championship-watford-youngster-deported.html Bangura's story is the stuff that movies are made of. His father was a part of a secret society that demanded offspring join after the death of a member. Rejecting the tradition, Bangura fell into the hands of a less than savory character in France, who wanted to turn the young midfielder into a homosexual prostitute. Bangura refused, applied to England for asylum and was found by Watford officials playing soccer in a park. Two years later, Bangura is a regular for the squad and by all accounts a solid member of his community. Going back to Sierra Leone could be a death sentence. Now, if I were an enterprising team in......say.......Saitama who wears orange and was looking for young premiership type talent and great pr, I would be on the phone with Watford today saying loan us the kid for a year while you sort this out. I will be checking up on the Bangura story. More of the Bangura story is here (which I pretty much copied above) BBC news http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/4880822.stm

Osim hospitalized

Very sad news yesterday as National Team Coach Ivica Osima was hospitalized with a stroke. The 66 year old legend of soccer is in very serious condition.

I have not enjoyed his time as coach of the National squad to be honest. I don't like his teams or his reliance on JEF United players. I was hoping he wouldn't be coach much longer...........This is absolutely not the way I want it. I hope that his traditional stubbornness will be enough to get him to pull through it and resume at the helm of the National squad. I hope to be able to curse at his selections and tactics again....soomer rather than later. Get well soon big man!

THE EVIL EMPIRE TAKES OVER ASIA

Urawa claimed the crown with a 2-0 win over Sepahan, the Iranian contingent. Verdy won something similar to this a thousand years ago but it isn't really talked about among polite company.

Our friend Ken Matsushima at Rising Sun News has his own unique take on the whole quality of reporting here http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/news/2007/071114.html#reports

YOKOHAMA FC WATCH-

Julio Leal is out after this season and an old familiar face is in at Yokohama FC. Give you a hint........he was a coach for Verdy last year.......that's right, the Verdy recycling continues as SATOSHI TSUNAMI is tipped by Sports Hochi Yomiuri to take the reigns of the bottom dwelling Kanagawa side. According to the article, Tsunami was picked over Yasu Miura, the older brother of Kazu Miura .........so it would seem to SG that Kazu will be on the way out as well. I'm guessing that a bunch of the current Verdy players will be moving out to be with their former Head Coach for 2008.

VERDY WATCH- This week sees the team getting a break before taking up the charge for a final 2 game push. Cerezo Osaka has lost two of their Brazilian charges in Ale and Ze Carlos for the final three games of the season. Helpful, but I think the team needs to have eliminated the shocking pink with a win beforehand to make sure that they have nothing to play for. Winning on the road against a team dancing with aspirations of promotion in their head is not the wisest way to go. The team gears up against Shizuoka FC tomorrow in a nice runout before finishing the campaign.

Enjoyed it while it lasted

The league officially handed down their punishment to Hulk and his collection of yellow cards extraordinaire......2 games, which means his season and possibly his tenure in green is officially over.

The 4 games missed by the prolific Brazilian have had varied results

Game 1 was the debacle against Mito Hollyhock in which team green were shelled 5-1. I believe that was a team meltdown instead of just a lack of Hulk

Ehime tied the squad in Ehime 1-1.........Verdy was outshot 15 to 7 in that slog of a match.

Avispa beat Verdy 2-1 in Fukuoka when a combination of Hiroyama and Iio were unable to crack the goal. A late substitution of Hideki Nagai managed to make the score look more respectable.

Finally the team stole a 1-0 decision against Tokushima Vortis when big Funakoshi got one in the first minute.

What to do?

Soilent Green has a solution that will surprise probably no one.

Masaki Saito

Yes, I know.....I'm the one guy that still supports the bald one, hear me out.

I don't like putting one of the wings up top because it disrupts a pretty decent rotation that has worked. If Iio and Hiroyama don't work....bring in Silva or Shibasaki. Simple and elegant.

I don't like Funakoshi because he lacks mobility, although the Ehime dwarfs had trouble with the big man early.

Saito however is the closest thing to Hulk on this team. He is able (to a lesser extent) to hold the ball in traffic......he's like a bowling ball who can wear down the opposition.....his shot is sub-par, but who isn't among the also rans at the FW position. I don't put him in because he's the best forward....I put him in because he is the least likely to disrupt the flow of the squad. At about 55 or 60 minutes, I put in Inoue or Silva to use their speed to burn up the defense after they're on fumes.

That being said, I'm guessing Funakoshi or Iio up top.

Edmilson talk heats up in Red Wonderland.........It looks like Edmilson will be the pick for Urawa next year. Probably a smarter move, Edmilson is snake like and can set up and play off of Tanaka or Nagai better than Hulk, who needs the ball more to be effective. I think Kawasaki and the Juninho role will be a better fit if the big hawk decides to take the money and run. Washington is pretty much done in Japan.

Ties are lame

Ah yes, the proverbial sister kisser. Verdy outshot and outfouled the might men of Sendai but could only come up with a tie. Hulk was off on his 9 chances but the big Brazilian sidekick, Diego managed to enter the account late to salvage a point at home and steal 2 away from Vegalta. Some bad news out of the game is that Hulk picked up another yellow.....thus making him ineligible for the Ehime game for sure and potentially the Cerezo game as well. Is that the last we've seen of Hulk in green?

1-1 and a little closer to the promised land.

Yokohama FC watch----- The land of misfit Verdy players finally scraped a point for erstwhile manager Julio Leal after a cross from Atsuhiro Miura found the silky foot of Shingo Nejime for a 1-1 tie against freefalling Kashiwa Reysol. Yokohama FC managed to break a record.....going 634 minutes without finding the back of the net. The former record was held by the Urawa Reds.

News out of Brazil is that big striker and former Verdy man Washington is NOT going to be in the J League next year. It seems the J League holders are close to making a deal with Fluminense (Fluminese?) to ship the grumpy goalhanger off to Brazil.

It's getting close.......off to the brand new Omiya NACK5 stadium to see the finest girl in Japan after her facelift.

Big Game ahead

Today is a huge game in modern Verdy history.A win will most likely propel the team into promotion status. A loss breathes life into not only Vegalta Sendai, but Kyoto and hard charging Cerezo as well. The good news for Verdy is that they face an opponent they have absolutely owned in Vegalta Sendai. Sendai goes into the game without Talismanic midfielder Lopez, who is out with a leg problem.

The key matchup will be between Hulk and new Vegalta CB Kazunari Okayama, a refugee from Kashiwa Reysol.

Rui Ramos was quoted in the Nikkan press as saying he was like Ochiai, the manager of Nippon Series winning Chunichi Dragons,because he is not afraid to make risky decisions in order to win. Well, his risky decision today is starting Kaz Iio over Silva. UMMMMMMMM.......

I will not be in attendance because I'm sick.

BABY BIRDS DROP ONE TO JEF IN SAHARA CUP

Verdy youth find themselves sitting behind Consadole in group play after dropping a 3-2 decision. The boys get on with it today against group leader Consadole at Verdy grounds.

OFF TOPIC :GOAL 2-The sappiness continues

Just saw Goal 2-Soccer Boogaloo on DVD and it was entirely predictable but still fun. GOAL chronicles the travels of Mexican undocumented worker and soccer prodigy Santiago Muniz, who gets discovered by a Newcastle scout and is whisked off to Europe.......damn the visa issues. Part two takes place with wonderboy getting an offer to play for Real Madrid to play with a bunch of guys who either retired or left for Los Angeles. Temptation, Jealousy, Rage........it's like an R Kelly video with soccer too. It's good for a laugh or three.......what the hell, I'll recommend it. More believable than Elijah Wood in "GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS".

Gamba enters the Arms race?

Nikkan Sports and friend of SG-Gora no Ura are reporting a rumor that Kyoto might lose super striker Paulinho to Nabisco Cup Champions Gamba Osaka if the purple people fail to gain promotion. Paulinho would presumably fill the gap being left by Magno Alves.

On top of that, Nikkan is reporting that the pursuit of FC Tokyo man and national teamer Yasuyuki Konno is in full pursuit.

Rumor Clearinghouse

First off a super big duper Congratulations to Gamba Osaka who claimed a 1-0 victory over Kawasaki Frontale in the super gynormous Nabisco Cup. Other prestigious winners include JEF Chiba (2 times), FC Tokyo, and Kashiwa Reysol. IMPRESSIVE!

Speaking of the blue turds of Ajinomoto........rumor out of Nikkan Sports is that they will change their strips to mirror Barcelona......great...the term makeup on a pig comes to mind but if it sells more gas shirts, so be it.

YOKOHAMA FC WATCH- The headlopping will begin next month as Yokohama FC trims alot of the dead weight off their roster. 1 in 3 of the current members will be handed their walking papers after a dismal 2007 campaign. The first one that should go but won't (unless he gets a stupid offer from Verdy) is Kazu Miura. However reports say that the team wants him and Atsuhiro Miura to come back to the squad next campaign. Another move should be the job of Julio Leal.....seriously, teams almost accidentally get better after a coaching change but this distinguished gentleman has led his squad to 9 straight losses and a goal tally of 1 in 9 games. He seems to recycle the old boys consistently without giving some of the younger players a chance. 4 games left to avoid being the worst J League team ever............maybe.

SOILENT GREENS VERDY WATCH- More rumors out of Kawasaki have J2's leading goal hawk HULK heading back to Kawasaki after this term. In some sort of weird servitude contract, Kawasaki still retain the rights to the mercurial striker. http://www.sanspo.com/soccer/top/st200711/st2007110404.html
You have to wonder why Verdy isn't putting their hat in the Washington derby during the offseason. Although the man is a consumate crybaby, his strength and scoring acumne in J League games is beyond reproach. And it seems to me that he still has some friends in Tokyo, the fans like him, and he still has some gas in the tank. Team him up with Diego and you have a very physical front two.

Baby birds fly- Tokyo Verdy Junior is participating in the Sahara Cup and are off to a pretty decent 2-1-0 start to sit second. The squad gears up against JEF Junior after they had a match postponed last week because of the typhoonish conditions.

Training Day- Verdy took on Something or other Valente in a run out and won 3-0. Goals were scored by Hiroyama, Hulk, and Funakoshi (Who still is on the team I guess....he got a pass from Saito......where are these guys anyway?)

Finally- The Emperor's cup 4th round kicks off in a mere two hours......my selection to win it all.
KASHIMA ANTLERS......they are in good form and haven't been to ACL in awhile...it's their turn to represent with presumably Urawa so I'm picking them to prevail over Shimizu, Jubilo, and Vissel...........Ehime will be the story of 2007's Cup.

We take a moment from SOCCER to let you know..

That my beloved Chunichi Dragons won the Nippon Series today 4 games to 1 to claim the title of Japan's best team. Even more dramatic was the way in which it was done with surprise starter Daisuke Yamai and ace reliever Hitoki Iwase combine to pitch a perfect game to clinch the series and give Chunichi a crown for the first time in 53 years.

Yaaaaaaaaaa-F@#$ing-Taaaaaaaaa Byatches! That's one for Soilent Green!

More baseless speculation

Weekly Soccer Digest jumps into the fray with a comprehensive list of baseless rumors

For your viewing pleasure

Hulk-going to Kawasaki Frontale
FC Tokyo midfielder Yasuyuki Konno going to Gamba
Jubilo Iwata Netminder Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi to Gamba
Gamba forward Magno Alves headed to FC Tokyo (Sports Hochi has him headed to Shimizu)
Oita defender Yohei Fukumoto to Gamba
JEF MF Koki Mizuno off to Urawa or FC Tokyo
Yokohama FC MF Oh Beom Suk, Sanfrecce MF/DF Yuichiro Komano, and Vegalta MF Lopez to Yokohama F Marinos
Albirex FW Edmilson to Urawa

I think we'll know more when Relegation shakes out....Takanori Sugeno has to be getting some notice and if the Yokohama-Verdy pipeline is still flowing, maybe we will see the young keeper in green (actually light blue...as the keeper). Sanfrecce is waiting to break open like a purple pinata.

Don't count your victories before they're hatched

Hulk showed up and put in two......but so did Thespa, including one in the final moments to snatch a point away from Verdy.

Two games in a row, the defense has failed to stop a charging squad.....this time they got burned, possibly losing the J2 Championship with this game

3 games to go.......it's not over yet.

Kobe gets in on the bidding war

That picture has nothing to do with the headline......I'll get to that later

First- Sports Hochi Yomiuri is reporting that Vissel Kobe is making it priority one to sign Vegalta Sendai man and main Urawa target Lopes to strengthen their back line. Good fit as a distributor and would help feed Okubo and Leandro. Somehow though, the cash splashing by Rakuten doesn't sit too well with me. I think they have more problems with their leadership structure. A team with that much firepower shouldn't be struggling as much as they do. FC Tokyo of the South.

Second-The picture above took place yesterday in Mitsuzawa as J2 debutante Yokoham FC crashed to their 9th loss in a row and 25th in 30 games. The team hasn't scored since the 69th minute of a 2-1 loss to Sanfrecce Hiroshima on the first game of September.......561 minutes and over 6 games ago. Their current coach, Julio Leal has not won in his 8 games as head man.

I was in attendance yesterday as a team laden with misfit Verdy players from yesteryear took to battle against a squad with less misfit Verdy players from yesteryear. The game was decided on a goal from......yes.....a Verdy player from yesteryear against a product of the Verdy youth system.....1-0 Verdy misfit players from yesteryear over even more Verdy misfit players from yesteryear.

The game was played in front of 4,114......2800 came pissed off....were pissed off during the game...and went home pissed off. At the start of the match, The Yokohama Oen were dead silent when the 11 came out for warmups. The game was started with a SAKAMOTO YAMEROO chant (Sakamoto out). 90 minutes of hurricane weather and slick ball later and Yokohama was finished. The end of the game started like the beginning with another out chant. Finally, the man of the moment skulked out to face the angry pale blue mob. I give him credit, there was a lot of anger.

Third-JESSE FINK RETURNS

Friend of SG Jesse Fink is back starting tomorrow with his sometimes scathing, always entertaining takes on Australian Soccer. Fox is out, THE WORLD GAME is in.....here is the link, which does not seem to work at the moment http://www.theworldgame.com.au/ Anyhow, glad to see Jesse is off his backside and writing again......on his backside, I guess.

Finally- A reasonably similar starting 11 takes the field in an hour against the Spa boys of Thespa in a battle of teams I blogged about. Verdy has a real chance to solidify their promotion aspirations today with a win and stay in reach of a championship.

With Vegalta and Consadole winning and Kyoto crashing out, the race for promotion is starting to take shape. A win would knock Shonan Bellmare out of contention for automatic promotion and put some distance between Verdy and third place Vegalta Sendai before their big clash on November 10th.

P.S. The tWo is getting pounded today 4-0 against Kawasaki Frontale at the half..........I'm hoping for double digits. Down with FCT!

A trophy you really don't want

Yokohama FC just completed the fastest burnout in J league history with a 3-0 loss today to fellow promotion partner from 2006, Vissel Kobe. The truly stunning thing about the fall of Verdy Blue is the thouroughly pathetic results they have put out in 29 games.

The major highlights in this season were wins to crosstown rival Yokohama F Marinos and a tie to Gamba Osaka. Under current manager Julio Real, the baby blues have lost 7 straight, getting outscored 14-1 in the Brazilians short and cloudy tenure as gaffer.

Yokohama FC follows the lead of 2005 J2 Champ Kyoto Sanga in crashing out after 1 year at the top.

Another squad to take a plunge after 1 year in the big time saw their chance for promotion slowly fade into oblivion. Avispa Fukuoka dropped a 1-0 decision to the frontrunner for next years bottom dweller (if the championship curse holds true) Consadole Sapporo after playing a man up for over an hour but not cracking the Sapporo defense.

3 big games take place tomorrow with Verdy taking on a dangerous Montedio side in Yamagata. Kyoto goes to Tokushima to play a struggling Vortis squad. Finally the game of the day belongs to 3rd place Vegalta Sendai against a surging Cerezo Osaka squad who is looking to steal a spot in the top 3.

Finally, J1 squads who are on the cusp of falling off the cliff took to battle today in 2 seperate games. Omiya finally broke through against a truly dismal Sanfrecce side, 1-0. Sanfrecce reminded me of last year's collection of has beens and malcontents in Osaka's pink sector with their lacsadaisacal play. Now I'm not saying Omiya deserves to stay up this year but if Sanfrecce is still around after their collection of talent has put out consistently bad performances and low effort then there is something wrong.

Oita on the other hand suffer from youthful mental lapses. The young Trinitans pulled off a respectable 2-1 victory against a surprising Kashiwa side. Kashiwa didn't attempt a shot in the first half.

Finally, congratulations go out to Nagoya's own Chunichi Dragons who swept both Hanshin and Yomiuri to earn the right to get their taints handed to them again by the Sapporo Nippon Ham Fighters......always second except for in my heart.....somewhere Tom Selleck is gently weeping tears of joy.

How would Hulk look in Red?

According to WEEKLY SOCCER MAGAZINE SHA, Urawa is targeting a bevy of J League stars in attempts to bolster their sad, sad lineup that only managed to lose 2 games and advance to the Semi-Finals of the ACL. Included in Urawa's alleged shopping list is FW Hulk, Vegalta super midfielder Lopes, JEF Chiba midfielder Koki Mizuno, and former Urawa Red and current RedBull Salzberg MF Alessandro Santos. Arguably Urawa got the pick of the amateur class in FW Hiroyuki Takasaki as well.

Other rumored moves include Washington to Nagoya Grampus Eight.

Shonan stumble in a J2 rumble

4 million spectators went through Verdy turnstiles.....not too shabby

I gotta say that the team I saw today looks nothing like the one at the start of the season. For 70 minutes, Verdy played the best ball I have ever seen them play, controlling the midfield, shutting off all danger, and creating chances at will. Hulk was the first to notch a goal with a free kick that was earned after getting taken down a few yards outside the box. An in shape Diego tormented the Bellmare defense with fluid runs down the middle, dishing off a textbook pass to a streaking Silva for score number 2. Finally, Tsuchiya put in a header off a nice cross from Hattori. It seems like the squad took their foot off the gas near the end of the game and only a determined Takagi kept the clean sheet for the squad. Hell, even Kaz Iio looked like a player today.

One thing that might help Verdy on their road back to J1 is the shakeup down in Kyoto. Former Verdy man Hisashi Kato.....one of the first Yomiuri/Verdy players to don the blue shirt of Japan....has taken over for Naohiko Minobe. Shonan has pretty much been eliminated.

Finally, we have to say a sad farewell to Jesse Fink and Half time Orange. Jesse, as you might know, is a friend of Soilent Green and wrote a fabulous book called 15 Days in June about the Socceroos march in the 2006 World Cup and the history of Australian Soccer. If you get the chance, pick it up. The photo is courtesy of Jesse via former Yomiuri FC goalkeeper Dennis Boland. I didn't completely get permission so it might come down really quick. Just my little way to honor a good soccer writer! Good Luck Jesse and come back soon!

True Confessions

I have seen a few people have written posts asking where I am and why I haven't posted.

The short, terse answer is I haven't really cared. It's funny...the team is playing great now, they fought back into second and I can't be bothered for some odd reason. Maybe it's because Ramos is making the right decisions and I can't handle it. Maybe it's because he's winning with guys I really don't like as players. Maybe it's because the team did the entirely opposite thing instead of conventional wisdom and are succeeding.

I dunno.......I just remember sitting in Ajinomoto stadium on a beautiful day when Verdy played Ehime and absolutely not caring about whether or not the team won.

I feel like a fraud.

You guys deserve a blog written by someone who actually cares about the team. I'm not that guy. I'm an Omiya fan. I know that because I've gone to every home game and a couple road games and they sucked (for the most part).......and I have no intention of stopping going to those games.

My dream is that someone out there gets pissed off enough to think......hell, I could a better job than Soilent Green and they write a blog about Verdy.

I will be going to see Verdy play Shonan......maybe my last one for the season.

I'll try to write more.......but no promises.

THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT?

Verdy Blog and Pride of Green as well as other numerous sites are reporting on a story released by Nikkan Gendai

Before I tell the sordid details, let me say 2 things

1. Nikkan Gendai is a tabloid variety publication and has some credibility issues
2. No other publication has picked up the story

Anyhow the story states that CyberAgent and Yomiuri publications/NTV are looking to pull out all of their capital in Tokyo Verdy due to lackluster ticket sales and a loss of money. The story states that Yokohama FC would buy the name "VERDY" and become Yokohama Verdy FC next year.

WHY IT'S BELIEVABLE

Verdy has lost a ton of money due to overspending, bad personnel decisions, and a declining fan base. Old stars such as Nanami and Hattori failed to give the team a boost in the gates that CyberAgent had hoped for. Verdy has alot of money invested in land as well as renting out a huge facility in Ajinimoto while only averaging 10 percent of capacity.

WHY IT'S NOT BELIEVABLE

I think that if Yokohama FC rebranded to Verdy, the supporters who went through the whole Flugel tragedy and spent their early J League fandom hating prefectural rival Kawasaki Verdy would probably go on a killing spree the likes of which hasn't been seen since Atilla was still kickin. Even with the Verdy reunion tour going on right now at relegation ground zero, I don't think Yokohama FC woud do that. The goodwill that they are getting from reaching J1 would be destroyed.......relegation, they'll survive.......rebranding and you'll see two teams die.

I'll keep an eye on this story

A Blast from the past?

Pride of Green went to practice and found a familiar face among the regulars

Here are some hints.......He's young

He's Brazilian

He played for Yokohama FC

Give up?

http://ameblo.jp/verdy-yoshikazu/entry-10045529066.html

Good pickup if it goes through

Hulk teaming up with Silva.......that's a ton of speed at the top